"Behold Your Little Ones."

One of the most magestic and poignant moments of the Book of Mormon is the account of the ressurected Jesus Christ appearing to the inhabitants of the new world shortly after his ressurection and ascension in the old. Imagine the humble people who were spared, who before the appearance of the Savior, were spiritually starved but now full participants at a celestial banquet of doctrine and principles at his coming. He did not waste time in correcting doctrine, calling his apostles, or blessing the faithful. He never does.

To witness such a scene and to partake of the resplendent doctrine coming from the mouth of the very son of God is a blessing that every humble follower of Christ prays for. At the close of the sermons the Savior percieved that the words he spake were too great to fully absorb in one sitting. He commanded the people to, "go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again." (3 Nephi 17:3)

Out of all the commandments that were issued that day, surely the commandment to go home must have seemed the hardest. This was the long-promised Messiah, the Savior of all mankind and he was here talking with us.

"And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them. And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you." (3 Nephi 17:6)

Nobody would have dared to protest His leaving. But as always, Jesus knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts and even though the pressing needs of a God warranted His attention elsewhere, His priority always and will always remain with us.

The Lord called the sick and the afflicted and using the same compassion healed them all. Next, Jesus called someone else to Him. Not apostles, not the sick, but the children. I now turn to the record:

"And it came to pass that when they had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground.

And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.

And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.

And after this manner do they bear 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;

And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome.

And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.

And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.

And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

And when he had done this he wept again;

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 as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them." (3 Nephi 17:11-24)

This single account teaches so emphatically how much time our Savior has for us. That His love and His care and love for us is enough to make His spirit groan with a Messianic love. That He knows of the challenges we face and the darkness that all must pass through, and that he will solicit the Father for our behalf. That he will plead, bless, and even express gratitude for us. That the unblemished Savior will weep tears of joy because of us is a surpassing matter of wonder and awe to me. The Lord is all too eager to rise from His throne and run to our aid!

Fire coming down from heaven is not something that is new in the Book of Mormon. In fact fire has often been used to protect the vessels of the Lord. And now that it is being used to protect us shows how much his role as a protector is as strong as His role as a redeemer.

In later revelation the Lord promises,

"And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them." (D&C 35:14 italics added)

How many times in our lives do we forget how much love Jesus has for us? In times of sorrow, self-pity, unworthiness, and regret, the majestic Atonement falls out of our gaze and notwithstanding it's infinite power we are consumed with our finite problem. We get trapped in our three days of darkness-even though it feels a lot longer. But in such a hour the voice of the Savior will always come. He always bids us to arise, wipe the dirt from our tattered clothing, and take His outstretched hand and as a loving shepherd leads us away from danger and darkness. We do not have to be in the dark. He will seek every lost sheep. Go to any lengths to secure our freedom and while we are in his arms he will look us in the eye and say, "And now behold, my joy is full."

I know Jesus Christ to be a loving, forgiving, gentle, God. And how much he wants us to see it! Hence his declaration and invitation, "Behold your little ones." That we may never forget we are those little ones is my hope and prayer.