Skip to content
  • Give me access to SECRET EPISODES
  • Episodes
  • Watch
  • Listen
  • Subscribe
  • Episodes
  • Watch
  • Listen
  • Subscribe
  • Give me access to SECRET EPISODES
PrevPrevious EpisodeMormon History of Alternative & Folk Medicine
Next ExpisodeWant Full Interviews? Subscribe at Patreon.com/GospelTangentsNext

History & Theological Implications of Baby Blessings (Part 6)

Table of Contents: History & Theological Implications of Baby Blessings (Part 6)

Click to Support
Gospel Tangents

[paypal-donation]

Welcome to Gospel Tangents, the best source for Mormon history, science, and theology.  I’m your host Rick Bennett.  Dr. Jonathan Stapley devotes an entire chapter in his book, The Power of Godliness, to baby blessings.  Given that baby blessings are not considered salvific, why spend so much time on that?  Jonathan says it was his favorite chapter of the book!

YouTube player

Jonathan:  There’s this exchange of letters between Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and Peter Whitmer in Zion.  Whitmer is the ward clerk. He has a Book of Remembrance.  Book of Remembrance is the book that Adam creates. And so, he has this sacred document in which he is to inscribe the inheritance of Zion. And if you come to Zion, you receive an inheritance, that is your inheritance for time and eternity, while the earth shall stand and in eternity when it’s renewed.  When babies are blessed, their name is written in the Book of Remembrance and they receive this inheritance.  They’re essentially brought into this salvific community where salvation is no longer an individual affair.  But it’s not really an individual affair in Mormonism ever.  But this explicitly communal salvation, in Zion that’s just really remarkable and that Zion essentially fails.  The Zion project, burns, and the saints moved to Illinois. And we have the Nauvoo Temple liturgy and the cosmological priesthood that reorders the world and universe of Latter-day Saints.  We see the baby blessing becoming an annunciation of children’s sealed position in the cosmological priesthood.

Had you considered that?  Check out our other conversations with Jonathan.

Dr. Jonathan Stapley says baby blessings are an "annunciation of children's sealed position in the cosmological priesthood."
Dr. Jonathan Stapley says baby blessings are an “annunciation of children’s sealed position in the cosmological priesthood.”

Check out our conversation…..

[paypal-donation]

166:  Mormon History of Folk & Alternative Medicine (Stapley)

165:  Elder Oaks Groundbreaking Talk on Women & Priesthood(Stapley)

164:  The Mormon Priestess & Ordain Women (Stapley)

163:  Women Healers in LDS Temples (Stapley)

162:  Introduction to Cosmological Priesthood

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:28 — 12.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Love this? Donate or Subscribe

Do you love the friendly, non-bashing interviews about Mormonism here on Gospel Tangents? 
Please show your support for Gospel Tangents by becoming a donor or subscriber:

Make me a Donor
Make me a Subscriber
No related products found.

More Podcasts with these Guests:

  • 6 Counterpoints to Women & Priesthood Essay (Part 8 of 9)
  • Women's Spiritual vs Ecclesiastical Priesthood (Part 7 of 9)
  • Keys of the Priesthood (Part 4 of 9)
  • Joseph's Statements on Women & Priesthood (Part 3 of 9)
  • Women Have Priesthood Since 1843! (Part 8)

Get more information on the people and things discussed in this episode:

  • Guest: Jonathan Stapley
  • Theology: LDS Priesthood, Mormon Scripture, Priesthood, Sealing, Theology
  • Historical Mentions Mormon History, Peter Whitmer
  • Tags: baby blessings, GT Podcast, iTunes, Melchizedek Priesthood, Peter Whitmer, Power of Godliness, priesthood

Tell me when the next episode drops!

PrevPrevious EpisodeMormon History of Alternative & Folk Medicine
Next ExpisodeWant Full Interviews? Subscribe at Patreon.com/GospelTangentsNext
  • Date: June 20, 2018
  • Guest: Jonathan Stapley
  • Theology: LDS Priesthood, Mormon Scripture, Priesthood, Sealing, Theology
  • Historical Mentions Mormon History, Peter Whitmer
  • Tags: baby blessings, GT Podcast, iTunes, Melchizedek Priesthood, Peter Whitmer, Power of Godliness, priesthood
  • Posted By: RickB

Subscribe

I passed my class! Please help support Gospel Tangents and subscribe to the podcast!

Rick Bennett, Host

Rick Bennett is the friendly host of Gospel Tangents LDS Podcast: The Best Source for Mormon History, Science, and Theology. Book Rick for your fireside or conference.

More Interviews

  • Ben Spackman
  • David Ostler
  • Denver Snuffer
  • Lachlan McKay
  • Lindsay Hansen Park
  • Margaret Toscano
  • Richard Bushman
  • Sally Gordon
  • Terryl Givens
  • Ugo Perego...
View all 100+ Interviewees

Proud to be an Amazon Associate

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Subscribe

Go ad-free, get written transcripts, and talk to Rick one-on-one!
Stop Seeing Ads

Rick Bennett, Host of Gospel Tangents

Rick Bennett is the friendly, independent historian at the heart of Gospel Tangents LDS Podcast: The Best Source for Mormon History, Science, and Theology. When he isn't interviewing Mormon scholars, prophets, and others, he is teaching math and statistics at Utah Valley University. He also freelances as a research biostatistician in the fields of Dermatology and Traumatic Brian Injuries, as well as in the network television/cable T.V. industries as a sports statistician. Rick holds a Master of Statistics Degree from the University of Utah.

Contact Rick
Book Rick for your Event
Podcast Episodes
0 +
People Interviewed
0 +
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Subscribe
  • Fan Shop
  • Book Rick
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Subscribe
  • Fan Shop
  • Book Rick
  • Contact Us
Copyright 2025, Gospel Tangents. All Rights Reserved.