The Gospel provides the path to life under adherence to the Law without compromising the freedom that comes through doing the will of the Father. Jesus walks this path: He fulfills the Law not by abolishing it but by obeying the Father's will without constraint or limitation.
The Mysteries of God
Paul’s call to maturity and Jesus’ call to childlikeness invite adults to live beyond a rule‑bound mindset and approach God with the freedom like that of children, who do His will without fear.
Simeon’s prophecy in Luke 2:34 says that Jesus will cause people to "rise and fall" as they respond to God's will and obey His commands. The “rising” occurs through obedience to the Law and living within its structure. The “falling” occurs by breaking free from its constraints that once defined His people. They ponder the mysteries of God freely in thought and spirit, transforming the way they live.
As a child, Jesus was a free-spirited, free-thinking individual. At age twelve, He astonished the temple teachers with His wisdom. When confronted by His parents, He explained that His maturity reached beyond conventional practices—He thought and acted freely within the Father’s will.
The obedient person who lives within the Law and the freed individual doing God's will become one discipline through Christ, serving a dual purpose—to lead people into a kingdom where individuals are free to rise in Christ, embracing the Law’s life‑giving intent by falling in alignment with the Father’s will.
The Rise & Fall
At the first touch of dawn, a young boy slowly rises from his bed, stretching into the soft, golden glow of morning. His movements are gentle and unhurried. In this ordinary beginning, we witness something extraordinary: a child who moves freely before his Heavenly Father—a soul whose true allegiance is to God.
He sits at the kitchen table, taking a thoughtful bite of breakfast, pondering the mysteries of life with wonder. In Matthew 18:3, the Liberator declared, “Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Childlike faith is to ponder the mystery of God, believing His word to be true, and walking before Him in that light.
As the boy steps onto the school bus, sunlight wraps around him like a warm welcome on a pathway of discovery. He simply nods to the driver with gratitude and respect, yielding to the spiritual nature of God's kingdom.
Meanwhile, his parents watch through a rain-streaked window. Their hearts grow heavy when he does not return from school. Their anxiety mirrors the experience of Mary and Joseph, who searched sorrowfully for Jesus after the Passover. Simeon had foretold that Christ would become a sword that would pierce Mary’s own soul (Luke 2:34–35). Even those chosen to raise the Son of God would experience the tension between parental stewardship and God's purpose.
The boy had risen that morning within the order established by his parents, yet they would soon encounter a profound paradox embedded throughout God's law. Scripture commands, "Honor thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12), yet it also teaches that “a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife” (Genesis 2:24). God's commandments establish the world's authority yet prepare us to recognize God's sovereignty among them.
Driving through the rain in search of their son, the parents struggle to understand why he has crossed the boundaries familiar to them. Yet the word of God reminds them that every soul belongs to the Father. Jesus explained it this way, “Did ye not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49).
Eventually they discover their son standing in the classroom, speaking with wisdom that seems impossible for someone so young. His teachers listen with amazement. The scene mirrors Luke's account of the twelve-year-old Jesus, where “all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luke 2:47).
Anyone who surrenders to the Father is free to "rise" in Christ, embracing the Law’s life-giving intent by "falling" in alignment with the Father’s will. They are inspired by the messages of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Scriptures that speak truthfully of Christ.
True liberty is remarkably harmonious within the laws and principles expressed in the Constitution of the United States. The First Amendment declares:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
These words acknowledge a truth that was in existence before the nation even came into being: that government has a legitimate authority over civil affairs and is responsible for protecting the nation’s freedom.
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The liberty of a nation is most secure when its citizens have the right to do the will of God as recorded in the Holy Scriptures, and it is by the will of God that the government protects the rights of its citizens as recorded in the US Constitution.
Years pass, and the boy grows into a man. He sits before a keyboard, writing with the same freedom that inspired his childhood wonder. He does not shirk responsibility; instead, he embraces it within a kingdom, where Heaven is God's dwelling place and the earth is His footstool.
His writings remind us that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Like the prophets before him, he understands that to hear God is to be a faithful witness, a watchtower, and a beacon of light to the world.
The gospel teaches that becoming like a little child is to continue the pursuit of knowledge with a wisdom that deepens an understanding of the mysteries of God and His kingdom.
The mysteries of God and the rights of His people are fully revealed in the Holy Scriptures, in the Book of Mormon, and protected by the US Constitution: every individual possesses the privilege, the responsibility, and the right to know, speak, and walk in the truth that sets them free.