Song of the Angels by William Bouquereau 1881 Oil on Canvas
Monthly Theme: I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Monthly Scripture: "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That He lives!" D&C 76:22
Week 1 Jesus Christ came to earth as promised by the prophets.
* Make a simple booklet
for the whole Primary, not each child, entitled, "Promised by the Prophets Passport". Have a pilot's hat and inform the children you'll be taking a very important ride of learning today. You'll be working together as a primary to earn stamps in our passport. In order to earn the stamps, we'll need to answer questions, read scriptures and sing songs having to do with Jesus coming to earth just as the prophets promised! Invite one child up to put on the hat and fly (reverently walking!!!) back and forth across the room. Let them choose from a brown paper bag (perhaps with an airplane on it) the questions, song or scripture on small pieces of paper. Then as they answer, put a stamp in the booklet.
Conclude with the words from one of our very own pilots who is a prophet! Show a picture of President Uchtdorf, "With all my heart and soul I give thanks to our Heavenly Father for His love for us, for the gift of His Son, for the life and example of Jesus the Christ, and for His sinless and selfless sacrifice. I rejoice in the fact that Christ is not dead but risen from the grave! He lives and has returned to the earth to restore His authority and gospel to man.
He has given us the perfect example of the kind of men and women we should be." (April 2010 Conference You are My Hands)
* Have a Bible and a Book of Mormon. Have different prophecies and scriptures (Or even verses of songs too!) with pictures. Invite a child up to hold the picture and read the prophecy. Have the child decide with the help of the primary whether that prophecy was found in the Bible or Book of Mormon and have them stand by the correct one. Throw in a trick one too like D&C 1:38 "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."
* 3 Nephi 27:18 " And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and
he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words."
A lie is something that is false. Have a simple True/False worksheet for the children to fill out in small groups or pairs. The statements should be focused on different prophecies about how Jesus came to earth. Fix the false statements and make them true, just as our Heavenly Father is! (This activity geared more toward Senior Sharing Time)
*Have about 10 different pictures of Nativity sets. Have a box with the word INN on it. Invite the children to come to the front and choose a picture of a nativity from the INN box. There was no room at the Inn, so they can put the picture on the chalk board. Have questions, scriptures and songs attached to the pictures for the children to do focused on "Prophets promised Jesus Christ would come to earth"!
Quick Question for you! Yes you! Say a small child picks out a longer scripture you know they can't read. For example -
Alma 7:10-12 "And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."
What do you do? Do you:
a- read it and have them repeat after you
b- read it for them
c-have them ask another primary child for help
d-shorten the scripture or
e-Go by the spirit?
*
A FANTASTIC IDEA from Elizabeth Ricks,
“The Greatest Gift,” Friend, Dec 2007, 12–14 " Display a flag, a heart, and a smiley face. Ask the children what they may represent (country, love, happiness). Explain that each of these is a symbol—something that stands for something else. Ancient prophets told people that Jesus Christ would come to earth. Some, like Isaiah and Samuel the Lamanite, were specific, while others used symbols to teach of Christ. Display a picture of a lamb (see Primary 2 manual, 123) or a stuffed animal lamb. Explain that although you do not have a real lamb in Primary, your object is a symbol of a lamb, and a lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ. Discuss ways that Jesus Christ is like a lamb (see “Comparisons,”TNGC, 163–64).
For
older children: Pass out the following scripture references: Genesis 22:3–8; Exodus 12:21–28; Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; 1 Nephi 12:6. Read the scriptures, and discuss how each tells of Christ. Explain that when we understand symbols, we can see that the ancient prophets foretold Christ’s coming to the earth. Bear testimony that just as you know that Christmas is coming soon, the prophets knew that Christ would be born. Sing “Sing of Christmas” (Friend, Dec. 2003, 28).
For
younger children: Tell the children that sometimes we have to look hard to understand what “the Lamb” means in the scriptures and that they will need to look hard to find their lamb in Primary. Using the same object as before, have one child leave the room and another child hide the object. Sing songs about the Savior from the Children’s Songbook while the child who left the room returns to find the object. Have the children sing louder the closer the child gets to the object. Repeat with different songs. Bear testimony of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ."
Week 2 Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.
* Have a small picture of Jesus and a space for children to write down their testimony on a piece of paper. What do they know to be true about Jesus? (Fills a Faith in God requirement)
* Foam Finger Pointer. ($1 at the Dollar Store or you can make a large one out of a grocery paper bag) Invite a child to come to the front and wear the foam finger. Sing -you can do it by yourself, invite the other adults or have the children open up page # 103 in the Hymn book and sing too! In Hymn # 103 Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer, there are some words that are repeated. Have the child wearing the foam finger point to a picture anywhere in the room that these repeated words describe. Children sitting down can also use their pointer finger when the repeated word is sung.
What were the repeated words?
* D&C 19:41 "Or canst thou be humble and meek, and conduct thyself wisely before me?
Yea, come unto me thy Savior. Amen."
Make a very simple board game. You'll need a path with squares in 3 different colors. Humble Henry or Meek Maria can be your piece that you move along the path. At the end of the path have a picture of Jesus and the words "Savior of the World". The different colors represent different things to do, for example-
red- sing a song
blue- find a scripture
yellow- answer a question (A few examples- What does Savior mean? What did Jesus do to save the world? How does it feel to know you can live again? What can you do to help others learn about the Savior of the World?)
Have the children take turns rolling the dice and moving Humble Henry or Meek Maria
* Play a part of Handel's Messiah for the children. I would without hesitation go with about a minute of
THIS if possible to show the children. A fun part of the song is that the music paints what the words say. If it talks about a high mountain, the music goes up or if it talks about a low valley it goes deeper. What does the music make them think of? 1 Ne. 10: 4 "Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world." Have music notes (about the size of your hand) for children to draw pictures of the Savior or write what they would like to about Him and make your own Primary Messiah Symphony! Give to the ward Choir Conductor to inspire the choir at practice!
*
Mosiah 3: 20 "And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people."
HERE is a Friend Article that talks about different Christmas traditions from around the world. Have a large map with stars on the locations mentioned in the article or the different flags of the countries mentioned. Let children choose a location (or flag), learn how to say Merry Christmas in that language, and find out what they do to celebrate the Savior of the world. Be careful to focus the discussion on how we do all this celebrating
because Jesus was born and is the Savior of the world. FYI - the Greek pronunciation is Kah-La Hree-Stoo-Nia :)
Week 3 Jesus Christ will return to earth someday.
* Honestly, I think this week's sharing time idea in the outline is my favorite ever. It's a recycled idea from the Dec. 1999 Friend by Sydney Reynolds. For all her ideas on the topic click
HERE, there's even a little thingy to make.
*
Again, thank you Sister Ricks!! The following is her idea, "For older children: Invite two children to hold GAK 238 (The Second Coming) and GAK 239 (The Resurrected Jesus Christ). Have the Primary children compare the two pictures, pointing out what is the same and what is different. Ask the children holding the pictures to read the title of the picture and the summary that appears on the back of the picture. Explain that one is a picture of what Jesus might look like when He comes again and the other is a picture of what He might have looked like when He was resurrected. Tell them that there is a reason for the similarity.
Help all the children look up Acts 1:11. Tell them to put their fingers on the scripture and look at you when they are ready. Display either a globe or GAK 600 (The World). Read the scripture, moving the picture of the resurrected Jesus away from the globe as you read, “… taken up from you into heaven.” Move the picture of the Second Coming toward the globe as you read, “… shall so come in like manner.” Repeat, allowing different children to move the pictures as the rest of the children read the scripture. (This is a good opportunity to involve a child who is disabled.)
Sing “When He Comes Again” (pp. 82–83). Tell the children that the song presents different details about how the Savior might come again and that the scripture they just learned also tells them how the Savior will come.
The week before Primary, invite several children to be prepared to share things they have learned in Primary this year that will help them prepare for the Second Coming. They might recount a favorite sharing time, a memorable Primary lesson, or something they learned from an activity day. Intersperse songs with the participants, singing songs that you learned this year and reviewing the principles that they teach. Bear testimony that Jesus will come again and that as we follow Him in faith, we can enjoy eternal life."
Elizabeth Ricks, “The Greatest Gift,” Friend, Dec 2007, 12–14
* Divide into groups and make "Welcome Back" signs. Give each group a scripture about Jesus Christ returning to the earth and have them illustrate or write thoughts. Have them share their work with the Primary.
* Reader's Theatre of the Parable of the 10 Virgins to come shortly!!
Week 4 I can live with Jesus Christ again.
* Take the time to do the glove demonstration! It never gets old and is a perfect visualization. "Place a glove on the table. Explain that even though the glove is shaped like a hand, it cannot move like a hand because it is not alive. When a hand is placed in the glove, then the glove can move. Put your hand into the glove and wiggle your fingers. Explain that the glove is like a physical body, and the hand is like a spirit. Our bodies cannot move without our spirits inside them. Our spirits cannot be seen inside our bodies, just as the hand inside the glove cannot be seen." (See Boyd K. Packer, Teach Ye Diligently [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1975], pp. 231–33.) After we die, our spirits will again return to our bodies and we can live with Jesus Christ again!!
* Draw a large house on the black board. Where are some places our Primary friends have lived? How many friends have lived in more than one place? Our topic for the week is I can live with Jesus Christ AGAIN (stress again). What does that mean, again? Aha! (Hopefully a primary friend will bring up the premortal world)
Sing I lived in Heaven (CS 4) Bring in 10 different pictures of places you've lived (or perhaps you can call a couple parents and see if the children have lived anywhere exotic like Tahiti or something, then get a picture off the Internet or from the parents) Let the children come to the front and choose a picture to put on the black board by the home, attached to the pictures can be questions, songs and scriptures having to do with living with our Savior again. At the end, put a picture of Jesus in the house on the black board.
"Jesus was chosen and as the Messiah He came, conquering evil and death through His glorious name. Giving us hope of a wonderful life yet to be, Home in that Heaven where Father is waiting for me" (verse 3 I Lived in Heaven)
* Do you have a paddle ball toy?
Have a child come up to the front and show everyone how to play this game. The ball starts on the paddle, then returns because of the string. Ask a couple more children to try. Would the ball come back if the string wasn't there? We lived and started off with Heavenly Father and Jesus, we can live/return again to them too! But we need the string, we need to be obedient!!
* Learn the 3rd Verse of I am a Child of God (CS pg. 1)
I am a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will,
I’ll live with him once more.
Make a small treasure chest. Have a bag of gems (the glass beads at the dollar store would work great) Invite the children to come to the front and act out something that shows obedience. Then they can add a jewel to the chest. See how many you can get working together as a primary!
Matthew 13:44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."
