As I was reading my scriptures this morning, I came across a sentence that I have never noticed before. I was reading in the Book of Mormon the account of when Jesus Christ appeared to the Nephites after he had been resurrected. He had just finished healing all those who were afflicted with any ailment or sickness. He then invited the children to come unto Him.
And the record reads: So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him. (Vs. 12)
The words that stood out to me were "And the multitude gave way till they all had been brought unto him." In my own words that meant that they got out of the way. They moved back to allow those little ones the chance to be with the Light of the World.
The more I sat with that sentence the more profound it was to me. I began to ask myself, "Self... how often do I get in the way of someone else coming unto Christ?"
I began to contemplate how I get in the way. There are many ways that I could come up with... Selfishness, inflexibility, trying to control the situation, lashing out in anger, judging others, refusing to ask for forgiveness... I could go on.
As I sat with this further, I realized that those who got out of the way had already had a remarkable experience with Him. They had each had the opportunity to spend a few minutes individually with Him, feeling the prints in His hands and feet. They had been given His sacrament blessed by Him, and then they had been healed.
But the little ones also needed chance to be with Him too. I can image them trying to get a look at him by reaching up on their tip toes to look over shoulders or between legs to see Him. Parents were likely encouraging them to be still and listen - not unlike what happens at church.
But then He invited them to come unto Him and they began to come. And the multitude got out of the way.
A few months back, we put my son in T-ball. This was his first experience with an organized sport. He was excited and he was 5. If a plane flew over, he would stop in the middle of a practice and look over head. He was very distractible. He struggled to listen to the coaches and did his own thing (like any typical 5 year old).
His behavior stirred something up inside of me. I wanted him to be really good at this sport. I needed him to be good at this sport. I had never played in an organized sport my entire childhood (okay, I played one game of soccer in the 1st grade and then quit... so that doesn't count). I knew how the lack of playing in such sports had affected me in my ability to connect with the boys in school. I didn't want my son to have to experience that kind of disconnection.
And so I would jump right in and tell him what to do. "Ben, stand over here!' "Ben, hold the bat this way." "Ben, run!" Every time he wasn't doing it right, I would get involved and tell him what to do. And then I looked around. All of the other parents were sitting back in their folding chairs, just letting the coach handle things. At that moment, I realized that I was trying to control my son and needed to get out of the way.
And so I let Ben be Ben. I sat with the other parents and watched as my son grew and learned with the other children. He started to have fun because I got out of his way. And the truth is... I had a better experience too. I was more relaxed and at peace.
I learned a valuable lesson... there are times when it is necessary to guide, support, encourage, and teach each other along the path. And there are times to get out of the way.
In the experience in the Book of Mormon, the Savior Himself had invited the children to come unto Him. Had I been there, I wouldn't have needed to tell my son or daughter to "sit down" or "be quiet" ... I would have just let them be them and let Him be in charge of the situation.
It is a form of surrender that I had not really considered much. There are times in which I just need to get out of the way.
In the Book of Mormon account, the experience became one of the most sacred of all accounts - so much so that there were not words to really record what happened. Angels came and ministered to the children, Jesus Christ prayed for them:
In the Book of Mormon account, the experience became one of the most sacred of all accounts - so much so that there were not words to really record what happened. Angels came and ministered to the children, Jesus Christ prayed for them:
"And the things which he prayed cannot be written ... and after this manner do they bear record: The aeye 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 atongue 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."
All of this occurred, in part, because the multitude got out of the way.
