It was Mother’s Day. The children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were gathered together in our home to honor and revere motherhood as embodied in our loveliest of family members. The meal was sumptuous, the dialogue uplifting, the stories inspiring, and the fellowship heartwarming. But the most memorable aspect came in the midst of an unexpected crisis. Just as the youngsters were walking toward a neighborhood pavilion, our eighty-four–year old matriarch, the oldest of the mothers being honored in our family that day, tripped over the curb in front of our home and came crashing down against the cement sidewalk, incurring severe lacerations to her knee and face.
What then happened was unforgettable. The youngest of our guests took charge, rushing to help her in her moment of need. Especially little two-year-old Sydney—who had tenderly chaperoned Great-Grandma out to the sidewalk in the first place, eagerly attending every step—blossomed now as a veritable Florence Nightingale, with words and gestures of compassion and concern. “Band-Aid! Band-Aid!” she exclaimed with anguish in her voice. The other grandchildren were equally solicitous as they rallied to help Grandma back into the house, where one of them repaired her broken glasses while Sydney helped apply the bandages with all the consummate skill of miniature physician. Fortunately, the wounds turned out to be less serious than at first suspected, and the air of urgency gave way to a feeling of relief and then returned once again to an ambiance of Mother’s Day joy. The next day several grandchildren called Grandma to make sure she was on the mend.
Charity exists full-blown in the hearts of the youngest of God’s children. No wonder Alma was able to declare that “little children do have words given to them many times, which confound the wise and the learned” (Alma 32:23). Mormon wrote to his son Moroni, confirming that “all little children are alive in Christ” (Moroni 8:22). Little children partake of pristine charity by virtue of their not being assailable by the evil one, coming as they do under the full protection of Christ’s Atonement. No wonder Mormon could say, echoing the feelings of all compassionate and feeling individuals, “I love little children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and partakers of salvation” (Moroni 8:17). What greater gift on Mother’s Day than the gift of charity as shown in the lives of little children. (Richard J. Allen)