Testimonies of Little Children

Several years ago when I home taught with my father, one of our home teaching families asked us how it could be that little children could realistically bear a testimony about the gospel since they really didn't know too much about life and relied on their parents or siblings to assist them with their testimony. I don't recall what my father said, but the question has lingered in my mind since then and I seemed to think about it every time a child would bear his/her testimony at church.

A thought came to me this past Sunday and I shared it in my own testimony; I don't think I gave the subject much justice though. So I'm putting my thoughts down in writing and hopefully the written word will do justice to the insight I received.

When someone is baptized and then confirmed, they receive the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. Prior to this time, they can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost from time to time.

When a child goes up to bear his/her testimony, he/she has a belief and faith that what he/she believes is true and correct.

The same goes for adults. When an adult goes to bear his/her testimony, he/she has a belief or faith that what he/she believes is true and correct.

An adult relies on the Holy Ghost to assist him/her with the words to bear testimony concerning his/her beliefs and has faith that this belief is true and correct. A child, on the other hand, might rely on a parent or a sibling to assist him/her with the words of his/her testimony. The underlying principle is the same - the child or adult both has a belief and both have faith that what they believe is true.

A child's testimony may not have been tried and tested as much as an adult's testimony, and the child might be more capable of believing or having faith than an adult since he/she may not be distracted by worldly influences, but the underlying principle is the same.

The child relies on a parent or a sibling to provide the words of his/her testimony, while an adult will rely on his/her elder brother, the Holy Ghost, to assist him/her with what to say. Again, there are similarities between a child and an adult, each is relying on either a parent or a sibling to assist him/her with his/her testimony. The only difference is that the person providing the assistance for a child is visible when it is that child's parent or sibling, but the influence of the Holy Ghost is only visible to those watching with spiritual eyes.

That's the inspiration I received on Sunday. It came to me when I saw a sister helping her sibling with a testimony, and I thought to myself, isn't that what the Holy Ghost does?