What Does It Mean to Become the Sons and Daughters of Christ?

After the people of King Benjamin received a remission of their sins and entered a covenant with God, he told them that they had become the sons and daughters of Christ:

Because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters (Mosiah 5:7).

What does it mean to be spiritually begotten?

We all know that God is the Father of our spirits (Hebrews 12:9) and that we lived with Him before we were born (Jeremiah 1:5). We also know that we have earthly parents, who made our mortal lives possible and who raised us. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to experience another birth. When our hearts are changed by Him, we become something different than we were before. The change is so fundamental that we say we have been born again.

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again (John 3:3, 7).

And if we have been born again, then the word “father” becomes an appropriate title for the One who made this possible. So when we are changed, when we are saved, the Savior becomes our father because He is the one who made this transformation possible. He is the reason we have been spiritually born.

After Alma the Younger was called to repentance by an angel, he was paralyzed for several days. When he recovered, he testified to the people that he had repented of his sins and been “born of the Spirit.” Then, he said:

Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters (Mosiah 27:25).

Today, I will be grateful for the spiritual rebirth which is possible through our Savior, Jesus Christ. I will be grateful that, when we trust Him, repent of our sins, and enter a covenant relationship with Him, we can become His sons and His daughters.