Gospel Principles for Kids Lesson 8: Praying to Our Heavenly Father

Praying to Our Heavenly Father

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. :)

Praying kids printable craft

Prayer Bingo 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.

There are so many wonderful stories about prayer in the Friend magazine archives.  I like this video and if you have time, a few stories would be great too.  Here is my favorite (but we didn't get to it): https://www.lds.org/friend/2003/07/miracle-of-the-fishes.

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.

Gospel Principles for Kids Lesson 7: The Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost

http://www.singplayeat.com/sing-2/the-holy-ghost-105/

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.

Further reading on helping your children feel and recognize the Holy Ghost individually:
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/12/helping-children-recognize-the-holy-ghost?lang=eng

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.

Gospel Principles for Kids Lesson 6: The Fall

The Fall of Adam and Eve

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.

Gospel Principles for Kids Lesson 5: The Creation

The Creation

Jesus Created The Earth

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.