The Miracle we call Birth & The Father's Blessing

The the birth of the newest member of our family, Sophie Kaikala Hirschi, to Jen and Braden, is an amazing miracle. I am just in awe how something which starts off as a single cell inside a woman's womb, grows and develops into a human being with an intellect, a child of God.

I mentioned this to Braden several times this week, "Isn't it just amazing how this beautiful baby was developed? How can anyone raise doubt of a supreme maker who controls the growth and development of these precious little babies?"

Stop and consider the process that this baby goes through to develop a heart, a brain, arms and legs, lungs, all the internal organs, and then becomes a housing to its spirit. A baby is the greatest of God's creations. It indeed is a miracle.

When it is proper to do so, Sophie will receive a father's blessing from Braden. She will also be given her official name that she will be known on the records of the Church and throughout her life.


So just what is the baby's blessing all about? What is the process, its purpose and meaning. I found an article from William E. Berrett, an LDS author, that outlined the baby's blessing.

The Blessing of Children

Each fast meeting babies are brought to the chapels of the Church for a blessing. Where and when did this practice begin? And why has it become an important ordinance in the Church?

The ancient Hebrews brought their babies to the priests for a blessing. Usually the temple was the place where the ordinance was performed. Jesus was blessed in the temple and given a name by the aged priest Simeon.  In his time this ordinance was usually performed when the baby was forty days old.

In this dispensation, the ordinance was established with the very origin of the Church. Thus we read in the famous revelation or articles presented to the elders gathered together April 6, 1830:

Every member of the church of Christ having children is to bring them unto the elders before the church, who are to lay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in his name.

There has been no commandment in our time concerning the age at which the blessing and name should be given. The practice varies considerably, but usually it is performed at the first fast meeting after the baby's birth and when the mother of the baby is well enough to attend the services.

Who May Give the Blessing

The giving of a blessing is a right belonging to the High or Melchizedek Priesthood. The prophets of old gave blessings to their children. This same power has been restored in our day.

And again, verily I say, whomsoever you bless, I will bless, and whomsoever you curse, I will curse, saith the Lord; for I, the Lord, am thy God.

As in the case of all ordinances, the keys or directing power rest with certain officers of the Church. The bishop of the ward holds the keys of this power within his ward, and designates the elder who is to bless the particular infant. Ordinarily, the father of the infant is so designated if he is a holder of the High Priesthood.

Purpose of the Blessing
A child is worthy of a blessing because he came into the world innocent and has done nothing to mar that innocence:

But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;

Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me;

For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers.

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

The purposes of a blessing are threefold:

To give the child a name upon the records of the Church;

To bind the Lord to a promise to use his spirit to advise and counsel the child as he grows toward a period of understanding and responsibility;

To bring to parents and to the Church a sense of responsibility for the welfare of the child.

How the Lord Bestows the Blessing

The giving of a blessing is no guarantee that the blessing will be realized. The Lord has made it clear that:

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

There are those parents who have their child blessed and do little more in teaching him the gospel. But the fulfilment of the blessing depends, in large part, upon the parents, and if the parents want the blessing upon their infant to be fulfilled, they should give heed to the Lord's instructions to them on the matter:

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.

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

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

And they shall also teach their children to pray and to walk uprightly before the Lord.

And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

And the inhabitants of Zion also shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness; for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord.

Now, I the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them; and their children are also growing up in wickedness; they also seek not earnestly the riches of eternity, but their eyes are full of greediness.

Also:

But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.

You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and this is the cause of your affliction.

And now a commandment I give unto you—if you will be delivered you shall set in order your own house, for there are many things that are not right in your house.

The Lord not only fulfils his blessing upon the child by instructing and guiding the parents in their training of the child, but also he fulfils his blessing through his arm on the earth—the Church. The Lord provides a chapel in which the child can worship and grow in spirit. He appoints teachers to instruct the child in the gospel; elders to administer to him the ordinances of the Church and to visit and instruct him and his parents in their home. The Lord provides a treasury of spiritual experience through the holy scriptures, and brings opportunities for service. Through the Church, he teaches the child the gospel in song, shows him how to pray, to bear testimony, and to walk uprightly before the Lord. The Lord provides schools for children, wherein the blessings pronounced upon their heads might be realized. Thus, in June of 1831, he instructed William W. Phelps:

And again, you shall be ordained to assist my servant Oliver Cowdery to do the work of printing, and of selecting and writing books for schools in this church, that little children also may receive instruction before me as is pleasing unto me.

We do err if we fail to see the part played by the Church in the fulfilment of the blessing, or fail to see the obligation upon the Church members to see that no blessing upon the head of a child shall fall to the ground through failure of the Church members to assist the Lord in his work.

Thanks Braden and Jen for doing your part to bring this beautiful baby into our family. We will watch with great interest to see her grow and develop into a beautiful daughter of God who will then take her part, along with her eternal companion, to do what you have just done for her, that is bringing more spirit children into this world, and our family.

We are so happy for you!

Love, Dad