I taught a singing lesson in Primary today. There were only 18 kids there, between the ages of 3 and 10, and I taught them the song, I Know My Father Lives. The lyrics are a simple group of statements about our Heavenly Father and the Spirit:
“I know my Father Lives, and loves me too, the Spirit whispers this to me and tells me it is true, and tells me it is true.”
I brought an empty picture frame and carried it around the room, holding it in front of each child’s face, and repeating, “You are a child of God and He loves you.” The children would sit up a little straighter as I brought the frame in front of their faces. The older boys shifted a little, feeling the power of the statements and some discomfort from the attention, and wishing to diffuse some of that feeling. Younger children were the most capable of bearing those words without a wobble. As I spoke and looked into each face, it was a sacred experience. When I walked back to the front of the room, several of the kids said, what about you? Aren’t you going to say it for yourself? So, I said it for myself, “I am a child of God and He loves me.” Ah, belonging! You can’t have it without some vulnerability.
Elder Cook wrote, “When we shine, we gather.” Sometimes it takes courage to shine, to carry around that frame, look someone in the eyes, and remind them they are a child of God and He loves them so much. “To gather” can bring to mind the idea of a hug, or any gesture that reminds people that they belong.
(I am adding the themes that our youth learn as teens. I love the doctrine that we are children of heavenly parents.)
