Jeremy John, the Wiggler

By Marianne Wilson McKnight

It shouldn’t be hard to sit tall in my seat,
To listen politely, to quiet my feet.
It shouldn’t be hard, even though I am small,
To think about Jesus, not hard at all.
(Children’s Songbook, page 71.)

Jeremy John was a wiggler. When he sat on the front row in Primary, he wiggled. When it was singing time, he wiggled. Even when he listened to his Sunbeam teacher, Sister Cardon, give a lesson, he wiggled.

“Jeremy John,” his teacher would say, “please stop wiggling.”

He tried to sit still. He really did. But then his legs would start swinging back and forth, back and forth. And before he knew it, he was wiggling again.

Then one Sunday, Sister Cardon said, “Boys and girls, I have a special Book of Mormon story to tell you.”

Jeremy John liked stories. He scooted his chair a little closer to his teacher.

“This story is about Jesus Christ visiting the Nephites,” she said.

Jeremy John really loved stories about Jesus, so he scooted his chair even closer.

“Jesus Christ taught the Nephites many wonderful things,” Sister Cardon said. “The people loved to listen to Him. And they loved to be near Him.”

She held up a picture of the Savior blessing the children. “He had all the children come to Him,” she said. “He took them one by one, and He prayed for them and blessed them.” Jeremy John could see that his teacher’s eyes were shiny with tears as she said, “Jesus Christ loves every child. He loves you.”

Jeremy John felt cozy and warm inside just like he felt when he snuggled up in his fuzzy green blanket. How he wished he could have been there with Jesus!

He looked at the picture again. There, sitting beside Jesus, was a little boy about the same age as Jeremy John. The boy was sitting very, very still, looking up at Jesus.

I could do that, Jeremy John thought. I could sit still if I were sitting by Jesus. All of a sudden, he knew how to stop being a wiggler.

Now whenever he sits in Primary, he imagines that Jesus is sitting right beside him. And Jeremy John hardly wiggles at all.

Illustrated by Dick Brown