From: aidler@sol.uvic.ca (E Alan  Idler)
Subject: Re: Mormon beliefs about bastards
Organization: University of Victoria
Lines: 75

erh0362@tesla.njit.edu writes:

>    Could anyone enlighten me on how the Mormon church views 
>children born out of wedlock?  In particular I'm interested to know if any 
>stigma is attached to the children as opposed to the parents.  

All children are born pure, i.e., without sin.
However, most saints would view a pregnancy
outside of marriage as an occasion of mourning.
(Some church members would be much more
judgmental, but that is *their* problem.)

In situations where welfare assistance is 
provided through our Church, bishops usually
require that the family be making some effort to
live the Gospel standards and provide for 
themselves.

However, there are occasions when assistance is
provided because of the children in the home.
As a former bishop of mine said, "Children are 
always worthy before God."

>I'm especially 
>keen to learn if there is or is not any prohibition in the Mormon faith on 
>bastards entering heaven or having their names entered in the big genealogical 
>book the Mormons keep in Salt Lake City.  

I am not sure what you mean by the term "bastards"
in this context.

Latter-Day Saints believe that through the
temple ordinances the family unit may be
preserved in eternity.

If you use genealogical material or software
produced by the Church, you may notice a section
for "temple ordinances."  Within that section
there should be a spot for signifying "BIC"
which stands for "born in the covenant."

The children born to couple sealed (married)
within the temple are "born in the covenant"
and are eligible to be part of that eternal
family unit.
Children born to other couples (whether in a
civil marriage or not) would have to be
sealed to their parents after their marriage
is solemnized for eternity.

Supposing a child were born to a woman out of
wedlock, he or she could be sealed to his or
her parents at a later date or adopted into 
any eternal family unit (which may include one
of the birth parents).

>If this is an issue on which the 
>"official" position has changed over time, I'm interested in learning both old 
>and new beliefs.  E-mail or posting is fine.  All information or pointers are 
>appreciated.

I can't say if this principle of adoption
was revealed at the same time as the sealing 
ordinances, but it has been accepted for the 
~15 years I have been in the Church.

I would tend to discount any admonitions from
the Church authorities against having children
out of wedlock because even though there are
provisions within the Lord's plan to recover
what we have done wrong the Church does not
want to give anyone the impression we can sin
and repent at our leisure.

A IDLER