August 2009 Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

The Road to Eternity image courtesy creative commons license flickr.com by dkzoffy March 2008

Month Theme: Temple blessings unite families.
Month Scripture: “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).

Week 1 The temple is the house of God.

* There are flannel board cut outs you can order here or get from your library. There are different homes. Talk about the people that live in the different homes, where the homes are located, what people do in their homes, etc. Then of course have the Temple which is the house God.

*Panel Discussion. Invite a few Young Men and Young Women to come in and share an experience of when they've been to the temple to do baptisms. Let the children ask them questions. Ask the panel members to describe what the temple is like and how it made them feel to enter.

* Make a path on the chalkboard with the temple at the end. Have a paper child that can move a space on the path according to the roll of a large paper made dice (with numbers 1-6). Have another paper dice with sides like ?, song, scripture, compliment a primary friend, stretch!!... etc. It's like a big board game. They have to roll the dice and do what it says to move the child to the temple. Make up questions, songs and scriptures having to do with the weeks theme.

*Just as an added suggestion to what they have listed in the sharing time outline for this week I would have children draw pictures of what they think the inside of a temple might look like.

Week 2 I will prepare now to go to the temple.

* Have the Bishop come in if he has time and share with the children some of the questions he asks for people to get their temple recommend."Every member who wants to go to the temple, regardless of age, needs to prepare for this sacred experience." Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "See the End from the Beginning," Ensign, May 2006, 44

* Put your temple recommend in a package of sorts. Have the children try to guess what is inside. Hints could include: It's something money can't buy and more precious than anything money could buy. It's smaller than my shoe. I need it as much as I need water. I have to prepare diligently to receive it. Once they guess, read the following:
"I urge our people everywhere … to live worthy to hold a temple recommend, to secure one and regard it as a precious asset, and to make a greater effort to go to the house of the Lord and partake of the spirit and the blessings to be had therein” (Gordon B. Hinkley“Of Missions, Temples, and Stewardship,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 53).

* Have a bunch of paper stand up figures (teaching no great call page. 176). Make figures that you would take preparing for a camping trip and on the backside pictures of how to prepare for the temple. Just like we wouldn't go out into the wilderness unprepared we don't go into the temple unprepared! For example... On one paper stand up figure you could have a picture of the tent. Turn it around and have a picture of the church. The shelter of the church and security of the sacrament and attending our meetings helps us prepare for the temple. On another have a picture of a campfire or matches and on the other have the words HOLY GHOST. We need a campfire to stay warm and we need the Holy Ghost to burn inside us and strengthen our testimonies of the temple. Also, don't feel like you need to explain everything... have the children come up with analogies of why they think that picture would be on the back or why you'd need that for camping.

* President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:"The ordinances and ceremonies of the temple are simple. They are beautiful. They are sacred. They are kept confidential lest they be given to those who are unprepared. Curiosity is not a preparation. Deep interest itself is not a preparation. Preparation for the ordinances includes preliminary steps: faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, worthiness, a maturity and dignity worthy of one who comes invited as a guest into the house of the Lord” (“The Holy Temple,” Tambuli, June 1992, 17). **As a side note, I heart Boyd. He is my absolute favorite and if you haven't read The Holy Temple... go! Do!**

Have stepping stones with the words faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, worthiness, dignity - leading to a picture of a temple. Make up case studies of children preparing for the temple and then invite a child to come and point to what stepping stone the case study focuses on.

* Invite a child to come up to the front. Give them a copy of the book War and Peace (Or some big book) Tell them you'd like them to give a 10 minute book report about this book. They can't do it? Neither could I! If we aren't prepared then things are NOT going to happen! We need to prepare for the temple so that it is the best experience of our lives!

*Good coloring handout to take home for this week found HERE. Scroll to the very bottom!

Week 3 My family can be together forever through the ordinances of the temple.

* Have a child come up to the front and invite them to take a picture of the primary. What? They don't have a camera? Take a fake picture then. Click. Next. Invite another child to come up and take a picture, this time using a real camera. Show the children how the camera has taken a picture (I assume everyone has digital these days...) The ordinances of the temple are like having a camera, it's real and makes it so our family can be forever. Everything else and other thoughts/rituals of men are fake and will produce nothing because they don't have the camera! They don't have the ordinances of the temple.

* Have family, together forever, ordinances and temple scrambled on the board. Have the pianist play Families Can Be Together Forever while they come up and unscramble the words. Little ones can do this with the help of older children! Divide the primary into groups and have the groups come up with other words that have to do with temples. Invite them to come up to the front and write their word scrambled for the other groups to figure out. Have plenty of pictures to display in case they go along with the word the group chose.

* This is an enrichment activity from the Primary 1 manual (Lesson 26: Families Can Be Together Forever,” 84)

"Help the children understand that forever is a long time. You might tell them that it is longer than the time they have to wait until their birthday or the next holiday; it is longer than the time the oldest person they know has been alive; it is longer than back to the time when Adam and Eve were alive. Explain that forever means that something will never end.

Help the children do the actions to the following verse as you say the words:
How Long Is Forever?
How long is forever (point to head, as if thinking)?

It’s longer than a year (put fist under chin, rest elbow on other hand).
It’s longer than the time it takes (put other fist under chin, rest elbow on hand)

For Christmas to be here.
How long is forever (point to head, as if thinking)?

It’s not too long to spend (shake finger back and forth)

With families that you love (hug self), For it will never, ever end!"

*Bring in 2 mirrors for children to hold. Line them up so the mirrors face each other. Does the reflection ever end? Neither does our family because of the ordinances of the temple. You might need to define ordinance! In the Primary 3 Manuel (“Lesson 35: Temples and Eternal Families,” Primary 3: Choose the Right B, (1994),171) an additional verse to “A Happy Family.” is given. Very fun! "I love Jesus, He loves me. He loves families, yes sirree. We build temples, so you see, We can be together eternally."

*Vicki F. Matsumori (Is she stellar, or is she stellar!), “Sharing Time: Together Forever,” Liahona, Feb 2002, 4–5 is a great link to check out.

Week 4 Family history and temple work bless all the generations of my family.

*Invite a child to come up to the front to give you a hug. Show a picture of someone who has died that you have done temple work for. Just as surely as the primary friend has given you a hug, so will your deceased ancestor give you a hug when you are reunited in heaven!

* Talk about what happens when you throw a rock into a pond. The water ripples on and on and on. Family History and temple work have the same effect of blessing our families. Have a large box of small rocks. Invite the children to come and get 5 each to keep. Have them talk in pairs or groups about family members they love and 5 ways to show love for them. Have questions and scriptures prepared for each group to talk about also.

* Vicki F. Matsumori (Seriously, I wonder if she would ever consider being my best friend.) “Sharing Time: ‘The Heart of the Children’,” Friend, Aug 2002, 36. This has the absolute best ideas ever! Especially #2!! How clever is that to do a pedigree of a scripture family.

* Whisper something into someones ear and then have them repeat it to the next person. See what the message is by the end of 12 primary children. If you had written the message down and passed it around would the message have been confused? Hold up a journal!