Becoming as Little Children

What do you think of when you see this picture of 11 little kids?

"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."  - Matthew 18:3

Now what are you thinking?

Children can bring feelings of joy and anxiety - excitement and exhaustion.  

Children can bring feelings of love and feelings of frustration.

Many people in the world today see kids as burdens.

Many people don't understand why they do what they do.

 I know a lot of people that complain that kids are just bratty, annoying, mean and whiny. They can often be careless, difficult and hard to please.  On the other hand, I know people that see how sweet and innocent children are and absolutely love life with little children, if fact they couldn't imagine life without them.  Depending on your experiences in life you might feel like I did that kids are a mixture of both!

 So, why would the Lord want us to become like children....and what does that exactly entail?  When we read the Book of Mormon we can gain further insight into the attributes of children that we are to emulate.

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been since the fall of Adam, and will be forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." -King Benjamin, Mosiah 3:19

Why do some kids act like this ...

And some kids act like this.....

"Our Heavenly Father knows children are a key to helping us become like Him.  There is so much we can learn from children."  

- Jean A. Stevens, April 2011

This week as I studied my scriptures I found some new treasures I would like to point out.  First of all, in Matthew 18:3, it says, "Except ye be converted and become as a little child."  We must be converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and become as a child.  The cross reference found in the footnotes was 1 Corinthians 14:20 Which says, "Brethren, be not children in understanding; howbiet in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men."  This says to me that we need to be understanding and mature but adopt that great attribute that children possess which is to not have malice.  Jean A. Steven, First Counselor in the General Primary Presidency said, 

"These precious children of God come to us with believing hearts.  They are full of faith and receptive to feelings of the Spirit,  They exemplify humility, obedience, and love.  They are often the first to love and the first to forgive." 

             



"And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread through every nation, kindred, tongue and people.  And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little children, only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent."  Mosiah 3:20-21

This may surprise you - especially if you know a little terror or two!  But scriptures tell us that children are innocent and cannot be tempted of the devil until the age of accountability. So, then why are there mini little minions running around this world?  I would submit that it is a result of the example set around them.  They do not have to be subjected to satan to be naughty.  They see us being naughty and copy what they see - whether it be a parent, sibling, friend, TV show, school mates, etc.  Influence is indeed strong.  Children watch, listen and copy.  

 The following is snippets from a talk back in 1994 by MERLIN R. LYBBERT in a talk entitled "The Special Status of Children."

In a day when one of “the greatest problem[s] in our society is the abandonment of children through the abandonment of parental leadership” (Richard Lloyd Anderson, Understanding Paul, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983, p. 354), the First Presidency has asked that “we reemphasize the need for all adult members to focus on our children in an ongoing effort to help them learn to follow the teachings of the Savior.” Also they have asked each of us to “rededicate ourselves to nourish and bless them temporally and spiritually” (First Presidency Letter, 1 Aug. 1993; see Ensign, Jan. 1994, p. 80).

Parents in Zion have the special responsibility of teaching and training their children in righteousness. They are to be taught “to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old.” Otherwise, the Lord declared, “the sin be upon the heads of the parents” (D&C 68:25). This teaching is to be done before a child reaches the age of accountability, and while innocent and sin-free. This is protected time for parents to teach the principles and ordinances of salvation to their children without interference from Satan. It is a time to dress them in armor in preparation for the battle against sin. When this preparation time is neglected, they are left vulnerable to the enemy. To permit a child to enter into that period of his life when he will be buffeted and tempted by the evil one, without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and an understanding of the basic principles of the gospel, is to set him adrift in a world of wickedness. During these formative, innocent years, a child may learn wrong behavior; but such is not the result of Satan’s temptations, but comes from the wrong teachings and the bad example of others. In this context, the Savior’s harsh judgment of adults who offend children is better understood, wherein he said, “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones” (Luke 17:2).

We offend a child by any teaching or example which leads a little one to violate a moral law; causes him to stumble, or go astray; excites him to anger; creates resentment; or perhaps even leads him to become displeasing and disagreeable. Certainly, in the context of the Savior’s harsh indictment concerning anyone who “offends” a child, one guilty of such conduct is in serious jeopardy.

I have a little quote that hangs in my house that says, "When we try to teach our children about life, they teach us what life is really all about."

I know that we must become childlike not childish.  I know that Jesus Christ loved little children.  I have seen first hand how quick they are to forgive, how quick they are to trust, love, serve and have faith.  I have seen children that resemble angels upon the earth.  I have had children warm my heart, fill my eyes with tears and pray words I could never have expressed better.  I am so thankful for my Savior who reminds us to be as little children - submissive, humble, patience and kind.  

Thank you to Lds.org Media Library for the use of these pictures!!