Today at 11:40am, James Nickerson said: >I don't think anyone who's had siblings or children or friends doubts that pre >8-year-olds can do bad things, whether or not as severe as what you've >described. The change that occurs around the age of 8, as the Lord has >specified it, is in regards to their accountability, not anything else. >Beforehand, I think most of the accountability rests on the heads of the >parents and others who have influenced their fragile young minds. Not to say >that it's the parents' fault for every little bit of naughtiness a child >perpetrates, just that they possess the general accountability, and the child >is recognized as not being in a state where it would be just to give him that >burden until he becomes roughly of age.
I think I agree with you, but I would express it a little differently: Before age 8, the child is not accountable for their actions. The parent isn't accountable for the child's actions either. However, the parent _is_ accountable for how they've fulfilled their obligations to teach and educate and care for the child, regardless of the child's age. And the Lord has said that when a parent fails to meet those obligations, they take upon themselves some accountability for the child's actions, even after the child is 8 and accountable. (See Doctrine and Covenants 68:25. See also Jacob 1:19 and 3:10) Mac -- Mac Newbold MNE - Mac Newbold Enterprises, LLC [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.macnewbold.com/ ____________________ BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ ___________________________________________________________________ List Info: http://uug.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list
