I enjoyed our church General Conference this past weekend. One of the speakers gave members a challenge to ponder and memorize a scripture each week. He said
"I invite you to “ponderize” one verse of scripture each week. The word ponderize is not found in the dictionary, but it has found a place in my heart. So what does it mean to ponderize? I like to say it’s a combination of 80 percent extended pondering and 20 percent memorization.
There are two simple steps:
First, choose a verse of scripture each week and place it where you will see it every day.
Second, read or think of the verse several times each day and ponder the meaning of its words and key phrases throughout the week."
In an effort to encourage my children to also begin to ponderize, I created a puzzle that they can write their scripture on the back of a puzzle piece and put it up on a picture of themselves to symbolize how they are putting on the Armor of God through their scripture memorization.
The picture is a coloring page from here (waycoolbibleschool.com) and the jigsaw puzzle from here (birdscards.com).
I'm going to have them choose a topic they want to learn more about and we'll look for a scripture or scriptures together.
Here's one more General Conference Activity. I've used so many that other people have done so here is my little contribution. We're excited to try it tomorrow! Let me know if you want me to send you the doc. Happy Conference. :)
This is a great lesson in the manual. Click here for the full lesson. However, I felt like one lesson to cover the life of Christ was not going to work for our family. I decided we'd do a timeline of the life of Christ. I found some great New Testament timeline cards on this website. There are 3 sets. Birth to Zacchaes, Holy Week, Empty Tomb to Ascension. If you click on them it will automatically download them. I also have them in a single email if you want to contact me with subject: New Testament Timeline Cards. It states these can be used for classroom or personal use.
Here is the website again for those who don't like links: http://catholicblogger1.blogspot.com/2009/11/birth-of-jesus-to-ascension-cards.html
I found a white roll of craft paper at walmart in the craft aisle that is like 3 'x 30' for $3 or $4 that we'll cut and put the pictures up on as we talk about the events in His life. We'll also try to cover the topics put forward in the manual as we talk about His life.
I liked the artist depictions so also found this book on Amazon:
There is a companion volume entitled The Parables of Jesus for kids.
So we're taking a break from the manual while we do this. Sorry for those who are following along. Hopefully we'll be back soon!
We had a good time with this lesson. I pulled out all the scriptures that we use in our family scripture reading as well as some flannel board stories. The kids were excited when the saw all of those things.
The Scriptures Are Available to Us Today
I showed them a map of the world and talked about how God speaks to people in every land because we are all His children and He loves everyone. I showed them where the Bible was written, then the Book of Mormon. We then talked about Joseph Smith and how he also kept a record of revelation from God and it is called the Doctrine and Covenants. I pointed out to them the areas where that record was written.
2 Nephi 29:11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.
I then asked the kids what their favorite scripture story is and we took turns telling our favorite stories from the scriptures.
I ended with my testimony about why we have scriptures and reminded them of the story of Lehi sending his sons back to wicked Jerusalem for scriptures and how if we want to know what God wants us to do we need to study and learn from the scriptures. They are our guide back to Him.
Quoted material, titles and headings come from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gospel Principles manual. Scripture and pictures come from lds.org. Click here for the full lesson.
We have been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together with our kids. Decided to make it a Family Home Evening discussion on character and why Willy Wonka could trust Charlie with his factory. We will also discuss what would make Wonka not want to trust the other children. Update: We then likened this to how Heavenly Father wants to give us all that He has and how we can earn His trust. We will start with coloring this picture which is perfect aside from Mike Teavee missing a few pistols.
Then we'll discuss the characters, using the scenarios from the chart below.
I'll try to include questions along the way such as "Can you think of a time when a movie or show became more important than someone in your family?" or "Can you think of a time when winning became more important than a friend or someone in your family?"
We'll end with the question, which kid do you want to be like and why and hope the lesson sank in.. :)
Update: This turned out to be a super cool lesson on the plan of salvation. In the end we talked about who you would trust with your whole chocolate factory and who you wouldn't and why. We then talked about how Heavenly Father wants to give us all that He has too, so how can we show Him that He can trust us with it?
“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). I used this picture to explain how God calls prophets in each time period and that is how he speaks to his children. Here is the link for the original picture: http://www.mormonshare.com/lds-clipart/lds-dispensations-handout-2
Quoted material, titles and headings come from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gospel Principles manual unless otherwise noted. Click here for the full lesson.
Prayer is a sincere, heartfelt talk with our Heavenly Father. As we pray to our Heavenly Father, we should tell Him what we really feel in our hearts, confide in Him, ask Him for forgiveness, plead with Him, thank Him, express our love for Him.
We did this prayer craft and then played prayer bingo to talk about the how, when, why, for whom, and for what. It was a big hit at our house and we wished we weren't short on time. I kept the calling cards in their columns and we did one from each column before starting back with the first and talked about them while finding them on our cards. :)
For younger kids an activity that also works well is to put pictures of eyes, ears, arms, head, mouth, and knees into a bag or bowl and let the kids draw them out and then tell the group what these parts should be doing when praying.
Quoted material, titles and headings come from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gospel Principles manual unless otherwise noted. Click here for the full lesson.
I asked one of my kids to share the first article of faith which she recently learned to start us off. We then discussed this section from the manual:
Attributes of the Holy Ghost
• How does the Holy Ghost differ from the Father and the Son? Why is that difference important to us? The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead. He is a “personage of Spirit”. He can be in only one place at a time, but His influence can be everywhere at the same time. Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are called the Godhead. They are unified in purpose. Each has an important assignment in the plan of salvation. Our Heavenly Father is our Father and ruler. Jesus Christ is our Savior. The Holy Ghost is the revealer and testifier of all truth. The Holy Ghost is our Heavenly Father’s messenger and is a special gift to us.
The Mission of the Holy Ghost
The mission of the Holy Ghost is to bear witness of the Father and the Son and of the truth of all things. I got most of my ideas from a year of fhe. I like this poster and the way she illustrates the three things.
1. For "Comforts Us" we used the example from A Year of FHE. I asked my girls what we do to comfort them and we get my daughter's blanket and stuffed animal and give her hugs and hold her. The Holy Ghost helps us feel better inside, warm, peaceful, safe, etc.
2. For "Guides Us" we read this story from the friend about President Harold B Lee when he was a boy. I felt the spirit both times I read this story and was glad I shared it. I also shared a story from this link that is a great reference for this lesson, especially if you have older kids!! You can talk about all the roles of the Holy Ghost instead of summarizing it with just 3. 3. For "Testifies of Truth" I used the example from A Year of FHE, but used hot chocolate under a fabric napkin. I let my kids smell it and feel the warmth of the cup and told them what was under there. I then explained that the hot chocolate is like Heavenly Father or Jesus and I am like the Holy Ghost. Not very many people have seen them with their own eyes but we can know they are real just like they can trust me when I testify that I am holding hot chocolate. Then again from the manual, the Holy Ghost will witness to us that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer. He will reveal to us that our Heavenly Father is the Father of our spirits. He will help us understand that we can become exalted like our Heavenly Father. The prophets of the Lord have promised, “By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things”. • What are some of the truths that the Holy Ghost reveals to us? I then bore my testimony and talked about how I know the things in my testimony are true personally because of the witness of the Holy Ghost. Then we watched this video. My girls don't know this song yet, so it worked well to introduce it here.
There is a series by the Mormon Channel called Power of the Holy Spirit with 5 segments. This one is about how the Holy Ghost feels or communicates with different people. I love the quotes from apostles that are mixed in.
The Garden of Eden • Under what conditions did Adam and Eve live in the Garden of Eden?
Adam and Eve were in a terrestrial state in the Garden of Eden. They still were not in a position to learn about opposites, because everything was good! I used this mini book to summarize the story of the fall.
Adam and Eve’s Separation from God • What physical and spiritual changes occurred in Adam and Eve as a result of their transgression?
Because Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Lord sent them out of the Garden of Eden into the world. As God had promised, they became mortal. They and their children would experience sickness, pain, and physical death.
Because of their transgression, Adam and Eve also suffered spiritual death. This meant they and their children could not walk and talk face to face with God. Adam and Eve and their children were separated from God both physically and spiritually. Great Blessings Resulted from the Transgression: • How does the Fall provide opportunities for us to become like our Heavenly Father? I think the following is great background information as you give the lesson, but I would summarize with the graphic above from the Old Testament Resource Manual: Some people believe Adam and Eve committed a serious sin when they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, latter-day scriptures help us understand that their Fall was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us. Because of the Fall, we are blessed with physical bodies, the right to choose between good and evil, and the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden. After the Fall, Eve said, “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed [children], and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient” (Moses 5:11). The prophet Lehi explained: “And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen [been cut off from the presence of God], but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created. … “And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. “But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:22–25).
I also used this worksheet: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3uNEVAAKowpMy1mVGFzZHpOX28/edit and this from a Mary Ross FHE book:
Quoted material, titles and headings come from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gospel Principles manual unless otherwise noted. Click here for the full lesson.
Under the direction of the Father, Christ formed and organized the earth. He divided light from darkness to make day and night. He formed the sun, moon, and stars. He divided the waters from the dry land to make seas, rivers, and lakes. He made the earth beautiful and productive. He made grass, trees, flowers, and other plants of all kinds. These plants contained seeds from which new plants could grow. Then He created the animals—fish, cattle, insects, and birds of all kinds. These animals had the ability to reproduce their own kind.
Now the earth was ready for the greatest creation of all—mankind. Our spirits would be given bodies of flesh and blood so they could live on earth. “And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so” (Moses 2:26). [Heavenly Father created mankind.] And so the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, were formed and given bodies that resembled those of our heavenly parents. “In the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). When the Lord finished His creations, He was pleased and knew that His work was good, and He rested for a time.
God’s Creations Show His Love • How do God’s creations show that He loves us?
We are now living in this beautiful world. Think of the sun, which gives us warmth and light. Think of the rain, which makes plants grow and makes the world feel clean and fresh. Think of how good it is to hear a bird singing or a friend laughing. Think of how wonderful our bodies are—how we can work and play and rest. When we consider all of these creations, we begin to understand what wise, powerful, and loving beings Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father are. They have shown great love for us by providing for all of our needs.
I love to use D&C 59:18-20 to discuss this. It says:
18 Yea, all things which come of the
earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both
to please the eye and to gladden the heart;
19 Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen
the body and to enliven the soul. 20 And
it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end
were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion. Print off these images as well as the chart below:
You can hide the pictures around the room and once the kids find them they can take turns placing them on the chart. Here are several additional resources including the video below from LDS.org:
Quoted material, titles and headings come from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gospel Principles manual unless otherwise noted. Click here for the full lesson.
God has told us through His prophets that we are free to choose between good and evil. We may choose liberty and eternal life by following Jesus Christ. We are also free to choose captivity and death by following Satan. The right to choose between good and evil and to act for ourselves is called agency.
Agency Is a Necessary Part of the Plan of Salvation
When we choose to live according to God’s plan for us, our agency is strengthened. Right choices increase our power to make more right choices.
We began to make choices as spirit children in our Heavenly Father’s presence. Our choices there made us worthy to come to earth. If we keep His commandments and make right choices, we will learn and understand. We will become like Him.
This is the angle I took with my young children:
Heavenly Father wants us to make good choices and so he has given us some guides.
I drew a simple drawing of paths going off in different directions and had the girls choose a guide to help them choose the correct path. Each path had something bad or something good such as
a. There is a scary alligator that chases you or b. You see a good friend.
a. There is a dark forest and get lost or b. You see the temple.
a. There are mean kids who throw things at you or b. You see your family in your yard.
A friend of mine asks her kids who is smiling right now after they make a choice, is it Satan or Jesus? This is an easy measure for whether we've made a good choice or bad.
This video shows that when confronted with a choice, we can make good decisions and help others do the same.
For older kids, I like this video too.
Quoted material, titles and headings come from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gospel Principles manual unless otherwise noted. Click here for the full lesson.
Review- Why did we need to leave Heavenly Father’s presence? Why do we need a Savior?
For this lesson I put a bunch of pictures of Christ out on our rug and had everyone choose a few. (If you don't have pictures, you can find some beautiful ones on google images here or on lds.org.) We then talked about what we know about Jesus and what the pictures show us about him.
We then contrasted that with what we know about Satan.
Jesus and Satan both volunteered, Jesus in agreement with God's plan and Satan presenting a different plan.
FYI, in case there are BIG questions, in a talk entitled The Great Imitator, James E Faust taught that Satan wanted to mount an insurrection to supplant even God the Father. He thought he knew better than God and said basically "I will save your children if you will step aside."
Jesus Christ Became Our Chosen Leader and Savior After hearing both sons speak, Heavenly Father said, “I will send the first”.
I also like what is added by Moses 4:2 "But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." The War in Heaven
Because our Heavenly Father chose Jesus Christ to be our Savior, Satan became angry and rebelled. There was war in heaven. Satan and his followers fought against Jesus Christ and His followers.
Moses 4:3-4 "Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice."
We Have the Savior’s Teachings to Follow
In our premortal life, we chose to follow Jesus Christ and accept God’s plan. We must continue to follow Jesus Christ here on earth. Only by following Him can we return to our heavenly home.
In what ways can we follow Christ?
I think this is a beautiful way to end followed by your testimony of Christ. Be warned though that it covers his whole life and shows the marks on his back, the crucifixion, etc.
Quoted material, titles and headings come from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gospel Principles manual unless otherwise noted. Click here for the full lesson.
God has again called prophets and has revealed another testament of Jesus Christ, called the Book of Mormon. This is the biggest news since the resurrection of Jesus Christ! He is a living God who is still involved in our lives today! Love this video:
The Book of Mormon is for the scholarly and the uneducated, the rich and the poor, the hopeful and the demotivated. This book is for those who want to see a change in themselves and a change in the world. This book is for all of us. It is another testament of Jesus Christ! Request your free copy here.
Christ visits the Americas after his resurrection.
Christ gathered the children, blessed them, and they felt his love for them.
Review that Heavenly Father is a dad to us all. Everyone on earth is a child of our Heavenly Parents. We are all spirit brothers and sisters.
We Developed Personalities and Talents While We Lived in Heaven
We were personally taught and trained by our Heavenly Parents. We grew up as children do in their presence. We grew up to spiritual maturity. We are all unique as siblings on earth are unique having their own talents and abilities. When we had learned what we could learn while being in their presence, they presented the next step in our progression.
Our Heavenly Father Presented a Plan for Us to Become Like Him
"Our Heavenly Father knew we could not progress beyond a certain point unless we left Him for a time. He wanted us to develop the godlike qualities that He has. To do this, we needed to leave our premortal home to be tested and to gain experience."
We wanted to be like our Heavenly Parents. We were different in lots of ways.
I found pictures to help demonstrate these things and just discussed them using the pictures.
These pictures are pulled from LDS.org. This is what is said about the use of their pictures, fyi- "you may post material from this site to another website or on a computer network for personal, church-related, noncommercial use unless otherwise indicated."
To become like Him, we needed to come to earth. We also needed a Savior--someone who could help us be forgiven for the mistakes we would make and allow us to be redeemed from both physical and spiritual death. "We learned that if we placed our faith in Him, obeying His word and following His example, we would be exalted and become like our Heavenly Father. We would receive a fulness of joy."
Here is a supplemental video of I Lived in Heaven. To stick to the material presented in the lesson watch only the first half.
Lesson Rating: Well received. So glad my kids can begin to understand these abstract/difficult topics!
Quoted material, titles and headings come from the Gospel Principles manual published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Click here for the full lesson.
