As a Little Child

3 Nephi 9 – Christ's voice appears to the people in the darkness. He testifies of himself and the destruction is his doing. He tells them that the reason they were not destroyed was because they were more righteous than those who were destroyed. He calls them to repent and (v13) “. . . return unto me. . .” If they do, they will have eternal life (v14).

How do we come unto Christ? Joseph Smith from Lectures on Faith said, “Let me here observe that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things has not the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation . . . salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things.” Am I willing to sacrifice? Do I?

In verse 20, that sacrifice is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Christ doesn't want their burnt offerings any more. The only thing we can sacrifice is our “will”. Then in verse 22, as he calls them to repent and come unto Him, he says, “as a little child”. Little children do not understand. They do what they are asked because they trust their parents. We are asked to do no more than that. We must trust the Lord and have the faith to turn away from all things of this world to claim the blessings promised of a better world.

Some feel they must understand everything before they can do what is required of them. If they don't, they give up and are swept away in the current of worldly attractions. Our real challenge is to have the faith of a little child sufficient to save us from being destroyed and not worthy of claiming our celestial promises. The blessings come after the trial of our faith. I know this was true in my own conversion. I knew I was miserable and I saw others enjoying their lives. I started eliminating those behaviors that were inconsistent with the gospel. Some were not huge changes, but line upon line, I was blessed for my efforts until I could see the cause and effect. The Lord wants to bless us. He wants us to be happy. I know it grieves him to see us suffer, but there is a process and we must follow that process. The Lord has a plan for each of us. When we go against that plan, we reap nothing but heartache and sorrow. We can expect nothing more than what the wicked received when the Savior destroyed the evil in the land.