August 2013 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

Christus am Olberg by Josef Untersberger (date not known)

 

A good tool to use as you prepare for this month is the Prayer Scale in Preach My Gospel (Page 95!!) Just take the quiz and see how you personally are doing when it comes to prayer.

Monthly Theme: Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers.
Monthly Scripture: "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers" D&C 112:10

Week 1 The scriptures teach me how to pray.

* I looked in the Bible Dictionary and decided to do 4 short Reader's Theaters based on examples of prayer from it. The examples/stories include: Hannah, Samuel, The Brother of Jared and How NOT to pray!! If your primary has children who can't read, you could easily have a few adults act it out.
If your primary does have good readers, you could have 4 groups and rotate the scripts between groups. If you need me to email PDF versions, feel free to contact me!

Is there time for all 4 in 15 minutes? Probably not, so pick and choose!

Simple costumes would be extra fun!! Make sure there are scripts for each part and that it is highlighted!!!

LDS Reader's Theater: Prayer by chulbakera

* HERE is a fun color by number prayer picture with other examples of prayer from the scriptures, with references, from The Friend.

Week 2 Heavenly Father wants me to pray to Him often- anytime, anywhere.

* Have a bunch of pictures from places all around the world. Whether it's Disneyland or Canada or Brazil.... You could even have pictures of places in a home, like the kitchen or bedroom. Is there any dream place a primary friend would like to go to say a prayer? While we might not be able to head to Jamaica and say a prayer of Thanksgiving on a white sand beach... sigh... we can say our prayers anywhere and anytime!! Have the children draw a picture of a place they can say prayer. If they can write, have them make a list of things they can give thanks for and pray for! Have a couple primary friends come up front and let other children guess where their place is. Have children share their thoughts.

*   Have a small apple and cut it into a few pieces. When you have everyone's attention, taste one and say how delicious they are. These really are great apples. Nice and crunchy, full of flavor.... invite a child up front to see the apple. Isn't it nice? You might stand there for a second. don't you think they'd taste great?? What we're trying to do is get the child to ask for an apple slice. All they have to do is ask!! 
     In the Bible Dictionary, under prayer, it says, " The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings."
     Have a picture of an apple tree. What type of work do you need to do to make sure the tree grows? Have paper apples with questions, songs and scriptures about prayer. Let children come up and choose, then answer. When you have a minute left, conclude by going back to the demonstration. Sometimes all we have to do is put in a little work and ask! Bear testimony of the power of prayer.

* Tell the children you have a funny joke for them. It goes, "Knock Knock". They say, "Who's there?" You say "Banana." They say, "Banana who?" You say, "Banana." They say, "Banana, who?" (Do that about 5 more times....) Finally you say, "Orange." They say, "Orange, who?" and you end with "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?"
Is this a repetitive joke or what! What does it mean to repeat? Can anyone think of what commandment has been most repeated from the dawn of time?
      “No divine commandment has been more frequently repeated than the commandment to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Marion G. Romney, in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, 20; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, 16).

* Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

         Have a cell phone up front. Have an adult sitting by a cracked open Primary door. Prepare that adult before hand with some sort of signal that you're ready for them to call your cell phone... like you scratch your head or say loudly, "Thanks!! On to our next idea." They will call your phone and a primary child has to answer it and answer the question they ask over the phone. Give that person a list of 10 different questions. For example, How does Heavenly Father answer our prayers? Can you name a time Heavenly Father has answered one of your prayers? Please give an example from the scriptures of someone who prayed and was heard. Can you please tell the primary to sing A Child's Prayer (CS pg. 12)

* Bring in a lock and a couple different keys to try to open it. Have a child try the different keys and figure out which one works. "Learn to pray. Pray often. Pray in your mind, in your heart. Pray on your knees. Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil. And I have learned to conclude all my prayers with ‘Thy will be done’ (Matthew 6:10; see also Luke 11:2; 3 Nephi 13:10).”Elder Boyd K. Packer, “Prayer and Promptings,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 46
      Hand out different hearts with questions on prayer and keys with answers. Let the children walk around and find the matches, then have them share with the Primary. Our love for Heavenly Father and Jesus will grow when we pray often!!

* Ask for 2 volunteers. Have one stand outside the door and knock so we can let them back in.
Have the next one go out but tell them not to knock. Stand there for a 30 seconds or so. How would we know they were even there if they aren't knocking?
Matt. 7: 7 : "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you"
     You could have different GAK (Gospel Art Kit) pictures and scriptures having to do with prayer on different doors around the room. The children could pick them and you ask questions or direct conversation about what they've chosen.
* President Monson has said, "Pray with purpose. With God, all things are possible. Remember the prayer of the Prophet Joseph, offered in that grove called sacred. Look around you and see the result of that answered prayer. Prayer is the provider of spiritual strength. Prayer is the passport to peace." (Thomas S. Monson, “Come Listen to a Prophet’s Voice: Follow the Signs,” Friend, May 2006, 2–3) 
       Have a large map with prayer cut outs (like a clip art of a little boy and girl kneeling in prayer). On the back of the cut outs can be scriptures, songs, quotes, situations or questions having to do with prayer. (E.g. Can you say more than one prayer at meal time? Can you say a prayer on an airplane if you are scared of flying? What is the difference between a sincere prayer and a repeat prayer?) Have the children come up and choose the cut outs. Also, make some paper clocks with different times and put prayer cut outs by those too... to reinforce the weekly theme.
       Make passports for the children to stamp with their family at home as they read scriptures together about prayer.

*    Have a bell. Bring one child to the front turned away from the primary, covering one ear with their hand. Choose a child to ring a bell from a corner of the room. Have them sit down and have the child in front point to where they were ringing the bell. Repeat a couple times. Tell them that no matter where we are, God always hears our prayers and knows where we are and what we need.
       Matt. 6: 8, "For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." He never makes a mistake, he always knows where the bell is ringing.
     Have questions, scriptures and songs about prayer. Invite a child to ring the bell after each turn where they pick a question, etc. and have another primary friend who was closing their eyes guess where the sound came from.

Week 3 and 4 Answers to prayer come from Heavenly Father in many ways.

* HERE is a great sharing time from The Friend. It has step by step pictures on how we can receive answers to prayers then gives many case studies/examples for children to decide what step was used.

* If I have an important decision, for example who I should marry, should I do this? Invite a friend to come up and hold up a fist. You also hold up a fist and then use your other hand to point to each hand back and forth as you say, "Engine Engine Number Nine, going down Chicago line, if the train should lose it's track, do you want your money back? Yes, No, Maybe so."
     Important decisions need prayer!! Just like our rhyme, Heavenly Father can answers our prayers with a Yes, No, or Maybe So.
     "When He answers yes, it is to give us confidence.

       When He answers no, it is to prevent error.

       When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth. We are expected to assume accountability by acting on a decision that is consistent with His teachings without prior confirmation. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act." Elder Richard G. Scott Oct. 1989 General Conference Learning To Recognize Answers Prayer

     Share some experiences and let the children share experiences of when they have received a yes, no or maybe so. What were the feelings they had?  If you need experiences, click on the above talk!!

 

* Have 2 children come up front. Invite one to say Hello to the other. Could they hear that? What if the child went to the back of the room and said hello? What if they left the room? Our ears are pretty good, but definitely not as good as Heavenly Father's!! Where and when can He hear us? Have about 5 different paper ears with scriptures having to do with "how" Heavenly Father answers our prayers. Divide into groups and read the scripture and share experiences. Then after 3 minutes invite a group leader to come up and share what they talked about.

* Invite to children to come up front and have a conversation about how their day is going. Give them a secret instruction that you're going to try to get in the conversation too, but they are to IGNORE YOU!!

Has anyone in the room ever been ignored by raise of hands? How does it make you feel? Do you think Heavenly Father is pretty busy and maybe sometimes ignores us?

     1 John 5:14 "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us"

      Point out that God always will hear our prayers, but He might not answer the way we want. He's NOT ignoring us. He just knows more than we do, and that's a good thing!

* Divide the children into groups of 3 or 4. Ask them to find out some interesting things about each other. Then have them come up to the front, introduce each other and say one thing they learned about each other. Ask them if they know each other better now? After everyone has shared, ask them if they think they know someone in the room really well... perhaps a brother knows his younger brother really well.
     How do you get to know a person? You need to talk to them and spend time with them. Heavenly Father has done this and knows each one of us better than we know ourselves!! When we talk and spend time praying to Him, He will answer our prayers in ways that are best for us.
      Read Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

* If I cut some strawberries, is that a fruit salad? Not really. What if I just put some bananas? Hmmmm..... We have to have a bunch of different fruit for a fruit salad!!! Like a fruit salad has more than one fruit, Heavenly Father answers prayers in more than one way. He answers in many ways. Make a fruit salad for the Bishop. Invite a couple children up front at a time to answer questions about prayer, or read scriptures... then have them carefully cut up the fruit to put in the bowl. Please be aware of food allergies!!

Some personal thoughts of late.....

I'm the wife of an African American man. I’m the mother of 4 Black children. They have medium toned skin, a deep golden color that never burns... 2 have green eyes, 1 has brown and 1 had bright blue eyes. I’m the mother of 4 Greek children. My youngest requests Feta cheese with anything, at anytime and any place. We get weird looks at restaurants sometimes.

I don’t define my children by their earthly heritage and race. They are children of God. I define them by their kindness, their compassion and their diligence to our Heavenly Father. With that said though, I am also so very grateful for their rich earthly heritage and race. It’s part of who they are and there are deep traditions and histories to be found to benefit them as children of God.

Recently, so much strife has been resurfaced in our nation because of the media and the trials they choose to focus on. I’m not trying to be political and I don’t care to hear your opinion on the trial. Sorry. That’s why I’m not on Facebook. Comments will be deleted that aren’t Christ centered because this may be America, but it’s my blog. I’m not trying to be a brat, I’m trying to be a missionary. I also received a comment in July about a story that I posted by one of the apostles. In the story, the hard topic of history and racism was center to the story as well as priesthood blessings. I’m a firm believer that children are close to the spirit and are quick to understand. I’m a firm believer in talking with our children and helping them discover right and wrong. I shared the story with my children at home and enjoyed a spirit filled discussion. Their insight was uplifting. We bore testimony to each other and were edified by the experience. Are there some topics that are a little delicate, absolutely? I’ll be frank. Blacks and the priesthood and polygamy are subjects we don’t delve deeply into. Milk before meat as my eldest is only 8. I never post things on this blog that I feel are too complicated for young minds. Talking about racism with children can be a very positive experience.

But what I really want to talk about is love and respect because those 2 principles are paramount to defeat racism. If we can’t learn from history, our tomorrow will be beyond bleak. We all have family ties to greatness. The spirit of Elijah turns us to our beloved ancestors and helps us to see history. Sometimes history is full of pain. Sometimes history is full of wrongs. Always history shows us of examples who were willing to persevere, to have faith, to sometimes fight, and who trusted in their Maker. We should share with our children these examples of courage and truth, and encourage our children to appreciate righteous individuals who helped to make the world a better place. These individuals came from many different cultures, many different countries, many different races and religions. How many of these history makers do our children know?

God doesn’t want His children to hate each other. God doesn’t want us to fight. God doesn't want us to put others down. And yet, so many people use filthy words to be condescending, judgemental and to "prove a point". Do you sometimes look at people's facebook posts or letters to the newspaper editor and wonder why? We need to carefully heed the words of the scriptures:

Job 6:25  “How forcible are right words!”

Colossians 3:8  “Put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” 

James 1:19–20 “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

James 3:2 “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” 

Mosiah 2:32 “Beware lest there shall arise contentions among you.” 

Alma 12:14 “For our words will condemn us.” 

3 Nephi 11:29 “He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention.”

Doctrine and Covenants 20:54 “And see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking.”

The world was created by God’s word. Undeniably, words are of great importance. God said, “Let there be light” and there was light. How carefully do we watch and monitor our speech? How much time is taken to think before our lips move or perhaps before the keys are typed?

Life is sacred. We’re commanded to mourn with one another. I’m not aware of any baptismal covenant that commands us to shoot off our mouth, put others down, discriminate, be rude, be offensive, be uncaring and unsympathetic and deny our fellow brothers and sisters of love or respect. People die and it’s sad. It’s one less person in this world who had a chance to make it a great place.

We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. God is our only judge. Be careful of blanket statements. Not everyone is a certain way for the most part. When we speak, let us follow the example of The Savior. Let us think, is this something He would say?

Blanket statements like “All blacks are…. Or all whites are…. Or All Hispanics are….” Or even “Blacks are…. Whites are…. Hispanics are….” are lies. Yes, that’s a strong statement but I stand by it. Not 100% of everyone can be defined in one lump sum or phrase… for the most part. If we want to make blanket statements, we can say that we’re all beggars upon God’s mercy. We’re all in need of the atonement. We all will kneel before our Savior and confess He is The Christ. Stereotypes are blanket statements, so beware. I find it interesting that in the dictionary a synonym for stereotype is vulgarize.

 My plea is that we will love each other a little more each day. That we’ll watch what we think and say. That we’ll strive to be compassionate and less critical of each other. My plea is that we’ll teach our children of Christ, of Christ like people, and how our children too can strive to be like The Master. There are many who make incorrect blanket statements about us, as members of The Church. There are blanket statements that say we’re racist, that we’re ignorant about other cultures, that we’re judgemental… these blanket statements are lies. Let us not fuel falsehoods by saying things that we haven’t really thought about.

 
I bear testimony I know Heavenly Father loves us. I know that Jesus Christ is our best friend. They want us to return to them and I know that the only way back is because of The Lord’s great sacrifice and through our own personal obedience to His great commands. I know that love, respect, and understanding of one another are essential to our joy. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Ice Cream Family Themed Summer Singing Time

 

Since July is all about families in Primary, I decided to do this simple singing time. You could easily adapt to have children choose songs from the popsicles instead of answer questions. We also enjoyed this activity as a family home evening!

 

If you have a cereal box, cover it (glue guns are your best friend) with a paper bag from the grocery store then embellish with scraps you have. The box is just a fun prop to look at or you could have a child "drive" (hold it and pass it to another friend) who was also a fabulous singer.

 

On the back of the popsicles I had these questions:

What is a favorite family vacation you've taken?

What is a fun holiday tradition you have in your family?

Why do we want our families to be eternal?

Can you think of 5 families from the scriptures?

What is your favorite family game to play?

How can you show love to someone in your family?

What are choices you have when someone is bothering/annoying you in your family?

Name 3 reasons/things you love about someone in your family.

 

Ask the children if they've ever been in this type of pickle. The ice cream man is coming, you hear his wonderful music playing, you look in your piggy bank and there is no money!! You ask your mom and she says she doesn't carry cash!! BUMMER!!! Well, today we don't have to worry about that. All you need is excellent singing to buy these delicious popsicles. What?? you say?? But they are made out of paper!! (take a fake lick of a popsicle) They taste dreamy to me! When we sing, I'm looking for the following:

1. Bold singing - not shouting!! Just nice and loud!!

2. Smiles!!

3. People actually singing!! Moving mouths with sound coming out!!

July 2013 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps & Ideas

One of my greatest blessings is knowing that my family can be eternal!!

 

Monthly Theme: Families are part of Heavenly Father's plan.
Monthly Scripture: “The family is ordained of God” The Family: A Proclamation to the World, paragraph 7

Week 1 Heavenly Father planned for me to come to a family.

* “The Lord organized the whole program in the beginning with a father who... provides, and loves and directs, and a mother who... nurtures and feeds and trains. The Lord could have organized it otherwise but chose to have a unit with responsibility and purposeful associations where children train and discipline each other and come to love, honor, and appreciate each other. The family is the great plan of life, as conceived and organized by our Father in Heaven” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 324).
       Preface that not all families are perfect and no one needs to worry about it. God will make everything right in the end! No one should feel bad for things that they have no control over!! Draw a large square on the blackboard. Invite children to come up and draw different members of a family. We're making a visual of this great family plan!! We have moms, dads, grandparents, cousins, pets. After they have drawn pictures, brainstorm the different roles/jobs of each member.
Repeat the quote, "The family is the great plan of life!! Organized by our Father in Heaven." We all have our different roles to make sure the family is happy! One member that might be forgotten is The Savior, make sure to put up His picture in the end. What is His role in our families?

* Pass out wordstrips with the following words, one per strip - ALONE, ADAM, HELP MEET, WOMAN
You are going to read a scripture and when the children with the words hear their word, they need to come up front.
      Read Genesis 2:18, 21, 22 "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
Why was it not good for man to be alone? What is a help meet? Who became Adam's wife?
From the beginning of time we see the importance of family!!
In the Garden of Eden, a family grew! What can we do in the garden of our homes to help our families grow? Have a bunch of fake flowers arranged like a garden. Invite children to come up front and pick a flower. On the flowers you can have scriptures, questions, songs all having to do with families.
      In the middle of the lesson, have a pesky little bee that stings a few children. There will always be someone or something that tries to destroy our home and families, but with Heavenly Father's help good will always win! Invite a child to whack the bee with a fly swatter.
      Bear testimony that it is not good for man to be alone. We must all help our families grow and bring forth good fruit!!

* Write the word SACRED on the chalk board. What does this word mean? Have some primary friends come up front and hold pictures of temples, church meeting houses and a couple pictures of homes. Have the children take a vote as to which is the most sacred picture up front.
     Read the following quote, "I invoke the blessings of the Lord upon you, all of you here, with reference to your home and your families. It is the choicest of all life’s experiences. I urge you to put it first. The center core of the Church is not the stake house; it is not the chapel; that is not the center of Mormonism. And, strangely enough, the most sacred place on earth may not be the temple, necessarily. The chapel, the stake house, and the temple are sacred as they contribute to the building of the most sacred institution in the Church—the home—and to the blessing of the most sacred relationships in the Church, the family” (Boyd K. Packer, Family Togetherness—the Core of the Church, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [13 June 1963], 10)
     Have the children share experiences where they have felt sacred and peaceful feelings in their homes. Give each child a piece of paper and ask them to draw (if younger) or write (if older) things they can do to make their homes sacred places. Have them share.

*Bring in a couple family photo albums. Show the kids some fun vacations you've taken. Who here has also had fun family times? Families can be awesome!! Heavenly Father planned for all of us to come into families. Pass out some squares of paper to the children. Invite them to draw pictures and write thank you notes to some of their family members. The happiness and joy we have each day in families is only possible through The Savior. We have our families here on earth and love them so much, but even greater is the love of The Savior and The Father. We can't really send Them thank you notes like the ones we just made, but we sure can give thanks in our prayers!!

Week 2 Family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening can strengthen my family.

*How many of the primary children have family members that serve in the military? Would we ever want those family members to have to fight without armor?
     Alma 43:19-21 "And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni, had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing— Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing; they had only their swords and their cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their stones and their slings; and they were naked, save it were a skin which was girded about their loins; yea, all were naked, save it were the Zoramites and the Amalekites; But they were not armed with breastplates, nor shields—therefore, they were exceedingly afraid of the armies of the Nephites because of their armor, notwithstanding their number being so much greater than the Nephites."
    Our families are at battle against evil in the world. We need armor to protect our family! Special armor like family prayer, family scripture study and family home evening!

* Have 3 priesthood holders come into primary. Have one do a few push ups. Have another do some sit ups. Have another do a few jumping jacks. All these things help make our bodies strong. But what are some things that can help make our families strong? Have the priesthood holder briefly testify how family prayer helps strengthen his family. Have the sit up man briefly testify how family scripture study strengthens his family. And have jumping jack man briefly testify how family home evening strengthens his family.
     Have a jar with physical things for the kids to do and a question or scripture or song about the weeks theme on it too. Invite one friend to draw a paper and have the whole primary do the movement. Just as we need to do things to strengthen our body, we need to do things to strengthen our family!
    For example- do 2 lunges! When should we pray as a family and what are some of the things we can pray for together?
    Or do 5 air push ups (since girls are in dresses! They push the air as hard as they can, arms squared, really using their muscles... just be careful of friends around you!!) What can we do to make sure Family Home Evening is a time when the spirit is felt?

* Show the children this picture of a bridge. Does it look pretty safe to go across? We have a big word we need to find the meaning of. It's the word CORROSIVE. The dictionary says, " to eat away by degrees as if by gnawing; especially : to wear away gradually usually by chemical action" Repeat the definition one more time. Have the children think about this bridge as you read a quote,
    "The First Presidency taught that by teaching and rearing children in gospel principles, parents can protect their families from corrosive elements. They further counseled parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities." Elder Robert D. Hales General Conference April 1999 Strengthening Families: Our Sacred Duty
     Do we want our families to be like this bridge? Chewed away, brittle and just plain yucky? What did Elder Hales say we have to do to protect families from corrosion?
     Have a little picture of a family. Have a blue piece of paper to represent a lake. Maybe even have a little shark in the water! Then have a piece of paper that says Strong Family! Invite the children to come make a bridge of popsicle sticks across the lake, but in order to do so they have to answer questions, read scriptures or sing songs about the week's theme.

 

Week 3 The Priesthood can bless and strengthen my family.

* I'd like to clarify why I think the following story is a good opportunity to talk with children. In the Book of Mormon we have the story of Alma the younger and how he persecuted the church. Wicked children are a common theme within our scriptures. This story shows that even a prophet's son had a heart that was not Christ like. This story shows that our wonderful country made terrible mistakes. This story shows that President Kimball knew the Lamanites/Native Americans were precious and important. Here lies the question, should we ignore hatred or honor the lives of those gone before us? Many children do not know the rich heritage of Native Americans. Many children do not know that their land was stolen from them. Now obviously we don't have to go into great detail but during certain times in this story there is opportunity to ask the children how does that feel? Does that feel right? Does that feel wrong? The spirit can guide a beautiful discussion if we are willing to pray for help. Also, it's important for children to realize that sometimes even the wicked are blessed. The sons were "full of fight and eager to smell gunpowder"... yet the priesthood blessing was fulfilled. Ask the children, with all the bad things that happened to Native Americans, do you think God will bless them and make everything right? How can we do our part to make sure our hearts love all of God's children?

Tell the children the following story:

      "In the spring of 1866, during what is called the Black Hawk War, our pioneers were struggling to beat back deadly Indian attacks on many settlements in southern Utah. Two of President Heber C. Kimball’s sons were called into military service for a three-month expedition against the Indians. Before they left he gave them a priesthood blessing. Apparently concerned that his sons might shed the blood of their Lamanite brothers, he first counseled them about the great promises God has made to this branch of the house of Israel. He then blessed his sons and promised them they would not see a single Indian on their campaign. His sons, full of fight and eager to smell gunpowder, were disappointed at this promise, but the blessing was fulfilled. When they returned three months later, they reported:

“We … rode hundreds of miles, following the tracks of different bands of hostile Indians, and were close upon them a great many times. They were attacking settlements all around us, killing the settlers and driving off stock.” But the company did not see a single Indian. (Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle, 2d ed., Salt Lake City: Stevens and Wallis, 1945, p. 429).

    How did the priesthood bless and strengthen their family? We are modern day pioneers whose lives can be blessed and strengthened by the Priesthood! Break into groups and tell them that a wagon is going to be coming along. Have them discuss what is on the wagon and any personal experiences they'd like to share. Any scripture stories they can think of that involve it too! How does it strengthen family?

Other wagon topics could include: Patriarchal blessings, Blessings for the healing of the sick, Blessings of Comfort, Blessings of Counsel, Priesthood Ordination, Temple Sealings, Baptism, Sacrament (For more information you can read THIS wonderful talk by Elder Oaks)
Rotate the wagons between groups!! Have children share some interesting things they learned at the end! Bear testimony that you know the Priesthood can bless and strengthen our families!!

*This is a longer quote, but a GREAT one!!! From President Faust, full talk HERE:
     "Priesthood blessings can help us in the small and great decisions of our lives. If, through our priesthood blessings, we could perceive [see] only a small part of the person God intends us to be, we would lose our fear and never doubt again.

       As a small boy, I remember being intrigued [interested] by my grandmother’s magnifying glass which she used in her old age to read and do needlework. When the glass was in focus, everything I looked at was greatly magnified [made larger]. But I was most intrigued by what happened when the lens concentrated the sunlight on an object. When it passed through the magnifying glass, the sunlight’s power was absolutely amazing.

       Blessings strengthen and magnify us. In the Church, blessings are available to all who are worthy through those authorized to give priesthood blessings. Worthy fathers and grandfathers, as well as other Melchizedek Priesthood holders, may give blessings to members in times of sickness and when important events occur. Such individual blessings are part of the continuous revelation that we claim as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

       Like the images in my grandmother’s magnifying glass, [through priesthood blessings] we can become stronger, our talents and ability can be magnified and multiplied, our understanding can be greatly enlarged, and our spirituality can flower."

     Play a game of hide the magnifying glass. Bring in a magnifying glass and invite someone to answer a question or read a scripture about the priesthood. After have another person go outside. When they come back in, sing a song about the priesthood and when they are close to it, sing louder. When they are far away sing it softer. Repeat!!

* HERE is a wonderful video about how Priesthood strengthens the family. It's from the 2013 Worldwide Leadership Training. Some of the language would definitely be harder for the little children to understand, but there are so many beautiful images. You could easily stop the video along the way to ask children where they see examples of the Priesthood blessing families! Count how many examples you see!

Week 4 Heavenly Father wants me to marry in the temple and have an eternal family.

* One of the most fun singing times we had was when I gathered some "love" stories for the Sunday before Valentine's Day. I briefly read the story and the children had to guess who's family it might be. I got pictures emailed to me of their wedding day and then showed the children. In my email to people in the ward I asked them to answer 2 things:

1. Why did you choose to be married in the temple?

2. How did you meet and fall in love?

I did preface the activity though that not all friends have moms and dads and that's OK. Not all friends have moms and dads that were married in the temple. No one here should ever feel bad!! God is good and we don't need to worry about things that we can't control!! But we will have control about the choices WE make!! And we should make the choice to get married in the temple like the stories I'm about to share!!
In between stories we sang songs about the temple and families! I think we had time for about 4-5 stories.

* Have a bunch of temple pictures throughout the room. Invite a child to come up front and stand by a temple they might like to get married at. Discuss the location of that temple. There are currently around 140 temples!! HERE is a gallery of all the pictures of all the temples. That's a lot of different places you can go to get married! HERE are some questions about the Temple and answers.

* HERE is some good information about why we build temples and the history of temples throughout the ages.

* Read D&C 131:1-4 "In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; And if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase."
Sketch out the plan of salvation. Many children might not know that the Celestial Kingdom has 3 degrees in it! Ask the children to listen very carefully one more time to the scripture and then answer How does a man or woman enter the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom?

Song Help “Families Can Be Together Forever” (CS, 188)

Angel Moroni Sacramento, CA temple image courtesy creative commons license flickr.com by akseez 1/2009

* Build a family! As the children sing with zest and zeal let them put up one member of a family inside a home. This can be done on a poster board or you can have a small sized doll house with small dolls to put in. Also they can add a small picture of a temple framed inside the home.

* You might think this idea is crazy... and maybe it is. Pick and choose my friends. Pick. And. Choose. If you were married and sealed in the temple, choose a special singer to wear your wedding ring while you all sing. Give them a signal to find another person who is singing nicely and let that child wear the ring. Tell them that they need to treat the ring with special care because it is a symbol of your eternal family. You want to share that with them to help them remember what a special song they are singing! (I have a simple gold band I wear... which works for boys and girls. However, if you have a half pound diamond, that doesn't really work for boys, so ask the hubby or a male primary teacher to help out too)

* What is the difference between "can" and "will"? Once the children learn the words to the song tell them you have a special surprise for them. Decorate small cans (Like soup cans?) for them to take home. Tell them to fill up the CAN with ways that WILL help their family be together forever.

* Post 8 different pictures of temples. Let the children choose from the temples to see how they will sing this song. For example, you could have the Boise, ID temple. It starts with the letter B so Boys only. You could have the San Diego, CA temple. It starts with the letter S so sing softly.
You could have the Washington DC temple. It starts with the letter W so while singing wave your hands gently in the air side to side. You could have the Lima Peru temple. It starts with L so sing loudly and boldly! Etc.

An Art Project For Father's Day for Kids

I saw this art project on pinterest, but it didn't come with drawing instructions. The shapes are pretty easy though and my 6 year old, Maria, was able to do this with no problems. I did do a practice sheet with Maria on the sideways U shapes for the hand and drawing lines diagonal on the body.

 

The girls decorated their Super Hero Dad and Super Hero Papa with crayons and watercolors. We use water color paper (you can buy at Michael's), it's thicker and always produces better work. They drew first with permanent markers.

 

On the back they wrote:

My Dad, My Super Hero!

2 favorite memories with Dad or Papa (our Grandpa)

3 things they love about them

Why their dad or papa is a super hero

 

 

We laminated and I wrote dates and ages at the top.

 

Is this feasible for primary? No. Unless you only have 3 kids in primary, then yes. But it might be something fun to do at home if you like to encourage the artistic process in kids.

General Conference Family Home Evening

I love this picture and can hear The Savior's perfect voice of mildness in my mind as He speaks.

Christ with Martha and Maria by Henryk Siemiradzki 1886

This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.

Based off the talk The Words We Speak by Sister Rosemary Wixom, from April 2013 General Conference.

Question: Where in the scriptures can we find Heavenly Father or Jesus saying, "Hey you weirdos! What on earth are you thinking!! Shape up NOW!!"?? Check the topical guide, are there any references to weirdos ?

NO!! And why not. Sister Wixom says, "We can learn from that voice from heaven. It was not loud, scolding, or demeaning; it was a still voice of perfect mildness, giving firm direction while giving hope."
(As a sidenote we do see times in the scriptures when the voice of God or Jesus is referenced to as "thunder", which we know is pretty loud. But Sister Wixom is focusing on words we use in family relationships. Talk about words you can remember when it comes to Jesus and His family.)

Story:

 "The store was crowded with shoppers when it became obvious to everyone that a mother was panicked because she had lost her young son. At first, she was calling his name. “Connor,” she would say as she briskly walked around the store. As time passed, her voice got louder and more frantic.

Soon the store security officers were notified, and everyone in the store was involved in looking for the child. Several minutes passed with no success of finding him. Connor’s mother, understandably, was becoming more frantic by the minute and was rapidly yelling his name over and over again.

 

One patron, after saying a silent prayer, had the thought that Connor may be frightened as he listened to his mother scream his name. She mentioned this to another woman involved in the search, and they quickly made a plan. Together they began to walk between the tables of fabric, quietly repeating the words “Connor, if you can hear my voice, say, ‘Here I am.’” As they walked slowly toward the back of the store repeating that phrase, sure enough, they heard a timid, soft voice say, “Here I am.”

 

Connor was hiding between the bolts of fabric under a table. It was a voice of perfect mildness that encouraged Connor to respond."

Question: Where in the scriptures can we find examples of Heavenly Father being too busy to answer our prayers? What about Jesus being to busy to heal or help others?

There are none!! Heavenly Father and Jesus are always there for us. But are we always there for each other? Sister Wixom gives us a challenge!!

Challenge: "Why not choose a time each day to disconnect from technology and reconnect with each other? Simply turn everything off. " Decide as a family what time of day to choose! Write it down and make a special sign to put somewhere to remember!! Follow through for a whole week and see what happens!!!

Scripture: 2 Nephi 25:23 "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

Story:

"President Thomas S. Monson shared the experience of Jay Hess, an airman who was shot down over North Vietnam in the 1960s: “For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words.”

President Monson asks: “What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again?

Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote [the following words]: ‘These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year."

Question & Activity: Sister Wixom asks, "What words would you write to your children if you had 25 words or less?" Get a piece of paper and write them down!! Share with each other. If children would prefer, they could write 25 words to their parents!

In conclusion: Ask family members to share something they liked or learned from this family home evening. Bear testimonies as a family. Don't forget the week challenge and to go over your findings next week!

Breezy Singing Time Idea for Spring

 

Do you have a couple scrapbook paper leftovers? Do you have some hot glue?

Then you're all set.

 

HERE is a wonderful story from The Friend you can tell the children in your own words briefly.

Kites are so much fun! Singing is so much fun! We'll put the 2 together and let our voices soar!

 

Kite Wands are made of wooden skewers and diamond shaped paper. I also hot glued some of the twisty ties you get from the grocery store to make bows. Children can lead the songs up front, but remind them to sing while they lead!

 

Make a paper kite for a child to hold. Divide the room in half. Whichever side they float to has to sing.

 

Ways to Sing:
Wave arms in the breeze while singing

Whistle the song

Start on the ground and rise like a kite while singing

Reverently jog while holding on to kite string and sing (say that 10 times fast!)

Make a large kite string by linking arms with neighbor and "OOOoo" the song

 

Kite Volume Meter. When the kite is low, sing soft. When the kite is high, sing bold!

 

And don't forget to remind the children that in these windy days, we need to remember those in the Midwest who were affected by the tornadoes in our daily prayers.

“When I Am Baptized” LDS Song Helps and Ideas

Image courtesy creative commons license flickr.com by Renate Dodell

*I originally published this post 4/19/2012. I'm re-posting this, even though it happened to be one of my most controversial posts. Each year I ask the primary children who are turning 8 why they are baptized and almost all will raise their hand that they are baptized to be forgiven of their sins they have. Hopefully we can teach our children a little better, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.*
 

Hey! So does anyone have a minor qualm with the 2nd verse? My 7 year old brought it up and I quite agree with her "I know when I am baptized, my wrongs are washed away...." Plain and simple, children are clean before the age of 8. The reason they are baptized is to show obedience like the Savior and enter in at the gate as commanded. We decided when we sing it at home we're changing the words to "After I am baptized, my wrongs are washed away (then add in super fast "when I repent!") And I can be forgiven and etc. I know "wrongs" is different from "sins" however Moroni makes it pretty clear "And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism." Yes, absolutely, children need to learn how to recognize mistakes and say I'm sorry... what on earth am I rambling about? Basically, I just like the way we sing it at home better.

Now that I added my 2 cents.....

* Assign different parts of the song to a piece of colored paper. You'll have to write the words on the paper and then put the paper on the blackboard.

Red- I like to look for Rainbows, whenever there is rain

Orange- And ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again

Yellow- I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain

Green- I want to be the best I can

Blue- And live with God again!

The whole 2nd verse could be on white paper!

Have children stand up and sing on their favorite color!

Have children stand up when you sing that color if they are wearing that color!!

Have a primary friend come to the front to conduct the song, children stand up on the color they think is that primary friend's favorite! At the end of the song, make sure that primary friend shares what their favorite color is!

Take a poll, by raise of hands, and find out the primary's favorite colors. In order of favorite to least favorite, sing the song... ( For example, Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, Orange... then you'd sing I want to be the best I can, and live with God again, I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain.... etc)

* You could make simple rainbow ribbon wands for children to conduct and wave with.

* Make a rain stick!! They are so fun!! Invite a primary child to turn on the rain (turn the stick), while it's raining children can gently snap their fingers to add to the rain sound... once the rain is over, we can start to gently sing our song. Easy instructions with nice pictures on how to make a rain stick found HERE.

* Bring in a basket of rainbow colored clothes. Red coat, orange scarf, yellow hat, green shirt... etc. When they learn parts of the song really well, they can dress up a primary friend (or a missionary!) in a rainbow!

In response to some comments, I wrote a follow up post HERE.

June 2013 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

I saw this beautiful image of The Savior (El Greco is NOT the artist) and have no clue who to give this work credit to... any pointers would be wonderful!!! Thanks!!

Monthly Theme: I will follow Heavenly Father's plan by being baptized and confirmed.
Monthly Scripture: "Come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost" 3 Nephi 30:2

Week 1

I will follow Jesus Christ by being baptized and confirmed and keeping my baptismal covenants.

* Who has heard of the fairy tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin? Have a picture of the pied piper, a rat and a child glued separately to some popsicle sticks. Invite 3 children to hold them as you briefly tell the story. He would play his flute and the rats would follow... even all the children of a town followed him. That is a made up, fictional story!! In real life, we have the example of Jesus. He doesn't play a magic tune that will lead us away. He invites us with simple words, "Come follow me." We always have the choice whether or not we will follow. Have 3 more pictures glued to popsicle sticks, one of John the Baptist, Jesus and a dove. Invite 3 children to come up and hold these while a child briefly tells the story of Jesus being baptized.

* Bring in some different pictures of babies from your family. Aren't they beautiful and tiny and cute!! Now show a couple pictures from a baptism day from your family. How are the pictures different or similar? We can't get a mortal life without being born. We also can't enter into the kingdom of God without being baptized. John 3:5 " Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
Have a picture of Jesus as a baby and Jesus being baptized... did our Savior do all that Heavenly Father asked Him to do? Yes!!

* Invite a guest in to briefly share their baptism story and testimony. Tell the children beforehand that you are going to give them a sign. You are going to scratch your nose as the sign!! When you do so, the primary is going to blow a big kiss to the guest as a thank you for sharing their thoughts. After you do so, tell the children that the guest's story was wonderful. Baptism is wonderful! And did you know baptism is like the sign I gave you. No, baptism is not scratching your nose! But baptism is a sign or a signal even.
     "Baptism is a sign to God, to angels, and to heaven that we do the will of God, and there is no other way beneath the heavens whereby God hath ordained for man to come to Him to be saved, and enter into the Kingdom of God, except faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins..." (Smith, Teachings, 198).
     Have some children come up front and give us a sign, then something for us to do when the sign is given. Have them answer some questions about baptism, confirmation and keeping baptismal covenants.

* What do you need for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? 3 things! Peanut butter, jelly and bread!
Today we're going to talk about 3 things we need to do to follow Jesus... be baptized, be confirmed and keep our baptismal covenants!
    Break into small groups and invite the children to answer the following questions. When they do, they will put their arm in the middle and build a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. First arm is the bread and so on!
1. Why is baptism important?
2. Briefly tell the story of when Jesus was baptized.
3. What do I covenant and promise at baptism?
4. What is confirmation?
Next sandwich!
1. What can I do to prepare for baptism and confirmation?
2. How have I felt at a baptism I've been to?
3. Where do I get baptized and what is immersion?
4. Name an example from the scriptures of someone who was baptized.

* Can you go to the movies without a movie ticket? The ticket is our admission into the theater. Pass out some popcorn and tell the children that you also need a very special admission into the kingdom of heaven.....
"The special purpose of baptism is to afford admission to the Church of Christ with remission of sins. What need of more words to prove the worth of this divinely appointed ordinance?" (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 122).
Watch a brief video on the baptism of Christ. Bear testimony of this divine ordinance.

Week 2

If I live worthily, the Holy Ghost will help me choose the right.

*What a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... wonderful wonderful... awesome times wonderful idea in the Sharing Time outline for this week!!! I love everything about the visual and can't wait to use it in a Family Home Evening!!

* Sing If The Savior Stood Beside Me. What word is repeated often in the song.... If!! If is a powerful word. Have a couple If/Then statements for children to fill in the blank. (E.G. If I play with matches, then.... I can get burned. or If I exercise and eat good foods, then my body can be healthy.) Have the children define the word "worthily". What's the "then" of If I live worthily? There are many answers but today we'll talk about "If I live worthily, THEN the Holy Ghost will help me choose the right."

* HERE is a great story about a group of young men that go out camping and fishing. It would surely capture the boy's attention! To back out the van safely, the boys had to hold up a light. When we live worthily, our light shines bright and the Holy Ghost will take us safely to where we need to go. If we don't live worthily, we have little light and will not be able to see where we are going. Turn off the lights in the primary (not too dark, you don't want to scare the sunbeams or teachers who are afraid of the dark!) and have a flashlight. Invite a child to take the flashlight and search around the room for little papers that have different ways we can live worthily.

* This idea was by Sister Karen Ashton in The Friend (July 1997) "For this Sharing Time, bring a small paper bag and several crayons for each child, and a flashlight. Draw and color a child’s face on a paper bag. Tell the children that because the Holy Ghost is a spirit, He can dwell inside of them. Demonstrate that the flashlight (the Holy Ghost) can fill the bag (our souls) with light and warmth. Say that sometimes it is possible to see the light through the bag. This is like the Holy Ghost brightening our souls and making us happy (see Alma 5:14). Read and discuss Gal. 5:22–23. Talk about the types of feelings the Spirit brings. Let each child draw and color on her/his paper bag a face showing one of these feelings; suggest that they share this activity in a family home evening."

Week 3

When I take the sacrament, I renew my baptismal covenants.

* Ask the primary who has ever hiked a mountain? Do you need a backpack filled with important things? Most importantly WATER AND FOOD!! Let's say you hiked the mountain and a week later it was time to hike the mountain again! Would you need some new food? What about new water? Or should you just use the old water bottle and crumbs of food in a Ziploc baggie? (Of course, feel free to bring in a back pack with visuals, especially of the old water and old food) To be ready to hike the mountain again you need to get fresh supplies!
When we are baptized and confirmed, it's like we're getting our backpack. We're ready to start hiking the journey of life with the companionship of the Holy Ghost. But of course, we'll always need fresh supplies... when we go to church each Sunday, we renew our covenants and get ready for the upcoming hills of life!
Have a drawing of a mountain with little numbered flags on it. A primary friend can come up front and choose a numbered flag, have corresponding questions, scriptures and songs based on sacrament and renewing our baptismal covenants.

* Before someone "fun" decides to call me a sacriledge, let me preface this idea. I know that we need to pray over everything we teach, so if this idea might sound like something that would catch the kids attention and something you might want to do- Pray about it!! If NOT, THEN DON'T USE THE IDEA. I know, it sounds kind of simple.....
.... .... It is! Pray.
     Hold up a picture of Darth Vader. What are some things that kept the Jedi Knights safe? Light sabers and a special something called "THE FORCE". Hold up a picture of Yoda... who here remembers when Yoda told Luke, "May the force be with you!" We know that Star Wars is made up and fictional. It's not real. But did you know there is a REAL force that can keep us safe?
      Elder Delbert L. Stapley of the Quorum of the Twelve said, “Another important purpose of the sacrament is to renew and keep in force the covenants and obligations which we have entered into with our God.” What "keeps in force" our covenants? Coming to church and worthily partaking of the sacrament!
      Have 10 blank lines drawn on the chalkboard. Children will be able to guess a letter when they correctly answer a question or read a scripture about sacrament and baptismal covenants. The word to guess is PROTECTION. Just like the force helped to keep the Jedi Knights safe, the sacrament renews our baptismal covenants and gives us strength to do Heavenly Father's will and remember Jesus always!

* Has anyone had an experience they'd like to share where someone told them they'd do something and then DIDN'T? How would a missionary feel is someone committed to be baptized and then backed out? Would it be pretty awful if after Nephi said, "I will go, I will do!"- he went and sat on a wilderness log, stretched, started chewing his fingernails and then fell asleep watching deer frolic in the meadow? We need to do what we say!! We need to keep our commitments and promises we have made. And how do we do this?
     We need to, " ....Remember that we are renewing our baptismal covenants as we partake of the sacrament. Some of the promises that we make, as recorded in the scriptures, include:

     “Come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, … to bear one another’s burdens, … to mourn with those that mourn … , and to stand as witnesses of God.”

      “Come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, … willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end,” and to keep His commandments and always remember Him.

      The sacramental prayers are a reminder of these covenants. When we partake of the sacrament, we renew our commitment to live up to these covenants." (From General Conference Oct. 2012 Elder Don Clarke Blessings of the Sacrament)

     Break into groups and give each group a covenant we make at baptism. Have them discuss what that covenant means. What do certain words mean? Can they think of examples from the scriptures and from their own lives who demonstrated this covenant? For example "Come into the fold of God, and to be called his people" we see the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's who were willing to give up their homes and Lamanite people to come unto Christ's fold.

     After a couple minutes, invite the children to choose a person from their group to share with the entire primary about the covenant they talked about. We made those covenants and we need to keep our commitments, do what we promised! We do this taking the sacrament.

 

* Is the world sometimes a grimy, dirty place full of wickedness and sin?  Have a shirt with brown or black paper polka dots taped on it. How can we keep ourselves "unspotted from the world"?

The scriptures can always answer our questions!! Have a primary friend read D&C 59:9 "That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day".

   Have the children come up front and pick a spot to take off the clean shirt. Prepare questions for them to answer about baptismal covenants and sacrament. After they can crumple up the spots and toss into a garbage can!

Week 4
When I repent, I can be forgiven.

* When it's Christmas time, does anyone make a list of things they want as gifts? Has anyone heard of a bucket list? A bucket list is the things we WANT to do before we die. Put up a picture of the Savior... what do you think some of the things He wants? Write "The Savior Wants" .... then write the children's ideas on the board. These are all WONDERFUL ideas! Thank you for sharing!! Tell the children that today you are going to talk about something that The Savior wants.... it was talked about in the last general conference, just one month ago.... have a primary child who can read look at all the titles of the talks in the Ensign. See if they can find the talk that we'll use in Primary today... "The Savior Wants To Forgive" by Elder Craig Cardon.
     Have the children briefly act out the story of Jesus healing the man who was paralyzed and lowered from a roof by his friends. The Savior can heal our bodies AND heal our souls! But we must do our part and REPENT!! What does The Savior want? He WANTS to forgive!! At the end of the talk, Elder Cardon shares a verse from  “Gently Raise the Sacred Strain,” Hymns, no. 146. Sing that 4th verse for the children and bear testimony you know that when we repent we can be forgiven.

* Who has ever had to do something before a certain time? For example a book report due by the end of the month or homework by Friday? Would it be pretty hard if it were 20 minutes from the time we needed to get the thing done and we hadn't even started?
   What about repentance? Should we wait to say sorry a week later and maybe change our habit a few months later?
     "That temptation to delay comes from our enemy, Lucifer. He knows that we can never be truly happy unless we have hope in this life and then realization, in the next, of eternal life. It is the greatest of all the gifts of God. It is to live in families forever with our Heavenly Father and with Jesus Christ and to have eternal increase. Satan wants us to be miserable as he is. And he knows that we can only have that true happiness if we are washed clean through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, by deep and continuing repentance...." Elder Henry B. Eyring Do Not Delay October 1999 Ensign

     Play a game of "Now and Later" and have a few of the sweet "Now and Later" candies to pass out to the children. Have different scenarios and let the children decide if it's something they should do now or can wait until later.
For example, "You accidentally push your sister and she falls. Should you say sorry even though it was an accident?" Yes, I should say sorry now and see if I can help her up!
" You really want to go to the temple." I can't do that right now because I'm 9, I'll have to do it later. However, I can prepare now to go there by reading my scriptures daily.
     Come up with about 15 different scenarios and be ready to ask them questions to help them think about their answers. Now is the time to repent!! We can be forgiven.

* HERE is a talk by Elder Robert D. Hales. There is a letter from a girl that DOES NOT need to be shared with the children. However, towards the bottom of the talk he outlines 7 steps to repentance, with the 8th step being forgiveness from The Lord. It would make a good visual and is very clear cut on what we need to do to repent.

Recycled Ideas from previous posts:

* Have a simple math problem on the board. 3+3= 9 9+1=10 10-5=5    Is this right? When we didn't fix the mistake, it threw the whole problem off and in the end we got the wrong answer!! Repentance is our eraser. It erases the mistake and helps us to fix the problem. It might seem easier to just ignore and keep on going, but in the end it wont be right. Have a mixture of math problems gone wrong and case studies where the children can fix the mistake.
      For example 1+4=9, they erase and fix 1+4=5... now please help me. Casey went on a walk. He was eating a granola bar and didn't have pockets to put his trash in. He didn't see any garbage cans and decided to throw the wrapper on the ground. First, what was his mistake? How can he repent? Yes! He needs to say a prayer to ask forgiveness, probably go outside and pick up trash to make recompense and then never do it again!!
     In the end show a picture of Jesus + Repentance = ?? Because of Christ's Atonement I can repent and live with God again!!
*  Bring in a piece of stale bread and a piece of fresh bread.  If there is mold, all the better! What would the primary friends rather eat? According to the Bible Dictionary, Repentance is a "fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world." Fresh, not stale!! A brand new, spic and span attitude, not crusty and old! Just like a fresh piece of bread is good to eat, repentance is good for our soul!
*Bring in the movie Cinderella. Who has seen this movie? Have a primary princess or prince BRIEFLY tell the story!! A minute or less!! Well, it's an important story because it was even brought up in this last April General Conference !!
"Every Cinderella has her midnight—if not in this life, then in the next. Judgment Day will come for all. Are you prepared? Are you pleased with your own performance?
     If any has stumbled in her journey, I promise you that there is a way back. The process is called repentance. Our Savior died to provide you and me that blessed gift. Though the path is difficult, the promise is real. Said the Lord: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow....And I will remember [them] no more.” (Believe,Obey,Endure by President Monson)

Have 10 paper glass slippers with scriptures, stories, songs or questions having to do with repentance on the back. Let primary children come and choose a glass slipper and do what it says. (Of course, songs should be sung by the whole primary!) At the end of the lesson, you can show a picture of Cinderella in rags and then in her beautiful ball gown. Bear testimony that repentance turns our rags into beauty!!

*  Have a member of the bishopric come in to help you with your lesson if possible. You'll need a running headband, a racing number to pin on him and a pair of running shoes for him to change into. He might look a little silly wearing these things and his suit! However, he's going to be our special runner today! He's going to reverently run (perhaps even just jog) from one side of the room to the other. After he finishes, ask him, if he were in the middle of a race and realized he was going the wrong way, what would he do?? Share this quote,
       " If I were going the wrong way in the middle of a marathon, and I realized my mistake, would I keep going? I would immediately turn around! . . . I wouldn't stay on the wrong course because no matter how long I ran there, I would never reach the finish line. And yet for many who have made a moral mistake, a little voice keeps saying: 'You blew it. You can't change. No one will ever know anyway.' To you I would say, Don't believe it. 'Satan wants you to think that you cannot repent, but that is absolutely not true' (For the Strength of Youth [2001], 30)." Elaine S. Dalton, "You Can Return," New Era, Mar. 2010, 11
Have the children jog reverently (demonstrate for them first!) in place with their thumbs out. Invite one child up front to answer a question on repentance. Then they can reverently jog to another primary friend and tag their thumb. That friend comes up front to answer another question on repentance. While children answer questions, the primary children can sit down. We need to run and finish the race, repentance and forgiveness from our Savior and Heavenly Father helps us do so!!

LDS Baptism Gift Idea... SIMPLE

 

Safeway is happening to run a $5 special for a s'mores kit. You get 6 Hershey's bars, bag of jet puff marshmallows, and Honey Maid Graham crackers. Need a quick baptism gift because there is a new child in the ward and you want them to feel special and extra welcomed? Or just because you are so excited for your primary friend!!??!!