"A Little Child Shall Lead Them"

Last night, as I hurried home from a long day at work, I decided to prepare myself for the next morning, when I would do it all over again, by filling up with a tank of gas. Typically, when I notice that there are lines at all of the pumps, I will hold off or go to another gas station, especially being as tired as I was feeling, but I decided to make the stop anyway. I pulled into the pumping lane behind another crossover or SUV type vehicle. It appeared that the gentleman pumping gas would soon be finished as I put my vehicle in park and waited. Just then, I noticed that there was a homeless gentleman digging in the garbage can at that very pump. It looked like he was intent on finding something, but oddly enough, he was not begging for money or anything from anyone. Typically that is what we find; people going from pump to pump looking for loose change or anything to help out. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a young man jump out of the passenger side door of the car in front of me. He scurried up to his father who was finishing up with pumping the fuel still, and verbalized something with a bit of enthusiasm. There was an inquisition of some sort. The father acknowledged the child's question, hesitated ever so slightly, and then affirmed the child's desire to do what he had requested. The young teenage boy then opened the rear passenger door of the vehicle and dug around for a few seconds. A moment later he popped his head out of the car with something else in his grasp. It was a burrito or taco. Perhaps they had just stopped for food for themselves on the way home. But that young man, then eagerly walked up to the homeless gentleman and offered him the food. The man accepted! The child walked away filled with pride and joy; filled with the spirit of Christ! Both the father and son then drove off after hopping in their car and I pulled forward to take their place and begin fueling. I asked the homeless gentleman what he was looking for, to which he showed me a garbage bag and stated "cans". He said they were worth a fair amount and he was willing to put in the work to look for them and collect them, so more power to him! I asked if he had anything to drink, as I had no cash to offer, and he had just gotten that burrito, so a beverage seemed fitting. But, the man told me he had something to drink. Later, the pump attendant kicked him off the property which I protested as he was causing no harm and not even pestering any of the patrons. The attendant agreed but said his boss told him he had to make him leave the property. How unfortunate!

The picture of that young man, happily and excitedly going up to his father and asking permission to be charitable is still seared in my mind! The words from Isaiah come to my mind as I ponder the magnitude of such an act. They read: "And a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6) The reference, though not specifically pointing towards such things, does give one pause. Children are precious in the sight of God, and in the Last Days they will work many miracles and even teach us the way at times, I believe.

In a talk given by President Monson a few years ago, he tells a story of a family who had become less active in the LDS church, but decided to go visit Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah…

Last summer I received a letter from a woman who has emerged from a long period of Church inactivity. She is ever so anxious for her husband, who as yet is not a member of the Church, to share the joy she now feels.

She wrote of a trip which she, her husband, and their three sons made from the family home to Grandmother’s home in Idaho. While driving through Salt Lake City, they were attracted by the message which appeared on a billboard. The message invited them to visit Temple Square. Bob, the nonmember husband, made the suggestion that a visit would be pleasant. The family entered the visitors’ center, and Father took two sons up a ramp that one called “the ramp to heaven.” Mother and three-year-old Tyler were a bit behind the others, they having paused to appreciate the beautiful paintings which adorned the walls. As they walked toward the magnificent sculpture of Thorvaldsen’s Christus, tiny Tyler bolted from his mother and ran to the base of the Christus, while exclaiming, “It’s Jesus! It’s Jesus!” As Mother attempted to restrain her son, Tyler looked back toward her and his father and said, “Don’t worry. He likes children.”

After departing the center and again making their way along the freeway toward Grandmother’s, Tyler moved to the front seat next to his father. Dad asked him what he liked best about their adventure on Temple Square. Tyler smiled up at him and said, “Jesus.”

“How do you know that Jesus likes you, Tyler?”

Tyler, with a most serious expression on his face, looked up at his father’s eyes and answered, “Dad, didn’t you see his face?” Nothing else needed to be said.

President Monson continues:

As I read this account, I thought of the statement from the book of Isaiah: “And a little child shall lead them.” (Isa. 11:6.)

The words of a Primary hymn express the feelings of a child’s heart:

Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear,

Things I would ask him to tell me if he were here.

Scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea,

Stories of Jesus, tell them to me.

Oh, let me hear how the children stood round his knee.

I shall imagine his blessings resting on me;

Words full of kindness, deeds full of grace,

All in the lovelight of Jesus’ face.

I know of no more touching passage in scripture than the account of the Savior blessing the children, as recorded in 3 Nephi. The Master spoke movingly to the vast multitude of men, women, and children. Then, responding to their faith and the desire that He tarry longer, He invited them to bring to Him their lame, their blind, and their sick, that He might heal them. With joy they accepted His invitation. The record reveals that “he did heal them every one.” (3 Ne. 17:9.) There followed His mighty prayer to His Father. The multitude bore record: “The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father.” (3 Ne. 17:16.)

Concluding this magnificent event, Jesus “wept, … and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.…“And he spake 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 … ; and they came down and encircled those little ones … ; and the angels did minister unto them.” (3 Ne. 17:21, 23–24.)

Children are a blessing! They are here to learn and to grow. They are here to fulfill their duties to their God. And they are most certainly here to teach us, as much as they are here to learn from us. We are all here to help each other make our way back to our heavenly home. Jesus Christ showed us all the way in which we ought to live, in order to return to live with our Father in Heaven, and receive all that He has. The child, whom I witnessed displaying such love and kindness towards the homeless gentleman also gave me something to model and a memory to hold dear in my heart. If we were to become like so many children, all around us, we would be perfect and Christlike in every way!

In the spirit of the season, I hope that we may all feel the love of Jesus Christ, our Savior, fill our hearts and homes! May it be something that brings great peace, warmth, and light! May it enliven within each of us, the desire to share that same love with another. The love of Jesus Christ is a gift which continues forever! There is no beginning and there will be no end of days to its power. It is my prayer that I may become more like the littlest among us, those of whom the prophets said would lead us, even our children!