“For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit. And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;” (Mosiah 27:24-25)
Are we children of God?
“I am a child of God, and he has sent me here…”
I grew up singing those words. For me, the fact that I was daughter of God was a given. It was something innate and irrefutable.
But then, why does the verse above speak of becoming His sons and daughters? Are we children of God or not?
No, we’re not. At least, not yet.
I know that feels completely contradictory to our fundamental beliefs, but I promise it’s worth considering, because becoming a child of God in this life is what it’s all about.
That’s not to say that it’s inappropriate for us to call God our father. He is the creator of our spirits and he loves us as his children, but to become a literal son or daughter of God, there is more required.
If you search the scriptures for the phrase “become a child of God” or “become a son of God,” you’ll probably be just as surprised as I was to discover how often it’s used.
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12)
“And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name…” (3 Nephi 9:17)
“…our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God.” (Moses 7:1)
“…that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him.”Moroni 7:48
“Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. ” (Moses 6:68)
“…as many as would believe might become the sons of God.“(D&C 34:3)
“…that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father” (D&C 35:2)
If not children of God, then what?
The scriptures describe those who are not children of God as children of men or children of the flesh.
“And our spirits must have become like unto him [the devil], and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.” (2 Nephi 9:9)
“Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.” (2 Nephi 2:9)
Paul, the Apostle of the New Testament distinguishes between the children of the flesh and the children of God, in the book of Romans:
“That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” (Romans 9:8)
It goes right back to the allegory of the olive tree. When we have a covenant with God, then we become part of His family. Just as Paul said in the verse above, the children of the promise (those with a covenant) are counted for the seed (or counted as offspring) of God, while the children of men are not.
All were born to this mortal earth through mortal parents, making us children of mortality. The atonement of Christ gives us the opportunity to choose to be born again, to become children of the promise.
“Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God.” (Mosiah 27:25)
“And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.” (2 Nephi 2:26)
Christ stretched forth His arms of mercy, and if we are willing to accept Him fully, to choose to be obedient to Him and Him alone, then we can be born again as part of His Family, as a child of God.
When we’ve spent our entire lives believing we are already children of God, it’s easy to feel abandoned and confused when we realize that we don’t yet qualify. But just the fact that the Lord has given us this opportunity to become His, is evidence of His incredible love. The Lord wants us to be like Him, and I don’t know about you, but I am far (and I mean FAR) from being like Him. I have so much to learn before I will feel as though I’ve moved even one step toward being where God is. Yet, He wants me to do it. He wants US to do it. He’s given us this opportunity for learning and growth—this opportunity to become HIS. This dark and dreary world is our school and our testing ground, because this mortal experience is the only way for us to learn godly attributes. Here, separated from His presence, we have the chance to exercise faith. Here we have the agency to choose God.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
God wants us to be like Him. That is His purpose, His work, and His glory. It is God’s desperate wish that we will each rise to the occasion and come to know Him, so that we can BE HIS.
*In my next post I’ll be talking a little bit about how that is done.