By Greg Christiansen
“Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me; And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost.” – D&C 50:41-42
Children make a lot of mistakes. They continually blunder. Such is just the nature of being a child. They do many wrongs, not because they have any evil in their little hearts, but because their lack of understanding causes them to get in trouble. Children simply have a great deal of ignorance, lacking in both knowledge and wisdom. So children will break pretty things that they were not supposed to play with, and will pull their sister’s hair because she took their toy, and they will eat the bowl full of berries that was set aside so that mom could make jam and not so they could make a mess of their faces.
Yet despite all the many wrongs that little children do, they are welcome in the heavenly courts. Indeed, not only are they welcome there, but they are our role models in the gospel of Jesus Christ about how we too can be welcome in heaven. As the Lord declared, “whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God” (3 Nephi 9:22). The kingdom of God is a place of children, and so if we desire to be welcome residents of that kingdom then we too must maintain a childlike status of innocence.
This should help us realize that salvation is not about the sum total of our righteous works, but it is about the sum total of our innocence. Despite all their many blunderings, children maintain their innocence before the Lord. His grace is sufficient for them. To me, this is perhaps the most beautiful thing about the Atonement. Not only does it reach out to save the rebellious who have a change of heart and lay down their weapons of war, but it also provides a blanket of safety for all of us who blunder again and again in this life simply because we haven’t yet figured out all the various aspects of righteousness, or because we are sometimes weaker and more foolish than we want to be.
While little children come in all shapes and sizes, having their many unique ways in which they blunder through their childhoods, the attribute that all children seem to share is their humility, as the Savior pointed out. Children simply know that there are much more powerful people in the house than them, namely mom and dad. Indeed, the idea of a proud five year-old, who thinks he is all that and a bag of chips, and who thinks he has greater wisdom and understanding than his parents…well, the thought is somewhat ridiculous.
Indeed, I remember years ago being a little startled by a comment one of my daughters made when she was about twelve, which emphasized this sort of point. She had just asked me a question, and I replied by saying, “How would I know the answer to that?” She then said, “But, you’re dad.” Somehow, her preteen mind still believed that I knew everything. In a way, when it came to our relationship, her position was always one of humility by default, because she always trusted in the idea that I knew more than she did. Of course, then something happens by the time kids become teenagers, when many of them decide their parents are no longer so knowledgeable or wise, and they instead rely on their own understanding of things and sometimes even rebel. (Though let me point out that my teenagers are still very well behaved, in case this ever gets back to them.)
Yet I think there is more than meekness and submissiveness that makes little children so wonderful. There is simply a purity to their hearts that prevents their many blunders from ever being sinful. Indeed, we often chuckle at the blunders of children, finding humor in their mischief. We tend not to give that same leeway to adults, often assuming instead that “they should know better.” Sometimes, it even seems obvious that blundering adults should know better, yet I wonder if such an assumption is part of what makes us so often prone to being judgmental.
The truth is that all of us are still very prone to making very many blunders, as even the wisest of us adults falls well shy of the great wisdom of God. For this reason, it seems to me that we should be much more willing to give people the benefit of the doubt than we typically do, when they act in a way that we don’t approve of. After all, righteousness is not just a matter of doing the right thing, but righteousness also requires that we do it for the right reason. Our intentions matter. They don’t just matter, but they’re an absolutely critical aspect of righteousness. The Savior taught this truth when He spoke of the day of judgment, saying, “Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (3 Nephi 14:22-23).
In other words, we can show up at the gates of heaven with a long resume of righteous works, and yet still be turned away as a “worker of iniquity.” Ultimately, the Lord is not just concerned with what we do, but He is perhaps more concerned with why we do it. For example, while I was working on this essay, my wife sat down next to me and bumped her knee against mine, which actually hurt quite a bit. Yet I would be a fool to think it was evil of her to sit next to me, because of the pain I was feeling in my knee. Instead, it would be right of me to honor her desire to be close to me, and to recognize the love that was behind her blunder of hurting my knee.
I would imagine that we often cause the Lord pain, in our desires to get closer to Him, yet when we do so I am confident His heart recognizes our good intentions more so than our blunder, even if He at times might rebuke us for it. Surely this was the case when the Lord rebuked Peter for cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest, on the night the Lord was arrested. Surely the Lord recognized that Peter was motivated by His love for Him, though he may have acted contrary to what the Lord wanted in that moment.
I am reminded of something that Julie Rowe once said to me, which has stuck with me ever since. She said that our intentions determine the energy of something. For example, if I speak a word with love and reverence in my heart, then the energy of that word will be good, having a high frequency. Yet if I speak the same word with anger or hatred in my heart, then the word will have a negative energy to it, notwithstanding it being the exact same word. In other words, our intentions give energy to things, affecting the impact of what we say and do in a very real way.
Ultimately, our intentions matter. They define the energy that we are sending out to the world. Surely, this was a key difference between Christ and Lucifer in premortality. When the Savior offered to be our Redeemer, He did so because of His love for us. His intention was not to elevate Himself, or to be self serving. Instead, He would say, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Moses 4:2). To the contrary, Lucifer said, “Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor” (Moses 4:1). He offered to do a great work, and yet revealed his purpose in wishing to do it also. His intentions were self serving, and surely his offer to save us had a very different feeling to it than the Lord’s offer.
Indeed, our intentions are often the very thing which define whether an act is righteous or wicked. For example, if I offer my bread to a hungry man because I see that he is hungry and needs bread, then I have done a good work in offering my bread. Yet if I offer my bread to a hungry man because there are people watching me, and I want them to think I am charitable, then my good work was one of vanity and not charity, even though it is the exact same action as in the other case. Or if I offer my bread because I see that the man is fasting and I want to tempt him to break his fast so that I will feel better about not having fasted myself, then my work is wicked.
In this same spirit, Moroni taught that all good works are vain, if they are not done with good intentions, saying, “For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness” (Moroni 7:6-7). This is why the Savior will be justified in the day of judgment to turn away some who come to him with long resumes of “good works.”
Perhaps this idea is easiest to understand in terms of our monetary contributions to the Lord, as that can be a very quantifiable part of living the Gospel. Essentially, we should plainly recognize that we cannot bribe our way into heaven by being generous in our tithes and fast offerings, or by donating large sums of money to charities. At the end of the day, the widow’s mite will have more value than all of our generous offerings, if we do not give those things with fullness of heart. Paul touched on this idea when he said, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
This principle is true for all things that we do. Though we blunder like children, doing wrong because we do not understand the righteous course, if our intentions are good then we will maintain our childlike innocence before the Lord. At the same time, true righteousness requires both knowledge and good intentions, and though the Lord will cover our ignorant blundering with His atoning grace, He also expects us to grow in light and in truth, so that we may have understanding, so that we may increasingly know how to act before Him. In His words, “Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth” (D&C 50:40).
At the end of the day, surely it is better to make mistakes while having the best of intentions than to accidentally do good, though it was not our intention. We are all of us children, who are here to learn the ways of our Father and our Mother. Let us do our best to maintain our childlike innocence before the Lord, continually submitting to Him with real intent, as His will for us is whispered to our minds and hearts by the Spirit of Truth.
Let us also recognize that we are surrounded by children, who often blunder just as we do, and so we should be patient with their many blunderings, so that we never forget to be kind and loving. Lastly, let us recognize that being children is not an excuse to continue in our blundering, but that every new bit of light and knowledge brings with it greater accountability to act not just with righteous intention, but also with righteous action. As the scriptures declare, “For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts” (D&C 137:9). Ultimately, perfect righteousness is the marriage of good works with good intentions.
When I was a child
I laughed and I smiled
I sang and I played
Every single moment
of every single day
I said what I meant
And meant what I said
Forgot and forgave
Because the only thing
Really matters is love
Little child, please stay gold
Don’t you change when you grow old
You are perfect the way you are
Your shine brighter than the stars
Then I grew up
I got it all wrong
I doubted myself
Believed I didn’t belong
Now I’m too old and
Weighed down by gold
But maybe there’s hope
Maybe we can all just become
Like little children again
Little child, take my hand
Lead me too your promised land
Teach me how to be a friend
Show me how to live again
Like a little child
So meek and mild
So full of love
So innocent
Beautiful, Greg! Thank you for the reminder about the power and importance of our intent. Once again, you have helped me refine my focus on Christ.
I really like the analogies, and examples that help illustrate your points. Thanks for the references to the different energies of intent.
Thank you for that reminder, I was in need of it!☺️
Thank you for this Insight on energy good or bad. And of how precious children are to us and our Savior.
Thank you Greg,
when a energy storm hits me, I get thrown into the whirl wind of it all and loose perspective for a time.
“Though we blunder like children, doing wrong because we do not understand the righteous course, if our intentions are good then we will maintain our childlike innocence before the Lord.”
The principle spoken here, has helped bring me back to shore!
Lots of love for you all, “The Collective” one with Jesus!
Thank you Greg. This helped to clarify how important is our intent.
When I read this of course I applied it to myself. I need to have commission for myself. I appreciate your insights. I also thought of church leaders and how quick we can judge their actions whether good or bad without knowing the intents of the heart. Leave judgment to the Lord. Discerning hearts is his domain. That is the biggest take away for me! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
Hebrews 10:14-18 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Because of my work schedule there is much I miss. Greg, your article is one of them. Just now had a chance to read and ponder your thoughtful words. May the Lord continue to bless you with insights into scriptural understanding.
Eric mentioned the Hebrew understanding to vain worship which has also been my understanding. The spirit whispered to me a long time ago how vain is misapplied in general. In vain people use the name of the Lord because they use his name but not with real intent and not for the right reason. In the very first chapter of Isaiah the Lord condemns the evil practices of the Jewish people. When you read the chapter heading it reads in part. “Israel is apostate, rebellious, and corrupt…Their sacrifices and feasts are rejected…” Why are their sacred oblations corrupt? Because they don’t do them with righteous intent and for the right reason. In other words, as you have observed, doing the right thing for the wrong reason is a vain oblation before God and he condemns such practice. starting with verse 13. ” Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.” This is the same as your observed in the sermon at temple square at Bountiful by the Savior. As you know, the JST changes the words to “…You never knew me…”. Again, doing the right things for the wrong reason is an abomination before the Lord.
Thanks again Greg, Verlan.