May 2014 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

This picture is from The Friend October 2012 by the talented Oakley.

HERE is the talk by Elder Scott, it's one of my all time favorites.

Monthly Theme: Families are Blessed When They Follow The Prophet
Monthly Scripture: "Be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets."
2 Peter 3:2

 

Week 1 God speaks to us through prophets.

*Grab an erasable white board and marker, a Gospel Art Book, and get ready for a game! A reverent child will be called on to come up front. They can choose any ancient or modern day prophet they can think of! They will whisper the name to you and you will write down the name of the prophet on the white board and then the primary children have to guess who the prophet is by asking YES or NO questions. They can't guess the prophet's name until AT LEAST 4 questions ABOUT the prophet have been asked!! After the prophet is guessed, see if anyone can tell us what that prophet taught!

* HERE is a link from the Liahonna (by Sandra Tanner and Cristina Franco). It has pictures of prophets and scriptures to match. You could print this off for small groups to match!!

* Beat the Teachers!! Using the chalkboard, draw 6 short lines to a picture of Jesus and then 6 lines on the other side of the picture. The primary children will get a question about the week's theme and if they get it right they can make an X on the line. Then the teacher's turn and on the other side if they get it right, they can make an X on the line. Basically it's a race to the middle, The Savior!! And of course the children can get help from other children, teachers from other teachers.
       Some questions for the kiddos could include:
Name 5 prophets from the Book of Mormon.
Name 2 things that were taught, in detail, at General Conference.
If a prophet speaks as a prophet, is it the same as The Lord saying it?
Who is your favorite prophet and why?
How do you feel knowing that God still speaks to us today? Can you name 3 ancient prophets that haven't been mentioned and 3 modern day apostles/prophets?
What does it mean to sustain the prophet?
      Some questions for the teachers could include (remember to make them a little harder!!):
What is the scripture reference for this scripture: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)
Can you say the 5th Article of Faith out loud from memory? What does that AOF have to do with Prophets?
What President of the Church said, "I say to Israel, the Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so he will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty.” (Wilford Woodruff)
Can you name all the current apostles/prophets?
What is one of your favorite teachings from the prophets?
What is something Hababkkuk taught?

A couple Recycled ideas from previous posts:

* We have a little girl in our primary who wants to become a movie director. Bring in a church film. Has anyone seen this movie? What are the credits at the end? Does anyone know the difference between a movie producer and a movie director? Basically, a movie producer is in charge of and directs EVERYTHING but will always need help dealing with the actors/people. That's where the director comes in. A movie director guides the actors under the producers supervision.
How does this compare to Jesus Christ and prophets? Make a paper action sign and have the children act out charades of different things or stories that were taught during our last conference!

* Have a list of cleaning chores around the home. Dusting, washing dishes, vacuuming, laundry, etc. Can mom do these all by herself? Sure! Would it be better if she had helpers? Heavenly Father could clean the world all by Himself, but He has prophets as His special helpers.

Have a bucket full of cleaning supplies. Invite children to come up and choose items. On the cleaning items have questions, scriptures and songs having to do with Prophets speak for Heavenly Father.
D&C 88:74 "...Yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean"

* Debate time! Have 2 children come up front and explain what a debate is. They have 30 seconds each to tell their side... what is the best flavor of ice cream and why? Who in the primary agrees and why? What about when it comes to Gospel topics? Is there a debate over those?

Sister Elaine A. Cannon, who has devoted much of her life to guiding and teaching young people, bore this witness of the living prophet: “Now, as he speaks to us … it is as if the Lord Jesus Christ himself were addressing us. … Christ made this very clear when he said to others of his children a time ago, ‘Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these … whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you’ (3 Nephi 12:1). … Your course should become clear, your priorities ought to be known to you. … Personal opinions vary. Eternal principles never do. When the prophet speaks … the debate is over” (“If We Want to Go Up, We Have to Go On,” New Era, Jan.–Feb. 1979, pp. 40–41).

Week 2 The prophets in the scriptures are examples to my family.

* Have some "special guests" come to primary! Invite a few adults to dress up as certain prophets in the scriptures and share their story. Ask the children how these prophets are examples to each of us and our families?

* President Harold B. Lee taught, “The most important of the Lord’s work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee [2000], 134). Draw a large home on the chalkboard. Get about 10 different color paint sample cards from Wal-Mart. Ooooo, pretty! Have different scripture references of different prophets on the back of each of the cards. Divide into groups and hand out the paint cards. Give the groups a few questions about the prophet too. Let them discuss 3-4 minutes.  An extra attentive primary child can have the reverent stick (a free paint stick/stirrer) and call on children to come share what they discussed in groups. Just like paint makes our walls at home beautiful, the prophets in the scriptures make our families and homes a more lovely place because of their examples and teachings.

* James 5:10 "Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience."
     Families are NEVER perfect!!! We all make mistakes, and fortunately because of Jesus, we can repent!!
     Dioramas are mentioned in Teaching, No Greater Call HERE. However, I don't think I've ever seen them utilized. This would be a great week to make 3-4 dioramas. I would choose Job, Lehi, and Jacob/Israel and his 12 sons to really hit home the mentioned scripture. Family life requires patience and the life of the prophets in the scriptures are wonderful examples for us!!

* Grab your sunglasses and feather boa. Put them on dramatically and introduce yourself as the latest and greatest movie star/rock star/athlete. Crumple a piece of paper and throw it in the garbage can... to demonstrate your great athletic ability. You are super famous and everyone in the world knows your name. Because so many people know who you are.... you must be a good example right? You are a super star!!!!! Nothing you do could be wrong!!! Wait and see what the children say. There are a lot of nice people in the world who are famous for different talents they have, but it doesn't mean they are good examples. Remember, we are not "worldly" people.
      1 John 2:15 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
    Have a picture of a magazine, a TV, a movie screen, a book, a basketball, a football... etc, things to represent where the world might look for an example. Have large red X's to cover those pictures. Have scripture stories of the prophets for each picture. Have a child choose a picture (let's say it's the magazine one, and of course they can feel free to wear your boa or sunglasses) and briefly explain how that prophet set a good example for our families. Have them X out the magazine picture and put a picture of the prophet above it. And of course, people in church magazines we can look to for a good example... but not really the magazines we see by the grocery check out!
     And of course, make sure to say that THERE ARE A LOT of good famous people out there!! A person doesn't have to be a member of The Church to be a good example!! Look at Abraham Lincoln or Mother Theresa or Martin Luther King Jr. We just need to be careful who we look to for examples. Ultimately, our greatest example is Our Savior!!

* Family Home Run Evening!!! Tell the children that what you do today in sharing time, they can easily do at home!!! Grab a roll of wrapping paper and a balloon, or some sort of soft ball. You, the pitcher, are going to have some questions about prophets and the examples they set for families. A child is at bat at the front of the room and can throw the balloon themselves and try to hit it, then they reverently walk to a corner of the room. If they give a really good answer they can go to 2nd base. Super good answer, 3rd base. WOW!!! Can't believe you know that... home reverent walk/run! Anyone in the primary can steal the base if they catch the balloon.... SITTING DOWN. If they are standing at all or jump up, it's not a steal. Stealing the base means switching corners with the child that is there. See how many home runs/ reverent walks you can get as a primary!!!
    Clarification: So if a child answers a question they go to first base, next child comes up and answers a question and the first child moves to second base, second child moves to first base. Basically, just move the kiddos along!!

Week 3 My family will be blessed as we follow the prophet.

* Multiple Choice Quiz Time!! The week before, choose 4 families from the ward that the children know well. Ask them for some examples in their life (about 3-4 short stories each) how following the prophet has blessed them. For sharing time, write A B C D on the board and under each letter the name of one of the families you got stories from. Tell the children you are going to have a multiple choice quiz!! Invite 3 children  up at a time, read them a story and have them stand under the letter/family they think the story is about. Have your primary pianist announce the correct answer!!

* Have a picture of a prophet. Have a picture of a family. Let a child pick a spot, any spot to put the picture of the prophet. See if the children can remember some of the stories from General Conference. Share some brief stories from Conference then ask the children what the message is of that story and how your family can be blessed by that principle. Whoever answers can take the picture of the family and put it by the prophet. Then another child comes up and moves the picture of the prophet. Share a conference story, move family.... continue on!! :)

* HERE is a great example of how President Hinckley's family was blessed by following the prophet. After reading it and going over the questions with the children. Have a few highlighted conference talks for the children to read in groups... the highlighted parts. Have them brainstorm ideas for a Family Home Evening based off following the teachings of that prophet/apostle, then share with the primary.

Week 4 The prophet speaks to us at General Conference.

* HERE is a must read to prepare for this week's topic. In October 2014, Elder Robert D. Hales spoke extensively on the topic of General Conference.

* HERE is a conference center tour found off LDS.org. If you are able to download, it's a short video about the conference center and what happens behind the scenes at conference! It's really wonderful and interesting!! It is about 2 1/2 minutes in length. HERE is the written message if you can't get the video... but the video is really awesome.

* HERE are some conference hidden pictures. My children LOVE these types of things. Why not turn it into a sharing time or Family Home Evening? Have strips of paper with scriptures, songs, and questions having to do with General Conference folded in a paper bag. A child comes up front and picks from the bag. Once the answer or read the scripture or lead the song, they get to see if they can color/find something from the look and find. Just have the look and find on the blackboard. If they need help, have them call on another primary friend to come up. Make copies for the primary children to take home after the lesson.

* LDS.org makes life so much easier!!! HERE are conference squares. Print off a sheet for each child or for small groups. Have 10-20 short quotes from Conference. Have them play conference squares as you or another good reader reads the quote.

* Sometimes we might think that Conference is a little long or that it's just for adults... but it's not!! The prophet speaks to US at General Conference. HERE is a story of a little girl who could testify to that truth!! Read the story, then have the children write their name on a post it and put it on the chalkboard, all seperate. Have them think of something they like to hear about during conference... whether it's faith or stories from the Book of Mormon or talks about the temple or even the singing!! Invite a child up front, blindfold them or have them close their eyes and choose a post it or 2  from the chalkboard. Whoever has their name chosen can say what they like to hear about at General Conference or one of their favorite messages from the last conference... Heavenly Father knows us each by name. He knows us better than we know ourselves and at Conference time, He speaks to us through His holy prophet!!