A Lesson For Me.

Kids amaze me. They constantly astonish me in the best kind of way. They're pure and humble. Forgiving and kind. And they are the best sort of teacher around. I was reading a past issue of the Ensign Magazine, and came across a lovely talk by Margaret S. Lifferth titled, "Behold Your Little Ones" I remember the impression this talk had on me the first time I heard it back in 2006, so I was happy to come across it again tonight.

These a few of the quotes from her talk.

"Children are open to gospel truths more than at any other time, and protected childhood is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to teach and strengthen children to choose the right.

It’s easy to know what to teach. The scriptures and our prophets are clear about what to teach our children. Nephi summarizes it in this verse, “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ … that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:26)."

Brothers and sisters, as a mother and a Primary leader, I know this work with children is not easy. Protecting, teaching, and loving children can be demanding, often discouraging, sometimes exhausting, and occasionally the fruits of our efforts are long delayed. But it is precisely because it is not easy to bring children to the Savior that we must come to Him ourselves.

As we seek Him and His Spirit to help us, we will see a miracle. We will recognize that our own hearts are changing and we too are becoming “submissive, meek, humble, patient, [and] full of love” (Mosiah 3:19). We too will reflect the light of the gospel in our own countenance. We will come to understand these words of the Savior: “And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me” (Matthew 18:5).

I'm not always great at remembering that this is my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to teach my children all they need to know to be happy and successful in this life, but talks like this reinforce my motivation to do better and to be a better person. Observing my own kids reminds me why it's so important that I give them a strong spiritual foundation at an early age. Jordan taught me this lesson just last week at a baptism of two little girls in our church. While the girls were changing out of their wet baptismal clothing, friends and family who attended the baptism were asked if they would write down their thoughts or their testimony on a piece of paper that the girls could then take home for a remembrance book. I was so touched by the words Jordan wrote down that I made a copy of them for myself. This is part of what he wrote, "When I was baptized I was a little worried, but after I got in the water I felt nice and clean. I am proud that I got baptized. I am for you, too.....I'd like to bear my testimony to you that I know that Heavenly Father is happy that you got baptized....I know this church is true. I'm grateful I came today."

That little guy amazes me. Even more than that, he astonishes me. He makes my heart swell with happiness because I know he gets "it"! He understands the simplicity of our Heavenly Father's gospel, and that it is attainable to all. I'm grateful I was reminded of that little lesson tonight.