Laminate clipart of Nathan for this story. (An alternative to peanut butter would be Marshmallow Creme or Cheeze Whiz).

(Show Nathan)
 

One day, Nathan’s mother told him to take the garbage cans out to the curb so the garbage men could empty them, and to please remember to put the lids on tightly to make sure the dogs didn’t get in the trash.  Nathan took the cans out, bet ran off to play with his friends...never stopping to put the lids on securely.  A couple of hours later, Nathan came home. He found papers, watermelon rinds, and other trash all over the yard.
 

How do you think Nathan felt? Because he disobeyed his mother, Nathan felt unhappy. He knew that by doing something wrong, it was as if he had dirtied his spirit. (Smear some peanut butter on Nathan.)
 

Nathan sometimes helped his mother with work around the house. He really tried to be good, but sometimes it was difficult. One time he and his brother both wanted to play with the same to. They yelled at each other and hit one another. Nathan won because he was bigger, but he had hit his brother and hurt his arm.

What did Nathan do that was wrong? What do you think happened to Nathan’s spirit when he did this? (Smear some more peanut butter on Nathan and explain that his spirit doesn’t look very good any more because it has been smudged even more.)
 

One day, Nathan left school late. As he was leaving, he noticed how cold it was getting. He saw a scarf hanging on a hook by the door. It would help to keep him warm on the way home. Nathan took the scarf. He knew it was not his, but no one saw him take it, and he could return it the next morning.
 

What was Nathan doing wrong? Because he was borrowing something that belonged to someone else, without asking, he was adding another smudge on his spirit. (Add some more peanut butter).
 

The next morning Nathan had to hurry to school, and he forgot the scarf. The teacher told the class that a scarf that belonged to one of the children was missing. She asked if anyone knew where it was. No on said a word. Nathan felt bad because he had taken the scarf and had forgotten to return it. After the other children left, the teacher asked Nathan if he had seen the scarf.  Nathan did not want anyone to know what he had done, so he told her he had not seen it.
 

How did Nathan make his problem bigger? How is Nathan feeling now? By lying, Nathan made himself unhappier. (Smear more peanut butter on the boy).
 

None of the smears that are on Nathan’s spirit are too dirty for Nathan to clean up. How can Nathan feel happier and clean his spirit? (By repenting).
 

To clean his spirit, Nathan needs to repent for disobeying his mother. What must Ben do to repent of this? (Go through the steps of repentance relating to this mistake. Clean away some of the peanut butter from the boy).
 

What must Nathan do to repent for being unkind to his brother? (Go through steps of repentance and remove more of the peanut butter).
 

How can Nathan repent for borrowing something without asking? (Go though the steps of repentance and remover more of the peanut butter).
 

What must Nathan do for not telling the truth? (Go through steps of repentance and remove the remaining peanut butter).

How do you think Nathan felt after he repented of his mistakes? How did repentance change Nathan’s spirit?  When we repent, we free ourselves of sad feelings and we make our spirits clean and pure like they were when we first came to earth when we were born.
 

Clipart of Nathan: