“And now, these are the words which king Benjamin desired of them; and therefore he said unto them: Ye have spoken the words that I desired; and the covenant which ye have made is a righteous covenant. And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.” (Mosiah 5:6-7)
In my last post, I talked about how we are all born to this earth as children of men. So then, How Do We Become Children of God?
It’s all well and good to talk about becoming, but that’s one of those metaphysical, non-practical words that doesn’t really mean anything by itself. We can’t stand still and look to heaven and start becoming just because we really, really want it. So then, what is required?
Let’s start with the basics.
“I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God.“ (D&C 35:2)
We must believe on His name. To do that we must believe that despite the fact that we are trapped in a darkened, telestial world, Christ will help us overcome it. If we were to rely only on justice, then each of us would have earned death and damnation. But when we believe in the words of Christ, we believe that in His mercy, He has made intercession and satisfied the demands of justice.
“And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—
Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.” (Mosiah 15:8-9)
After we learn to believe on his name, then what?
“And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their parents.” (2 Nephi 2:21)
We need to repent. And repentance isn’t a one time fix. “I’ve repented and come to Jesus, and now I’m saved!” No, repentance is something we do over and over and over. Because as we experience life and learn more about God, we will recognize that we’ve started to veer off the path. We will have to make course corrections. Big ones, small ones, day after day. We will need to turn and face God each time we realize that our feet are taking us away from him.
Mosiah 27 says we “must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness.”
What is righteousness? When you boil it down, righteousness means that whatever the Lord asks us to do, we do it. Obedience to God is righteousness. So first we must become acquainted with the voice of the Lord so that we will recognize it, and when we do, we must be willing to do everything he asks of us.
So, let’s say we’ve believed Christ’s words, and have taken the time and effort to become familiar with His voice and have learned to obey it. Say we’ve learned to repent, and we are pointed in God’s direction, heading down that narrow path. Then what can we expect? How can we know that we have become a child of God?
In my last post, I quoted Romans 9:8 which said “the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” What promise?
Psalm 2:7 states “The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” These words are a promise. These words are a covenant. They are spoken by the mouth of the Lord to those whom he adopts into His family.
When we receive the promise from God that we have become His son or daughter, then we will be a child of the promise. We will be a covenant member of God’s family.
That is the Lord’s purpose. His work and his glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, to exalt all the children of men who rise up to become children of God.
All these references to being born again aren’t just about the symbolic act of being baptized. Baptism is an essential step, but to truly be born again, we have to enter into a family that we had not been a part of previously.
Think about the records we have in the Book or Mormon. All of the righteous prophets that recorded their experiences have one big thing in common. They sought the Lord, they heard His voice, and His voice gave them a promise of eternal life—a life dwelling with God, in His house, as part of His family.
What happens if we don’t rise up and become a child of God?
“And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying: Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins, and are looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them.” (Moses 7:1)
Fear and torment and the wrath of God. That’s what awaits those who do not rise up. When reading over all of these references to becoming children of God, you’ll notice that none of them say that everyone will become sons/daughters/children of God. They say “many have,” not “all have.” They say “ye may become,” not “you will become.”
This isn’t a guarantee. It’s conditional. We have our agency and we must use it well.
“Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen.” (Moses 6:68)
God is no respecter of persons, so the opportunity is there for everyone.
So then, where does that leave us? How should we proceed?
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.” (Moroni 7:48)
Pray. Pray with true intent. Pray with all the energy of your soul. Ask hard questions. Praise his name. Ask for miracles. Ask that your heart be filled with love. Tell Him about your day, about everything that you care about. Get to know the Lord.
On the one hand, it’s so simple. On the other, it can feel impossible. That’s because there needs be opposition in all things. The Lord wants to know you, and Satan wants to prevent it.
Do it anyway.