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Joseph Smith translated the
Book of Mormon by the power of God
by Melanie Day
OBJECT LESSON: Show the radio to the children but do not turn it on
(adjust the discussion as necessary if you brought a picture of a radio).
Ask the children if they can hear what is being broadcast, and briefly
discuss why they cannot. Turn on the radio but do not have it tuned to a
station. Point out that the radio is on, but the children still cannot hear
what is being broadcast.
• What must we do before we
can hear the radio clearly?
Help the children
understand that listening to the Holy Ghost may be compared to listening to
a radio. Before we can hear what Heavenly Father wants us to know, we must
be tuned in to the Holy Ghost.
Can you read this:
They are reformed Egyptian characters. When Joseph Smith examined the gold
plates, he saw characters like these written on them. Because Joseph could
not read such writing, Heavenly Father helped him to translate it.
PUZZLE:
Translated by the power of God
- You can do this puzzle together as a group (draw on chalkboard) or
give as a handout to take home. The answers are:
Discuss the many languages used
throughout the world, and explain that the word translate means to
change writing or speech from one language to another.
• What was the language of
the writings on the gold plates? (Reformed Egyptian)
Explain that usually translators
need to understand both of the languages they work with. Joseph Smith,
however, had had very little schooling and could not speak or read languages
other than English. The reformed Egyptian characters on the plates were very
strange to him. He had to rely on the Spirit of the Lord, not his own
knowledge, to help him translate the characters on the plates into English.
SING: “The Books in the Book of Mormon”. You can have the
children arrange the titles in correct order before song is completed.
Click to View Larger Format
34730, Gospel Art Picture Kit, Translating the Book of Mormon, 416
Show the children the above picture while saying, "When the Prophet
Joseph Smith received the gold plates from the angel Moroni, he studied the
strange language written on them. With Heavenly Father’s help, Joseph
translated the writing on the gold plates into words he could understand.
Oliver Cowdery helped Joseph by being his scribe. As Joseph read out loud
from the plates, Oliver wrote down the words. When the translation into
English was completed, the book was printed. It is called the Book of
Mormon.
ACTIVITY: Explain that when Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon,
he said the words out loud, and his scribe wrote the words down. Sometimes
Joseph and the scribe were separated by a divider and could not see each
other. Put a divider in the middle of a classroom table or the floor
(for example, two children could hold a small blanket or sheet or a large
piece of heavy paper). Have a child sit on one side of the divider and
slowly read a short verse from the Book of Mormon while a child sitting on
the other side of the divider writes down what is being read. Then have the
scribe read what he or she wrote so the child reading the scripture can be
sure it was written correctly. (You may want to have more than one scribe so
all children who want to participate can do so.)
SING:
The Golden Plates
SUMMARY: Share your testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and Book of
Mormon.
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