THOUGHT: “Children
are highly vulnerable. They have little or no power to protect or
provide for themselves and little influence on so much that is vital
to their well-being. Children need others to speak for them, and
they need decision makers who put their well-being ahead of selfish
adult interests.”
Elder
Dallin H. Oaks
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Activity Days Hot Chocolate Party tonight from 6:30 – 7:00 pm at the home of Sister Daley, 1111 N 1190 E for 8 – 11 year old girls. We are introducing a quick and easy new way to track the girl's progress in the Faith in God program. Come sip hot chocolate and learn all abouat it with us! Please bring a parent and your Faith in God book.
- Stake Women's Basketball on Thursdays, thru 28th 8:30 – 10 pm at the Magohany Buidling.
- RS mini class: WE ARE MAKING BREAD: IT IS ALIVE: IT IS MAGIC. Feb. 7th at 7 pm at the Moon's home. Milt will be demonstrating how to make bread and Karen will show us how to make cottage cheese white bread. Also if you are new to the ward and don't have a Preparedness Binder, you will want to attend so Karen can explain that to you.
- Mark on you calendar: March 5th we will be having a special Temple session 8:15 pm commemorating the 6th Anniversary of our Ward.
- Mark on your calendar: Stake Women's Conference on Thursday, March 14th at 7 pm. At the Manila Building near the blue silos. More info coming.
- If you haven't had a chance to write in Sister Linda Winder's book please contact a member of the RS presidency.
Our
lesson today was Elder Oaks Conference address entitled “ Protect
the Children”
I
pray for the spirit. Our hearts were touched when we first heard the
talk. I saw on the Church website that Elder Oaks will be honored
with an award.
Elder Dallin
H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve will be honored next
year by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
Elder Oaks will receive the Canterbury Medal, the organization’s highest honor, given each year to “one stalwart defender of religious freedom.” He will receive the award on May 16 at a ceremony at the Pierre Hotel in New York. A video announcement on YouTube features Elder Oaks making these comments: “Religious freedom is fundamental to the existence of our nation. It’s—along with free speech—the most fundamental civil right and civil liberty. As I see some slippage in the public regard for religion and in the legal basis for religious freedom, I am alarmed.
“My message is directed to religious leaders with a proposal that it would be well for Catholics and Protestants of all description and Muslims and Mormons and others interested in the things we’ve been discussing to unite and stand together on the essential principle of religious freedom.
“What unites us in religion is far more important than what divides us in the capacity to speak up for religious freedom.”
In my preparation for the lesson today, I thought how best to approach the topic. Think of how you felt when you first heard it and try to feel the same spirit today.
On part I of the handout I listed the things he addressed. As we go through the talk write down your thoughts, feelings and experiences that we can discuss later.
Part II has to do with marriage. Again, write down your thoughts, feelings and experiences to discuss. As always act on the impressions you receive today.
Because there is no way I can improve on what he had to say, I will read his exact words. Any thought, write them down.
Elder Oaks will receive the Canterbury Medal, the organization’s highest honor, given each year to “one stalwart defender of religious freedom.” He will receive the award on May 16 at a ceremony at the Pierre Hotel in New York. A video announcement on YouTube features Elder Oaks making these comments: “Religious freedom is fundamental to the existence of our nation. It’s—along with free speech—the most fundamental civil right and civil liberty. As I see some slippage in the public regard for religion and in the legal basis for religious freedom, I am alarmed.
“My message is directed to religious leaders with a proposal that it would be well for Catholics and Protestants of all description and Muslims and Mormons and others interested in the things we’ve been discussing to unite and stand together on the essential principle of religious freedom.
“What unites us in religion is far more important than what divides us in the capacity to speak up for religious freedom.”
In my preparation for the lesson today, I thought how best to approach the topic. Think of how you felt when you first heard it and try to feel the same spirit today.
On part I of the handout I listed the things he addressed. As we go through the talk write down your thoughts, feelings and experiences that we can discuss later.
Part II has to do with marriage. Again, write down your thoughts, feelings and experiences to discuss. As always act on the impressions you receive today.
Because there is no way I can improve on what he had to say, I will read his exact words. Any thought, write them down.
We can all remember our feelings when a little
child cried out and reached up to us for help. A loving
Heavenly Father gives us those feelings to impel us to
help His children. Please recall those feelings as I
speak about our responsibility to protect and act for the
well-being of children.
I speak from the perspective of the gospel of Jesus Christ, including His plan of salvation. That is my calling. Local Church leaders have responsibility for a single jurisdiction, like a ward or stake, but an Apostle is responsible to witness to the entire world. In every nation, of every race and creed, all children are children of God.
Although I do not speak in terms of politics or public policy, like other Church leaders, I cannot speak for the welfare of children without implications for the choices being made by citizens, public officials, and workers in private organizations. We are all under the Savior’s command to love and care for each other and especially for the weak and defenseless.
Children are highly vulnerable. They have little or no power to protect or provide for themselves and little influence on so much that is vital to their well-being. Children need others to speak for them, and they need decision makers who put their well-being ahead of selfish adult interests.
In some war-torn countries, children are abducted to serve as soldiers in contending armies.
A United Nations report estimates that over two million children are victimized each year through prostitution and pornography.
From the perspective of the plan of salvation, one of the most serious abuses of children is to deny them birth. This is a worldwide trend. The national birthrate in the United States is the lowest in 25 years, and the birthrates in most European and Asian countries have been below replacement levels for many years. This is not just a religious issue. As rising generations diminish in numbers, cultures and even nations are hollowed out and eventually disappear.
One cause of the diminishing birthrate is the practice of abortion. Worldwide, there are estimated to be more than 40 million abortions per year. Many laws permit or even promote abortion, but to us this is a great evil. Other abuses of children that occur during pregnancy are the fetal impairments that result from the mother’s inadequate nutrition or drug use.
There is a tragic irony in the multitude of children eliminated or injured before birth while throngs of infertile couples long for and seek babies to adopt.
Childhood abuses or neglect of children that occur after birth are more publicly visible. Worldwide, almost eight million children die before their fifth birthday, mostly from diseases both treatable and preventable. And the World Health Organization reports that one in four children have stunted growth, mentally and physically, because of inadequate nutrition. Living and traveling internationally, we Church leaders see much of this. The general presidency of the Primary report children living in conditions “beyond our imaginations.” A mother in the Philippines said: “Sometimes we do not have enough money for food, but that is all right because it gives me the opportunity to teach my children about faith. We gather and pray for relief, and the children see the Lord bless us.” In South Africa, a Primary worker met a little girl, lonely and sad. In faint responses to loving questions, she said she had no mother, no father, and no grandmother—only a grandfather to care for her. Such tragedies are common on a continent where many caregivers have died of AIDS.
Even in rich nations little children and youth are impaired by neglect. Children growing up in poverty have inferior health care and inadequate educational opportunities. They are also exposed to dangerous environments in their physical and cultural surroundings and even from the neglect of their parents. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland recently shared the experience of an LDS police officer. In an investigation he found five young children huddled together and trying to sleep without bedding on a filthy floor in a dwelling where their mother and others were drinking and partying. The apartment had no food to relieve their hunger. After tucking the children into a makeshift bed, the officer knelt and prayed for their protection. As he walked toward the door, one of them, about six, pursued him, grabbed him by the hand, and pleaded, “Will you please adopt me?”
We remember our Savior’s teaching as He placed a little child before His followers and declared:
“And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:5–6).
When we consider the dangers from which children should be protected, we should also include psychological abuse. Parents or other caregivers or teachers or peers who demean, bully, or humiliate children or youth can inflict harm more permanent than physical injury. Making a child or youth feel worthless, unloved, or unwanted can inflict serious and long-lasting injury on his or her emotional well-being and development. Young people struggling with any exceptional condition, including same-gender attraction, are particularly vulnerable and need loving understanding—not bullying or ostracism.
With the help of the Lord, we can repent and change and be more loving and helpful to children—our own and those around us.
Janet T: This lesson is so close to my heart. After I had my 3rd child, I found out that I could not have anymore children. One day the Stake President approached me and said 'I understand that you can't have anymore children. There is this young lady that is pregnant with her third child and if on one adopts this child she will abort it. She has aborted two already, the previous one just three months ago. My husband was in medical school at that time. Our little girl was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. She has done many things that created pain for me. She is a most beautiful girl but has many handicaps that can't be seen. She has been so difficult to deal with. She is the birth mother of my 18 year old son. He too has had his issues because of her problems, but he is doing fine. This talk hits close to home. It is a very serious issue for these babies. It is getting more so for the babies born today.
The Lord is so please with you, Janet. Thank you that you were willing to share.
Ramona B: Several years ago I used to be a nurse, working in Africa area and we used to give peole a bag of rice in the morning and at night bury their babies. We were told to just walk by the infants because they would die. To take care of the 4 year old and older children. The only thing that would sustain me was the knowledge that those babies would go to the Celestial glory.
Lynette: There has been research done on children whose mothers carried full term and gave birth to but who really didn't want them. The emotional rejection of those children show a high percentage of emotional problems. There was this woman who was in a second marriage who didn't want any more children, but because her husband had never had children she decided to go ahead and get pregnant. She resented the pregnancy. The research shows that the chemicals of the results of not wanting the child affects the child.
Thank you Lynette for your comment.
Cheryl N: I have learned from teaching to get out of my little Mormon comfort and see what the rest of the world is going through. I see abused, neglected children. Children who are bounced from family to family. I see the result of fetal alcohol. It impacts the way they react to situations. They don't know how to anticipate behavior. We wonder why their behavior does not make sense. They are not connecting in their consciousness. It helps to understand the way the abuse affects them. It helps to understand where the child is coming from.
Melissa Bur: I work in an elementary school. I'm the point person with the teachers. I am the one who talks to the student. My first year I call Children Protected Services or the Police a lot. Since then, I have learned how to help. The best word would be to be an advocate for them. Be the best advocate you can be. Any measure of kindness I can provide for them and they'll latch on to that. Find any kind of kindness. If the only thing they are doing right is breathing, complement them on that.
Many of you have been so kind to my children. Moms are OK, but what is really nice is for the ward family to say something nice. It does make a difference.
Marlene L: What is being an advocate? How do we do that?
Melissa Bur: Be kind even when they do not deserve it. Be a safe place for them.
Of utmost importance to the well-being of children is whether their parents were married, the nature and duration of the marriage, and, more broadly, the culture and expectations of marriage and child care where they live. Two scholars of the family explain: “Throughout history, marriage has first and foremost been an institution for procreation and raising children. It has provided the cultural tie that seeks to connect the father to his children by binding him to the mother of his children. Yet in recent times, children have increasingly been pushed from center stage.”
A Harvard law professor describes the current law and attitude toward marriage and divorce: “The [current] American story about marriage, as told in the law and in much popular literature, goes something like this: marriage is a relationship that exists primarily for the fulfillment of the individual spouses. If it ceases to perform this function, no one is to blame and either spouse may terminate it at will. … Children hardly appear in the story; at most they are rather shadowy characters in the background.”
Our Church leaders have taught that looking “upon marriage as a mere contract that may be entered into at pleasure … and severed at the first difficulty … is an evil meriting severe condemnation,” especially where “children are made to suffer.” And children are impacted by divorces. Over half of the divorces in a recent year involved couples with minor children.
Many children would have had the blessing of being raised by both of their parents if only their parents had followed this inspired teaching in the family proclamation: “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. … Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another.” The most powerful teaching of children is by the example of their parents. Divorcing parents inevitably teach a negative lesson.
There are surely cases when a divorce is necessary for the good of the children, but those circumstances are exceptional. In most marital contests the contending parents should give much greater weight to the interests of the children. With the help of the Lord, they can do so. Children need the emotional and personal strength that come from being raised by two parents who are united in their marriage and their goals. As one who was raised by a widowed mother, I know firsthand that this cannot always be achieved, but it is the ideal to be sought whenever possible.
Children are the first victims of current laws permitting so-called “no-fault divorce.” From the standpoint of children, divorce is too easy. Summarizing decades of social science research, a careful scholar concluded that “the family structure that produces the best outcomes for children, on average, are two biological parents who remain married.” A New York Times writer noted “the striking fact that even as traditional marriage has declined in the United States … the evidence has mounted for the institution’s importance to the well-being of children.” That reality should give important guidance to parents and parents-to-be in their decisions involving marriage and divorce. We also need politicians, policy makers, and officials to increase their attention to what is best for children in contrast to the selfish interests of voters and vocal advocates of adult interests.
Children are also victimized by marriages that do not occur. Few measures of the welfare of our rising generation are more disturbing than the recent report that 41 percent of all births in the United States were to women who were not married. Unmarried mothers have massive challenges, and the evidence is clear that their children are at a significant disadvantage when compared with children raised by married parents.
Most of the children born to unmarried mothers—58 percent—were born to couples who were cohabitating. whatever we may say about these couples’ forgoing marriage, studies show that their children suffer significant comparative disadvantages. For children, the relative stability of marriage matters.
We should assume the same disadvantages for children raised by couples of the same gender. The social science literature is controversial and politically charged on the long-term effect of this on children, principally because, as a New York Times writer observed, “same-sex marriage is a social experiment, and like most experiments it will take time to understand its consequences.”
We are speaking of the children of God, and with His powerful help, we can do more to help them. In this plea I address not only Latter-day Saints but also all persons of religious faith and others who have a value system that causes them to subordinate their own needs to those of others, especially to the welfare of children.
Religious persons are also conscious of the Savior’s New Testament teaching that pure little children are our role models of humility and teachableness:
“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4).
In the Book of Mormon we read of the risen Lord teaching the Nephites that they must repent and be baptized “and become as a little child” or they could not inherit the kingdom of God (3 Nephi 11:38; see also Moroni 8:10).
As I read 3 Nephi 11:38, I notice something about verse 37 also. The Savior in verse 37 says: 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 verse 38: “And again I say unto you, ye must repents, and e baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Why would the Savior repeat these twice?
Elder Oaks goes on to say:
I pray that we will humble ourselves as little children and reach out to protect our little children, for they are the future for us, for our Church, and for our nations. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. And I with him say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I speak from the perspective of the gospel of Jesus Christ, including His plan of salvation. That is my calling. Local Church leaders have responsibility for a single jurisdiction, like a ward or stake, but an Apostle is responsible to witness to the entire world. In every nation, of every race and creed, all children are children of God.
Although I do not speak in terms of politics or public policy, like other Church leaders, I cannot speak for the welfare of children without implications for the choices being made by citizens, public officials, and workers in private organizations. We are all under the Savior’s command to love and care for each other and especially for the weak and defenseless.
Children are highly vulnerable. They have little or no power to protect or provide for themselves and little influence on so much that is vital to their well-being. Children need others to speak for them, and they need decision makers who put their well-being ahead of selfish adult interests.
I.
Worldwide, we are shocked at the millions of children victimized by evil adult crimes and selfishness.In some war-torn countries, children are abducted to serve as soldiers in contending armies.
A United Nations report estimates that over two million children are victimized each year through prostitution and pornography.
From the perspective of the plan of salvation, one of the most serious abuses of children is to deny them birth. This is a worldwide trend. The national birthrate in the United States is the lowest in 25 years, and the birthrates in most European and Asian countries have been below replacement levels for many years. This is not just a religious issue. As rising generations diminish in numbers, cultures and even nations are hollowed out and eventually disappear.
One cause of the diminishing birthrate is the practice of abortion. Worldwide, there are estimated to be more than 40 million abortions per year. Many laws permit or even promote abortion, but to us this is a great evil. Other abuses of children that occur during pregnancy are the fetal impairments that result from the mother’s inadequate nutrition or drug use.
There is a tragic irony in the multitude of children eliminated or injured before birth while throngs of infertile couples long for and seek babies to adopt.
Childhood abuses or neglect of children that occur after birth are more publicly visible. Worldwide, almost eight million children die before their fifth birthday, mostly from diseases both treatable and preventable. And the World Health Organization reports that one in four children have stunted growth, mentally and physically, because of inadequate nutrition. Living and traveling internationally, we Church leaders see much of this. The general presidency of the Primary report children living in conditions “beyond our imaginations.” A mother in the Philippines said: “Sometimes we do not have enough money for food, but that is all right because it gives me the opportunity to teach my children about faith. We gather and pray for relief, and the children see the Lord bless us.” In South Africa, a Primary worker met a little girl, lonely and sad. In faint responses to loving questions, she said she had no mother, no father, and no grandmother—only a grandfather to care for her. Such tragedies are common on a continent where many caregivers have died of AIDS.
Even in rich nations little children and youth are impaired by neglect. Children growing up in poverty have inferior health care and inadequate educational opportunities. They are also exposed to dangerous environments in their physical and cultural surroundings and even from the neglect of their parents. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland recently shared the experience of an LDS police officer. In an investigation he found five young children huddled together and trying to sleep without bedding on a filthy floor in a dwelling where their mother and others were drinking and partying. The apartment had no food to relieve their hunger. After tucking the children into a makeshift bed, the officer knelt and prayed for their protection. As he walked toward the door, one of them, about six, pursued him, grabbed him by the hand, and pleaded, “Will you please adopt me?”
We remember our Savior’s teaching as He placed a little child before His followers and declared:
“And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:5–6).
When we consider the dangers from which children should be protected, we should also include psychological abuse. Parents or other caregivers or teachers or peers who demean, bully, or humiliate children or youth can inflict harm more permanent than physical injury. Making a child or youth feel worthless, unloved, or unwanted can inflict serious and long-lasting injury on his or her emotional well-being and development. Young people struggling with any exceptional condition, including same-gender attraction, are particularly vulnerable and need loving understanding—not bullying or ostracism.
With the help of the Lord, we can repent and change and be more loving and helpful to children—our own and those around us.
Janet T: This lesson is so close to my heart. After I had my 3rd child, I found out that I could not have anymore children. One day the Stake President approached me and said 'I understand that you can't have anymore children. There is this young lady that is pregnant with her third child and if on one adopts this child she will abort it. She has aborted two already, the previous one just three months ago. My husband was in medical school at that time. Our little girl was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. She has done many things that created pain for me. She is a most beautiful girl but has many handicaps that can't be seen. She has been so difficult to deal with. She is the birth mother of my 18 year old son. He too has had his issues because of her problems, but he is doing fine. This talk hits close to home. It is a very serious issue for these babies. It is getting more so for the babies born today.
The Lord is so please with you, Janet. Thank you that you were willing to share.
Ramona B: Several years ago I used to be a nurse, working in Africa area and we used to give peole a bag of rice in the morning and at night bury their babies. We were told to just walk by the infants because they would die. To take care of the 4 year old and older children. The only thing that would sustain me was the knowledge that those babies would go to the Celestial glory.
Lynette: There has been research done on children whose mothers carried full term and gave birth to but who really didn't want them. The emotional rejection of those children show a high percentage of emotional problems. There was this woman who was in a second marriage who didn't want any more children, but because her husband had never had children she decided to go ahead and get pregnant. She resented the pregnancy. The research shows that the chemicals of the results of not wanting the child affects the child.
Thank you Lynette for your comment.
Cheryl N: I have learned from teaching to get out of my little Mormon comfort and see what the rest of the world is going through. I see abused, neglected children. Children who are bounced from family to family. I see the result of fetal alcohol. It impacts the way they react to situations. They don't know how to anticipate behavior. We wonder why their behavior does not make sense. They are not connecting in their consciousness. It helps to understand the way the abuse affects them. It helps to understand where the child is coming from.
Melissa Bur: I work in an elementary school. I'm the point person with the teachers. I am the one who talks to the student. My first year I call Children Protected Services or the Police a lot. Since then, I have learned how to help. The best word would be to be an advocate for them. Be the best advocate you can be. Any measure of kindness I can provide for them and they'll latch on to that. Find any kind of kindness. If the only thing they are doing right is breathing, complement them on that.
Many of you have been so kind to my children. Moms are OK, but what is really nice is for the ward family to say something nice. It does make a difference.
Marlene L: What is being an advocate? How do we do that?
Melissa Bur: Be kind even when they do not deserve it. Be a safe place for them.
II.
There are few examples of physical or emotional threats to children as important as those arising out of their relationships with their parents or guardians. President Thomas S. Monson has spoken of what he called the “vile deeds” of child abuse, where a parent has broken or disfigured a child, physically or emotionally. I grieved as I had to study the shocking evidence of such cases during my service on the Utah Supreme Court.Of utmost importance to the well-being of children is whether their parents were married, the nature and duration of the marriage, and, more broadly, the culture and expectations of marriage and child care where they live. Two scholars of the family explain: “Throughout history, marriage has first and foremost been an institution for procreation and raising children. It has provided the cultural tie that seeks to connect the father to his children by binding him to the mother of his children. Yet in recent times, children have increasingly been pushed from center stage.”
A Harvard law professor describes the current law and attitude toward marriage and divorce: “The [current] American story about marriage, as told in the law and in much popular literature, goes something like this: marriage is a relationship that exists primarily for the fulfillment of the individual spouses. If it ceases to perform this function, no one is to blame and either spouse may terminate it at will. … Children hardly appear in the story; at most they are rather shadowy characters in the background.”
Our Church leaders have taught that looking “upon marriage as a mere contract that may be entered into at pleasure … and severed at the first difficulty … is an evil meriting severe condemnation,” especially where “children are made to suffer.” And children are impacted by divorces. Over half of the divorces in a recent year involved couples with minor children.
Many children would have had the blessing of being raised by both of their parents if only their parents had followed this inspired teaching in the family proclamation: “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. … Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another.” The most powerful teaching of children is by the example of their parents. Divorcing parents inevitably teach a negative lesson.
There are surely cases when a divorce is necessary for the good of the children, but those circumstances are exceptional. In most marital contests the contending parents should give much greater weight to the interests of the children. With the help of the Lord, they can do so. Children need the emotional and personal strength that come from being raised by two parents who are united in their marriage and their goals. As one who was raised by a widowed mother, I know firsthand that this cannot always be achieved, but it is the ideal to be sought whenever possible.
Children are the first victims of current laws permitting so-called “no-fault divorce.” From the standpoint of children, divorce is too easy. Summarizing decades of social science research, a careful scholar concluded that “the family structure that produces the best outcomes for children, on average, are two biological parents who remain married.” A New York Times writer noted “the striking fact that even as traditional marriage has declined in the United States … the evidence has mounted for the institution’s importance to the well-being of children.” That reality should give important guidance to parents and parents-to-be in their decisions involving marriage and divorce. We also need politicians, policy makers, and officials to increase their attention to what is best for children in contrast to the selfish interests of voters and vocal advocates of adult interests.
Children are also victimized by marriages that do not occur. Few measures of the welfare of our rising generation are more disturbing than the recent report that 41 percent of all births in the United States were to women who were not married. Unmarried mothers have massive challenges, and the evidence is clear that their children are at a significant disadvantage when compared with children raised by married parents.
Most of the children born to unmarried mothers—58 percent—were born to couples who were cohabitating. whatever we may say about these couples’ forgoing marriage, studies show that their children suffer significant comparative disadvantages. For children, the relative stability of marriage matters.
We should assume the same disadvantages for children raised by couples of the same gender. The social science literature is controversial and politically charged on the long-term effect of this on children, principally because, as a New York Times writer observed, “same-sex marriage is a social experiment, and like most experiments it will take time to understand its consequences.”
III.
I have spoken for children—children everywhere. Some may reject some of these examples, but none should resist the plea that we unite to increase our concern for the welfare and future of our children—the rising generation.We are speaking of the children of God, and with His powerful help, we can do more to help them. In this plea I address not only Latter-day Saints but also all persons of religious faith and others who have a value system that causes them to subordinate their own needs to those of others, especially to the welfare of children.
Religious persons are also conscious of the Savior’s New Testament teaching that pure little children are our role models of humility and teachableness:
“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4).
In the Book of Mormon we read of the risen Lord teaching the Nephites that they must repent and be baptized “and become as a little child” or they could not inherit the kingdom of God (3 Nephi 11:38; see also Moroni 8:10).
As I read 3 Nephi 11:38, I notice something about verse 37 also. The Savior in verse 37 says: 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 verse 38: “And again I say unto you, ye must repents, and e baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Why would the Savior repeat these twice?
Elder Oaks goes on to say:
I pray that we will humble ourselves as little children and reach out to protect our little children, for they are the future for us, for our Church, and for our nations. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. And I with him say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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