Sacrament Talk, Behold your little ones.

I recently had the opportunity to speak in sacrament. I remember as a Beehive I spoke in sacrament on Repentance. I was so nervous. I could not possibly think of anything I could teach any adult in the room that they hadn't heard before. My perspective has changed a bit since then. I have come to realize that we all have room to learn and grow from each other. Enjoy my thoughts. 

Behold your little ones.

Right off the bat I want to say that we are all little ones. We are all beloved spirit sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother who’s “work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life” (Moses 1:39) of each and every one of us. The Psalmist wrote, “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Ps. 127:3). WE are the heritage of the Lord.  

When His disciples asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? … Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, … Whosoever … shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me” (Matt. 18:1–5).

We all have that capacity. We all have that opportunity if we choose it.

Because we are literal children of God, meaning both Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, we can learn about teaching children from the ways that they have taught us. We can also learn about learning from paying attention to how children learn.

                Behold your little ones is the name of the nursery manual. So naturally, the nursery manual is a good place to start. I was a little surprised at how many “nursery rules” apply to all of us. Like when my grandma says that everything we need to know in life we learn in kindergarten, so many of the things we need to learn in the gospel begin in nursery. The nursery manual says:

“The purpose of the nursery class is to help children learn the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and live it. The nursery class should help the children increase their understanding of and love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, have positive experiences in a Church setting, and grow in feelings of self-worth.” (Nursery manual)

The purpose of nursey is very foundational and somewhat universal. We all have the same needs. We all come to church to grow in love and understanding for our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ. We all need positive experiences in church settings or we won’t want come back. We all want to grow in our feelings of self worth.

The nursery manual also says “Many nursery-age children are not emotionally or socially ready to share toys and other playthings. Do not force them to share if they don’t want to.” (Nursery manual)

Wow. Well if that ain’t me. I am often not emotionally or socially ready to share my thoughts and feelings to a group. That’s okay. We don’t have to share if we don’t want to. That isn’t why we come here.  More from the manual,

“As you teach these lessons, be sensitive to the home and family situations of the children. When a lesson refers to the children’s parents or families, consider the feelings of any children who are being raised by a single parent, by grandparents, or by other family members.

Also be sensitive to the feelings of any children in your nursery who have physical disabilities. Focus on the things the children can do, not what they cannot do.” (Nursery manual)

We all come from wildly different backgrounds with a huge range of abilities to learn and grow together. None of God’s children look or act exactly the same. But that does not change that we are all beloved children of God. It is our job to be kind to each other. To be understanding of each other and to love each other not just in spite of, but because of our differences.

The Nursery manual also includes a letter to parents. a few instructions included in that letter are

·         Take care of your child’s restroom and feeding needs before taking him or her to the nursery class

·         Inform the nursery leaders if your child has a special challenge, such as a food allergy

·         Please do not bring your child to nursery when they are sick.

A few things we can learn from these lines are:

·         physical needs usually have to be met before spiritual needs can be a priority. Take care of yourself and take care of each other.

·         It is okay to let your ward family know if you are facing special challenges. We are here to learn and grow together but also to uplift and strengthen each other.

·         And it is okay to stay home when you are not well. Both mentally and physically. Sometimes it is too hard. That’s okay. A great example of this is sometimes we hear stories of missionaries who lost a family member while they were out serving or became seriously ill while they were far away. Yes, it is amazing and inspiring if they stay despite their struggles. But if they choose to come home to grieve, or need to come home because they are sick, they are still worthy missionaries. They are still children of God. They are still our brothers and sisters and they deserve our understanding and our love.

Now we flip it. How can we teach our children, and teach each other, in the way that our Heavenly Parents teach us? First off, is line upon line, precept on precept, here a little, there a little. We meet them at their level, like our Heavenly Parents do for us. Much like Ammon teaching king and queen lamoni in the book of Alma. King and Queen Lamoni  only had a loose understanding of God. Ammon did not tell them that they were wrong, he built on what they already knew.  Nursery, Primary, Sunday school, Young Women’s and Young Men’s, Seminary, institute, Priesthood, Relief Society. We teach the sunbeams to sing “I am a child of God” but we don’t break out the old testament and break it down the way we do in seminary. We teach the law of chastity very differently to the Beehives compared to how we teach it to the Laurels. We have different needs.  We meet each other where we are and build on what we already know.

We teach our children, and each other, through example from the time they are small. The Stripling Warriors were so incredibly faithful and so incredibly successful, in huge part because of their parents. Their parents were not only covenant makers and covenant keepers but they were covenant teachers and taught their children the importance of keeping their covenants with God.

Boyd K. Packer once said:

 “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. Preoccupation with unworthy behavior can lead to unworthy behavior. That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel.”

We teach each other correct principles and let each other govern themselves. We come here to church to learn and grow together and to study the doctrine of Christ. Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end. When we understand those things, the things that are not in line with the gospel slowly fall away.  Our goal in coming here is to find a closer connection to Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Parents. To become more Christlike. To become kinder, more loving, more giving, more holy. When we put in the effort to come closer to Christ, to apply the atonement, we change. We become better versions of ourselves. Whatever our struggles are, big or small, dressing modestly or the law of chastity or the word of wisdom or being nicer to our siblings, as we put in the effort to learn of Christ, we become more like Christ and those things slowly become easier. Our natures change.

I want to close with a few reminders

·         Our skills, our good deeds, our kindness, our love is never wasted.

·         Our hearts, not our present trials and circumstances determine our blessings

·         Although we are Mothers and Fathers, sisters and brothers, teachers and friends when we act like mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, teachers and friends, we are all children of a Loving Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. Our worth was decided on long ago when Christ atoned for us and nothing can change that.

Not only are we literal Children of Heavenly Parents, but we have to potential to become just like them. Literal Queens and Kings of Heaven with all of the power and glory they have. They want that for us and they have given us instructions for how to get there. They have also give us earthly families and friends to help us get there. Take care of each other.