And he has sent me here
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear
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
2. I am a child of God
And so my needs are great
Help me to understand his words
Before it grows to late
Chorus
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
Chorus
This hymn was what my grandfather requested to have played and sung by his grandchildren at his funeral. Being the oldest granddaughter and being able to play piano, I played while my many cousins sang. I had already left the church at this time, but it was my grandfather's wish, and I loved him too much to deny him that because of my change in beliefs.
When I was practicing the song the night before the funeral, my uncle came up to me and made a statement about the song not differing to much from my new beliefs, as far as he understood it. I just said, "close enough," because I wasn't prepared for that particular discussion when emotions were already a little touchy from the beloved family patriarch passing away.
I've gone back to that very brief conversation again and again in my head since then, thinking about what parts of the song differ from Christianity. It comes down to two main differences.
1) Pre-existence
In the Bible, we did not pre-exist as spirit children, or eternal intelligences, or anything else you'll hear Mormons talk about. We were created. This is clear from the very beginning of the Bible, and is referenced directly or indirectly multiple times through the rest of the Bible. God is the Creator. God is the only being that is un-caused and un-created. It is pride that causes the Mormon religion to claim that its faithful, worthy members can become gods--can be equal with God. That is simply blasphemy. Even Jesus, who was God, did not make himself equal to God (Philippians 2:5-6) because he was humbled in the flesh. We are not God, we are not literal children of God, and we will never be gods the same way God is God. Romans 8 explains that we become the children of God through adoption when we come to believe--which means we aren't born his children.
2)Working to be with God (to be saved)
We (Christians) wish to do God's will, follow Jesus, and be good people...but we do not believe that the things that we do save us. The only thing we have to "do" is accept what Jesus already did. Jesus died on the cross for our sins as the perfect sacrifice. A personage of God himself came to us in flesh, humble, tempted, tried, and rejected by much of society, in order to pour out his love for us on the cross. Nothing we do can ever equal that, so all we can do is accept that. We can believe in what Jesus did, give our sins to him because we know that we are sinners and need to be cleansed (repentance), and we will live with God (not once more, though). Anything we do beyond that is secondary, and while its good and shows the sincerity of our faith, it is not the instrument of our salvation from sin.
I am a child of God because I believe in His Son and have been adopted in His Kingdom and inheritance. And that amazing grace is all I need.
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