Imagine that you lived a long time ago, back when there were Nephites and Lamanites. You knew Jesus was living on the earth because your mom and dad told you about when they were little and saw Samuel the Lamanite up on the wall telling everyone that Jesus was going to be born soon. And then they told you how the night before he was born, when the sun went down, it didn’t get dark, but stayed light- as light as daytime. And they knew that Jesus had been born in a land far away. And everyone started being righteous and good.
But that was awhile ago, back when your mom and dad were kids. And now the people were wicked- really wicked. But your Mom and Dad still taught you about what was right and you guys listened to the prophet Nephi talk about Jesus.
And then, one day there was a terrible storm. The worst storm the land had ever seen. There was rain and thunder and lightening. Then the earth started shaking and buildings were falling down. And you were afraid. But you stayed with your mom and dad and they made you feel safe. And when the storm and earthquake were over, it was dark. Really dark. So dark you couldn’t even see your hand when you put it in front of your face. Your mom and dad tried starting a fire to get some light, but it didn’t work. And you were afraid again. But your mom and dad held you tight and told you it was okay. They told you that Jesus must have died in that far away land, and that you didn’t need to be afraid because you loved Him, and He loved you.
It stayed dark for a long time- three whole days it was dark. But finally, the sun rose again and there was light. And you were so happy! You and your family went to where the temple was, to be with other people who knew and loved Jesus. And while you were there, you heard a voice coming from heaven. And then you looked up and saw Jesus coming down from heaven. You couldn’t believe it! He was here! He let everyone come up to him and touch his hands and feet. You were so happy! You looked at your mom and dad and they were crying. Not the sad kind of crying, but the happy kind- where you feel so good that you just start crying.
And then Jesus started teaching everyone. And after he taught for awhile, do you know what he did? He called all the children to come up to him! That’s you! You went right up to him. You saw him taking each child on his knee and blessing them. You waited and waited, hoping to get a turn. And pretty soon, he looked right at you and picked you up and sat you down on his knee and blessed you. It was the most wonderful feeling you had ever felt. And when he had held and blessed every single child, you looked up and saw tears on his face. He loved you so much it made him cry. And then angels came down from heaven and went all around you and all the other children. It was the most wonderful, the most beautiful thing you had every seen. You would never forget sitting on Jesus knee and how much he loved you.
Now that place you were at- it probably looked pretty broken down. The terrible storm probably knocked down tons of trees and homes and buildings. And the earthquake probably broke into pieces the buildings and the land. It probably didn’t look very beautiful. But to those people who saw Jesus- who sat on his knee and saw him cry and were blessed by his hands- I bet it looked beautiful to them. I bet it was the most beautiful place they had ever seen, even with broken buildings and fallen down trees- because that was where they had been with Jesus.
Now, we’ve been imagining we were there, but really we weren’t. We didn’t touch Jesus or sit on his knee. We didn’t see the tears on his face. But we can still know that he is real and that he lives. He loves us just as much as he loved those children. And maybe, when he comes to earth again, maybe we’ll be there to watch. And maybe he’ll let us come and touch his hands and feet. And maybe he’ll even ask the children to come to him. When I think about that, it makes me want to follow Him. It makes me want to give my whole heart to Him and do whatever He asks me to do so that when He comes, I’ll be ready.
The song I want to teach you today talks about that place and those children. And it talks about how we can still know He lives, even if we weren’t there that day so long ago. And how we can follow Him so we’ll be ready when He comes again.