The Childhood of Jesus Christ
Study Luke 2:40–52; Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 3:24–26; Doctrine and Covenants 93:12–14; institute student manual Points to Ponder, “Jesus Had to Overcome the Veil” (pgs. 24–25) and “As a Child, Jesus Sought to Learn from His Father” (pgs. 25–26). Then write an essay about what you learned from the childhood of Jesus Christ that can help you in your personal growth and development.
The Son of the Eternal Father
The Bible contains 2 distinct books: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each book contains testaments, recorded testimonies of many witnesses that Jesus Christ was and is the son of God the Father. Many of them saw him and knew him personally. Who do you know personally? Is there someone you have seen born, and grow from a babe to an adult?
There were righteous people (like Simon and Anna) watching and waiting, pondering and studying scripture when Jesus was born. We can also peruse the witnesses about Christ. Do we grasp the implications of their accounts?
The Bible contains 2 distinct books: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each book contains testaments, recorded testimonies of many witnesses that Jesus Christ was and is the son of God the Father. Many of them saw him and knew him personally. Who do you know personally? Is there someone you have seen born, and grow from a babe to an adult?
I have adult grandchildren. Sometimes they look a lot like
their mother, and sometimes they look a lot like their dad. How is being the
son of an eternal, omniscient being different from being the son of a mortal
father? How is it the same? What characteristics might Jesus inherit from God, his
immortal yet literal Father, and Mary, his mortal mother?
Scripture teaches us a few facts that detail attributes
Christ inherited from both his parents. Studying accounts of such witnesses can
help us gain many insights into the things they knew, and why they wanted to
keep a record of the details they provide.
Luke records that “Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52). I particularly noted
the previous 2 verses, 50-51. Luke has recorded how Mary and Joseph didn’t
understand their son at age 12. This is not uncommon among parents of youth age
12. Nevertheless, “he [Jesus] went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and
was subject unto them” (Luke 2:50-51).
Even as a young child, “[Jesus] served under his father, and
he spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that
any man should teach him (Matthew 2:23c - JST Matt 3:25 KJV LDS Bible Appendix). [Activity and videos from the Friend Magazine.]
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| Simon in the Temple |
There were righteous people (like Simon and Anna) watching and waiting, pondering and studying scripture when Jesus was born. We can also peruse the witnesses about Christ. Do we grasp the implications of their accounts?
Elder James E.
Talmage wrote:
“That Child to be born of Mary was
begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in
accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; and, the offspring from that
association of supreme sanctity, celestial Sireship, and pure though mortal
maternity, was of right to be called the ‘Son of the Highest.’
In His nature would be combined the
powers of Godhood with the capacity and possibilities of mortality; and this
through the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity declared of
God, demonstrated by science, and admitted by philosophy, that living beings
shall propagate—after their kind.
The Child Jesus was to inherit the
physical, mental and spiritual traits, tendencies, and powers that
characterized His parents—one immortal and glorified—God, the other
human—woman.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 81.)
“Jesus, then, had the powers of life and the ability to die.
He had greater power than any man” (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His
Apostles, (1979), p.23).
Jesus was born and lived and died as a mortal being. This
legacy he inherited from his mother. Then he overcame death and lived again.
This power he inherited from his immortal Father.
What legacies have you inherited from your parents? My eyes
are blue like my father’s, yet I look very much like my brown-eyed mother. I am
also a child of God. How are we like God our Father? What power and promise
have we inherited from him?
What must you do to acquire power and glory? The Prophet
Joseph Smith explained: “You have got to learn . . . by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to
a great one; from grace to grace … until you … are able to dwell in everlasting
burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting
power.” (Teachings, pp. 346–47.)
The example of Jesus Christ shows us the way to become like
our Father in Heaven. We too can grow from birth to exponential possibilities. Jesus
has promised to come to earth again. Are we like Simon and Anna, studying the
words of prophets? Are we watching and waiting for Him? Will we be ready to follow
his lead?
