I was recently reminded of a talk given by Elder Gérald Caussé called “Even a Child can Understand.”
“God would indeed be unjust if the gospel were only accessible to an intellectual elite,” Elder Caussé teaches. “In His goodness, He has ensured that the truths regarding God are understandable to all His children, whatever their level of education or intellectual faculty.”
Elder Caussé continues:
In reality, the fact that a principle can be understood even by a child is proof of its power. President John Taylor said, “It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it” (“Discourse,” Deseret News, Sept. 30, 1857, 238). Far from diminishing its impact, purity and simplicity of expression allow the Holy Spirit to witness with greater certainty to the hearts of men….
One day Jesus’s disciples asked Him the following question: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
Jesus, having summoned a little child, set him in the midst of them 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.
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:1, 2–4).
On another occasion Jesus said, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Luke 10:21).
With the hastening of the work, I imagine we will see and hear more examples of children helping participate in this great work. There is a reason we are taught to be as little children!
For example, note these three examples from my missionary friend:
Sister A has a baptismal date, but she hasn’t come to church lately. While we were [visiting this week], we were able to ask some inspired questions and figure out what she’s feeling. I asked her “What was the moment you decided you wanted to join this church?” She told me that she had met the sisters at church for a lesson. At the same time, there was an activity going on with the young girls [Activity Days]. So this 11-year-old girl told the sisters, “I want to be a missionary today! Can I come to your lesson?” So the child helped the missionaries teach. She taught in the way that the woman needed. All of the woman’s questions, this 11 year old could answer. The woman was was amazed. And at the end, the child said, “It’s just so cool that here you are, you didn’t grow up in the church, and you’re searching and seeking. And here you are! You’ve found it. Isn’t that just so cool!?”That day we also visited a family with a 6-year-old boy. The missionaries taught about God’s plan of salvation. The mother was struggling to understand and her 6-year-old son would explain it to her.The sisters told me that one member brought their 7-year-old daughter to a lesson with a non-member and the testimony the child bore…
I pray that we will know how to open our hearts like a little child and take pleasure in hearing and practicing the word of God in all the power of its simplicity. I bear testimony that if we do this, we will gain the knowledge of the “mysteries [of God] and [the] peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal” (D&C 42:61).~Elder Caussé
