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I'm grading these tests and I just stumbled across something I never realized before.
Most Mormons assume children /cannot/ sin before the age of eight. I think this misconception comes from the solid understanding we have that Satan cannot touch the hearts of children before the age of accountability. But this doesn't mean they cannot transgress God's law. They can! However, their sins are already forgiven them by the power of the Atonement because they are innocent and do not yet have enough light and knowledge to be able to know a) what the laws are and b) apply them successfully in their lives.
So, children can sin. Children are not held accountable for their sins till after the age of accountability. (We hold this to be age eight, however, I'm sure when Judgment day comes the Lord will have a much more individualized specification for when this age was.)
Most Mormons assume children /cannot/ sin before the age of eight. I think this misconception comes from the solid understanding we have that Satan cannot touch the hearts of children before the age of accountability. But this doesn't mean they cannot transgress God's law. They can! However, their sins are already forgiven them by the power of the Atonement because they are innocent and do not yet have enough light and knowledge to be able to know a) what the laws are and b) apply them successfully in their lives.
So, children can sin. Children are not held accountable for their sins till after the age of accountability. (We hold this to be age eight, however, I'm sure when Judgment day comes the Lord will have a much more individualized specification for when this age was.)
