BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN

When I was a child I learned a song that forever changed my life.

Mary with boy Jesus by Simon Dewey

Jesus Once Was a Little Child

"Jesus once was a little child,

A little child like me;

And he was pure, and meek and mild,

As a little child should be.

"So, little children, let's you and I

Try to be like him,

Try, try, try."

The pleasant melody of that song from childhood surfaces every so often and runs through my mind, calling for me to remember that I am God's child. 

It blesses me with great hope. 

Jesus taught, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 18:3).

I consider being a child, being as unlearned and simple as a little child, and growing.

Me, right now!

How do I, an adult, grow like a child?

I often pondered that Jesus was a baby and child. 

I had baby brothers. They grew.

I was a child. I grew.

Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-19 teaches, “Ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours. And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.”

There is so much promised.

Do I hope for these promised blessings?

In the parable of the lost sheep Jesus tries to help us understand that he is always searching for us when we are lost, and that as our shepherd he will find us and help us return to the safety and happiness of being in the presence of our "Father" and knowing Him (Matthew 18:11-14).

Rescue of the Lost Lamb, by Minerva K. Teichert

I learn much about having hope like a child from Neil A Maxwell, of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He discusses how we might accomplish the task of changing our 'natures' to become more childlike - more like the Savior. He teaches, "Personal righteousness, worship, prayer, and scripture study are so crucial in order to '[put] off the natural man' ” (Oct 2000 General Conference, Book of Mormon Student Manual (page 139-141), see also Mosiah 3-5).

In an earlier 1994 address 'Brightness of Hope' Elder Maxwell suggested another tool, along with a caution for putting off the natural man: "Hope helps us to walk by faith, not by sight. This can actually be safer. When unaided spiritually, natural sight often shrinks from the odds (see 2 Cor. 5:7). It is immobilized by improbabilities. Mauled by his moods and intimidated by his fears, the natural man overreacts to, while hope overrides, the disappointments of the day.

“Hope is particularly needed in the hand-to-hand combat required to put off the natural man (Mosiah 3:19). Giving up on God and on oneself constitutes simultaneous surrender to the natural man. Daily hope is vital, since the 'Winter Quarters' of our lives are not immediately adjacent to our promised land either. An arduous trek still awaits, but hope spurs weary disciples on."

I experience such growing.
Sometimes it is difficult.

Henry B. Eyring, of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints taught," . . . to become like a child is . . . to be like the Savior, who prayed to his Father for strength to be able to do His will . . . when we have yielded in faith to Him, have responded to the Holy Spirit's direction to keep the commandments long enough and faithfully enough that the power of the Atonement has changed our hearts .... We will become as a little child, obedient to God and more loving” (April 2006 General Conference).

President Eyring further taught, "... the things we do are the means not the end we seek. What we do allows the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change us into what we must be. Our faith in Jesus Christ brings us to repentance and to keeping His commandments ... In time our natures will change. We will become as a little child."

I want to change.
I want to become His child.