Of all the doctrines restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith, few have brought more comfort and solace to the hearts of believing Latter-day Saints than the status and reward of children who die before the age of accountability. On Sunday, March 20, 1832, at the services for Marian S. Lyon, the two-year-old child of Windsor and Sylvia Lyon, the Prophet taught:

In the early ages of the world, a righteous man, and a man of God, and of intelligence, had a better chance to do good, to be believed and received, than at the present day; but in these days such a man is much opposed and persecuted by most of the inhabitants of the Earth and he has much sorrow to pass through here; the Lord takes many away even in infancy that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore if rightly considered instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again.1 (italics are mine)

The world at large is unaware of this doctrine and has little understanding of the accountable age of a child. While each child develops, matures, and becomes accountable differently, at some point, the ability for a capable child to recognize right and wrong and act accordingly becomes their personal responsibility. Latter-Day Saints have long been taught the importance of proper parental guidance in a child’s development. Nevertheless, at some point, a capable child is responsible to act for themselves regarding right and wrong in their life’s significant situations and decisions.

At birth, each person has been gifted with a divine influence that marks the correct path. That influence is called the light of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, or as it is commonly referred to, a conscience. Little children have this light and can recognize in great degree right and wrong. This light is delicate and can be diminished and nearly extinguished in people who are past the age of accountability if they have not been properly taught the principles of righteous behavior and acted accordingly. Even some who have been taught properly will stray into dark paths. Each individual has the moral agency to choose their own way because of, or in spite of, their upbringing. Because of the gift of the light of Christ given to every person, no capable individual will be held completely blameless for their errant behaviors.

So what is the age of accountability in the Lord’s eyes? There is only one place in all of canonized scripture that informs us of that age. On November 1, 1832, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith:

D&C 68:25-27

25 And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.

26 For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized.

27 And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.

28 And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord. (italics are mine)

Interestingly, the Prophet had learned the age of accountability several months prior to that revelation while translating the 17th chapter of Genesis in February-March 1831. It is also notable that while The Book of Mormon decries the baptism of infants and teaches the need for those who are accountable to be baptized, it never mentions at what age an individual becomes accountable (Moroni 8:9-15). It may be that the revelation in D&C 68 was directly influenced by the Prophet’s New Translation efforts of Genesis 17 along with his understanding of Moroni 8.

The following has been taken from The Joseph Smith Translation, Red-Letter Edition, Old Testament.2 Red text are additions made by the JST while blue text are the words of the King James Version (KJV) as they previously read. Black text was unaltered by the JST.

From these two scriptures comes our understanding of the age at which a capable child becomes accountable for their own sins. With the JST we now have two witnesses for the age of accountability. An earlier revelation regarding children and sin had been given to the Prophet in September 1830, but it did not stipulate the age of accountability. The Lord revealed at that time:

D&C 29:46-47

46 But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; 47 Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me;

In 1830 and again in 1836, the Prophet received the following revelations about children who have not yet become accountable for their sins:

D&C 74:7 (1830 in New York)

7 But little children are holy, being sanctified through the atonement of Jesus Christ; and this is what the scriptures mean.

D&C 137:10 (21 January 1836 in Kirtland, Ohio)

10 And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.

We also learned that if that child has not been taught properly as stipulated in D&C 68, the child’s sins may fall upon the heads of the parents. This is heavy doctrine with a heavy responsibility. On September 23, 1995, the Lord through his Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, provided the following guidance from the Family Proclamation:

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.4

In the turbulent years of the 1960’s Elder Spencer W. Kimball gave a warning voice that rings even deeper today when he said:

The spirit of the times is worldliness. Hoodlumism is on the warpath. Supposedly good youth from recognized good families express their revolt in destructive acts. Many defy and resist the law-enforcing officers. Respect for authority—secular, religious, political— seems to be at a low ebb. Immorality, drug addiction, general moral and spiritual deterioration seem to be increasing, and the world is in turmoil. But the Lord has offered an old program in new dress, and it gives promise to return the world to sane living, to true family life, to family interdependence. It is to return the father to his rightful place at the head of the family, to bring mother home from social life and employment, the children from near-total fun and frolic. The Home Teaching Program (now known as Ministering) with its crowning activity, the Family Home Evening, will neutralize the ill effects if people will only apply the remedy.

Home life, home teaching, parental guidance is the panacea for all the ailments, a cure for all diseases, a remedy for all problems. (italics are mine)5

I do not know how the Lord will ultimately account for the disparities in our parenting. I do know that He will be just and fair. I am encouraged by what the scriptures teach about our own efforts and our wayward children.

D&C 50:40-42

40 Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.

41 Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me;

42 And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost

2 Nephi 10:2

2 For behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto us according to the flesh; wherefore, as it has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief, nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer.

What about those children who were taught properly to the best of our ability yet strayed far from the correct path? We learn the following from Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Lorenzo Snow:

The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.6 (italics are mine)

On this point President Brigham Young has said: “Let the father and mother, who are members of this Church and kingdom, take a righteous course, and strive with all their might never to do a wrong, but to do good all their lives; if they have one child or one hundred children, if they conduct themselves towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers. I care not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and no power of earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will return again to the fountain from whence they sprang.”7

Lorenzo Snow stated: “God has fulfilled his promises to us and our prospects are grand and glorious. Yes, in the next life we will have our wives, and our sons and daughters. If we do not get them all at once, we will have them some time, for every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Christ. You that are mourning about your children straying away will have your sons and your daughters. If you succeed in passing through these trials and afflictions and receive a resurrection, you will, by the power of the Priesthood, work and labor, as the Son of God has, until you get all your sons and daughters in the path of exaltation and glory. This is just as sure as that the sun rose this morning over yonder mountains. Therefore, mourn not because all your sons and daughters do not follow in the path that you have marked out to them, or give heed to your counsels. Inasmuch as we succeed in securing eternal glory, and stand as saviors, and as kings and priests to our God, we will save our posterity. . . God will have His own way in His own time, and He will accomplish His purposes in the salvation of His sons and daughters. . . . God bless you, brethren and sisters. Do not be discouraged is the word I wish to pass to you; but remember that righteousness and joy in the Holy Ghost is what you and I have the privilege of possessing at all times.” 8

I have been struck by the thought that only perfect parents can teach children perfectly. I am not a perfect parent, nor do I know any perfect parents. While some come closer than others in teaching children perfectly, it does not negate the fact that children will exercise their own agency no matter how perfectly they are taught. Adam lost Cain and many of Cain’s succeeding generations. Lehi lost Laman and Lemuel and many of their succeeding generations. Through their rebellion our Father lost 1/3 of his children before we ever left His presence in the preexistence. Ultimately, it is the child’s responsibility to choose their path. Parents can only do the best they know how and among mortals that knowledge and ability is imperfect at best.

Accountability and choosing our path through mortality is generally not easy. Following the Lord and his chosen servants, the Prophets, give us the best chance at doing it correctly. None of us are nor will be perfect at it in mortality. There has only been one perfect mortal and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. Once again, The Joseph Smith Translation teaches us of Him, and in this instance the age when a child becomes accountable is provided in the JST as a second witness.

Footnotes

1 Discourse, 20 March 1842, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff, p. 134, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed November 6, 2025, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/discourse-20-march-1842-asreported-by-wilford-woodruff/1

See also: Discourse, 20 March, as Published in Times and Seasons on April 15, 1832, p. 751, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed October 27, 2025, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/discourse20-march-as-published-in-times-andseasons/1?highlight=they%20were%20too%20pure,%20too%20lovely,%20to%20live%20on%20earth.

See also: History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842], p. 1295, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed October 27, 2025, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838- 1856-volume-c-1-2-november-1838-31-july-1842/469.

2 These and other verses of the JST can be easily followed by obtaining an eBook or hardbound version of The Joseph Smith Translation, Red-Letter Edition, Old Testament and New Testament from https://jstrle.com/.

3 The Prophet Joseph made this JST Old Testament addition in February-March 1831, prior to receiving D&C 68 which was revealed on November 1, 1832.

4 The Family, A Proclamation to the World, The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, September 23, 1995. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-familya-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng

5 Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 5, 1965, pg. 60-65

6 Orson F. Whitney, Conference Report, April 7, 1929, pg. 110

7 Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols., edited by Bruce R. McConkie [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-1956], 2: 91.

8 Lorenzo Snow, 6 Oct. 1893; Collected Discourses, 3:364-65, compiled by Brian H. Stuy