Am I Smarter Than My Six-Year Old?

With the warmth having returned to my desert home in full force, we've been prepping for scorpion season.  Last weekend we sprayed outside and inside the house and recapped our safety rules with the kids:

• Always wear shoes outside
• Check your shoes and clothes before putting them on (especially our eighteen-year old whose clothes live on the floor)
• Be careful
• And if you do cross paths with a scorpion, follow your oldest brother's example: scream like a girl and jump behind the couch to safety.  No, not really.  Don't touch it and get someone older to come take care of it.

My kindergartner is very afraid of bugs and is always very grave and serious when we discuss scorpions, black widows and other dangerous pests.  He's also my thinker.  Which combination lead to our conversation as I walked him to school a few days ago.

Just before noon, the day was still somewhat cool with an intermittent breeze flitting by.  I held my son's hand as we walked and felt like a really great mom.  How nice to have some one-on-one time with the boy.

Then he turned to me and asked, "Why did Jesus create scorpions?"

And I, in my amazing motherly wisdom, replied, "Um.  I'm not sure."  Looooong pause.  "Maybe he thought they looked cool?"

My son gave me an
is-that-really-the-best-you-can-do? look and let his gaze drop to his shoes.  After watching the dust kick up around his feet for a few steps he said, "I think I know why."

Curious, I asked him what he thought.

"I think when Jesus created them, they were good, but Satan made them turn bad."

Wow.  Such wisdom from one so young.  That simple phrase taught me so much.  My son not only understood that Jesus is Good and Satan is Evil, but he understood that Satan, by influencing the fall changed the nature of things.  Creatures that once lived in peace and harmony were now at odds with each other.  And by considering the nature of scorpions, he reminded me that I should do the same.  I should remember that the Lord is in every aspect of life, and I should look for evidences of such.

Am I smarter than my six-year old?

Not always.

Scripture Squiggle: Ether 12:41

"And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen."

I love Ether 12 in its entirety. To me, it is the greatest discourse on faith that we have in the scriptures. But I love this final verse the most. It's almost as if Moroni is saying to us: Okay, I've shown you what faith can do, but until you know the Saviour as I do, it means nothing.

During this Christmas season, this scripture also reminds me of the phrase, "Wise men still seek him." President Monson offered inspired words on this subject in the December 1990 Ensign entitled, "The Search for Jesus."

Before the craziness of the holidays over take us, we should heed Moroni's plea and seek for the Saviour. As the primary song promises, "He will be found."

Not-so-Fictional Story: Moroni 8:16

As I pondered what to write in relation to Tuesday's scripture, I really struggled to come up with an appropriate story. My original plan was to direct my readers to a story I heard as a child that illustrated the Savior's love for us, but I didn't feel right about this option. This morning I visited a blog put together by a friend of mine from college. She and her husband were unable to have children of their own, so they chose to adopt. They currently have two beautiful boys and are looking to adopt a third child. Reading through their adoption story, I found tears in my eyes--I'm not one to break down and cry very easily--as I considered the sacrifice of a birth mother who gives her child up for adoption. The love these mothers have for their children is greater than the fear and sorrow they must face when they hand their babies over to a new family. They realize that their sacrifice will bring a chance for a better future, not just for their children, but for the families that are formed through their loss. How like the Lord's love for us! Our Heavenly Father ached for His First Born Son as he suffered in Gethsemane and then upon the cross. But Father knew that through Jesus' sacrifice, each of us gained a chance for a better life and an eternal family. So He gave up His son.