May 2013

Prophets Teach Us to Live the Restored Gospel 

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

Week 1:  The living prophet leads the Church under the direction of Jesus Christ.

Attention activity / Identify the Doctrine:
     Ask a child to come and be your helper.  Whisper to the child to tell the primary a simple action to do. (For example: pat knees, roll hands, snap, wave, pat head, cover your eyes, smile big, etc) After they do the first action, whisper to your helper another action for him/her to tell the primary to do. Tell them one at a time. Repeat a few times. Thank the child and ask, how did you know what I wanted you to do? (answer: he/she told us)  Point to the picture of the prophet and explain that he is the President of the Church and we should follow what he asks us to do. Ask: “Who does the prophet follow?” Show a picture of Jesus Christ, and explain that the prophet works under His direction. 

Encouraging Understanding:
     Show the primary the recent conference issue of the Ensign or the Liahona.  Explain to them that in general conference, the prophet teaches us what Jesus Christ wants us to do.  Place the picture of Jesus on one side of the board and the the picture of the prophet right underneath.  Have the foot prints leading to the pictures like they are following them.  Tell the children we are going to take turns picking a foot print.  On each foot print is a message from conference.  After we read it, you tell us a way we can do what is on the footprint. (You can always open it to the group to help the child or develop the answer more.)   
     If you think you will have time left over, it always takes longer if you hide them around the room or have them pick a foot print from the floor or something. 

link to print foot prints with quotes on them:
printable foot prints with quotes

-you can use your own foot prints by tracing a foot or shoe and attach these or print from the link.
Conference quotes:

A knowledge of truth and the answers to our

greatest questions come to us as we are obedient

to the commandments of God.  -Pres. Monson

Teach yourself and teach your families about the gift

of the Holy Ghost and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

You will do no greater eternal work than within the walls

of your own home.  -Boyd K. Packer

We are under covenant both to lift up those in need

and to be witnesses of the Savior as long as we live.

Pres. Eyring

Doing all we can to invite the gentle, guiding influence

of the Holy Ghost into our lives is critical in our attempts

to center our homes on the Savior.  -Richard G. Scott

Now is your time to prepare to teach others about the

goodness of God.  - Russel M. Nelson

...when doubt or difficulty come, do not be afraid to

ask for help.  -Jeffery R. Holland

...spiritual light rarely comes to those who merely sit in

darkness waiting for someone to flip a switch. It takes

an act of faith to open our eyes to the Light of Christ.

-Pres. Uchtdorf

The Lord loves us and wants us to understand His willingness

to forgive. -Elder Craig A. Cardon


Share your testimony of that the living prophet leads the Church under the direction of Jesus Christ.

Week 2:  The living prophet leads the Church under the direction of Jesus Christ.

Attention activity / Identify the Doctrine: 

     Ask the children, "What are some things your parents ask you to do at home?" (clean my room, load the dishwasher, take out the garbage, walk the dog, etc) "And what happens if you obey and do those things?"  (play with friends, have fun, not have consequences, be happy, family will be happy, etc)  So, when you obey what your parents ask you to do, it brings good things to you.  Can you tell me someone else on this earth we need to obey besides our parents?"  (they may say teachers, grandparents, PROPHET- if they don't, say, what about our prophet?)  "Why do we obey our prophet?" (Because he teaches us the things that Jesus Christ would like us to do.) "So today we are going to learn about something what President Monson just taught is in conference. That obedience brings blessings.

Encouraging Understanding:

     President Monson taught us that we learn to obey all through our lives.  When we are young, our parents set rules to help us stay safe.  Can you tell me a safety rule at your house? (pick one or 2 to answer)  If we followed all the rules, we probably wouldn't get hurt very much would we?  Heavenly Father also gave us some safety rules, or the commandments, to keep our spirits and our bodies safe so we can come back to Him.  When we obey His commandments we get blessings.  Lets play a game to find out what some of these blessings are.  

      Have 2 different colored balls or bean bags.  One will stand for commandments and one will stand for blessings.  (You could label these, or get creative and make something that looks like the 10 commandments stones.   Kids sometimes get rough when passing items, so a bean bag or something is simple and sturdy.)  Lets say you use a red ball/bean bag to represent commandments, you can place a red piece of paper on the board with the word COMMANDMENTS printed on it. Then do the same coordinating colored paper and word for whatever color ball/bean bag you use for BLESSINGS.  That way everyone will know. 

GAME:  While you sing “Keep The Commandments”, pass around the 2 bean bags- starting one in one corner in the back and the other in the opposite corner of the front.  When the music stops, the bean bag stops.  Read a scenario to the primary.  The child with the COMMANDMENTS bean bag will need to say what commandment the child in the story was trying to keep.  Then the child with the BLESSINGS bean bag will need to say what blessings they receive from keeping that.  Keep playing until you have gone through your scenarios.  You can ask the pianist to stop the song randomly and that will let everyone know when to freeze the game.  If you plan on doing a Mother’s day card/craft you can just do a few scenarios.  I have included a quote with each scenario- you may choose to read after the children answer if you would like.

Song:

Keep the commandments

Keep the commandments

In this there is safety

In this there is peace

He will send blessings

He will send blessings

Words of a prophet

Keep the commandments

In this there is safety and peace.

Scenarios:

1. Jenny was playing with her sister and got very angry and called her a name.  She felt very bad.  She had been baptized and wanted to stay clean and have the Holy Ghost.  She told her sister she was sorry she repented and told Heavenly Father she would not do that anymore.

They were able to keep playing and have fun together the rest of the day.  Jenny’s sister hugged her and said she loved being with her.

(commandment: repentance  blessings: to be clean, forgiven, have someone to love and play with)

"Once we have truly repented, Christ will take away the burden of guilt for our sins. We can know for ourselves that we have been forgiven and made clean. The Holy Ghost will verify this to us; He is the Sanctifier. No other testimony of forgiveness can be greater. "   President Uchtdorf

2. Mark's friends had so much fun playing video games Saturday night that they made a plan to get together again on Sunday for  more games.  Mark told his friends he would not be able to make it and chose to keep the Sabbath day holy.  After church on Sunday Mark went to his grandparent’s house.  They had a great family dinner and played games and looked at pictures.  Mark told his grandma thank you for the wonderful dinner, and told her how his friends had wanted him to come over to play.  She said she was so proud of him for choosing the right.  Mark felt very warm inside and he knew Heavenly Father was proud of him too!

(commandment: Sabbath Day Holy  blessings: feel Heavenly Father's love, enjoy the day with family)

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8) has been in force throughout human history. There is power in keeping the Sabbath day holy. I testify that God lives, that we are his children, that he loves us, and that he gives us commandments so he can bless us as we keep them and thereby have joy. As we keep the Sabbath day holy he will bless us, and we will achieve a quiet power for good as individuals, as families, and as nations, that we cannot obtain in any other way.”  John H Groberg

3.  Justin was walking home from school and saw a shiny pocket knife on the side walk.  He was excited!  He'd always wanted a pocket knife. Then he looked up and realized that it probably belonged to boy who lived at this house.  He had seen him in the older scout group.  He walked the pocket knife to the door and rang the bell and handed the knife to the boy's mother.  She said thank you very much he had been worried about where he left it. Justin felt good as he walked home.  Because he had chosen to be honest, he helped someone else and made them feel better.  

(commandment: Honesty  blessings: to be trusted, forgiven, have a clean conscience, help others)

"Being honest means choosing not to lie, steal, cheat, or deceive in any way. When we are honest, we build strength of character that will allow us to be of great service to God and to others. We are blessed with peace of mind and self-respect and will be trusted by the Lord and others. " Young womens lesson manual

4.  Katie was having fun dancing and singing with her friends.  A song with bad words came on, she was very nervous.  She wanted to ask her friend to switch the song but was scared they might be mad at her.  Katie remembered that Heavenly Father could help her to be strong so she asked her friends to change the song.  Her friend said she was sorry for playing a song with bad words.  They changed the song.  Katie was very happy, the bad feeling went away and they kept having fun the rest of the night.

 (commandment: not listen to bad music  blessings: to have the spirit, feel good inside, have clean thoughts, be happy)

 “ Have the courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer, television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit.”  For the Strength of Youth

5.  Lindsey’s mom asked her to hurry home after school and get her chores done before going to her friend’s house. Lindsey was dying to see her friend’s new puppy, and did not want to go clean her bedroom.  On her way home, she thought about just going to her friend’s and telling her mom she forgot she was supposed to do her chores first.  She thought about how disappointed her mom might be if she chose not to listen to her and got a knot in her stomach.   As she got closer to her friend’s house Lindsey decided it wouldn’t be right to not obey her mom.  She ran home and did her chores.  Lindsey had a lot of fun playing with the puppy, with no knot in her stomach.  She was glad she listened her mom!    

(commandment: honoring your parents  blessings: to be happy, have a happy home, be safe, have love)

“Your righteous example can make a difference in strengthening your family. Honor your parents by showing love and respect for them. Obey them as they lead you in righteousness. Willingly help in your home.“  For the Strength of Youth

Printable scenarios and quotes

Printable Quotes for the board

     Lets always remember what President Monson taught us at this conference.  Every time we are willing and trying to keep Heavenly Father’s commandments, we will get blessings.  He loves us and has shown us the way to come back safely.  If we follow Heavenly Father’s safety rules or commandments, we will be happy and always have the help that we need.  

Week 3:  Prophets Teach Me To Pay Tithing.

Attention activity / Identify the Doctrine:


     Prepare a bag or box with 3 or 4  items that would help the children to guess the topic of tithing.  For example, some items may be:  a piggy bank, picture of a temple, hymn book, the word commandment, a tithing envelope would be last.  I would walk out without saying a word, place the bag on a table, hold your finger up to show you're being silent, then pull out the items one at a time showing them to the whole room.  Set each item on the table and then after you have  shown all items (not a tithing envelope yet) ask the children, "By looking at these items, can anyone guess what we are learning about today?"  If they can't, tell them you have one more item to show them that might help and pull out the tithing envelope.
Encouraging Understanding:

Yes, tithing.  We will learn how the prophets have taught us to pay tithing.  What is tithing?  (Take a few answers and cover the basics- We pay 10% of what we earn to the Lord.  It helps to build temples, churches, pay for hymn books and things.  Heavenly Father gave us tithing as an important commandment.)  Malachi was a prophet who lived a long ago, even before Jesus was born.  He taught the people to pay their tithing.  Ask a child to read Malachi 3:10, while the other children listen for what the Lord promises us if we pay our tithing:

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." 
Wow! Did you hear that? Heavenly Father said He would open the windows of heaven, and pour us out a blessing that we won't even have enough room to receive it!  What do you think that means?  (a lot of blessings,  more than we can even see that He is blessing us with, great great blessings...)

     Put the picture of the maze on the board. This is in the friend at this link: tithing maze on LDS.org

You could go to the link, right click and save this to your download folder and go have it printed larger for a few dollars at a copy store- it wouldn't have to be in color.  Or I made it large for you to print on your own printer in 4 pages and tape together.  It can be printed on your black and white printer and colored or left black and white.  And of course you could print it in color if you have those capabilities. Here is a picture of mine printed on 4 pages, cut and glue sticked together.  It turned out pretty well!

Here is the link to print the maze yourself in 4 pages, as you attach them- I went in this order and had positive results.  This picture is a little deceiving.  Remember its about 18-20 inches high.  Minor flaws don't show much when it is up and the maze connected well.

top left corner

top right corner

bottom left corner

bottom right corner

     I need 10 reverent helpers.  I need each of you to pretend to be a tree and hold up this apple on your branches. (hand each child a paper apple)  Now I need one more helper to come be the farmer and pick these apples and put them in this basket.  (let the child pick the apples) Tithing is paying one-tenth of what we earn and is usually paid with money.  but there have been times when people paid with whatever they had.  How many apples should he/she pay to the bishop? (help them see 1 of the 10 apples would be one tenth.)  Very good. Thank you, you can sit down now.  We will use this tithing maze to help us learn about tithing.  The maze starts with a little boy, it says:  1. Paying tithing is a commandment from God.  We pay one-tenth of what we earn. Amal has earned 10 coins.  He will pay one coin as tithing.

     I need a helper to start here and find the way to number 2 and read it to us. (make sure they can reach the maze and help jr primary to read/read it for them)  Yes, we fill out a tithing slip. (pick another child and do #3, #4, #5, #6, #7)  (just have them use their finger, a small paper dot or shape with tape on the back, or a small magnet to go through the maze so it isn't marked up for the next sharing time)

     So, we have talked about how to pay tithing, can anyone share an example of how you or someone you know were blessed for paying tithing?  (Teachers could be a valuable resource here.) Share your testimony of paying tithing and the Lord's promise to us.