The Childhood of Jesus Christ

“Without a doubt, Jesus came into the world subject to the same condition as was required of each of us—he forgot everything, and he had to grow from grace to grace. His forgetting, or having his former knowledge taken away, would be requisite just as it is in the case of each of us, to complete the resent temporal existence.”

-- President Joseph Fielding Smith

When Jesus was born He also had to go through the veil of forgetfulness. Unlike us, He was able to overcome this veil. When I think about the childhood of Christ the primary song, Jesus Once was a Little Child, comes to mind.

Jesus once was a little child,

A little child like me.

But he was pure and meek and mild,

As a little child should be.

 

Although Jesus was a child like us, His “capacity was greater than that of any other” (Manual pg. 24). From the beginning, He was to become, the Only Begotten Son. Christ had to overcome the veil, which He did. He faced more trials and overcame more temptations than that of any other man that has or will ever live. With His great capacity, came great temptations. The power that it took to overcome these trials and temptations did not come all at once. He grew grace by grace, “line upon line, precept upon precept” (D&C 128:21). Until it was said of Him, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40).

At a young age, Jesus was about the will of His Father. At age twelve He was preaching in the temple. When His mother found Him, He simply answered, “How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2: 49) He knew His purpose and He was eagerly going about to finish the work He had been sent to do. The Prophet Joseph Smith said of Him:

“When still a boy, He had all the intelligence necessary to enable Him to rule and govern the kingdom of the Jews, and could reason with the wisest and most profound doctors of law and divinity, and make their theories and practice to like folly compared with the wisdom He possessed; but He was a boy only, and lacked physical strength even to defend His own person; and was subject to cold, t o hunger, and to death.” -- (Teaching, p. 392.)

Though Christ had so much power and understanding He never once attributed it to Himself. All the glory was to His Father.

In the manual, I found a quote that I think sums up what Christ would have us do in our own lives to pattern them after His.

“Thus, a man must take his temptations in their turn and conquer them. This is what Jesus did, step by step, degree to greater degree, grace by grace, and this is what Jesus would have you do.”

                                                                                                                        -- (Manual pg. 25)