Bless our lives- Prompt our good deeds

President Thomas S. Monson's address Sunday morning ranged from scriptural and poetic descriptions of children and their tender lives, to firm rebukes directed to those who abuse them.The second counselor in the First Presidency opened his address by citing from the New Testament: "And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, . . . whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matt. 18:1-6.)

He said Jesus loved children. "Children then and children now bless our lives, kindle our love and prompt our good deeds," he said.

He noted most children come to parents who eagerly await their arrival, who rejoice in their birth. However, others do not. He read a news story about a newborn girl who was wrapped in a paper bag and dumped in a garbage can.

He said children have three classrooms of learning, each distinct from the other: the classroom at school, the classroom in Church and the classroom called home.

"There is no more important aspect of public education than the teacher who has the opportunity to love, to teach and to inspire eager boys and girls and young men and young women. . . . I trust we shall recognize their importance and their vital mission by providing adequate facilities, the finest of books and salaries which show our gratitude and our trust," President Monson said.

He said the classroom at Church adds a vital dimension to the education of every child and youth. "The humble and inspired teacher in the Church classroom can instill in her pupils a love for the scriptures," he observed. "Why, the teacher can bring the apostles of old and the Savior of the world not only into the classroom but also into the hearts, the minds, the souls of our children."

President Monson said perhaps the most significant of all classrooms is the classroom of the home. "It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home."

Of children who have a physical or mental handicap, President Monson said, "Try as we will, it is not possible to know why or how such events occur. I salute those parents who without complaint take such a child into their arms and into their lives and provide that added measure of sacrifice and love to one of Heavenly Father's children."

He spoke of the faith of children and Heavenly Father's capacity and desire to answer their prayers. "It has been my personal experience that when a child prays, God listens."

President Monson lamented that not all children are blessed with loving parents, safe homes and caring friends. He said hospitals everywhere receive bruised and battered children, accompanied by lies that they ran into the door or fell down the stairs. "Liars, bullies who abuse children, they will one day reap the whirlwind of their foul deeds," President Monson said emphatically. He quoted a letter from a district judge: "Sexual abuse of children is one of the most depraved, destructive and demoralizing crimes in civilized society. There is an alarming increase of reported physical, psychological and sexual abuse of children. Our courts are becoming inundated with this repulsive behavior."

President Monson declared, "The Church does not condone such heinous and vile conduct. Rather, we condemn in the

harshest of terms such treatment of God's precious children. Let the child be rescued, nurtured, loved and healed. Let the offender be brought to justice, to accountability, for his actions and receive professional treatment to curtail such wicked and devilish conduct. When you and I know of such conduct and fail to take action to eradicate it, we become part of the problem. We share part of the guilt. We experience part of the punishment."

He quoted from the account of the Savior blessing the children as described in Third Nephi, and in which is described ". . . angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; . . . and the angels did minister unto them."

President Monson, to illustrate that such things occur today, related the story of a young boy who, after an operation, told his mother, "Grandpa was there and made it all right."

"You see," explained President Monson, "the Lord made the anesthesiologist appear to that little boy as though he were his grandpa; but his grandpa and grandma were on a mission 1,800 miles away." The boy, President Monson said, was "cradled in the hand of the Lord and blessed by the Father of us all."

In conclusion, President Monson said, "May the laughter of children gladden our hearts. May the faith of children soothe our souls. May the love of children prompt our deeds."