Two weeks ago I blogged about what types of memories make up our earliest memories. Research has been done about why we can’t remember things that well before around 3 years old. It’s called childhood amnesia. And it really kicks in between the ages of 7 and 9 (see “The Forgotten Childhood: Why Early Memories Fade” and “Why Can’t You Remember Being a Baby“). One reason seems to be that as our brains mature, and the speed at which they do so increases, our ability to access those early memories disappears. And that makes sense as a scientific physical reason for forgetting.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I believe that we all lived as spirit children of God before we were born in a premortal existence (see “We Lived With God” and “Plan of Salvation. God’s Plan for Your Life and Happiness“). During this life we must live by faith and that requires us to not remember what our premortal life was like. This forgetting is referred to as the veil that separates our mortal world from the immortal one. When we reach 8 years of age we have reached the age of accountability, we are accountable for our actions and are old enough to make our first covenants with God and be baptized.
There is not doctrine on it, but I personally believe that our mortal minds are not covered with the veil directly at birth. In my mind it seems cruel to cut a newborn baby off from the premortal life when she has no way to communicate or understand the world she has found herself in. I feel like the veil is a gradual forgetting. As we become more interactive with this mortal world our connection to the immortal one fades. And around age 8 we are fully connected to this world. We are accountable for what we do. And we must walk by faith on what we knew previously. Childhood amnesia, or a veil, covers our early memories.
I have no idea if my thoughts are right or not. But it seems interesting how childhood amnesia lines up with the age of accountability. It’s something to think about anyway. And if I am right, it makes me wish all the more I could understand the exciting stories that Iddo loves to babble at us. The wisdom she must have right now. Out of the mouths of babes.
I am an educator and PhD. I quilt, belly dance, run, read, and try to grow things. I am a Mormon. I am infertile. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, grand-daughter, friend, wife, and mom.
Brett L. Dennis
Mama g
Giggles
AmandaStretch
I don’t know what her babbling means, but I think it cute. When she looks at me and says Granma, I melt. :heart:
I totally agree with you! I have thought that for years.
Yesssss, so very interesting!!! We always joke that our little boy is seeing angels. When he smiles at something nobody else sees I just get chills thinking of some relative blowing raspberries at him.
Sometimes I wish I could remember when I was that young. And then I think, eh, it was the 70’s. Probably better to just move on. :brett:
I, too, think of it as a gradual forgetting. It just makes so much more sense!
The Freudian/Adlerian reason for childhood amnesia is that early childhood is so traumatic that our brains don’t WANT to remember everything…and that may be partly true, but I prefer to think it has to do with the veil and the gradual forgetting. (There may be doctrine on this, because I remember my dad telling us about it from a young age, but I don’t know where it would be found.)