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CHILDREN /
Becoming Like a Little
Child
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Alma 32:23: |
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"And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto
men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little
children do have words given unto them many times, which confound
the wise and the learned." |
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3 Nephi 9:22: |
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"Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as
a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of
God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up
again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and
be saved." |
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3 Nephi 11:37-38: |
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"And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and
become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in
nowise receive these things. And again I say unto you, ye must
repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or
ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God." |
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3 Nephi 17:11-25: |
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(The Resurrected Christ appeared to the Book
of Mormon peoples...) "And it came to pass that he commanded
that their little children should be brought. So they brought their
little children and set them down upon the ground round about him,
and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they
had all been brought unto him. And it came to pass that when they
had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the
multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground.
"And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the
ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am
troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of
Israel. And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon
the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things
which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record
who heard him. And after this manner do they bear record: The eye
hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and
marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man,
neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things
as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the
joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto
the Father.
"And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of
praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the
multitude that they were overcome. And it came to pass that Jesus
spake unto them, and bade them arise. And they arose from the earth,
and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now
behold, my joy is full.
"And when he had said these words, he wept, and the
multitude bare record of it, 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 again;
"And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them:
Behold your little ones. And as they looked to behold they cast
their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they
saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire;
and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they
were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto
them.
"And the multitude did see and hear and bear record;
and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see
and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two
thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women,
and children." |
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| Moroni chapter 8: |
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AN epistle of my father
Mormon, written to me, Moroni; and it was written unto me soon after
my calling to the ministry. And on this wise did he write unto me,
saying:
My beloved son, Moroni, I rejoice exceedingly that your
Lord Jesus Christ hath been mindful of you, and hath called you to
his ministry, and to his holy work. I am mindful of you always in my
prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his
Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and grace,
will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end.
And now, my son, I speak unto you concerning that which
grieveth me exceedingly; for it grieveth me that there should
disputations rise among you. For, if I have learned the truth, there
have been disputations among you concerning the baptism of your
little children.
And now, my son, I desire that ye should labor
diligently, that this gross error should be removed from among you;
for, for this intent I have written this epistle. For immediately
after I had learned these things of you I inquired of the Lord
concerning the matter. And the word of the Lord came to me by the
power of the Holy Ghost, saying:
Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord
and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician,
but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for
they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam
is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the
law of circumcision is done away in me.
And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the
word of God unto me; wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is
solemn mockery before God, that ye should baptize little children.
Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye
teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and
capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent
and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and
they shall all be saved with their little children. And their little
children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is
unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the
remission of sins. But little children are alive in Christ, even
from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God,
and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many
little children have died without baptism! Wherefore, if little
children could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to
an endless hell.
Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that
little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the
bonds of iniquity, for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity;
wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go
down to hell. For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth
one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he
hath no baptism.
Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord
after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold,
I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not
what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear.
And I am filled with charity, which is everlasting
love; wherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love
little children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and
partakers of salvation. For I know that God is not a partial God,
neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity
to all eternity. Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is
awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they
are all alive in him because of his mercy. And he that saith that
little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and
setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his
redemption. Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and
an endless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me. Listen
unto them and give heed, or they stand against you at the
judgment-seat of Christ.
For behold that all little children are alive in
Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of
redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that
is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot
repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing—
But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of
Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead
works.
Behold, my son, this thing ought not to be; for
repentance is unto them that are under condemnation and under the
curse of a broken law. And the first fruits of repentance is
baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the
commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission
of sins; And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness
of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the
visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and
perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until
the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.
Behold, my son, I will write unto you again if I
go not out soon against the Lamanites. Behold, the pride of this
nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction
except they should repent. Pray for them, my son, that repentance
may come unto them. But behold, I fear lest the Spirit hath ceased
striving with them; and in this part of the land they are also
seeking to put down all power and authority which cometh from God;
and they are denying the Holy Ghost. And after rejecting so great a
knowledge, my son, they must perish soon, unto the fulfilling of the
prophecies which were spoken by the prophets, as well as the words
of our Savior himself.
Farewell, my son, until I shall write unto you,
or shall meet you again. Amen. |
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