Children

There is in what we believe and teach
We counsel, command and even warn
That unto children our love should reach
To protect, care for, and also inform

In the Andes Mountains of Peru
During a sacrament meeting
A small boy, for food, came to peruse
But was shood away without a greeting

Yet, hopeful, the boy crept along the wall
Looking at me and then at the bread
Then he ran to my arms to sit still and small
In the speakers chair that stood at the head

What could he need more than bread crumbs?
A feeling of belonging and home?
And of something familiar as the spirit comes
There to know that all along, he'd not been alone?

For, though here sat an orphan, but a child
He had been created of God, with royal birth
And deserved an entrance through the main aisle
To be welcomed by arms that saw his great worth

And from that experience, I have gained
A place in my heart for that ragged boy
I see him oft in the faces of those who're pained
Whose eyes question "why?" and who know nought of joy

Oh, how great is the need to show God's love
And treat each child as though they're the best
Why would you want to abuse, neglect or shove
Our future leaders in whom we should invest?

Shall we not give them milk and then meat
And more- how to be nourished on their own?
Shall we not save for them, next to us a seat
And give them what they need the most until they are grown?


President Boyd K. Packer
Children
Liahona, July 2002, 7

D&C 19:22
For they cannot bear meat now,
but milk they must receive;
wherefore, they must not know these things,
lest they perish.

D&C 50:40.
Behold, ye are little children
and ye cannot bear all things now;
ye must grow in grace
and in the knowledge of the truth.


nought
Synonyms:
0, cipher, cypher, zero

Four Steps to Learning

There are four steps to learning
(For knowledge comes through earning)
First, have a desiring mind
That's of an inquiring kind
Then, one must study out
What needs to come about?
And, with daily practice
The application's noticed
Then, while engaged in prayer
Ask that wisdom be made bare

For the discovering of goals
Choose models with good roles
Also, nourish your faith
And seek what scriptures sayeth
Learning can be misused
If not spiritually enthused
As there's a divine decree
To obtain that high degree
The way to revelation
Comes by way of invitation

Learn the law of the kingdom
Of your own activity
Then utilize the scriptures
To measure each thought and deed

There's divine direction
To see another way
Step by step t'wards perfection
There's truths to embrace each day

Russell M. Nelson
Four Steps to Learning
Tambuli, Sept 1989, 39

A Special Experience

A heartfelt special experience
Adds to a spiritual treasury
For enlightened exuberance
That grows to become quite savory

So too, challenges and trials
Test as well as teach us how to cope
And, empathy comes after awhile
To help those in need to find new hope

And as the good and bad more combine
Building blocks of convictions stack
And testimonies grow up in time
That of, otherwise, we would lack

And these events are like embers
To feel the spirit of God burning
That us, His weak and the simple members
May know His love is there for our learning


Elder Ronald A. Rasband
Special Experiences
Ensign, May 2008, 11

Never Give Up, Never

Never give up, never
Persevere to the end
Why would you risk or want to sever
The hope of fullness with our Lord, our friend

The course is the easy way
When the goal stays within sight
Even when there comes a trial of faith
And there's sorrow, temptation and blight

This opposition helps us
So that we'll not be passive
But ever following Jesus
There is help He alone can give

For us, He has paved the course
Through His suffering and death
He knows our every sorrow and remorse
And each pitfall to the very depth

He will endow us with gifts
If we but remain true and sure
Having His Spirit in us uplifts
And strengthens us so that we'll endure

May we more learn to be like Him
And seek to know the Father's will
When there's lost sheep, may we tend them
For we've each a course to fulfill

Joseph B. Wirthlin
Never Give Up
Ensign, Nov 1987, 8

Why Have God's Word and Teachers?

Why have God's Word and teachers?
But, that we might attain
A measure of the stature
Of our Lord who ever reigns

A teacher of the world would
Train us how to learn new things
But, it's more for our final good
To grow through what the spirit brings

In death, all of our works and deeds
And, the desires of our heart's will
Be used to determine what needs be
For whate'er we are now, we will be still

If we were filthy- 

we will be filthy
If we were righteous- 

we will be righteous

As we are judged 

by all that's in us

The selfish and disobedient
May be found tremendously smart
But, to God, they've been inconsistent
As, He was not oft found inside their heart

Every thought, and each spoken word
And, everything we chose to do
Will be seen as well as heard
And, we will need to be spotless, too

For, if we're not- we'll not dare
To look upon God, face to face
As everything about us is made bare
How we will need Christ's redeeming grace!

Growing in conversion, 

Overcoming strife

Learning and gaining

Eternal Truths of Light

On a path to become

Ever closer to the Son 

For when we've a testimony of God
It's been revealed by our Father in Heaven
That, as new creatures we might develop
Humility to forgive, seventy times seven

Converted as one baptized, washed clean anew
Seeking to walk along a covenant path of faith
Loving one another to humbly befriend
Giving from all we have and are to consecrate

Growing in conversion

Overcoming strife

Learning and growing
Living a Christ-like life

On a path to become

Ever closer to the Son

Elder Dallin H. Oaks
The Challenge to Become
LDS Devotion

Why have God's Word and teachers?
But, that we might attain
A measure from the stature
Of our Lord who ever reigns

A teacher of the world would
Teach us to know something
But, it's more for our final good
To grow and come to know new things

In death, all of our works and deeds
And, the desires of our heart's will
Be used to determine what needs be
For whate'er we are now, we will be still

The selfish and disobedient
May be found tremendously smart
But, to God, they've been inconsistent
As, He was not oft found inside their heart

Every thought, and each spoken word
And, everything that we did do
Will be seen as well as heard
And, we will need to be spotless, too

For, if we're not- we'll not dare
To look upon God face to face
As everything about us is made bare
And we feel the shame of disgrace!

"The fullness of the Father" promises
An inheritance of eternal life
And to achieve this, our greatest test is
Growing in conversion, overcoming strife

Converted as one baptized, washed clean anew
Seeking to walk along a covenant path of faith
Loving one another to humbly befriend
Giving from all they have and are to consecrate

Knowledge

Knowledge is power in the world today
Or so that is what most people say
So why play about and waste all your time
You've a long way up and you must climb

A Wealthy Father Knew

A wealthy father knew
What his child really needed
First, wisdom and stature, too
Must be taught and must be heeded

In good standing among men
This father had wealth and position
But, what of his son? What would cause him
To go through this process of conversion?

The father challenged the son
To learn all the things he had learned
And do all the things he had done
That, he'd see and know what he must earn

At last, came the day of measuring
What had the son done and become?
What he'd been taught, was he treasuring?
Well, he'd mastered the challenge. He'd won!

All the father's life work
Would not be lost or wasted
As from labor the boy did not shirk
And on his servants, he waited

Humble and willing
Persistent and giving
The son fought off greed
And served beyond his needs

The father in delight
Could now retire
For now all was right
With his hearts desire

The sum total of good and evil acts
Shows best of what we've become
It's not based on knowledge or facts
Whether we're fit for a royal kingdom

Elder Dallin H. Oaks
The Challenge to Becom
LDS Devotional