=21.= But besides this universal application of the atonement, whereby all men are redeemed from the effects of Adam's transgression, both with respect to the death of the body and the taint of inherited sin, there is a special application of the same great sacrifice, as a means of propitiation for individual sins, through the faith and good works of the sinner. This two-fold effect of the atonement is implied in the article of our faith now under consideration. The first effect is to secure to all mankind alike, exemption from the otherwise terrible effects of the Fall, thus providing a plan of _General Salvation_. The second effect is to open a way for _Individual Salvation_ whereby mankind may secure forgiveness of personal sins. As these sins are the result of individual acts, it is just that forgiveness for them should be conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed requirements,--"obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." =22. The General Effect of the Atonement=, so far as it applies to all who have arrived at years of accountability and judgment, has been made sufficiently clear perhaps from the scriptures already quoted. Its application to children may properly receive our further attention. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches as a doctrine founded on reason, justice, and scripture, that all children are innocent in the sight of God, and that, until they reach an age of personal responsibility, baptism is not requisite or proper in their behalf; that, in short, they are saved through the atonement of Christ. To a degree, children are born heirs to the good or evil natures of their parents; the effects of heredity in determining character are readily recognized. Good and evil tendencies, blessings and curses, are transmitted from generation to generation. Through this divinely appointed order, the justice of which is plain in the revealed light of knowledge concerning the pre-existent state of the spirits of mankind, the children of Adam are natural heirs to the calamities of mortality; but through Christ's atonement they are all redeemed from the curses of this fallen state; the debt, which comes to them as a legacy, is paid for them, and thus are they left free. Children who die free of sin are entirely innocent in the eyes of God, even though they be the offspring of transgressors. We read in the Book of Mormon:--"Little children cannot repent; wherefore it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy.... For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all that have no law."[253] [253] Moroni viii, 19-22.