The Worth of a Child

As the father of seven children and the grandfather of seventeen, I have grown to understand the beauty, importance and eternal worth of children in our lives. I was born of goodly parents. They taught me so many principles of life and what would bring me happiness in my life. Their example of how they lived their lives was as powerful as what they verbally taught me.

I grew to know that I was not only a son of earthly parents, but also a cherished

son of a loving Heavenly Father.

Becoming a father deepened my knowledge and understanding of how valuable and important we are to God, our Heavenly Father as His spiritual sons and daughters.

The Holy Scriptures provide many examples of how important and loved our Heavenly Father’s children are. God’s instructions on caring for children inspire me to improve and reflect upon my personal worth in his eyes.

In the gospel of Matthew, the disciples of Christ asked him who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He answered them by having a child come forward and stand by his side and He stated:

“Verily I say unto you, except ye become 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 the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

“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 18:4-6).

The Book of Mormon shares the account of Christ’s visit to the ancient American continent, shortly after His resurrection in the holy land. He gathered the people together and He healed their sick, their lame and afflicted. Then He commanded that their little children should be brought forth and encircled about Him on the ground. Then the whole multitude kneeled down and the Savior prayed unto the Father. And so great were the things that He prayed that they could not be written. When the Savior made and end of praying He arose and said unto them, “Blessed are ye because of your faith and now my joy is full.” And when He said these words, He wept. 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. Then He spoke 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 the angels did minister unto them.

Our Savior so loved the little ones because they were so pure and innocent like Him. The prophet Mormon taught that children are redeemed from the Fall of Adam through Christ’s Atonement. Not having reached the age of accountability, they had no sin, for they incapable of understanding God’s law. (Moroni Chapter 8)

The Savior also taught that the natural man is an enemy to God and will be forever unless he yields to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and puts off the natural man and becomes as a little child, submissive, meek, humble, patient and full of love

(Mosiah 3:19).

Through studying these scriptures and many others touching on children, I know just how special children are to our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ.

I realize that throughout the ages that the “natural man,” the “enemy to God,” has abused God’s sons and daughters emotionally, physically and sexually. Knowing just how precious children are in the sight of God makes this abuse the most abominable act and sin of humankind. Children who are abused are of NO LESS WORTH in the eyes of their Heavenly Father because of the tragedy that was inflicted upon them. These children, even those who are now adults, can receive healing from abuse. Their Savior knows their pains and is the source of their healing in this life. Their life can get better and be fulfilling. The spiritual scarring (memory) that remains also will have an end. Whenever the abused passes through to veil from mortal life into the spirit world, they will be met by the Savior and embraced by His loving arms. The power of His atonement will erase the memory in that tender embrace.

I recently attended the Stewards of Children child abuse prevention training through Darkness to Light. It reopened my eyes to what is occurring in our society with our children. I was happy to know there are people and organizations dedicated to “empowering adults to prevent child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and stigma reduction.” (www.D2L.org) I realized we all have the responsibility to learn how to protect the children in our lives from abuse, what to do when a child discloses abuse, and how to create rules and boundaries to intervene when we witness or experience discomfort.

If you would like to attend a Stewards of Children training, Raising Our Children with Kindness (R.O.C.K) Mat-Su presents monthly, or you can do the training online. For links to register and other resources for child sexual abuse prevention, go to bit.ly/ROCKpCSA (case sensitive). Or, see www.rockmatsu.org for upcoming opportunities.

Barry Willardson is a father and grandfather and has lived in Palmer with his family for 26 years. He likes genealogy, golf and the great Alaska outdoors. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.