The Blessings of Being Like a Little Child

"For the ^anatural ^bman is an ^cenemy to God, and has been from the ^dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he ^eyields to the enticings of the Holy ^fSpirit, and ^gputteth off the ^hnatural man and becometh a ⁱsaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a ^jchild, ^ksubmissive, 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."         ---  King Benjamin (ca 200-121 BC), quoted in Mosiah 3:19

This single verse is full of meaning.  The Church of Jesus Christ Institute of Religion Book of Mormon Student Manual devotes three pages to discussing chapter 3 (end of 138 through 142), two of which focus just on verse 19.  If you know me, you know I love King Benjamin.  He is terrific example of a good leader.  He tried to serve those he led, to make their burdens lighter, and to not ask them to do anything he would not do himself.  In particular, he devoted his lifetime to working side by side with them.

Here are a few specific thoughts on verse 19:

The manual (bottom of page 139) teaches us that the scriptural meaning of the natural man is one that is sinful. "Though born innocent (see D&C 93:38), all men, through the Fall of Adam, come into a fallen world and into a state of spiritual death (see Alma 42:9), separated from the presence of God. Knowing good and evil (see Moses 4:11; 5:11) and living in this imperfect state, all men sin (see Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8, 10) and experience a resultant “fall” of their own (see Moses 6:49, 55). In other words, it is through transgression of God’s law that one becomes a “natural man” (see Alma 42:10, 12; D&C 20:20). Hence, a natural man is an enemy to God (see Mosiah 3:19 ) until he qualifies for the cleansing influence of the Atonement through living the commandments of God (see Mosiah 3:11–12, 19 )."

A couple paragraphs later on page 140, Elder Quentin L. Cook is quoted on what it means "to becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord".  "The word saint in Greek denotes set apart, separate, [and] holy’ [in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. (1992), 3:1249]. If we are to be Saints in our day, we need to separate ourselves from evil conduct and destructive pursuits that are prevalent in the world."

This brings us to the practical part of this discussion.  In order to put off the natural man and become a saint, two things are required:  the atonement of Christ the Lord and  becoming "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."  (we're still quoting from the same verse 19  -- there really is a lot here!)

I really enjoy what President Henry B. Eyring had to say about this in the April 2006 General Conference:  (The italics are mine for emphasis.)

“King Benjamin makes it clear how we can . . . have our natures changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That is the only way we can build on the sure foundation and so stand firm in righteousness during the storms of temptation.

“King Benjamin describes that change with a beautiful comparison, used by prophets for millennia and by the Lord Himself. It is this: that we can, and we must, become as a child—a little child.  “For some that will not be easy to understand or to accept. Most of us want to be strong. We may well see being like a child as being weak. . . .

“But King Benjamin, who understood as well as any mortal what it meant to be a man of strength and courage, makes it clear that to be like a child is not to be childish. It is to be like the Savior, who prayed to His Father for strength to be able to do His will and then did it.  Our natures must be changed to become as a child to gain the strength we must have to be safe in the times of moral peril. . . .

“We are safe on the rock which is the Savior when we have yielded in faith in Him, have responded to the Holy Spirit’s direction to keep the commandments long enough and faithfully enough that the power of the Atonement has changed our hearts. When we have, by that experience, become as a child in our capacity to love and obey, we are on the sure foundation.

“From King Benjamin we learn what we can do to take us to that safe place. But remember: the things we do are the means, not the end we seek. What we do allows the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change us into what we must be. Our faith in Jesus Christ brings us to repentance and to keeping His commandments.

We obey and we resist temptation by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. In time our natures will change. We will become as a little child, obedient to God and more loving. That change, if we do all we must to keep it, will qualify us to enjoy the gifts which come through the Holy Ghost. Then we will be safe on the only sure rock.”

From that perspective, Christ was the ultimate "little child".  What a great example He is!