September 30: Laws and Ordinances

These ideas are from the following blog: http://kristysawtelle.com

Chapter 3, Lesson 5: “Laws and Ordinances”

Opening Song:"The Priesthood is Restored", (Primary songbook), "When I am Baptized", (Primary songbook), "Families Can Be Together Forever"

Follow up on commandments challenge from last week's lesson

Discussion: When new members are baptized they may not understand all of the laws and ordinances of the church at first. It may take new converts some time before they understand all of the things we do and talk about in church. The missionaries have a lesson plan to help new members be prepared to participate comfortably in meetings and discussion.

Activity: In one lesson the missionaries will teach new members about 7 different laws and ordinances that we have in the gospel. Each of these seven things are scrambled in a puzzle form below. Try to figure out the puzzle and determine the 7 laws and ordinances new members need to learn about.

1. Unscramble this word “DIHSRPOETO”

2. Find the letter in the alphabet that corresponds to each #given (A=1)
13, 9, 19, 19, 9, 15, 14,1, 18, 25 23, 15, 18, 11

3. Find the letter in the alphabet that directly precedes each letter given in “FUFSOBM NBSSJBHF”

4. Use only every other letter in the phrase “tpenmrpslrels amnsd fvanmuiflry hliwsptnoqrcy”

5. Combine the last ½ of the word “chaser”, the first ½ of the word “vine”, and the last ½ of the word “race”. What is the new word you created?

6. This phrase is written backwards “gninrael dna gnihcaet”

7. find this phrase in the words of this scripture “Mormon 9:29” hint: (ETTE)

Activity: Have each person choose one law or ordinance and present it to the family as if they were introducing it to a new member who knew nothing about it. Have family members ask questions that a new member unfamiliar with church workings may ask.

Explain, Apply and Testify: As each person explains the law or ordinance chosen have them share what they love about that particular aspect of the gospel and how it enhances their life.

Activity: Now write all 7 ordinances on cards of paper and have family members tape their card to one object in the pantry. (Cans, boxes, pkgs. Etc) Use the objects to build a tower. These laws and ordinances work together to build and strengthen the church. Your tower may look a little funny but the Lord doesn't care much about outward appearances. He can build us into a great church with individually great members as we build on His ordinances.

For families with young children: The family is the basic unit of the Church. One of the laws and ordinances we learned about tonight is Eternal families. Everyone gets markers or crayons and we all draw a picture of what we think our eternal family someday will look like. Then we get to discuss what we think our family will be like.

For older teens and adults: Use the scripture references given with each of the laws and ordinances presented in PMG under the “scripture study” section. For each of the seven laws and ordinances find at least a couple scriptures you love and can apply to your life. Mark those scriptures and share them with each other.

Commit: Are there any of the 7 laws and ordinances discussed that we could be doing better with? Brainstorm as a family how you can improve this week and commit to one action.

September 23rd: The Commandments

These ideas come from the following blog: http://kristysawtelle.com

Chapter 3, Lesson 4: “The Commandments”

Opening Song: "Keep the Commandments" (Primary songbook)

Follow up on commitments made and kept from last week

Discussion: Why does our loving Father in Heaven give us commandments? Read the section entitled “Obedience” in PMG on pg. 72.

Activity: Can we name all of the 10 commandments? As a family try to name them (pg. 76 of PMG)
Create a short obstacle course outside or in the family room of your home with 10 obstacles (each one labeled as one of the 10 commandments you named). With a stop watch take turns racing through each obstacle and saying it as you go through it. Repetition will help them remember. You might use:

Step up onto “Thou shalt have no other god's before me”
Hurdle over “Thou shalt not make any graven images”
Slide under “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain”
Jump through “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”
Leap up to touch “Honour thy father and thy mother”
Cross the balance beam for “Thou shalt not kill”
Somersault over “Thou shalt not commit adultery”
Dodge around “Thou shalt not steal”
Throw a ball through “Thou shalt not bear false witness”
Collapse on the cushions for Tthou shalt not covet”
Let each child go a few times repeating the commandments and trying to improve their speed.

Discussion: Can you think of any other commandments the Lord has given members of his church?
See pg. 73-80 of PMG

Explain, Apply and Testify: How do the commandments show Heavenly Father's love for us? Why are we happier when we keep them? Have you seen this in your own life?

Activity: Let each family member choose one of the things God commands us to do on pg. 73-80 of PMG and tell how he would teach the importance of obedience to that commandment to an investigator or someone who asked him questions about his beliefs.

Families with young children: Sing the primary song (pg. 112 of the Primary songbook) or one of the many rhymes available to practice the 10 commandments. Point out specific times you may have seen each child keeping one of the commandments and how proud you are of them for their obedience.

Older teens or adults: For each commandment in the lesson, list the scriptural promise that goes with it or choose one scripture from the list provided in PMG that you think best teaches or illustrates that commandment and highlight it in your scriptures or book with cross references. Share with your family or your spouse how the Lord's promises have been realized in your life as you have kept the commandments.

Commit: Make it a family goal to practice saying the 10 commandments throughout the week (right before dinner or scripture reading or prayers) and try to memorize all 10 of the Lord's commands by next week. Consider an incentive award for anyone who can recite all 10.

September 16: The Gospel of Jesus Christ

These ideas are taken from the following blog: http://kristysawtelle.com

Chapter 3, Lesson #3: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ”

Opening song:  "The Fourth Article of Faith" (Primary Songbook), "The Church of Jesus Christ" (Primary Songbook)

Follow up on challenges from last week.

Activity and Discussion: Create a little “repentance man” by cutting out a gingerbread shaped man and covering him with clear duct tape or clear contact paper. Using a dry erase marker have family members mention all the different ways we might sin during our lives. They can each write them on the repentance man. When he is all full of sins discuss the need for a Savior, the Atonement, Baptism and Repentance (pg 60-62 of PMG). Then use an eraser or napkin to erase all of his sins so that he is clean again. Read Isaiah 1: 18.
This forgiveness comes ONLY through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ See 2 Nephi 2:6-8
What do we need to do to partake of this divine gift? Have someone read “faith” and “repentance” on pg. 61-62.

Activity: If we are going to teach these essential principles of the gospel we should have a good knowledge and understanding of them. Let's find out how much we know about some principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A tiny mini golf hole is set up in the room (a cup is taped to the ground or a box is set up with a hole cut large enough for a ball to go through). Tape lines are made about 5 feet from the hole, 7 feet from the hole and 10 feet from the hole. Everyone will use a stick or club and try to “golf” a ball into the hole from one of the tape lines (dependent on how many questions they can answer).
Give everyone a sheet of paper and pencil and have them try to answer the following questions to see where they golf from. Some questions from PMG follow for different age groups, or you can create your own.

For younger children:
What is a covenant? pg. 63 PMG
What is the first principle of the gospel? pg. 61
Do I need to repent before baptism, after baptism or both? pg. 63
How are we baptized? pg. 64
After baptism priesthood holders lay their hands on a person's head and give them a gift. What is it?
Once we have been baptized and confirmed we must try to keep the commandments and live righteously throughout our lives. The first letter of each word in this phrase will help us remember what we need to do. The letters are ETTE. Do you know what the phrase is? pg. 66

For older children/adults (These can be looked up in PMG if desired)
What are the first four principles and ordinances of the gospel? See article of faith #4
How often should we repent? pg. 63
Investigators should commit to living three principles in order to be baptized? What are they. Pg. 64
According to the first presidency letter in Dec. 2002 what 3 things should an investigator have done before baptism? pg. 64
What should new members do to retain the good feelings they have had while working with the missionaries? pg. 65
What blessings does God promise to those who Endure to the End? pg. 66 or D&C 14:7, 2 Nephi 31:20

Explain, Apply and Testify: How does my faith in Jesus Christ and my willingness to obey him make my life better? 

Commit: As a family brainstorm about ways we can strengthen our family and each other in the gospel. Come up with one idea to work on this week and commit to helping each other do it.

September 9: The Plan of Salvation

These ideas are from the following blog: http://kristysawtelle.com

Chapter 3, Lesson #2:  “The Plan of Salvation”

Opening song: "I Lived in Heaven" (Primary songbook), "Families Can Be Together Forever" (Primary Songbook)


Discussion: (from pg. 48) So many people in the world today wonder, "Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?" As members of the church we have the Plan of Salvation to provide us with all of those answers. We know so much about life before this earth, what our purpose here is, and what happens after we die. This knowledge could help everyone in the world to find more peace. If we hope to be able to share it with others, we should have a pretty good understanding ourselves. Let's find out how much we know about the “Plan of Salvation.”

Activity: Enlarge and cut out the principle pictures from the following link (or create your own): http://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/magazine/fr08jan16_sharing.jpg?lang=eng 

Let everyone pick out a picture and using masking tape put them up on a blank wall or chalkboard and tell what they know about that picture as part of the plan of salvation. Let others add what information they know or ask questions about each picture.
Here are some scriptures that kids may be able to understand on each topic. Be sure to cover:
The pre-earth life (pg. 48), Abraham 3:25-26
Earth life (pg. 49-52), 2 Nephi 2:27
The spirit world (pg. 52) Alma 40:11-14
The resurrection, judgment and immortality (pg. 53) Mosiah 4:30, Alma 34: 33-35
and the Kingdoms of Glory (pg. 53) D&C Section 76 (introduction) D&C 14:7


Activity #2: Make cutout “children” or print from the following link:

 http://lds.about.com/library/bl/primary/primary_children_all_over_world.pdf  

On each child write a question that a non-member might have about life after death, pre-earth life, judgment or the resurrection. Hide the cutout children around the house and have family members search out and find all of the lost children. Point out that this is similar to how our missionaries search for Heavenly Father's lost children who don't know about the gospel. Don't give up on finding the lost children even if some of them are difficult (point out that some missions are difficult and Heavenly Father NEVER gives up on any of his children). When all of the cut out children have been found begin reading and answering the questions. I have included some examples of questions you might use for younger and older children (or create your own). 

Younger Children
If someone I love dies will I ever see them again? What are they doing?
What happens to people who died but never joined the church?
What happens to little children who die?
What happens after the second coming? Who is on the earth during the millennium?
Is everyone resurrected? When will I be resurrected? 

Older Children
Why do bad things happen to good people?
When am I judged from my actions on this earth?
What is the difference between who goes to the celestial kingdom and who goes to the other two?
If someone dies before they get married in the temple when will they be able to be sealed eternally?
Isn't the terrestrial kingdom good enough? Why or why not?
If I marry a non-member and I'm really good can I be sealed to my kids someday?

Commit: Discuss a challenge your family might take learning about the plan of salvation. Challenge as desired.

September 2: The Restoration

These ideas are from the following blog:  http://kristysawtelle.com

Chapter 3, Lesson #1: The Restoration 

Opening Song: “The Golden Plates” from primary songbook
Discussion: Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to communicate with us. He wants to be able to hear from us and to send messages of comfort, guidance and information to us. 

Activity:  Morse Code (One way we can communicate with each other)You will need two flashlights. Let everyone see what signal on the flashlight will represent a dot and what represents a dash.  Have the family divide in half and each group go to one end of the room or outside in the dark and decide what word they want to spell for the other group. Let each person do one letter. The other group will write down what letters they think you are sending and then try to interpret the word. Then they get a chance to send you a word.

Discussion: There are a lot of ways we learn to communicate with each other (name some others) but Heavenly Father has told us how he wants us to communicate with him (through prayer) and how he communicates to us. How does He get a message to us? (List some ways) Make sure to mention prophets and scriptures.Heavenly Father wants us to be successful and to return to him so he helps us. One way is by calling prophets to give us direction and information. Throughout the world's history Heavenly Father has sent prophets. Can you name any of them? Can you name our prophet today? How do you personally know that these prophets were called by God? (This is a testimony bearing opportunity for them) 

Scripture: Amos 3: 7 and D&C 1: 38 Have someone help explain these verses and their application to us. Testify of the truthfulness of these verses.

Activity: Tell everyone you are going to talk about what happened to the prophets the Lord sent over time and as you tell the story you will ask questions. Every time someone answers a question right you will quietly place a penny in their hand and continue the story. Choose what parts of the discussion to turn into questions based on your children's age group and knowledge level.

Discussion: Prophets were on the earth all throughout the Old Testament. Then a few years before the Savior's birth the people became so wicked that the Lord took their prophets away. The Savior brought the gospel back to the earth and before he died in the NT he called apostles and a prophet to lead the people. But the people rejected the apostles and killed the prophet. Without apostles and prophets the Savior's gospel was changed and then lost. This period of darkness was called “The Great Apostasy” or Dark Ages. Not until 1830 did the Savior restore His true church again on the earth. This was called the Restoration and came about in answer to young Joseph Smith's prayer.Have family members tell the story of Joseph Smith's first prayer (see page 36-37 of PMG) taking turns and handing out pennies for important information. (Or tell the story and have them fill in the details).   As part of the restoration of His church, the Savior gave us a prophet and some additional scriptures (the Book of Mormon, D&C and Pearl of Great Price)

Activity: Allow everyone a chance to toss their pennies at the target from behind a tape line on the floor, then gather the family together and ask if anyone has received their own testimony of the Restoration, Joseph Smith, President Monson, or the Book or Mormon. As you share your testimony give them a chance to feel the spirit and share their own thoughts in any way they feel comfortable.

Commit: Brainstorm as a family ways you could strengthen your knowledge or testimony of the first vision, prophets, president Monson or the Book of Mormon . These might include memorizing a short portion of the JS story , memorizing the scripture that sent him to the grove to pray, or learning more about our current prophet. Commit everyone to do one thing, no matter how small this week and report back next week.

Families with young children: Write a secret message to each child challenging them to do something from the lesson in the coming week (ex: draw a picture of the first vision). Wrap the note in foil and hide it in their treats before you bake them (cupcakes, cookies, muffins etc). They can eat the treat, find the challenge and choose when to complete it.

Teens and Senior Couples preparing to serve: do the activity on pg. 39 of PMGWrite an example of what YOU would feel comfortable saying when introducing someone to the Book of Mormon. Read the last two paragraphs in the introduction to the Book of Mormon and work together to explain the meaning of each concept in both paragraphs.