How Blessed are the Little Ones

I was planning to do a post about The Hobbit, but I am going to push it until tomorrow.

I sat down at my computer this morning, completely unaware of what had transpired in Connecticut. As I opened up Facebook, my news feed was flooded with mention of the tragedy. I immediately jumped to Yahoo to read the details. I couldn't believe what I was reading.

Children are so precious. Why would anyone open fire in an elementary school? I was shocked and saddened.

As I'm typing this, I pulled up Yahoo again just to see the updates. It looks like the shooter was a 20 year old kid whose target was his mother, a teacher of five and six year olds. Apparently he killed his father this morning in New Jersey before heading to Connecticut. He killed his mother, then, for some unfathomable reason, turned onto the little five and six year old children in the classroom before killing himself.

It is the largest school shooting ever. Columbine had 13 dead. This shooting left 27 dead: 20 children, 6 adults, and the shooter.

I can't imagine what the families of those children (and the adults) must be going through today. Here we are, 10 days shy of Christmas Eve, and instead of getting all geared up for opening Christmas presents and planning Christmas dinners, these families are now faced with the daunting task of burying their loved ones, most just at the beginning of their lives.

The one thing that makes all this bearable is the knowledge that those precious spirits returned to their Heavenly Father, since they were taken from this Earth before the age of accountability. They were sinless and are now in His presence. *

And every one of those parents will be with their precious children after this life. What a sweet and special blessing.

My prayers go out to all those affected by this horrible and indescribable tragedy. May they receive peace and comfort in this difficult time.

* If any of you who are reading are wondering why I said this paragraph, it is because I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and we believe in life after death. We believe that a child is pure and sinless until they reach the age of eight, and if they happen to die before that time, they go straight to the presence of our Heavenly Father.

If you would like more information on our beliefs, you can go to mormon.org/ or leave a comment. I would love to tell you more.