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I have faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
He will help me keep the commandments.
by Melanie Day
SING:
“Keep the Commandments”
(pp. 146–47).
Talk about the importance of knowing what the commandments are so that we
can keep them. Have a scripture “scavenger hunt” to “collect” some
commandments.
Post the following
scripture references on the
chalkboard. Print out the follow
pictures. Ask
a child to choose a scripture reference. Have all the children look up the
scripture. (For Junior Primary you could have them work as a class, having
the teacher help them find the scripture). Ask which commandment it is
talking about, what we should be doing about it, how often we should do it,
etc. Have the child choose the object matching the scripture and place it
next to the reference. Repeat the activity until all the commandments are
“collected.” Remove the objects, rearrange the references, and see if anyone
can replace the objects correctly. (ANSWERS:
Alma 13:28–29 (pray);
D&C
1:37 (study scriptures);
Ex.
20:8–11 (keep the Sabbath holy);
D&C
59:9–12 (attend church and take the
sacrament);
D&C
119:4 (pay tithing).)
ASK: “Is it always easy to keep the commandments?” Talk about the
need to be strong when we are in difficult situations. Tell, or have a child
tell, the story of Nephi going to get the brass plates (see
1 Ne. 3–4),
emphasizing that the Lord provides a way to keep His commandments (see
1 Ne.
3:7). Nephi had
experience in keeping the commandments long before he went for the plates.
As we keep the commandments, our faith in the Lord grows and we strengthen
our ability to choose the right.
COLORING PAGE: (Click
here for coloring page from Friend). Color the picture of
each commandment you keep. In the empty “bubbles,” draw, color, and label
additional pictures of commandments you keep (pray every day, go to church,
pay tithing, love my neighbor, follow the prophet, keep the word of wisdom,
forgive others, and so forth).
While they are coloring have them sing, “Nephi’s Courage” (CS, pp.
120–121).
MEMORIZE: D&C 58:2 - "Blessed is he that keepeth my commandments."
Using seven sheets of paper, write one word (very large) on each sheet of
paper. Tape each sheet of paper on seven volunteers. Have them
assemble themselves in order. You can group people in patterns, for
example, have people 1-3 stand together......create some distance.... then
have person four stand by themselves.... and then people 5-7 stand together.
So when you recite the scripture it will sound like this, "Blessed-is-he",
"that", "keepeth-my-commandments." (I hope this makes sense). By
doing this, the children might have an easier time memorizing it. Have one
child at a time sit down leaving holes in the sentence until memorized.
SING: Consider trying to learn a song from the Friend called, "Keep
the Commandments"
ACTIVITY: Display a poster of the Ten Commandments, or you could list
them on the chalkboard (Click
here for the ten commandments). On
20 pieces of paper write the numbers 1 through 10 twice—one number per
paper. Place them in scattered order facedown on the floor. Working in pairs
(a younger child with an older child), play a matching game by having the
younger child toss a beanbag on a paper. Turn the paper over, and have the
older child toss a beanbag on another paper. If that paper matches the first
number, remove those papers and have the children recite the commandment out
loud and show or tell a way we can keep that commandment. If there is no
match, turn both papers back over and give the next pair a turn. Continue
until all of the commandments have been shared. Use a personal experience to
explain how you have been blessed by obeying a commandment.
STORY:
While 10-year-old Trace and his friends were watching television, a show
came on that Trace knew he should not watch. After a few minutes he felt
awful inside. Finally, he had the courage to say, “I can’t watch this show.”
Two of his friends said that they couldn’t watch the show either. They
changed the channel. Later, Trace’s mom told him that the feeling he had was
the Holy Ghost telling him to choose the right. Trace and his friends were
blessed with a feeling of peace because they obeyed Heavenly Father’s
commandments. (From the June 2006 Friend)
CHALLENGE: Have the children recite the scripture they memorized, D&C
58:2.
SUMMARY: Just as Trace, Heavenly Father will bless you when you
keep His commandments. He loves each one of us. Share your
testimony.
OTHER OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES:
-
Object Lesson "Keeping the Commandments takes Faith"
- Help the children memorize the Ten Commandments in Order (inspired by
Elder Hartman Rector)
One..."one and only"--Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Two..."zoo"--Some zoos have statues of animals in front of them--Thou shalt
not make unto thee any graven image...
Three..."tree". Trees have leaves, leaves have "veins"--Thou shalt not take
the name of the Lord in vain.
Four..."fort". Forts have "holes" in them from getting shot at--Keep the
Sabbath Day Holy.
Five..."family." There are a lot of families with five members or
children--Honor thy Father and Mother.
Six..."sticks" Sticks can "kill"--Thou shalt not kill.
Seven..."heaven" You can't go to heaven if you commit "adultery"--Thou shalt
not commit adultery.
Eight..."gate" Gates are made of "steel"--Thou shalt not steal.
Nine..."sign" Signs and billboards sometimes "lie" (i.e. smoking, drinking
is cool)--Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Ten..."tent" Tents "cover" you, the word cover is close to the word
covet--Thou shalt not covet.
SOURCES:
“Sharing
Time: Keep the Commandments,” Friend, June 1999, 45
“Sharing Time: Keep the Commandments,” Friend,
June 2006, 37
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