Perhaps the most beloved, most Iconic song in all of Mormondom is I am a Child of God. It contains the heart and essence of Mormonism distilled. It affirms the plan of salvation, God and our relationship to him simply and beautifully.
Here are the lyrics.
1. I am a child of God,
And he has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.
2. I am a child of God,
And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand his words
Before it grows too late.
3. I am a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will,
I’ll live with him once more.
4. I am a child of God.
His promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but endure.
Chorus
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must *do*
To live with him someday.
Words: Naomi Ward Randall, 1908–2001. © 1957 IRI. Fourth verse © 1978 IRI
The highlighted word do was not found in the original. This was changed from the word “know” by President Spencer W. Kimball. It is a change that fit with the emphasis of his presidency. For him, the gospel was all about action. “Do it” and “Lengthen you Stride” were his mottos. Certainly he led by example, traveling the world many times over as the Church expanded globally. He was remembered to have said, “My life is like my shoes, to be worn out in service to others.”
This fits in perfectly with what Christ taught as found in Matthew 7:21,
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
I understand and appreciate the emphasis of this change. There is more to the Gospel than just learning about it. It must be lived to do us any good. It is not enough to believe, in the words of James:
Thou believest there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils believe also and tremble.
I think this can all be taken one step further and then key to returning is complete. I believe that as faith without works is dead, certainly also is works without faith. Doing alone is not enough, as it is possible to simply go through the motions without having your heart in it. There is such a thing as keeping up appearances. We are not born perfect and will not develop this ability in this life. But we are here to learn, to grow, and to become something greater. The true miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ is becoming something greater than we were before. In short, I would change a singe word once more.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must *be*
To live with him someday.
Christ has the power to transform us into Celestial and perfect beings. Recieving the Celestial Kingdom and all that the father hath is a process of becoming. “Do” reminds me too much of duty, a lower motivation that will forever leave us short. While superior to fear, eventually we are doomed with duty to hit the wall, consumed by guilt. In the spirit of higher more powerful motivation moving
Fear–> Duty –> Love so also I propose Know–> Do –> Be
This is the real power of the atonement. It is not enough to know what is right. It is not enough to do it simply because we should. We must become Christlike, to know him, and to see him as he is. This is the miracle of Jesus Christ in the lives of a true disciple. This is how I sing it to my children. What do you think? Are you with me? Anyone reading in Salt Lake? 
8 comments
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April 23, 2008 at 1:33 am
Braden
simple point, but a great point. I like the change from “know” to “do”, but I think a change to be would “be” even better.
April 23, 2008 at 2:09 am
Todd Wood
Doc, I am reading from Idaho Falls.
It is interesting.
For Sunday mornings, I am preaching out of John 8.
Jesus spoke to my congregation this Sunday, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.”
His words bounced me from Genesis to James.
April 24, 2008 at 12:19 am
dlmtleart
great post. In order to ‘be’ we must first know and then do
goes great with Pres. Hinkley’s “be”s
April 24, 2008 at 1:52 am
Allen
Doc,
You’ve brought out an interesting sequence.
know, do, be
That is the sequence that we must follow to gain exaltation. We learn, we serve, we become like Christ. One of my favorite hymns is #171, With Humble Heart. Verses 2 and 4 of the song end with
And grow, dear Lord, to be like thee
April 24, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Doc
Braden,
Hooray, I am not alone. Thanks for the comment.
Todd, (or do you prefer Pastor Wood?)
Thanks for stopping by. It is truly good to find common ground. My best to you in the quest to follow the footsteps of the Master.
dlmtleart,
Thanks for the comment and kind words. I agree this seems in line with Pres. Hinckley.
Allen,
Exactly. I am just carrying things to their next natural step. It is good sometimes to take a step back and see the forest from the trees. Thanks for the comment.
April 25, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Lincoln Cannon
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/col/1/27#27
April 26, 2008 at 6:11 am
Laura Winkler
A similar thought has been on my mind since I served as the Primary chorister in 2001. We were teaching the children “I am a Child of God” and it occured to me that the third verse has a phrase that was unsettling to my heart. The words “Celestial glory shall be mine if I can but endure” suggest that enduring to the end is not a choice, but rather a matter of can and can not. We are not asked to endure if we can, but to choose to endure to the end regardless of circumstance. I taught the children in my ward to sing the words “if I WILL but endure”. I don’t know now if changing the words was appropriate, but at that time, when I was under the direction of the Spirit for those children, it felt necessary to testify to them of the reality of choice and accountability. We are responsible for the outcome of our own lives, and although many circumstances are beyond our control, our inner conviction and willingness to stand firm in our belief is something that we must all be individually responsible for. I feel a strong feeling of determination each time I think on this concept. By singing “if I WILL” gives me the power to endure if I want, and choose, to endure, and I truly want to inherit Celestial glory. I choose to do, and BE, what is necessary to achieve that goal. It is important for all children of God, no matter what their age, to realize that they all can endure if they will. We believe in opposition and if there is a can, then there is a cannot. I simply don’t believe that cannot, when applied to endurance, is a Gospel truth. No one will be given a lesser glory simply because endurance was beyond their ability. In my mind, and hopefully the minds of my 2001 Primary children, there is no more, “but what if I can’t”. We have made our choice. We will.
April 26, 2008 at 11:28 am
Doc
Laura,
Great comment. You are absolutely right. Because of Christ, we all can, with his help. It is a matter of will. Thanks for stopping by.