Dear Gramps,
What is with the priesthood men of the Mormon Church that they think that bouncing the baby during the blessing is automatic when performing the ordinance? And when did it start? I have been in many circles and every time the bouncing begins even if the baby is not crying. The last one I was in I had to hold the babies head from bouncing on my arm.
Doug, from Elverta, California

Dear Doug,
Very gentle rocking of a baby up and down while being held jointly by the priesthood members invited to participate in the blessing is done, as you mention, for the simple purpose of keeping the baby from crying during the blessing, or for calming the baby if it does start to dry. However, such things can get out of hand, and as these abnormal habits are formed, they indeed become habits.

Organizations have personalities just the same as people do. And though the people of a given organization may change, the personality of the organization remains. Two different wards meeting in the same building may have a number of consistent practices that are different one from another. Some examples are how the young men of the Aaronic Priesthood dress when they pass the sacrament; the sincerity and reverence with which the sacrament prayers are offered; the degree of reverence displayed by the congregation while waiting for Sacrament meeting to begin; where and when socializing begins after the Sacrament service is over; how people are greeted when they enter the chapel; how young mothers control their crying babies–the list goes on.
In any organization, be it a church, a club or an office, when a new person joins the group and begins to participate in a manner different from the custom, they receive negative signals from the group, and either quickly or eventually learn to conform to the accepted norm. And so the status quo continues and the personality endures.
Gramps