Why does Abinadi include little children in the first resurrection?

Thomas R. Valletta

“Little children shall be saved. They are alive in Christ and shall have eternal life. For them the family unit will continue, and the fulness of exaltation is theirs. No blessing shall be withheld. They shall rise in immortal glory, grow to full maturity, and live forever in the highest heaven of the celestial kingdom—all through the merits and mercy and grace of the Holy Messiah, all because of the atoning sacrifice of Him who died that we might live. … Truly it is one of the sweetest and most soul-satisfying doctrines of the gospel!” (McConkie, “Salvation of Little Children,” 3–7).

Will There Be Order in the Resurrection?
“In Christ shall all be made alive. … But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:22–23).
“Who has part in the ‘first resurrection’? ‘All those that have kept the commandments of God’: Those who die ‘in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them’ but who ‘would have received it if they had’ heard it. ‘And little children’ [Mosiah 15:22–25; D&C 137:7].” (Garner, Search These Things Diligently, 151.)

The Book of Mormon Study Guide: Start to Finish

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