I Am a Child of God: A Simple, Yet Complex Phrase

As missionaries in Southern California in the 1970s, we would show filmstrips to introduce investigators to the doctrines of the church. “Man’s Search for Happiness” was particularly effective. My simple testimony of the restored gospel was awakened and enlarged as I learned and taught these truths to children of our Father in Heaven. Three central questions within the filmstrip encourage deep thought and reflection. They are embedded within our spiritual DNA and can guide us in our mortal journey to our eternal home. They are: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?

The answers to these questions are best received by the spirit of inspiration and revelation, where the layers of meaning can provide peace and comfort to a child, and deep understanding and accountability to the mature seeker of truth.

From their earliest experiences in Primary, children are taught that they are children of God.[1] Of all the names of power and prestige that God could have selected for Himself, He has chosen to be called Father. The hymn, “I am a Child of God,” continues, “and He has sent me here, Has given me an earthly home With parents kind and dear.”[2] From these simple phrases, children are taught that the family is central to their eternal identity. The chorus concludes with, “Teach me all that I must do To live with Him some-day.”[3] It is from this statement that the Fatherhood of God and our relationship with Him as children increases in complexity.

Nothing is of greater importance than understanding the nature of God

Speaking to His disciples about the impending persecution and hatred they would endure from the world, the Savior declared, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”[4] Jesus concludes this instruction: “But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me (italics added).”[5]

The most fundamental and essential doctrine of true religion must include clarity about God our Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.[6] This foundational understanding was given to Joseph Smith at age fourteen.[7] As the cornerstone of the restoration, Joseph Smith was taught that God is our Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is His resurrected and perfected Son.

The sectarian notions of the day about God had confused him so much that young Joseph was motivated to ask God directly what church he was to join. The glorious vision of the Father and the Son provided the needed clarity to press forward. This simple yet profound truth laid the bedrock upon which the fullness of the gospel could be restored. Central to the message delivered directly to Joseph from the Father, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him,”[8] demonstrated clearly and definitively that there are family relationships in the heavens.

When Moses was called up to the mount to commune with God, he was greeted with the expression, “And, behold, thou art my son.”[9] Here, Moses was taught that he is a child of God and “thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten.”[10] This declaration establishes that both Jehovah and Moses are sons of “the Lord God Almighty.”[11]

The Savior taught, “And this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.”[12] Clearly, our knowledge of the nature and identity of God our Eternal Father, and His Son Jesus Christ is essential to comprehend and receive Eternal Life.

With these thoughts as a backdrop, let’s consider briefly the concepts of Children of God, Children of Christ, and Sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Christ.

Children of God:

All members of the human race are the spirit offspring of God our Eternal Father.[13] We had an identity in the premortal existence with our heavenly parents, which included our personal characteristics, the ability to demonstrate faith and obedience and to exercise our gift of agency.[14] We progressed in our first estate to the point that we desired to experience the tests and opportunities of mortality.[15]

Children of Christ:

Those who accept Jesus as their Savior through faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, are spiritually begotten by the Savior and become His sons and His daughters. This doctrine is taught plainly by King Benjamin.[16] Nicodemus was also taught the importance of being “born again” as an essential qualification to enter the kingdom of God. [17] A father provides life, and that is what Jesus Christ does, and there is no other name given whereby salvation may come; only through the name of Jesus Christ.[18]

Sons and Daughters of God and Joint Heirs with Christ

The study of these doctrines is a worthwhile investment of time, and it usually leads us to questions that require personal study, pondering and prayer.

Question: Is being a child of Christ the same or different than being a joint heir with Christ?[19] (Romans 8:16-19)

Question: What is meant by the declaration, “That ye may become the sons of God”? (Moroni 7:48; italics added) Since it is clear that we are all children of God, it would seem that to become the sons of God is something that awaits the faithful, and is connected to the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood and those that are received in the Holy Temple. (Moses 7:1; John 1:12; D&C 34:3; 35: 2; 45: 8; 131:1-4; 132:6-7, 19; Moroni 7:26; Joseph Smith Translation, Hebrews 7: 3, in Bible appendix)

Questions about our relationship with God are important to our thirst for understanding where we came from, why we are here in mortality, and where we are going after this life. Much has been revealed in these latter days to help us learn and progress so that we may receive eternal life, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God.[20]

As the restoration continues in this last dispensation, we are given the opportunity to learn and progress in our understanding and application of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our personal lives. Progressing on the covenant path toward exaltation means understanding that we are children of God. We are born again by taking the name of Christ upon us and then learning and serving to the end to become the sons and daughters of God. How grateful I am for the personal witness I have received from the Holy Ghost of the truthfulness of the restored gospel.

Footnotes:

[1] “I Am a Child of God,” Hymns, no. 301

[2] “I Am a Child of God”

[3] “I Am a Child of God”

[4] John 15:19

[5] John 15: 21

[6] The Articles of Faith 1:1, Lectures on Faith 3:2-5

[7] Joseph Smith History 1:15--19

[8] Joseph Smith History 1:15--19

[9] Moses 1:4

[10] Moses 1:6

[11] Moses 1:3