Burial Gowns Instead of Baptism Gowns

There are milestones to every child's life. Moments worked towards and celebrated when reached. For a child born into a family who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint (Mormons) the Milestones might go as follows:
Birth .
(1 Mo.) Given a Name and a Blessing by the Priesthood
(8yrs) Baptism and Confirmation
(12 yrs) Girls enter the Young Women's Program and boys receive the Aaronic Priesthood
(18 Yrs) High school Graduation and  embark either to college for the girls or a two year Mission for the Men
(19yrs old) Women can go on an 18 Mo. Mission
(20 Yrs old) return with Honor and attend College

There is one Milestone that is perhaps The Most Important above all of the others listed. And that is Baptism and Confirmation when the child is ready and most likely around 8 years old.

Tomorrow my baby girls who are in heaven, would be 8 yrs old if they had survived. We would be laying out their white dresses tonight and their white hairbows and white shoes and maybe they would practice one more time with Papa how to hold his wrist and plug their nose when they get in the water, just one more time, Maybe we would have a special family discussion about the importance of each baptismal covenant that is made and the blessings promised in return for following them.

As their mother, I would have had the blessing and honor to help choose 3 very precious white dresses throughout my daughters life's. Their Blessing dress, their Baptism dress, and their Wedding dress. Instead, I was only able to choose one white gown and it was a Burial Gown.

There is a lot of emotion involved in the whole of this subject. Not just the "traditions of dress" but the ordinances themselves.  I learned while serving a mission for our Savior, that there is great sorrow and tragedy in the loss of a baby that I have been spared from. My heart longs to bring the same comfort that I feel now, to some of the families that I met along my way on my mission.

Many grieving parents have been told that their precious babies are spiritually lost to them because they were not baptized. I can't imagine the confusion and unnecessary pain that would bring to an already broken mother and father.

I am here to testify that our babies are not lost! Their spirits are still very much alive and well, and we will be with them again. I know this because it is the instinctive feeling that I have within my Mother Heart. But I also have this knowledge confirmed to me through the Holy Spirit while reading scripture that teaches this to us. We can read in The Book of Mormon, Moroni Chapter 8: 8 what Jesus Christ revealed to His prophets saying:  "Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me." 

Through our Saviour Jesus Christ our precious innocent babies were welcomed back into Heaven and wait for our return as we live worthy of such a blessing . This is the motivation that keeps me going on some of my hardest days.