Mosiah 3:19-21

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little children, only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent."
Mosiah 3:19-21


There are a lot of scriptural verses that encourage us to be more like children.  And some others that encourage us to grow up a little. :)  And they are both true.  Got to love the scriptures. :)  We need to do a lot of growing up.  We need to learn more, and be less helpless.  We need to take responsibility for our lives, and for our choices.  And at the same time, we need to protect the really good things about ourselves that have been present since childhood.  Our abilities to trust, to submit, to share, to love without holding anything back.  We need to learn the good things, and rid ourselves of some of the bad lessons and desensitization that we learn as we grow up.  And really, that is what repentance and faith are for.  To build on that really good core that we had, and to restore its purity when we inevitably tarnish it.  God gives us second chances... and zillionth chances when we need them.  And, as his children, we need to have the same faith in him that children often have in their parents... believing and trusting even when they don't understand fully.  We need to know that everything God does is designed for our betterment and our happiness.  Even when we have to go through a tough experience or emotional upheaval, God never hurts us out of spite or pride or takes pleasure in our pain.  He is only helping us to learn the lessons that we have to learn in our lives, to become everything we can be.  Today, let's make sure that we aren't losing our inner goodness as we grow and learn.  Let's trust God and hold tight to his hand, even while we learn to face the dangers of the world and grow taller spiritually.