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Word of Wisdom Activity Day Fair
Joseph Smith started
a school for men in the Church called the School of the Prophets. In a room in
Newel Whitney's store in Kirtland, Ohio, he taught the men about the priesthood
and the scriptures.
Joseph wondered if men should smoke or chew tobacco. He prayed and asked God what was right.
In answer, the Lord
told him that people should not use alcohol, tobacco, tea, or coffee. He said,
"Strong drinks are not for the belly, … tobacco is not for the body, … hot
drinks are not for the body or belly. (D&C 89:7-9.) Joseph was told that fruits,
vegetables, and grains are good for people to eat. He learned that people should
not eat too much meat. (See D&C 89.)
The Lord told Joseph
that if people would take only good things into their bodies, they would have
good health, be wise, and be able to learn many things.
Joseph was happy to
be able to teach the people of the Church about the things that they should and
should not take into their bodies. Share the following scripture: "Know ye not that ye
are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man
defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy,
which temple ye are." 1 Corinthians 3:16,17
We can show respect,
honor, and love for ourselves and Heavenly Father by refusing to ever use tea,
coffee, tobacco, alcohol, or any harmful drugs. When we eat those things that
are good for us, and give our bodies the right amount of exercise and sleep, we
are doing things that will help us feel the Spirit and prepare to go to the
temple.
Invitation:
Invite the children to learn all they can about the Word of Wisdom today as they
participate in our Word of Wisdom Fair. Divide children into groups to go to
each station of the fair in rotation.
Room 1: Build
your own healthy snacks!
Banana Split Pizza
Serves 8 4 eight inch tortillas (baked as below) Instant Vanilla pudding or custard, prepared 1 cup strawberries, sliced 2 medium bananas, sliced Sprinkles, optional
Place tortillas on a
baking sheet. Lightly brush topsides of tortillas with melted butter. Bake in
375 oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Spread custard on
each tortilla. Arrange fruit slices on top. Decorate with sprinkles. You can
prepare and store tortillas ahead of time.
Room 2: Word
of Wisdom Obstacle Course (perhaps this could be located in the overflow of the
chapel)
To teach the children
that correct amounts of exercise are important, they will participate in a Word
of Wisdom Obstacle Course. Prizes for completion would include things like
jump ropes, hacky sacks, balls, etc.
Room 3:
Popcorn Tasters Table
Have children taste
different flavors of popcorn (a healthy snack) and guess what they are. (Call
Kernels at the mall ahead of time and see if they can donate some popcorn to
us).
Room 4:
Daniel's Choice (The Stage)
Have the youth or
adults (maybe even parents) do the following play on the stage:
"Daniel Obeys the Lord," adapted from The
Friend, June 1998, 34
Scene 1: King
Nebuchadnezzar conquers the land of Judah.
(Scene opens with the
King and his soldiers with swords fighting the people of Judah)
King: I am King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon! I am beating you! Surrender!!!
Soldiers: Yes!!!
Surrender!!!
Daniel: We have
fought a good fight, but you have beaten us. We surrender.
(He turns to his
friends and they put their swords down)
King: Ha! Well done,
soldiers! (He turns to his chief) Chief, I command you to go among all the
children of Israel, and choose the smartest and healthiest Israelites and bring
them back to the palace to learn from the scholars there.
Chief: Yes, O king!
(The king and his soldiers depart except for the chief and one other soldier.
They go up to Daniel and his friends)
Chief: What is your
name, boy?
Daniel: My name is
Daniel.
Chief: Daniel, I have
been watching you and your friends during this battle. You are smart and good
looking. You seem to be pretty healthy. You will be chosen to come live in
Babylon in the palace, where you can learn of the ways of the kingdom.
Daniel: Okay.
Scene 2: The King's
throne room (the king is sitting on a throne, looking busily at a scroll.
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are standing in front of him)
Mishael: It sure is a
long trip from Judah to Babylon. I'm starving!
Azariah: Me too!
Hananiah: What I
wouldn't give for some of mom's famous unleavened bread right now!
Daniel: Excuse me,
King Nebuchadnezzar, but my friends and I are very tired.
King: You must be
hungry, too. (He rings a bell or something. His chief officer enters)
Chief: At your
service, O King.
King: Chief, our
friends from Judah have never had the delicious and wonderful pastries and meats
of Babylon. I command you for now and the next three years to feed them as much
meat and cake and pastry as they want, as well as lots of wine!! (He turns to
Daniel and his friends) It's your lucky day!! Doesn't that sound delicious??
This is the very same food I eat, and I LOVE it!! (He turns to the chief) Now, I
have a lot of important business to do. You take care of these children.
Chief: At once, O
King. (The king leaves)
Daniel: Excuse me,
Chief Officer, but we have been taught that these foods and drinks are not
healthy for us. We cannot eat our drink them.
Chief: Daniel, I like
you, but if I don't feed you these foods, you won't be as healthy as the other
children, and the king will be really angry about that and he'll have me killed.
I'd really prefer to stay alive. It's really not that bad. Actually, the
pastries are very good.
Daniel: I don't want
you to be killed, so can we do this? For ten days, just give us grains and
vegetables and fruits, and give us water to drink, and if we are not as healthy
as the other children, we will eat the king's food.
Chief: That sounds
good. (They leave the stage)
Narrator: After ten
days, the chief came to look at Daniel and his friends and to compare them to
the other children (Daniel and his friends enter looking really muscular and
buff. This could be done with padding in their arms, etc. A few other children
come in looking tired and run down). [The chief enters]
Chief: (Looking
surprised.) WOW!!! You look healthier than all the others!! Incredible! And
(holding some papers in his hand), I just got your test scores from learning
with the scholars! You are smarter than they are!!! Your way of eating IS
better!! (They are all happy) Narrator: You can be like Daniel in the scriptures. You, too, know what the Lord would have you eat and drink. You know what is not good for you. If a king, or a friend, or anyone else tempts you to try something that is harmful to your body, say no with the same courage shown by Daniel.
After the play, have
the children sample homemade bread and jam and vegetable sticks.
Room 5: A
Visit With The Queen
Have someone dressed
as Queen Julianna, Queen of the Netherlands. She will relate to the children the
following story:
From Susan Arrington
Madsen, "David O. McKay: A Visit with the Queen," Friend, Feb. 1997, 35
Queen: President
David O. McKay, the prophet of your church in 1952, used to meet with people of
the church in other countries, and he made friends for the Church among many
government leaders. On one trip,
President McKay and his wife, Emma, came to see me in my palace. During that
visit, they showed how they were able to make friends without sacrificing their
religious beliefs.
I only had time to
see them for half an hour, after all, I was a very busy queen. President McKay
carefully watched the time. When the half hour was up, he politely thanked me
and began to leave. "Mr. McKay," I said, "sit down! I have enjoyed this thirty
minutes more than I have enjoyed any thirty minutes in a long time. I just wish
you would extend your visit a little longer."
President McKay and
his wife decided to stay for a little while longer. Of course, by then it was
tea time, so a table was brought in and I poured three cups of tea, pushing one
each to President and Sister McKay. When neither of the McKay's began to stir
their tea, I asked, "Won't you have a little tea with the queen?"
President McKay
politely explained that Latter-day Saints did not believe in drinking stimulants
and that they believed tea to be a stimulant.
I was shocked!! "I am
the queen of the Netherlands!" I said, "Do you mean to tell me you won't have a
little drink of tea, even with the queen of the Netherlands?"
To this, President
McKay politely asked, "Would the queen of the Netherlands ask the leader of one
million, three hundred thousand people to do something that he teaches his
people not to do?"
Then, I realized he
was a great man. I smiled and sat back in my chair. "You are a great man,
President McKay," I told him. "I wouldn't ask you to do that."
A teacher comes in at
that point and explains to the children that the queen and President McKay could
have enjoyed other things to drink that are healthy. One fun thing to drink that
is healthy is fruit. How do you drink fruit? You can make it into a smoothie!
Then, the teacher asks the children to help her with a recipe for a fruit drink.
The children are then given choices of fruits and the teacher blends them with
ice and water and a little sugar for a fruit smoothie that the children then get
to take a sample of.
Rooms 6 & 7:
Healthy Body Game and TRAPPED!!!!
Healthy Body
Game (Juniors): In this game, the
children are given laminated pictures of foods and things that are good and bad
for you. They are to then choose whether it is good or bad and stick it into a
slit in a paper boy's mouth, or a paper garbage can. Sister Liu has the visuals
for this.
TRAPPED!!
(Seniors): Someone who fishes or
hunts could come in and explain how a fisherman or hunter catches or traps the
animal (maybe he could even bring in some trap things). Then, the children are
asked how tea, tobacco, alcohol, drugs and coffee are traps. How are these
traps? What bait is used? How do we protect ourselves? One way to protect
ourselves is to know how great we are. Then, have the children fill out the
following on separate pages: "Something I Like About Myself," "Something I Do Well," "Something Other People Like About Me," "My Favorite Place to Be,"
"Something I Am
Learning to Do."
Tell the children
that these will be made into a book to be presented to the bishop. The title of
this book will be "Knowing Who I Am Will Help Me Keep The Word of Wisdom."
Closing:
Remind the children to keep the Word of Wisdom and bear testimony of its
importance.
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While they were
learning together, many of the men smoked pipes or cigars. The room was filled
with smoke. Some men chewed tobacco, and the floor became dirty. The room always
needed cleaning when the men went home.