FHE: Name Written Always on Your Hearts

Image courtesy creative commons license flickr.com by Le Petit Poulailler Jan. 2009

Mosiah 5:12 " I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you."

Activity: Should we have the name Gonzo written on our hearts always? What about Pete or Myrtle or Beth or Anna or Shakira?

Who's name should we always have written in our hearts?

What does it mean to "have name written in our hearts"??
What did Abinadi teach about the "commandments being written on your hearts" to the wicked priests in Mosiah 13??
Or how about 2 Corinthians 3:3 "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in table of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."
Here is another scripture Hebrews 8:10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people"

Have 10 plain hearts and let family members decorate them. Now comes the fun part. Have you ever wondered and thought to yourself all the different names for Christ? How many do you think there are??

Click HERE, the bible dictionary, it's a lot!! Explain to your children what the Bible Dictionary is used for and how helpful it can be in studying the scriptures. Let family members choose 1 scripture per heart to write on from "Christ, Names of" in the bible dictionary. Mix up the hearts and then look them up to see the different names chosen... try to guess who chose what.

Final question: Can "take upon us the name of Christ" and "name written on your hearts" be used together to describe what we need to do to show our love for The Savior??

End with this quote and the bearing of testimonies, " We see that we take upon us the name of Christ when we are baptized in his name, when we belong to his Church and profess our belief in him, and when we do the work of his kingdom." Elder Dallin H. Oaks May 1985 Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ Highly recommend reading this talk for personal study!

New Year's Goals - LDS Family Home Evening Idea

I probably should have posted this before January, but this handsome little fellow happily distracts me from things that aren't quite as important, but are still important enough where I feel like I should kindly apologize. So... sorry mang, yes mang. Better late than never.

New Year Goals: A FHE

Opening Prayer

Opening Quote: "I have said often, you may write blessings for yourselves, and insert every good thing you can think of, and it will all come to pass on your heads, if you do right" (Heber C. Kimball, from an address given in the Old Tabernacle, August 1853)

Question: How do we get our FHE treat? Does it just magically appear out of thin air? Does it just fly through the door in a shower of sparkles and voila! we can eat?

Somewhere, steps were taken to get that treat!

Move to the stairs in your home. If you don't have stairs, adapt to your liking.

Activity: Have some goals and write them on a strip of paper. Have children put them at the top of the stairs. To get to the top, you have to take it step by step! On seperate strips of paper, write the steps it takes to get to the goal and have children place them on the stairs one at a time.

Yes, the hubby finally cut his dreadlocks....

For example: Goal- Run a Marathon

Steps- walk, stretch, eat right, run 1 mile, run 5 miles, run 10 miles

We did 3 goals which took about 10 minutes. And of course, be careful on the stairs!!

Activity: On a sheet of paper write some family goals for the New Years and talk about the steps you might have to take to reach them.

Scripture: Mosiah 4:27 "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order."

Closing Prayer and Treat

** We have lots of songs we sing throughout FHE. If there is a principle we are talking about, then we sing a song to reinforce that principle and take it as it comes.**

Other resources from LDS.Org include
* Goal capsules from the Liahona
*Here is a lesson from Duties and Blessings of Priesthood manual with good stories and questions
* Fill in the Blank sentences to reach your goal from The Friend
* HERE is a great visual story about graham crackers as steps, and a grape as a goal for young children from The Friend

January 2012 Week 4 LDS Primary Sharing Time Reader's Theater: Jesus Christ created the earth as a place where I can learn to choose the right.

A World of Choice to Gladden the Heart

A Reader’s Theater by Sofia Lykes

Please feel free to use this in a home or church setting. Not intended for commercial use and if you do, to quote Blondie, "One way or another, I'm gonna find ya... I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha, one way or another..."

Speaking Parts:

Narrator 1, 2, 3     Angel #1,2, 3    Joseph Smith

  Non speaking parts:

Sign holder   Sun, Moon, Stars   2 helpers to make “waves”

A child to plant seeds and a child to be a plant and grow

Sidenotes:

* Click HERE to see tips on how to do a Reader's Theater... be confident, it will be fun! 

And seriously, choose your reader's wisely! Make sure the readers don't hold the papers up in front of their face, no one will be able to hear them or see their beautiful faces!

* When the sign holder holds up signs, the primary children in the audience can read what it says out loud together- you'll have to make the 6 signs for the sign holder to hold up.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

(Sign holder holds up sign WELCOME TO OUR READER’S THEATRE)

Narrator 1: God the Father once said, “For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the eternal life of man.”

Narrator 2: That’s a lot of work!!

Narrator 1: It sure is! There are gazillions of people that have lived on the earth. I don’t know how He does it!

Narrator 3: It’s not that important for us to know how He does it, but WHY He does it… because He loves us!!

Narrator 2: Yes. Because Jesus loves us, He created the earth as a place where we can choose the right.

(Sign holder holds up sign PRE-MORTAL WORLD)

Angel #1: Hey man, did you just hear that!!

Angel #2: What?

Angel #1: Heavenly Father has a great plan. In fact, it’s not great… it’s awesomely perfect! He needs someone to help Him with His plan and has asked, “Whom will I send?”[1]

Angel #2: Oh yeah! And our elder brother Jesus said, “Here I am, send me.”[2]

Angel #3: I know who I’m choosing to follow! Lucifer also said he’d do  the job but his plan didn’t sound too great.

Angel #1: No it didn’t! No one should have to be forced to do anything! Agency is such a blessing.

Angel #3: What is agency?

Angel #2: Agency is the gift to choose!!

(Sign holder holds up sign Hip! Hip! Hooray!!)

Narrator 1: We all shouted for joy because we had choices and a plan where we could be saved.

Narrator 2: We were excited for new experiences and for everything to happen, we’d have to leave the pre-mortal world and get bodies.

Narrator 3: But where would everyone go??

(Sign holder holds up sign WELCOME TO EARTH!)[3]

Narrator 1: Under Heavenly Father’s direction, Jesus organized like crazy!

Narrator 2: I wish He’d come help me with my toy closet.

Narrator 3: Jesus divided light from darkness to create day and night. He formed the sun, moon, and stars.

(Sun, Moon and Star friends wave to audience)

Narrator 3: He divided the waters from the dry land to make seas, rivers, and lakes.

(2 primary children can hold a blue sheet and shake it like waves)

Narrator 2: 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.

(A primary child pretends like they are planting seeds and another primary child pretends to be a plant and grows)

Narrator 1: Then He created the animals—fish, cattle, insects, and birds of all kinds. Hey primary friends! Raise your hand and I’ll call on you. You can share what your very favorite animal is!!

(Sign holder holds up sign ALMOST TO THE END)

Joseph Smith: When I was writing one day, the Lord gave me this revelation which I wrote down in D&C 59:18-19 “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; Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.”

Narrator 2: Wow Joseph! We know that Jesus has given us everything!! Not only His life, but this beautiful world to gladden our hearts.

Joseph Smith: “We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom.”[4]

Narrator 3: I guess it means we better choose the right and use our agency wisely!!

(Sign holder holds up sign WE CAN CHOOSE THE RIGHT)

EVERYONE: WE CAN CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!

(Sign holder holds up sign THE END)

---

[1] Abraham 3:27

[2] Abraham 3:27

[3]Most of  the following parts spoken by narrators come from the Gospel Principles Manual

[4] From Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 211, 213–14.

As A Child of God - LDS Primary Song Helps and Ideas

Image found under Children/Micellaneous via LDS Media Library 

As a note, these are ideas once you've learned the basic song. You'll need some sort of visual to teach the words to the children... these are in addition to that visual.

* Power to Choose Stick- Make a little wooden stick the primary's power to choose stick. While singing the song a primary friend can hold the stick up front as long as they like, within reason, and then they can point it to another primary friend- they have the power to choose! That friend then comes to the front and you keep on pointing, choosing and singing. Remember, the person up front has to sing too!

* Children of God, finger puppets!! (HERE is a link for simple ones you can print off on heavy paper) You'll actually need puppets they can use their fingers as legs. The smaller movement helps them concentrate especially hard! Tell the primary children you have a bunch of little friends, children of God, that need help learning a new song! While you sing the song, children put the puppets on their fingers and listen closely for directions. For the first verse the puppets can step touch side to side while you sing. For the 2nd verse the puppets can kick. Ask the children if they can think of any movements for their puppets to do! The song is in a 3/4 time signature, which is what is used for waltzes, so the puppets could even waltz in a triangle.

* The chorus of the song talks about "special light". Bring in some "special lights"! Close the lights and turn on your "special lights" while you sing. Some "special lights" could include a Christmas star, lava lamp, flashlight, glow in the dark stars, light saber, fun night light, a chain of Christmas lights. Are those pretty cool? Wrap it up by singing the last time with the ultimate and most "special light"- a picture of Jesus Christ.

* Mystery Children of God- Get some video of friends in the ward singing this song. Each Sunday the children will hear a different person on the video singing and try to guess who that Child of God is. For example, you could get the missionaries, the bishop, the young women... etc. I have a digital camera and would just record on that, let the primary children hear and then after the guess, play it again and let them see who was singing and sing along too! They are hearing the song and learning the melody as they listen over and over.

Another simpler version of the one above is to have a child come to the front and turn with their backs facing the children. You tap 5-6 children on the shoulder who stand up and sing the song. Then they sit down. The person up front turns around and tries to guess what Child of God was singing!

* All over the world, children of God can choose the right! HERE is a wonderful link from The Friend with different CTR shields in different languages. There are 15 so you could invite 5 children up at a time per verse of this song and have them hold up the shield while you sing. After the verse you can have them guess what language it is. You could reuse these easily for the song Choose the Right.

January 2012 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

Image courtesy creative commons license flickr.com by PetitPlat Aug. 2011

Monthly Theme: Agency Is the Gift to Choose for Ourselves

Monthly Scripture: "Wherefore, men are free . . . to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men" (2 Nephi 2:27).

Week 1 and 2: Agency is the gift to choose for ourselves.

* God bless whoever invented ice cream! Who has ever enjoyed going into an ice cream shop and having a bunch of flavors to choose from? What are some favorites? Personally, it's Rocky Road or bust for me! Have an ice cream cone and different colored ice cream scoops made out of paper. Write scriptures, questions and songs having to do with agency on the back of the scoops. Invite a child to choose a scoop, then do what it says on back and build a tall cone on the black board! There are a lot of choices out there and it's God's gift of agency to us, to let us choose!!!

* Choices! Choices! Choices!! Have 20 envelopes in sets of 2. In each envelope have names of different scriptural characters and some sort of simple instruction like hop 5 times on one foot. Invite a primary friend to come up front and choose a set of envelopes, then choose another primary friend to choose one of the 2 envelopes! Have them talk about the scriptural character and choices they made. Then have the primary do the simple instruction.
Some examples could be:
Nephi - tug on left ear 3 times
King Noah- rub your elbows together while
It's always nice to get bodies moving!! It is possible to move and maintain reverence so don't be scared to try. Children (& most people) learn best when actively involved!

* Try to have the children learn the scripture "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15 by you saying it and randomly leaving out words and having them fill in what word you left out. At the beginning of primary you could challenge the children and see if anyone can learn the scripture to recite by themselves by the end of primary. Have an outline of a house on a piece of paper for each child. Invite children to draw in their home or write about good choices we can make. Have them share with the whole primary or in groups. Our choices and the choices of our family decide whether we'll have a happy or not so happy home!

* Have 2 gift wrapped boxes up front. Invite a child to come up and choose a gift. In one gift have a bunch of demands like sweep the floor, do 50 push ups, eat 6 spoonfuls of mashed potatoes, walk 10 minutes to the store and buy milk only, sip 4 times a cup of that milk, wash your hair for 2 minutes in cold water, lie on the floor for 45 minutes to take a nap, read the dictionary for 6 pages and then freeze. Woah! Does that sound pleasant being told and forced to do certain things? In the other box have the simple phrase, "Choose for yourself". Which gift is better and why? Agency is God's gift to us, and what we do with that agency is our gift to God! Have the children write down a couple choices they can make this week that would make Heavenly Father and Jesus happy. Then give them a brown paper bag with a bow on it, have them put their choices in it and share with their family what they'll do this week with their agency!

* Bring in a checkers board. You, as the teacher, can be black and the children can be red. Invite 1 primary friend at a time to come up and answer a simple case scenario, then they can make a choice on the checkers board.
For example, a case scenario could be:
Maria is walking home from school and sees garbage on the ground. How could she use her gift of agency wisely?
Teddy is mad at his brother. How could he use his gift of agency wisely?
Nice and short! Try to get as many children involved, up and thinking as possible! At the end you can conclude with our life is like a game of checkers. Some choices are very important and can mean all the difference in winning our eternal exaltation!
(And as a fun fact, did you know President Monson loved to play checkers?? He even read a book on different checker strategies and memorized moves and game plans so he'd never lose!)

* Have 3 cups and plenty of chocolate kisses! Invite a primary friend to the front and have them turn around while you hide one chocolate under one upside down cup. Mix up the cups. Preface at the beginning you are going to play a game. You might win a chocolate, you might not. But don't worry at the end everyone will get a chocolate!! Have Gospel Art Pictures of different scripture stories. Invite the primary friend to tell a little about the story and how they used their gift of agency. Then let the friend choose a cup and see if they got a chocolate!! Have about 10-12 different scriptural pictures. Sing Choose the Right Way (CS pg. 160) and look for super singers. Invite a couple of those super singers up to try choosing a cup! Whenever we make a good choice in life, we'll get something better than a chocolate kiss... a blessing from above! We might not see it right away, but it will always be there.

* Life is full of good choices and sometimes we can even make those good choices better! Have a couple friends act out the story of Mary and Martha as you read Luke 10:38-42. Mary sits and listens while Martha cleans dishes, serves food and hustles and bustles about.... What did the Savior teach us about the gift of agency?
List a bunch of good choices on the board, and then have the primary children share ideas on how to make even better choices!! For example:
Pray at breakfast ( A better choice could be to pray always!)
Read Scriptures ( A better choice could be to ponder and study the scriptures!)
Go to Church (Participate and ask questions and share at church!)
etc.

* Have the children act out the parable of the talents (Matthew 25). Focus on each of the choices the servants made.

“Every one of us will have to give an account for the deeds we do in the flesh, and that every man will be rewarded according to his works, whether they be good or evil.” Joseph F. Smith (Principles of Government  in the Church, Improvement Era, Nov. 1917, 10-11)

Week 3: In the premortal life, I chose to follow God's plan.

* “No principle in time or eternity is so cherished as the right of agency. A war was waged in heaven over our agency- a war that was transferred to earth. Satan is determined to blind, bind and lead captive through ignorance and sin everyone he can. Understanding our agency is imperative for our spiritual survival and fulfillment in Christ.” Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual Rel 430 &431, pg.30

Have a backpack and name it our agency survival kit. In it have items with questions or scriptures attached. I’d have about 10 items inside. For example:

  Flashlight – Who helps us see through the darkness and make good choices?
(Jesus, the Holy Ghost, Parents, Teachers, Good friends)

Suncreen- How do good choices help us from being hurt?

Cell Phone- What can we choose to pray for?

Canned Food- Name some soul food, or scripture stories that teach us about good choices.

Water-  John 4:14 “ But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” What did the woman at the well choose? Show gospel art kit picture and briefly go over story.

* “Someone once said, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” But it doesn’t work that way. The Savior said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” President Faust, Ensign 1995, Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil

Draw on the board what a fork in the road is. Show one path leading to a picture of the Savior and the other a frowny face. We made the wonderful choice in the premortal world to follow the Savior. Now that we’re here on earth, let’s name some good and bad choices we make and the paths that follow. Bring in a toy car and let children come up to the board and name examples and drive their car on each path to show everyone.

* "Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation."David A. Bednar, "And Nothing Shall Offend Them," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 90

Bring in a long coat, hat and magnifying glass. Super Secret Agent time! Have each primary child write down a choice they have made in their life that was a good one and their name! Put all the choices into a box and invite a primary friend to dress up as a super secret agent and as you read a choice from the box, they can guess who made it!

Re-read the words of President Bednar, “As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond….” In the premortal life we chose Christ, so let's make sure our choices here support all we did before!

Week 4: Jesus Christ created the earth as a place where I can learn to choose the right.

* Click HERE for a Reader's Theater. Happy acting!

If you need a last minute stocking stuffer idea....

My daughters gave this activity a 2 thumbs up. I adore The Friend and I adore my mini-laminator from Costco. Just cut out from HERE, laminate and use cheap magnets from mailings and hot glue.

And yes, I have the apostles up on our refrigerator too. It's a good reminder that we must feed both our bodies and spirits.

Christmas Jingo!!!

Hello! And Merry Christmas!! Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful time of year. I was super excited because we just got Microsoft Powerpoint!! Woot Woot!!! What does it boil down too?

JINGO!!!

 

Jingo is like bingo, but better because there are "clues" for the spaces.  J-I-N-G-O follows the same basic rules as bingo, except instead of playing with numbers you play with clue cards and pictures. A player chooses a clue card and reads the question. If the answer is pictured on your player card, cover it with a marker and choose a new clue card, and so on until someone completes 4 in a row. It's fabulous and we love it!

I made a Christmas Jingo (Christ Centered of course!) that we're going to be doing for FHE.You'll have to cut the call cards out and have a sack to draw them out of.

All pictures are from free clip art sites or lds.org.

***Also, if you are OCD, you'll notice it's not perfect. Sorry. The black lines aren't exact... just hum George Michael's Careless Whisper to yourself and everything will be alright. I promise.*** Christmas Jingo

December 2011 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

(L'Innocence by William-Adolphe Bouguereau 1893)

Monthly Theme: The Scriptures Teach Me about the Savior’s Birth and Second Coming.
Monthly Scripture: “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” Matthew 16:27.

Week 1 Prophets prophesied about the birth of Jesus Christ.

* HERE is an "Advent Calendar: Prophecies of Christ’s Coming,” NewEra, Dec 2008, 21–25. It'd be a great handout for the children to take home to families.

* Numbers 24:17 "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob..." Who was the prophet Balaam, from the Old Testament, prophesying would be born? Who was that Star?? Jesus!!
Have 10 different glow in the dark stars throughout the room. Turn off the lights and invite one Primary friend to choose one. Turn on the light. Have scriptures, songs and questions having to do with this week's theme attached to the stars. (OR you could just put up these STARS)

* HERE is a talk, This Shall Be a Sign unto You By Whitney Hinckley (Liahona Dec. 2011) that has prophecies and the fulfillment of it. You could easily make this into a matching game or you could give classes a prophecy or fulfillment and have them walk around the room to find the match. Then they come up front to share.
* I love love love.... love love love... love love love... love times infinity all the people that put together fun stuff on lds.org to help me teach my children. God bless you whoever you are. HERE is a link to Book of Mormon stories with visuals and audio. Chapter 40 & 41 show Samuel prophesying Christ's birth and the signs fulfilled about his birth. If you have internet or can download these, it'd be great to show the kids. Each segment is about 3 minutes. HERE is the Old Testament link, Chapter 47 is Prophets tell about Jesus.

* HERE is an excellent shadow box idea from The Friend.

* HERE is a mobile children can make from The Friend about different prophecies.

Week 2 Jesus Christ was born.

* When was Jesus born? December 25? Write down different dates... take a vote, then quote the following:

After summarizing the opinions of various scholars in the matter of Christ’s birthday, Elder James E. Talmage compares their conclusions with modern revelation and then affirms: “We believe that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, April 6, B.C. 1.” ( Jesus the Christ, p. 104.) Of this President Harold B. Lee declared:  “This is the annual conference of the Church. April 6, 1973, is a particularly significant date because it commemorates not only the anniversary of the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this dispensation, but also the anniversary of the birth of the Savior, our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. [Quoted D&C 20:1 ]” ( CR, Apr. 1973, p. 4.)

Also, a more recent quote from Elder Russell M. Nelson, "We commemorate His humble birth at this time of year, even though we know it did not occur in December but in April." (Christ the Savior is Born, Ensign, Dec. 2006)

* Bring in simple costumes to act out the story of the nativity.

* Divide into groups and give each group a nativity. Let them tell the story of the nativity with the figurines in each group.

* Let the children make paper bag puppets to take home with different people from the nativity story to share at a Family Home Evening.

* Whisper in a child's ear to go to the corner and tap his nose 15 times, then sit down. Do it discreetly. Make small talk with the Primary and see how their week was. Did anyone notice what our primary friend did in the corner while we were talking? It's kind of hard to see things if it's in the corner!!

"“This thing was not done in a corner,” Paul said of Christ's ministry and the restoration of the gospel in the meridian of time. (Acts 26:26.) Indeed, the witnesses of the Savior’s birth were many and various."

Divide the primary into 12 groups. Give each group one of the witnesses found in THIS TALK, Twelve Witnesses of Christ’s Birth By Joseph Fielding McConkie (Ensign Dec.1990) Groups can make a picture of their person. After a few minutes have them share with the whole primary who their witness to Jesus' birth was and what they learned.

*“The Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay” (Mosiah 3:5). Using playdough, have children create the nativity in each of their classes.* HERE is a simple Christmas matching game from The Friend.

* HERE is an excellent idea from The Friend by Sister Elizabeth Ricks. It includes visuals and scriptures.

Week 3 Jesus Christ will someday return to the earth.

* HERE is a very cool sharing time from The Friend having to do with the parable of the 10 Virgins.

* HERE is a visual children can make of how they can be prepared when Jesus comes again.(The Friend Dec. 2001)

* Draw pictures of what the Millennium will be like!! I personally would draw myself and Jesus eating chocolate ice cream bars on the back of an elephant with rainbows and stars lighting up the sky!

* Awesome idea from Sister Sydney Reynolds:
"To learn more about what life will be like in the Millennium, when Christ returns to earth to reign for a thousand years, choose 2 children to role-play TV news anchor persons, and assign each class to choose a “field reporter” to report the class’s findings on the following subjects in the scriptures: • animals / Isa. 11:6–9; Hosea 2:18 • people / Isa. 54:heading, 3; Micah 4:4; D&C 63:50–51 • nations, government / Micah 4:1–3; Jer. 31:33; D&C 29:11 • miscellaneous—time of His coming / Matt. 24:36, 44; Zion and the return of the city of Enoch / D&C 45:66, 71; Moses 7:62–64. Have the anchor persons make up questions for each field reporter to tell what his/her class learned about their subject. Tell the children that we do not know exactly when the Savior will come, but we must be preparing to meet Him (see Matt. 25:1–13). Sing “When He Comes Again” (CS, pp. 82–83) and discuss what the things are that we need to do to “be ready there.” (Dec. 1999 Friend)

* Lesson 43: Jesus Christ Will Come Again Primary 2: Choose the Right A, (1995), 235–39 supposedly has a "Jesus Will Come Again" board game. The link, found HERE, doesn't have it, but I'd be interested in seeing that!!

* 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.

Week 4 To prepare for the 2nd Coming, I will follow Jesus Christ.

*For a FHE discussion: My girls love Disney's The Lion King. In the movie there is a song called "Be Prepared". Scar, the villain, is gathering an army of hyenas and telling them to "Be Prepared" to take over the kingdom. Scar repeatedly tries to get Simba to make bad choices (What are they?), choices specifically against what his father has told him. Like Scar, Satan and his fallen angels are always ready, always preparing to tempt us and try to get us to make bad choices. We know that they are nothing compared to our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. D&C 38:30-31 says, "But if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.And that ye might escape the power of the enemy, and be gathered unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless"

What can we do to prepare? Discuss as a family!

* Play "Honey I love you". A friend stands up front and their job is to NOT SMILE for anything!! Another primary friend will come up to them and try to make them laugh by saying "Honey, I love you" in some sort of funny voice. The friend standing has to reply WITHOUT smiling, "Honey, I love you too... but I still won't smile." Is it hard to stand up here when someone is trying to get you to do something else?

We live in a world that is quick to get us to move from our values. We live in a world that is evil and full of bad things happening. The 2nd coming is close, however, our prophet has said, "be not troubled, but, “stand … in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come” (D&C 87:8). Holy men stand in holy places and these holy places include our temples, our chapels, our homes, and the stakes of Zion, which are, as the Lord declares, “for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” (D&C 115:6)." (Great Day of the Lord by President Ezra Taft Benson May Ensign 1982)

Our silly game is fun. When it comes to life however, we must never give in to those who would move us! Jesus Christ will come again and when He does, we will be standing in holy places!!

* What is “the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (D&C 2:1)? What does great mean? What about dreadful? Write the 2 words on the chalkboard. In between have a picture of the Savior. Elder Spencer V. Jones, of the Seventy, said, "We may have a tendency to overlook the “great” and accentuate the “dreadful." We do, however, have control over whether we personally will be prepared for the day when the Savior comes again. Our daily decisions will determine whether that day is “great” or “dreadful.” (Messages from the Doctrine and Covenants: Finding Hope in the Second Coming June Ensign 2005) Brainstorm ideas of decisions people make and write them under great or dreadful, depending on their consequence... For example, reading scriptures would be written under great.

(RECYCLED IDEAS from previous posts)

* Have a child come up and hold a rock. Ask the primary what will happen if the child drops the rock? It falls. Have another child come up and demonstrate. There are things we know without any question that are going happen. Just like we are certain and know Jesus will come again.


* Learn the 10th Article of Faith song.Give the children popsicle sticks to learn the melody and move it up or down as they sing. Challenge a child to come up and be a dictionary. Have them hold a dictionary. Ask them the meaning of words in this article of faith that are big. Display GAK 238 The 2nd Coming and have the children share what they think it will be like when Jesus comes again.

* Show the video segment of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin from Special Witnesses of Christ. Have a nativity with scriptures, songs and questions attached about when Jesus will come again. The first time He came was amazing and so the second time will be!!

* Interesting Fact: “The Lord deals with this people as a tender parent with a child, communicating light and intelligence and the knowledge of his ways as they can bear it. The inhabitants of the earth are asleep; they know no the day of their visitation. The Lord hath set the bow in the cloud for a sign that while it shall be seen, seed time and harvest, summer and winter shall not fail; but when it shall disappear, woe to that generation, for behold the end cometh quickly.” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith Compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, p.305)

Young Women in Excellence Talk: Spiritual Bonfires of Testimony

I was supposed to speak at Young Women in Excellence night... I was all prepared, however 15 minutes before I was supposed to be there, we had a family emergency and I ended up not being able to go because we were at Urgent Care. All is well now, but I feel really bad. Anyways, just thought I'd post what I wrote for the occasion... because Elder Wirthlin is awesome and has wonderful insight.

I wanted to start off by saying thank you for the honor of speaking tonight. I haven’t been in Young Women's or had a calling in it for 12 years, but my love for the program is strong. You are a rare group of girls, beautiful and radiant. While I don’t know you all on an individual basis, I look at you and see pure, virtuous young ladies making a huge impact in this world and am humbled to be before you. I’ve prayed every night to know what needs to be said and I pray right now that the spirit will guide us and edify us... and that I wont bore the snot out of you.

The theme for tonight is the "purse-suit of happiness". I love that because happiness isn’t just going to hit you on the head one day. It’s something you have to actively seek for. Happiness comes in many shapes and forms. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin wrote a book entitled Finding Peace in our Lives and I wanted to share with you thoughts from it, specifically the chapter Spiritual Bonfires of Testimony. Because I know that true happiness is having a testimony of God the Father and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Before I do so, I’ll give you a brief background of my experience from Young Women's. We had a small group of girls, so much so that there was usually me, maybe another girl and my best friend who wasn’t a member at mutual activities. I wish I could say I was mature enough to go to activities because I had a deep desire to learn and better myself, but in all honesty it was to watch the guys play basketball after. My leaders loved me but I’m pretty sure I was super annoying to them because I’d always try to ask them off the wall questions. For example, one leader worked at a mental institution and I remember trying to get her to talk about the people there and if she worried they’d ever break out and find her. We were in the car for 20 minutes together and by the end she put her hand on my shoulder, thoroughly patient yet glad to get rid of me and said, Goodnight Sofia. Goodnight. I’m sure you are all wiser than I was. All your leaders speak very very highly of you.

I loved Girl’s Camp. It was a time to learn, feel the spirit and just enjoy life. My best friend that I mentioned would come and I’m grateful because I’m hoping those were the seeds planted that will be sown later on in life. One year we were camp mail women and we wore pink kimonos everywhere walking with wooden canes from Tijuana. Young Women’s is an inspired organization that is there to help us have happy memories. Not only that, but it can be a safety for us to help us through the drama of middle school and highschool. I held on to Young Womens. I went to church, I went to mutual. I attended seminary. I made a lot of mistakes and was far from perfect but Young Women’s and Personal Progress helped me build upon my testimony. Others from my laurel class didn’t see the value in it and 3 chose alternate lifestyles, 1 went to BYU met a non-member and married him and fell away from the church and 1 other just went inactive. I don’t know all the details of the younger girls but out of a group of 20, me and a girl named Ronnie stayed active. It’s pretty sad statistics and I wonder what happened. But at the same time I don’t. In two words, wolves happened.

Elder Wirthlin tells of large packs of quote “wolves that roamed the countryside of Ukraine many years ago. It made travel very dangerous. The wolf packs were fearless. They were not intimidated by people or by any of the weapons available at that time. The only thing that seemed to frighten them was fire. Consequently, travelers who found themselves away from cities developed the practice of burning a large bonfire and keeping it burning through the night. As long as the fire burned brightly, the wolves stayed away. But if the fire burned out, the wolves would move in for an attack. Travelers understood that building and maintaining a bonfire was not just a matter of convenience or comfort; it was a matter of survival.”

We obviously don’t have to look far to see wolves all around us. They are on shirts, bumper stickers, hats, cups, license plates... you name it.

 

So what is the moral of the story and the point of my ramblings? Don’t go to UNR, go to BYU.... goooooooooooooo cougars!! UNR may pay our bills, but I’ll always prefer my alma mater. (**Sidenote dear readers, our local university has the mascot of wolf pack as pictured and my husband works there as an administrator)

All joking aside. Elder Wirthlin mentions some pretty vivid scriptures “1 Peter 5:8 describes our, “adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, that walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb.” D&C 122:6.”

The name of the program tonight is Young Women in Excellence, and you can tell. Because you step outside of this room and you see females who parade their bodies as trash. We live in Nevada, so we get an extra dosage of visuals that are nothing short of horrific, yet so sad. You step outside this room and hear girls with mouths that need to be duck-taped for the good of society and decency of the human race. You step outside this room and there are girls having babies, unwed, unskilled, uneducated and unprepared for the consequence of their choice. You step outside this room and you take a big breath and thank the Lord that He is the Lord and that you don’t have His job. It seems overwhelming that there are so many willing to run with the pack and be led captive into misery. However, you take one step in this room and you can breath. You take one look around and here, here are Young Women in Excellence. Here are the Young Women, the leaders, the examples, the virtue and goodness that make the rest of us have hope. And why are you excellent? Because of your light.

Happiness is having the bonfire of a testimony. Perhaps it may be just a small one, perhaps it is a raging inferno ready to burn the desert we live in down... either way, we can always add fuel to our testimony and make it stronger.

Our dear apostle Elder Wirthlin suggests “3 ways that will fan the flame of personal testimony as a protection against the wolves of evil that are prowling all around us to threaten our spiritual security. First, our testimonies must be built upon a solid foundation of faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.” Can anyone recite from memory Helaman 5:12? “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

I was never a cheerleader, I was too self conscious of my thighs and not willing to work out. With that said, I still would rather watch cheerleaders than a football game. Something about guys in spandex who grunt and bash heads has no relevance to me. So back to cheerleaders.... when I think of cheerleaders making a pyramid formation, they always put the more robust girls on the bottom? Why? Obviously the waifs aren’t going to be able to support everyone. So it is with the Big Man upstairs, they don’t call Him the Big Man for nothing. He is all wise, all capable and ready to support us in all our righteous endeavors.

The second idea to fan the flame of personal testimony is, “We must repent humbly and sincerely.” I love the analogy Elder Wirthlin makes,“Anything that does not draw us closer to God takes us away from him.”

And the last idea he mentions is this, “Third, we must follow the example of the Savior.” How can we have a testimony of someone we don’t follow? We’re not asked to turn water into wine or atone for the sins of the world. 1 John 2: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” John continues on in Chapter 3 “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

What is the day the widow’s husband died? Leave a plant on her doorstep with a card that says, today is a hard day, but know you are loved more than words can say. Smile and wave at the car next to you. Say hello to people you don’t know at church. Post Ghandi quotes on facebook about making the world a better place.

The pursuit of happiness is consistently striving to gain a testimony of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. And today’s as good a day as any to decide what you know to be true. A testimony isn’t thanking people, a testimony is BAM... The Lord lives, I know this is true. We need to be ready to bear testimony at anytime. Be confident in the knowledge you’ve gained.

What is our happily ever after if we do so? Mosiah 2:41 “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.” Never ending happiness!! Cha Ching!!

I’d like to close with this Luis Vuiton purse. It’s worth I’m sure some money. My Aunt gave it to me when I was a young woman. I loved it because my Aunt gave it to me but I've never used it because I'm happy with my $3 clearance purse from Target. Recently we had a garage sale and I wanted to sell it because frankly, I never use it. I wanted $20 and this lady cruises up in her Landrover and says she’ll give me $5. This purse is worth so much more. Forget that. I want you all to know that your testimonies are worth more than you can ever ever ever possibly imagine! You are all precious daughters of God. Wolves will try to sell you short and undermine your worth... but you are so much more. You are God’s instruments to usher in the 2nd coming of the Lord. Know your Lord and be confident in your testimony.

I bear my personal witness the Jesus Christ lives. He is our very best friend. He is with us to support us and bear us up in our weakest moments. He will never fail us. He is our source of true joy. Heavenly Father is our Father. We are His children. He wants us to be like Him and has provided a perfect plan for this to happen. I love and worship the Father and the Son and testify that They are mighty to save and all powerful. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Thanksgiving FHE's

Now that the month is almost over... maybe I should post some Thanksgiving FHE ideas.... ugh, real slick Sofia. Thanks.

This is one of my absolute favorites because I really get to see what my children have learned Gospel wise and what some of their favorite scripture stories of the moment are. Click HERE for the FHE.

This is a picture of our outcome this year. I just hot glued a scrap of fabric to the poster board to make a tablecloth. The girls also created a fancy centerpiece out of their magazine findings. I love that my 4 year old cut out corn and said, "This is the sheaves of corn that Pharaoh dreamed about and Joseph figured out what it meant."

Another fantastic one was counting our blessings. We filled up an entire poster board (Thank you 2 for $1 at the Dollar Store) with 104 different things we were thankful for. Star Wars, Snape and Nipple Latches were just a few of our many things we're thankful for.

For more gratitude ideas, just click on gratitude on my sidebar.

And if you're just looking for a fun Turkey Art Project here are a few:

The girls picked a few "feathers" from Wal-Mart paint section and cut slits on the sides to make them more textured.

This was crayon and watercolor. First they draw the shape of the turkey with a black sharpie.

Um, greatest wings ever. This makes me smile everyday. $1 store bandaids make feathers and of course, turkeys need long hair like Rapunzel. Third eyes? I don't know where that comes from.

Draw an outline of a turkey, let the kiddos cover with painters tape on the line, then marble roll!! It kind of looks like a sun, but if you look closely you'll see feet and a waddle.

November 2011 LDS Primary Sharing Time Ideas and Activities

My sweet Elijah. I hold him and know reverence. Reverence for a loving Heavenly Father who is all powerful and wise and who blesses us with such joy.

Monthly Theme: Reverence Is Love and Respect for God.
Monthly Scripture:  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37).

Week 1 Reverence is love and respect for God.

* Make a giant Venn diagram (2 circles overlapping in the middle) On one side brainstorm all the different ways to show love and on the other side ways to show respect. Ideas that are the same for both go in the middle!

* Million Dollar Question Minus the Million Dollars.... When was the only time we see Jesus get really upset in the scriptures? When people weren't showing REVERENCE for His Father's house, the temple! Have 6 children come to the front. Ask the children questions having to do with the story, when they answer correctly hand them a fake million dollar bill. BUT... is money everything? What do we learn from the story?!?! Let them crumple up their bill and try to toss it in the garbage can naming a blessing that comes from being reverent. (E.g. Peace, Happiness, Eternal Life, Holy Ghost will be close...)

* Have a mother bring in a young baby if possible. When we see a beautiful baby who is sleeping, how should we act around it? Are we loud? Do we jump up and down and poke the baby? Ask the children what we do with young babies and how do we show them love? There are some things in life where we just slow down, are a little more soft, a little more quiet and little more peaceful. Just like we show love and respect for a young baby with gentleness we can do so with Heavenly Father. Have 6 different items for the children to choose and show how we treat that item with respect and love. For example, you could have scriptures. We don't throw them or rip the pages. When we treat our scriptures right are we showing reverence for Heavenly Father? Another example could be a picture of the temple. Have the primary child show whether we walk or run around the temple grounds. More items could include: hymn books, a paper doll with modest clothes on, sacrament cup, a primary chair, a Family Home Evening packet, an American flag,

* Reverence races!! Invite 4 children to come up front. Who can be the most reverent? Invite them to go to the other side of the room... Speed is not the key to winning the race! Once they cross the finish line, invite them to share a reason why they love their Heavenly Father. Invite a couple teachers to race too!

Week 2 Reverence during the sacrament helps me to remember Jesus Christ.

* Does Mom and Dad make you sit during sacrament without going to the bathroom? Is that unfair? Food for thought... they are only following what the PROPHET has said... "Visits to the restroom and drinking fountain should take place before the meeting begins” (Spencer W. Kimball, We Should Be a Reverent People, 4–5). And of course, if it's an emergency there is no problem... better out than in!


* "Your focus needs more focus." Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid. Learning how to focus for 6-8 minutes while the sacrament is being passed can be a lifelong challenge! Have about 10 different questions about reverence and the sacrament. For each question answered, then teach a karate move. (This can seem counter intuitive for the weeks theme, however... if you make your expectations clear- No talking while we practice our moves, focus on the movement not sound!- then it'll work!) Our focus always needs more focus!!  D&C 88:67 "And if your eye (or you could say focus!!) be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things."

* Make reverence books for sacrament! Invite the children to draw pictures of their favorite stories of the Savior to look at during next week's sacrament.

* Have a large plate drawn on the chalk board. Invite primary friends to come draw some of their very favorite foods. What do you think Jesus enjoyed food wise? We know that at the end of our Savior's earthly life He had a final meal, the last supper. Display GAK picture. What do you think He and His best friends felt as they knew this was the last time they would eat together? Jesus gave us the ordinance of the Sacrament at that last supper. What would be a "recipe for reverence" when we take the sacrament? Pass out some paper and let the children write down their ideas or write them on the chalk board.

Week 3 I can show reverence for sacred places and things.

* HERE is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful link to The Friend with a bunch of different ideas. I liked the tour of the building idea especially! Sister Pearce also has a wonderful chapel cut-out that would be fun to do!!

* Does anyone have a special spot? A tree house or a reading nook or a clubhouse?? Perhaps they could draw a quick picture of it on the chalkboard. I have a special rock ledge that overlooks the desert. It's my spot that I love. Even though there is lots of brown and yellow, the sky is always blue and bright and clear above me. How would you want someone to treat your special spot? Just like we want people to be respectful of our special spots, we need to be respectful of the Lord's special spots!

* President David O. McKay said, “I look upon reverence as one of the highest qualities of the soul” ("Lesson 7: Reverence," Gospel Principles and Doctrine) Have some pictures of things that are "high" in the sky... kites, airplanes, tall buildings, clouds, birds... etc. Attach questions, songs and scriptures having to do with reverence to the pictures and let the children come up, one at a time to choose a "high" picture. Repeat throughout the lesson the above quote... reverence is one of the highest qualities of the soul!!

* Sing I am A Child of God. What does the chorus say? Lead me, guide me. Have a mystery path with arrows around the room leading to a giant question mark. Invite children to walk along the path if they can answer a question or read a scripture about reverence. Where does reverence lead us? 

"As with the other principles of the gospel, reverence leads to increased joy. We must remember that reverence is not a somber, temporary behavior that we adopt on Sunday. True reverence involves happiness, as well as love, respect, gratitude, and godly fear. It is a virtue that should be part of our way of life. In fact, Latter-day Saints should be the most reverent people in all the earth." ("Lesson 7: Reverence," Gospel Principles and Doctrine)

* With the Senior Primary: Have them look in the hymn book all the songs that are listed under reverence. Have them work in partners and find something interesting to share with the entire primary about reverence. Sing a couple songs!

Week 4 Reverence for God helps me respect and love others.

* Give the children a signal. When you raise your hand in the air you'll need everyone to stop talking immediately. Tell the children to talk to a friend next to them and when you raise your hand, they need to stop right away. Does it get pretty loud? Do it again and this time you're going to teach the lesson while everyone is talking. Raise your hand. Did anyone hear what the lesson was about?

“The world grows increasingly noisy...When we meet to learn the doctrines of the gospel, it should be in a spirit of reverence. …"

* HERE is a lesson I CAN BE REVERENT from the Primary 1 manual.
* Have a cookie with M&M's in it. If you eat the entire cookie, will you eat the M&M's?? Have a bar of soap. If you wash your arm, will your hand get clean? Sometimes, when you do one thing, another thing just happens! Having reverence for Heavenly Father creates something else.... it helps me love and respect others!
*Here's a thought for a FHE. My Yaya is Greek Orthodox which means her home is filled with lots of pictures of Saints!! I grew up looking at those pictures with respect because of the stories behind them. For me personally, I have no problem sharing with children respect for other religions. I would show a picture of a Greek Orthodox Saint and tell the beautiful story behind it. In our church, saints are a little different, but isn't it nice to know we all believe in saints! In our church, we are the saints! Hopefully we act so! And what is one quality that is Saint like??

"Perhaps above all, a saint is reverent. Reverence for the Lord, for the earth He created, for leaders, for the dignity of others, for the law, for the sanctity of life, and for chapels and other buildings are all evidences of saintly attitudes. …A reverent saint loves the Lord and gives highest priority to keeping His commandments"
(Book of Mormon Teacher Resource Manual, (2004), 236-240)