"I will put on the armor of god to help me resist evil and keep my Heavenly Father's Commandments."
 

Scriptures: Ephesians 6: 11-18 D&C 27: 15-18
 

Songs: Army of Helaman (Children's songbook), Hymn #251-- Behold! A Royal Army
 

Lesson:  Read the scriptures above. Discuss the meaning and dress the "warrior" as you read.

First importance is the "loins girt about with truth". The loins are the area between the ribs and the hips. The most vulnerable area, and the area of "reproduction" given importance by God (be fruitful and multiply). Being girt with truth means to know right from wrong. To love truth. Knowing the truth will help us make righteous decisions.
 

The breastplate of righteousness protects the heart. Many of the decisions we make are guided by the feeling and emotions of our heart. The Holy Ghost also speaks to our heart. If we protect our heart with the breastplate of righteousness, then our actions will be pleasing to Heavenly Father.
 

Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Learning and understanding all parts of the gospel, (faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, prayer, fasting, etc.) and putting them into action in our lives. This will help us to walk the strait and narrow path of the gospel and keep us on the "right foot".
 

The helmet of salvation. The way we choose to live our earthly life will determine what our eternal life will be like. "A helmet of salvation will guide our thinking all through our days..." (Paul said). The helmet which protects our head, represents salvation and within our head is the knowledge of the gospel plan which we must follow to inherit the Celestial Kingdom. We must always keep this knowledge safe in our minds if we with to return to our Heavenly Father.  He didn't just give us things to protect us, he also gave us things to fight back against our enemies.
 

He gave us:

1) the shield of faith- having faith in Jesus Christ and believing that he loves us and watches over us gives us peace and protection.

2) the sword of my spirit -- a sword cannot only defend us but can be used as a weapon against tout enemies. The Holy Ghost acts the same way. He is there in our time of need to help us make correct decisions. He also warns us against dangers.
 

Finally, you can talk about the story of the 2000 stripling warriors. Discuss how amazing it was that such a large amount of one group of warriors could survive in a war. You can also talk about "the shield of faith" from their mothers that was useful to them, as well s other parts of the "armor of righteous". 
 

Much of this information follows the talk given by Harold B. Lee--"Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace" This can be found discussed in the manual "Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles" pgs. 352-353.-- New Testament Course Manual.
 

A sister also suggested making the "warrior" out of felt and the fiery darts with Velcro on them so that they would stick to the warrior, when thrown at him, but when the armor is put on the warrior, they will not "penetrate."
 

Here are some other references to the armor of righteousness that I found.
 

1 Thessalonians 5: 8
Romans 13:12
2 Corinthians 6:7
Isaiah 59:17
2 Nephi 1:23
 

**There is one thing I found that was really interesting about the Armor of God that I found before the lesson was posted and it has to do with the Shield:
 

"In verse 16 we are told to take up the shield of faith. Notice, Paul says "ABOVE ALL having taken up the shield of faith." The shield of faith protects us greatly. We normally think of a shield as a small round dish, called a buckler. However, in Christ's time, a Roman soldier had a shield that was rectangular in shape and as tall as he was. This provided for a great covering to the soldier. When the soldiers were fired upon with flaming arrows, they were all able to crouch down behind the shields creating a barrier that would be almost impossible to penetrate. "
 

**Our Stake theme for this year is in Ephesians, where they talk about the armor of God. We had our ward conference last Sunday, & it was really inspiring. That night I was tossing some catalogues away, & noticed an ad for a 6' picture of your child (but it was $144 US). I got to thinking about what a neat display that would be for FHE, & each FHE talk about a different piece of armor. Ie. What each piece represents, whether it be prayer, etc. I would keep the picture up of the child for about 2 months (or as long as it took to get the picture in armor, doing a lesson a week). The 6' picture is out of my budget for a family of 5, but a few minutes later I saw something similar in a Family Fun magazine (March 2000, page 50). They took a refrigerator size piece of cardboard, cut a body shape out, & dressed it like a person. They then took a photograph (head shot of a family member) & enlarged it with a color copier (or you could use a scanner & computer) & stuck it on the cardboard body.