Becoming As A Little Child

How to become like a little child...according to the scriptures.

Matthew 18:1-14

 1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

 6 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.

 7 ¶Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

 10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

 11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

 12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

 13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Doctrine & Covenants 78:17-18

 17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

 18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

Mosiah 3:19: For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

Why we need to become like little children:
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

How are we like little children? 
We are like little children because we cannot be saved without the Savior. Without Him, we are lost. Also, we are like little children because we cannot possibly understand how great are the blessings our Heavenly Father has in store for us.


How will the Lord help us?
The Lord will lead us along and prepare the kingdom and our endless blessings for us.

Ways we can become like little children: 

• By yielding to the enticing of the Spirit
• By putting off the natural man 
• Becoming submissive
• Becoming meek
• Being humble
• Being patient
• By being full of love
• By being willing to submit to all things the Lord inflicts upon us
• By our obedience

We must strive to exemplify the humility, patience, and innocence of a little child. For all little children will enter the kingdom of heaven, which is of course, our ultimate goal.