When I was 11 waiting to turn 12, I couldn't wait to get out of
primary and go to
young women. My best friend turned 12 and was out, so I felt alone in my class. At the time, I felt I was older than everyone else and that Primary was just for the younger kids. And now that I've been called back to Primary as a primary worker twice - once in Nebraska, and now here, I love being in Primary! I would say my heart has been softened since then. I have such a deep gratitude for the presidency, all the teachers, and music directors, for their preparation, dedication, and hard work. I testify that Primary is truly one of the Lord's divine programs.
Our Heavenly Father knows children are a key to helping us become more like Him. To me, I suppose that is a hidden reason why we are commanded to multiply and replenish the earth.
There is
so much we can learn from children.
I prepared this from the address from Jean A. Stevens, 1st Counselor in the General Primary Presidency. In her talk, the first story was about a
General Authority who visited a ward in Hong Kong. The ward was struggling in many ways. As the GA talked to the
Bishop of the ward about their needs, he felt impressed for the members to pay their
tithing. The Bishop thought about it for a bit and decided to approach some of the most faith-filled members to pay tithing.
He went to the children.
He taught the children the law of tithing and asked if they'd be willing to pay it on their income earned. They agreed.
And they did. The Bishop then went to the ward and told the adults that their children had been paying their tithing for the past 6 months. He then asked the parents to pay their tithing. The parents were touched by the sacrifice of their children because they had done what was necessary to pay tithing.
It is no wonder that Jesus looked to children as examples. In the New Testament, when his Apostles were questioning who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus replies by saying, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as the child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven."
Children cannot make it to Heaven without our guidance, love, and nurturing. And we cannot make it to Heaven without learning to be like them - humble, meek, submissive.
Last week during my primary class, the lesson was on "Jesus loves each of us." I tried to explain to my class and get the point across about how much Jesus loves little children.. when I accidentally said.." Jesus loves little children
the best." After saying that, a little girl raised her hand, scrunched up her face and said, "sooo when we grow up..Jesus won't love us the best anymore?" Haha. Luckily I thought of something on the spot. I said.."Well, when we grow up it's sometimes harder for us to make good choices all of the time... and that is why Jesus says that we need to become like little children to enter into the kingdom of Heaven." I felt that was a close save!
"We can often ask ourselves, 'What is it we should learn from children? What qualities do they possess and what examples do they demonstrate that can help us in our own spiritual development?'"
Are they honest, even when it's hard? Are they quick to forgive, and to say I'm sorry?
I love my primary kids! They usually know the answers to the gospel questions and like singing the songs. They are always anxious to hear the gospel stories. They crave learning.
A little girl in my class told me that her and her sister pray 2-3 times a day, morning and night and then they pray in their heart before they go to sleep, to not disturb the others' prayer. I thought that was amazing how she had a testimony of personal morning and evening prayers. It has made me want to do better on mine.
"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."
I remember when Amy (my sister) was in kindergarten or first grade. She had a hip problem, called
Perthes, which made it hard for her to walk or run. One leg was higher than the other. She had to use crutches, and eventually a wheelchair for the whole school year. But the children were so kind and nice to her, always volunteering to push her around. Kids are kind like that. I also remember my senior year in high school, when Amy was 7, she developed a bone infection in her clavicle. She had to have a pic line inserted through her forearm up to her lungs where she was on an IV that constantly needed to be changed out each day for new antibiotics. That continued for 3 months.
I remember when she was having a bad day, I found her crying in her room. She was a very brave girl, yet it was hard for her to grasp the meaning of the
Atonement and know that Jesus suffered for us and so He knows exactly what we she was feeling. As she sat there crying I tried my best to explain to her that because Christ suffered what we have, He knows how to help us feel better. He knows how to comfort us in our times of need. Talking to her helped calm her, and strengthened my testimony in our Savior, as well.
I think when we see our children or our loved ones suffer and then triumph over their pain, we can also learn from them how they dealt with their experiences. An example of that is with the boy Prophet Joseph Smith. When he was young he had a bone infection in his leg, where the doctors had to saw and cut out the infection. They offered him alcohol as a sedative, but he knowing the commandments, refused to drink it, even for pain relief. From him we can learn faith in Jesus Christ, perseverance, and keeping the commandments,
especially when it's hard.
"[Our] children are providing examples of some of the childlike qualities we need to develop or rediscover in ourselves in order to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. They are bright spirits who are untarnished by the world - teachable and full of faith. It is no wonder the Savior has as a special love and appreciation for little children."
While the Savior visited the American continents, he reached out to the children. Found in
3rd Nephi: 17 of the Book of Mormon, "...And he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had done this he wept... And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones." Elder M. Russell Ballard has taught us the importance of the Savior's admonition to "Behold your little ones" when he said: "Notice that He didn't say 'glance at them' or 'casually observe them' or 'occasionally take a look in their general direction.' He said to
behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes."
And where could we find a more perfect place to behold our little ones, than in our home and with our families? I have a testimony of
Family Home Evening. It has the power to change lives and change our hearts. Last Monday was just a really crummy Monday. I usually don't have "Mondays" but that day was just bad and kept getting worse. And then we had FHE. It changed everyone's attitudes just like that. We were able to rearrange what was important in our lives and make the necessary mental change to be kinder to each other and to show more love. I truly have a testimony that Family Home Evening changes our lives.
Sometimes some of life's experiences have taken from us the believing and childlike heart we once had. I think becoming like a little child is one of the hardest things to be. But we need to look to our children for an example. If we have a heart to learn and a willingness to follow the example of our children, their divine attributes can hold a key to unlocking our own spiritual growth.
In closing, I'd like to share a quote by President Packer of the
Quorum of the 12 Apostles.
"Someday you will hold a little boy or a
little girl in your arms and know that two of you have acted in
partnership with our Heavenly Father in the creation of life. Because
the youngster belongs to you, you may then come to
love someone more than you love yourself. Through this loving one more than you love yourself, you become
truly Christian. Then you know, as few others know, what the word
Father means when it is spoken of in the scriptures. You may then feel something of the love and concern that He has for us. It should
have great meaning that of all the titles of respect and honor and
admiration that could be given him, God himself, he who is the highest
of all, chose to be addressed simply as
Father."
I believe in our efforts to become more childlike, we will become more Christlike - humble, patient, and so full of love.
I challenge you to go home and tell your children how much you love them. Let them know you love them. And behold them. I know that since having Lydia, I can now say that I know what it feels like to love someone more than I love myself. If she has taught me nothing else yet, she has taught me how to love.
And I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
{So in case you were wondering, last Sunday Jonathan and I had the opportunity of giving talks during
Sacrament meeting. We were actually called 3 weeks before we were to give it, then the night before that Sunday, they called and said they accidentally asked someone else to speak that next morning and to reschedule us to speak in 2 more weeks. So I have had this talk prepared for 3 Sundays. Only, with the baby I never had any time to look at it until the last Saturday night. Anyway. The reason I felt impressed to share this was because this time was the first talk I've given that I felt I did good at..and that I felt the Spirit was with me as I shared it. I had soo many people come up to me and tell me that they truly enjoyed it. And I just wanted to share my talk with..I guess the rest of the cyber world. Sorry it was so long!}
