D&C 74: Why Little Children Are Holy and Need Not Be Baptized

I was in the shop last week, planing down a piece of cherry for a bookshelf. The wood came from a tree that fell in my neighbor's yard last spring. He was going to split it for firewood, but I asked if I could take a few sections. The grain was tight and clean, and I could see the shelves before I even started cutting.

Cherry is an interesting wood to work with because it starts out pale, almost pink, and darkens over time as it is exposed to light. The color change is slow. You do not see it happening, but after a few years the wood is a deep, warm red. The finish does not make it that way. The color was always there, waiting to come out.

I thought about that while I was reading D&C 74. It is a short section, only seven verses, but it answers a question that has caused a lot of confusion. The question is about children. Are they born unholy, needing a ritual to be made clean? Or is there something already there, waiting to come out?

But little children are holy, being sanctified through the atonement of Jesus Christ. (D&C 74:7)

Why Are Children Holy in D&C 74

The revelation was given to Joseph Smith in 1830, not long after the Church was organized. I wrote about the revelations that came just before this in D&C 73: Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon Resume Translating the Bible. The question came from a passage in 1 Corinthians 7:14, where Paul writes that children of believing parents are holy. Some Christians had used that verse to argue that children needed to be baptized as infants to become holy. If they were not baptized, the reasoning went, they were not saved.

D&C 74 corrects that reading. The revelation says children are already holy. They do not need a ritual to make them what they already are. The holiness comes from the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which covers them from the beginning.

I think about this when I look at my own kids. They are not perfect, and they fight over who gets the last pancake and leave their shoes in the middle of the hallway. But underneath all of that, there is something good they came with. My job is not to put it there but to help it grow.

LDS View on Infant Baptism and D&C 74

The revelation also addresses the practice of infant baptism directly, explaining that the tradition came from a misunderstanding of the Law of Moses. In the early church, some believers thought their children needed to be circumcised or baptized to be saved. The revelation says that the Law of Moses was fulfilled by the gospel of Christ. Those old requirements no longer apply.

This is where the revelation gets practical. It warns that children who are raised under the strict traditions of the old law sometimes end up giving more attention to those traditions than to the gospel itself. The traditions can become a barrier instead of a bridge.

I have seen this in my own life with things I do a certain way because that is how my father did them, and his father before him. Some of those habits are good. Some of them I have had to unlearn. The question is always whether the tradition is serving the purpose or just taking up space.

Meaning of 1 Corinthians 7:14 for Children

The revelation goes back to Paul's original statement and explains what he actually meant. When Paul said the children of believing parents are holy, he was not saying they needed a ritual to become holy. He was describing their actual spiritual state. They are sanctified through the Atonement of Christ, not through any outward ordinance.

This is a different way of thinking about children than what many Christian traditions teach. The idea that a child is born in a state of grace, not in a state of sin, changes how you raise them. You are not trying to fix something broken. You are trying to protect and nurture something that is already good.

I think about the cherry wood again. The color was always there. It just needed time and light to show itself. Children are the same way. The holiness is already in them. Our job is to give them the time and the light.

Are Children Sanctified by the Atonement of Jesus Christ

Verse 7 is the heart of the section. It says plainly that little children are holy because they are sanctified through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This is not a small point. It means the Atonement is not just for adults who have sinned and repented. It covers everyone, including those who have not yet reached the age of accountability.

This connects to what the Book of Mormon teaches. In Mosiah 7, King Benjamin says that little children are saved through the Atonement because they are not capable of sin. D&C 74 says the same thing in different words. The Atonement is universal in its reach. It does not wait for us to qualify for it.

I find that comforting. Not because it lets anyone off the hook, but because it means God's grace is bigger than we usually give it credit for. It starts before we do.

Difference Between the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ in D&C 74

The revelation draws a clear line between the old covenant and the new. The Law of Moses was a schoolmaster, pointing forward to Christ. Once Christ came, the law was fulfilled. The rituals and ordinances of the old law were no longer necessary.

The problem in the early church was that some people could not let go of the old ways. They kept trying to mix the law with the gospel, adding requirements that Christ had already fulfilled. D&C 74 says that approach does not work. You cannot hold onto the shadow when the substance has arrived.

I have done this in my own work, spending too much time on a detail that does not matter anymore because that is how I learned to do it. Sometimes you have to step back and ask whether the old way is still serving the new purpose.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does D&C 74 say that children are holy?

D&C 74 teaches that children are holy because they are sanctified through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This means they are born in a state of grace and innocence. They do not need a ritual like infant baptism to be made holy.

What is the significance of the Law of Moses in this section?

The section explains that the Law of Moses, including the practice of circumcision, was fulfilled by the gospel of Jesus Christ. It warns that clinging to outward traditions of the old law can sometimes get in the way of believing in the gospel.

How does D&C 74 explain the verse in 1 Corinthians 7:14?

It clarifies that when Paul wrote that children are holy, he was not suggesting they needed a ritual to become so. The revelation explains that their holiness is an inherent state provided by the Atonement of Christ. This corrects the misinterpretation used to justify infant baptism.

What does this mean for how I raise my children?

It means your primary job is not to fix something broken. Your children are already whole in the eyes of God. Your work is to protect that wholeness and help it grow. That changes how you discipline, how you teach, and how you love.

I finished the bookshelf yesterday. The cherry has already started to darken. It will take years to reach its full color, but the potential was there from the beginning. I just had to cut the wood and let the light do the rest.

-- D.