I will show my gratitude and love
for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
by keeping their commandments
 

INTRODUCTION - Call on one child from each class to stand in a line at the front of the room.  Tell them you are thinking of two secret words (the answer is THANK YOU).  Make your chalk board look like this:

                               ___  ___  ___  ___   ___       ___  ___  ___

Toss the beanbag to a child standing in the line.  That child will guess a letter.  If the letter is in the answer, fill it in where it fits.  After each child's turn, the child gets to ask their class if they know the answer.  It is the only time that class can guess the answer.  Once you throw the beanbag to the next child, only the next child's class can guess and so forth.  Once the answer of THANK YOU is given, have all the children sit down.

Ask the following questions:
 

- What do you say when someone gives you something special?
- What do you say when someone does something for you that makes you feel happy?
- What do you say when someone does something to show they love you?

- How would you feel if you spent a long time making something for someone and when you gave it to them, they didn't even say thank you?

STORY - Introduce the story of the ten lepers by having all of the classes participate.  I typed up a simple version of the story in a Word Document.  It is enough for six classes to participate.  If you have more or less than six classes, combine or break up the story into more or less sentences.  (Click here for the story - Word Document).  Give each class one of the pages of the story.  Each class is responsible for drawing their part of the story.  The only rule is that every child must draw part of the picture.  So, everyone must work together.  Once the story is finished, have one person from each class come forward and hold their classes' picture.  Have them stand in the right order.  You'll read the words and after the story is read, have the child hold their picture high so everyone can see it.

ASK - Why should we say thank you? (To show the person who did something nice that you appreciate it.)  Do you think Jesus likes to be thanked when he does something? Of course, He does.

Sometimes we don't even think about all the good things that Heavenly Father has given us. It is easy to forget just like the nine men in our story. 

Explain that a person who chooses to keep the commandments may at first feel restricted. Sometimes it seems that there are many things he can't do. But as he trusts in Heavenly Father's love and continues to make right choices, his life begins to open up to greater freedoms, and he receives joys and blessings he never dreamed of. He will then rejoice that he gave up the little pleasures that would have robbed him of real and lasting joy. He will know of Heavenly Father's love because he will get good and happy results from what he does in his life. (See 1 Nephi 3:7, 22:31.)

ACTIVITY - Call on three children to come forward.  Tape down their thumbs to the palm of their hands and then ask them to do an activity that is very hard without thumbs...i.e. like putting on and tying shoes or putting on an extra shirt and asking them to button it up.  Explain that keeping the commandments helps enable us and gives us the tools we need to be successful.  The laws of God will not only bless our lives but give us happiness.

SONG - Keep the Commandments

TESTIMONY - Give a personal example of a time when keeping a commandment brought you a special blessing or happiness. Share your feelings and testimony about keeping that commandment.