I will prepare now to be a missionary
by Bonnie Gokey / ga11102007
 

Have someone give me a big gift expertly wrapped.  Inside the gift is a giant Hershey bar.  I open the gift take a whiff of the chocolate and then toss it in the trash.  The kids all gasp and more than a few make a dive for the trash can. (this catches their attention)
 

Read 1 Timothy 4:12, "…be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

Each of the children in my class was assigned one of the parts in the following story about John.  I narrated but they said the important words. (The story is from the Friend by Marilynne Linford, “A Missionary Now,” Friend, Aug 2007,  6–7).

Listening in Primary when they read the scripture we just did and that Jesus Christ wants every member of the Church to tell people about His true Church.

The missionaries told the children that they were not too young to be missionaries. They could give a copy of the Book of Mormon to relatives or friends who didn’t belong to the Church. And they could also invite them to church or ask them if they would like to have the missionaries teach them about the gospel.

The missionaries asked the children to think of someone they would like to tell about the true Church. Then they challenged the children to talk to that person about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that week.

John knew exactly whom he wanted to tell about the Church. He loved Grandma Linford very much and wanted her to know about Jesus Christ’s true Church. Grandma did go to church, but not to the church that John and his family went to. He thought carefully about how to ask Grandma to come to church with him.

A few days later, John and his family drove to Grandma’s house. Grandma greeted John and his two sisters, Rachel and Rebecca, with hugs .  (My 10-year-olds would only consent to air hugs but it was very cute). Soon everyone was busy talking and helping get dinner ready. John couldn’t wait until after dinner to ask his question; it was too important. He whispered to Grandma: “Could I talk to you alone for a minute? I have a very important question to ask you.”

Wiping her hands and looking deep into John’s eyes, she said: “Of course. Let’s go into the living room.”

As Grandma sat down, John’s heart started pounding. Would Grandma listen to his question? Would she come to church with him? He was trying to do what the missionaries had suggested. He had to be brave enough to tell others about Jesus Christ.

“Grandma, will you come to my church sometime?” John asked.

“Well, Sundays are pretty busy days for Grandpa and me, but we’d be happy to go to your church with you,” Grandma said.

“That’s great,” John said. “We belong to the true Church and I want you and Grandpa to belong to the true Church too. We have a prophet and the Book of Mormon and CTR rings.”

Suddenly, John thought he had said too much because Grandma got tears in her eyes. Then she hugged John, kissed him on the cheek, and thanked him for telling her about his Church and inviting her to come. Before Grandma could get another word out, John asked her if she would read the Book of Mormon and listen to the missionaries.

“You are the best missionary ever,” Grandma said. “I love you so much!” Then she hugged him again. Grandma asked John what ward he went to. John said the Third Ward. Grandma said that she and Grandpa went to the 11th Ward. Grandma asked John what church he belonged to. He said, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Grandma said that she and Grandpa belonged to that same church too. John looked confused. Grandma explained that there are thousands of wards all around the world and each one is part of Jesus’ true Church. Not all of Jesus’ followers could fit in one building, but they could all learn His true teachings in a ward where they live. She told John that after dinner they could drive to see the sign in front of her ward building that said “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” It looked just like the sign at John’s ward building.

John hugged Grandma and said, “Oh, Grandma, I’m so thankful that we are both members of Jesus’ true Church!”

Do you have to be 19 or 21 to be a missionary?

How was John a missionary?

How can we be missionaries?

What did he learn by listening to the scripture in 1Timothy?

Play a game - Help the children see how being a missionary now can help spread the gospel more quickly.

Part 1
 

1.       Have one class member to be a member missionary, and ask him or her to contact as many people in Primary as possible in half a minute in the following manner.

2.       He or she approaches another child or adult, who stands.

3.       The member missionary shakes the other person's hand and says, "Hello, my name is ______, and I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

4.       How many people did the member missionary contact?

Part 2:  Repeat the activity with this difference:  (Everyone)

1.       As soon as someone has shaken hands, that person becomes another member missionary and begins introducing himself or herself and shaking hands with others.

2.       Now how many people were contacted?

3.       How long did it take to contact everyone in the room?

Explain that by living gospel principles, we will be good examples as member missionaries.

Playing another game stand up if this is something you can do to be a missionary and sit down if this is not something you should do be a missionary.

·         Without asking, you take something that doesn’t belong to you.

·         You are reverent during sacrament meeting.

·         You are rude to your neighbor.

·         You cheat on a test in school.

·         You don’t obey your parents and then brag about it to your friends.

·         You invite a friend to Primary.

·         You invite a friend to your home for family home evening.

·         You invite someone new in your neighborhood to play with you.

·         You pray for the missionaries.

·         You save some money for your missionary bank.

·         You tease a classmate until she cries.

·         You tell a nonmember friend about Jesus Christ’s Church.

·         You won’t let a classmate play with you at school.

Give out chocolate bars – remind them that they have to SHARE their gift with someone.  They cannot eat the candy bars until they have done one of the 15 missionary minded things on the back.