Items needed for the lesson-

Last week I did not prepare the lesson, nor did I attend.  My team teacher wasn’t there either.  So, for our sakes I will [...]]]> Primary 4: Book of Mormon – Lesson 16

Items needed for the lesson-

1. Jar of water
2. Ping-pong ball
3. Rope (a jump rope will work if you don’t have a rope)

Last week I did not prepare the lesson, nor did I attend.  My team teacher wasn’t there either.  So, for our sakes I will start with a brief refresher on some of the people we will be talking about today.

• Alma – Alma was the High Priest and he chose to dedicate his life to missionary work
• Amulek – He was a man who lived in Ammonihah where Alma was preaching.  Amulek had a vision about Alma and was told to take care of him.
• Zeezrom – A citizen of Ammonihah that argued with Alma and Amulek saying that they were liars.

Now on to Lesson 16…

What is faith?  How does someone have faith?  When and how do you use or exercise your faith?

If you take a glass of water and a ping-pong ball, what will happen when you push the ping-pong ball down and then let go?  It will bounce again to the top.  Now if we were to poke a hole in the ball and push it down, what would happen?

Faith is like the ping-pong ball.  If we have faith, we will bounce back from our trials and we will continue to be lifted up in our trials.  But if we let fear and doubt seep in, like a small hole would allow the water to fill the ball, we too will sink.

It is difficult to talk to 8-9 year olds about faith and how to practice it.  Difficult, because it is something that I continue to work on and continue to strive for.

Alma and Amulek in Prison is a story all about how bad things can happen but ways that our faith can keep us safe.  It is also about how one can gain faith.

_____

Alma and Amulek continued to teach the people of Ammonihah the truth about Jesus Christ and the importance of repentance.  During one particular time-sharing the message, Zeezrom was in attendance.  While he was standing there listening, he began to have a strong emotion and was astonished by what had been spoken.  He was also overcome by the damage he had done by way of his words for the people who were gathered.

What was Zeezrom feeling?

Why would he feel that way?

During our lives, we are going to make choices.  Sometimes these choices are made without a full understanding or without knowing who our choice may affect.  As we grow, we may learn something new that will suddenly make us realize that what we had done minutes, days, weeks or months before was wrong.  We too can have that feeling of guilt come over us.

That is exactly what happened to Zeezrom.  For some reason, something that was said that day opened his heart up to feel the spirit and his mind was opened so that he understood the damage he had done.  He began to cry out to the people that he was the one that was wrong, not Alma and not Amulek.

What do you think the people did when he cried out that he was wrong?

Rather than taking a moment to listen to him this time, they persecuted him and threw him out of the city.

Why do people persecute those that believe differently than they do?

These people continued to persecute the believers in ways that you and I could not even imagine.  Actually in ways that you just don’t see happening today.  All of the women and children that believed were thrown into a fire.

From the scriptures, we know that these women and children died in that fire.  Even though the persecutors expected Alma and Amulek to save them – if they were telling the truth.

Why did the Lord not let Alma save the women and children?   In Alma 14:11 we read the answer.

Taking the time to read this scriptures can help us to understand that bad things do happen to good people.  But, we also know that those who die defending the truth are blessed.  Alma 60:30

“For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.”

At this point, I would like to share the Book of Mormon video – Chapter 22 Alma’s Mission to Ammonihah.  The video will recap to this point and will finish telling the story.

From the video, we learned that Alma and Amulek were thrown into jail and beaten.  The chief judge told them that if they had the power to free themselves he would believe.

Was the chief judge showing any faith?

Faith is believing in that not seen.

What is something that you have never seen but you believe?

I have never seen God.  But I  know because of my faith that He is our Heavenly Father and that He created us and this earth.

Alma and Amulek prayed and asked God to free them.

If you have a piece of rope, try to break it by pulling it apart.  Difficult, if not impossible?  Now imagine it being wrapped around you and tying you to a pole.  Could you do it?

In answer the their prayer, what happened?

Let’s read directly from the scriptures what happened in Alma 14:26-28.

How great was the faith of Alma and Amulek?

Was their faith greater to release them from the ropes or greater to save the women and children?  I believe that their faith was the same.  The difference was the Lord’s will.  Those women and children were taken into the arms of their Father in Heaven.  They were saved eternally while the men who did the damage are forever paying for those sins.

This is the part of faith that I think is the hardest part to accept.  When I hear that people have lost their faith or that they have no faith, I can see how they could get to that point.  But, when we have trials so great as women and children being thrown into a fire, or more relevant for today, a parent with cancer, a child that has been hit by a car, a mother that dies during child-birth – without faith we would sink.  Back to the ping-pong ball.  No matter how long I hold that ball down, or how far down I am able to hold the ball down, it will ALWAYS bounce back up.

_________

After Alma and Amulek walked from the prison, they went outside the walls of the city to the land of Sidom.  Zeezrom was on his death-bed with a high fever in the same city.  Alma and Amulek were asked to go to Zeezrom to heal him.

Alma took his hand and asked him if he believed in Christ.  When Zeezrom answered yes and that he believed all that Alma and Amulek had taught, Alma responded that if he believed, he could be healed.

Zeezrom was healed from his sickness and forgiven of his sins.

Zeezrom was then baptized and began to preach the gospel.

The fourth article of faith states…

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

How did Zeezrom achieve each of these four steps?

What about you?

_______

Faith is something that we have to CONSTANTLY work on.  It is not something that comes easily nor grows without work.  But faith can make us whole.  It can make us whole physically and spiritually.  I know that Christ is my Savior and that through him, we may be as Zeezrom and forgiven of our sins.  I know that the faith of Alma and Amulek is something that I too can have.  But I have to remember not to let the weight of my trials to let the fear and doubt seep in.  Faith is the only way to bounce back from our trials.

Journal entry:

How can you work to grow your faith?

Has your family walked (or driven) through wetlands while losing count of the beautiful birds you’ve encountered?

How far would you be willing to travel for the opportunity to view a group of pelicans gathering?

On Earth Day, our family was drawn to the [...]]]> Have you ever been to a bird refuge?

Has your family walked (or driven) through wetlands while losing count of the beautiful birds you’ve encountered?

How far would you be willing to travel for the opportunity to view a group of pelicans gathering?

On Earth Day, our family was drawn to the bird refuge in hopes of seeing baby birds. We were too early but still managed to see the birds pairing off and preparing nests for their future family.

If you go during the week, you can stop in the visitors center and learn about all of the types of birds you will find out on the loop. They also have signs up throughout the drive to educate you a little more.

Be prepared for gnats galore! Take an allergy pill. Bring you biggest zoom lens. Drive very slowly. And good luck keeping track of the number of birds you will see.

During our lives, each of us will sin.  We will sin many many times because we are not perfect.  Heavenly Father knows that we are not perfect but He does love us.

For my class, I have prepared a backpack filled with bags of rocks.  These bags each have a [...]]]> Primary 4 Lesson 14

During our lives, each of us will sin.  We will sin many many times because we are not perfect.  Heavenly Father knows that we are not perfect but He does love us.

For my class, I have prepared a backpack filled with bags of rocks.  These bags each have a label.  Because my class is filled with 8-9 year olds, the sins that I have included are lying, being mean, talking back, gossiping, disobeying, cheating and judging.  If I were giving this lesson to teenagers or adults, there would be many other sings that I would add.  And the bag would have the potential of being very very heavy.

I will have each of the children lift the backpack and share with the class what it feels like to carry that much weight on their backs.

Sin is just like the backpack.  Although you can’t see what is in the backpack, it is obvious that there is something heavy that you are carrying.  Because Christ died for us, there is a way to lighten our load and potentially remove the backpack altogether.

As we take each of the bags out of the backpack, I will discuss each sin.  Some of the sins cause a lighter load than others.  But together they make the burden heavier than we can bare.  Each of these sins keep us from drawing closer to our Heavenly Father.  Each of these sins keep us from building a strong bond with our families.

How can we remove the burden of these sins?  Christ said that He is the light and the way and that only through Him can we return to our Father in Heaven.  Only because of Christ can we repent of our sins.

What does it mean to repent?  In Alma chapter 36 we can read what we need to do to repent.  To summarize, we need to do these following steps…

1. Recognize sin.
2. Confess the sin and pray for forgiveness.
3. Do our best to make up for the wrong.
4. Forsake the sin.
5. Obey the commandments and live more like the Savior

The story for today’s lesson helps all of us see that we can repent, even though sometimes it will be hard to literally right the wrong, we can make things better.

Because I like using different media sources for my lesson, I will show the children the Book of Mormon videos.  The first is called “Alma the Younger Repents” and the second is called “The Sons of Mosiah become Missionaries”. (I have linked to the PDF version of the children’s Book of Mormon stories).

The story tells us of how Alma’s son, Alma and his friends (who were the sons of King Mosiah) tried to destroy the church despite their fathers’ efforts to build the Kingdom of God.  These young men traveled through town tearing down the gospel and professing that it was a bunch of lies. The fathers prayed that their sons would see the truth and that they would quit destroying that which was good.

The sons of Mosiah and Alma the Younger were visited by an angel that told them to stop telling lies.  Alma fell to the ground and could not speak and became very weak.  They took him to his father.  Alma knew what had caused his son to become weak and unable to speak.  He prayed that his son would be once again strong.  After 2 days, Alma awoke and told the people that he had repented and that God had forgiven him.

After that, Alma and the sons of King Mosiah had to right their wrongs so they became missionaries and traveled around sharing the truthfulness of the gospel.

____

For this lesson, in order to get strong participation with the kids, we will play a game.  I’ll divide the kids into two teams and will give a point for each team that gets their question correct.  So that I don’t have kids yelling out the answers, each team will be given a question.  If they can’t answer it, the other team will have a chance to do so.  This way I’ll also be able to guide the discussion a little better.

Here’s the list of questions with the discussion point in parenthesis.

• Who prayed for Alma and the sons of Mosiah?
• What did they pray for?  (What do you think your parents pray about when they are praying for you?)
•  In order to receive answers for their prayers, how did Alma and King Mosiah pray?  (Why is faith important when you are praying?)
• What happened to Alma the Younger and his friends that showed them the power of God?
• After Alma and his friends were visited by an angel, what changed for them? (Why is a change of heart important for repentance?)
• Who helped Alma repent?  (Why do we need to remember the Savior when we confess and repent of our sins?)
• How did Alma and his friends try to right their wrong? (If you hurt someone’s feelings, how can you right the wrong?  What about if you steal or lie or gossip?)
• Once they had repented, what did these men do?  (How can becoming a good example help you achieve forgiveness?)

I recently had the opportunity to take some pictures of a group of beautiful girls  Each of the girls were sweet, humble, kind and gorgeous.  As we were wrapping up the shoot, one of the girls put on this great hat and bright red lipstick to match the ribbon on the hat.  I [...]]]>

I recently had the opportunity to take some pictures of a group of beautiful girls  Each of the girls were sweet, humble, kind and gorgeous.  As we were wrapping up the shoot, one of the girls put on this great hat and bright red lipstick to match the ribbon on the hat.  I had her stand close to my off camera flash and I stood on a chair so that I was looking at her from above the light.  The pictures turned out so fun, but as the rules state, you can only enter one picture.  So, I had to narrow it down to this one photo…

Be sure and check out all of the other “Beautiful Black and White” entries at I Heart Faces.

Lesson 9

I love the story of Enos.  Whenever I read about Enos or hear him mentioned in General Conference I am reminded of how important it is to really bear my soul in thoughtful prayer – often.

Attention activity:

Raise your hand when you know what I am.

I [...]]]> Enos Prays

Lesson 9

I love the story of Enos.  Whenever I read about Enos or hear him mentioned in General Conference I am reminded of how important it is to really bear my soul in thoughtful prayer – often.

Attention activity:

Raise your hand when you know what I am.

I am not a person, place, or object.

I can be so quiet that no one else can hear, or loud enough that everyone in the room can hear.

I can be used when you are alone or in a group.

I am used any time, any place, under any circumstance.

I am used for gratitude, guidance, comfort, forgiveness, protection, help, good health, or for any other blessing you need for yourself or for someone else.

You use me to talk with Heavenly Father.

What am I?

What are some questions that you have about prayer?

(Write their questions on the board)

Give the kids each the worksheet to use after they watch the video and while you re-tale the story.

Watch the video on Enos and then re-tale the story.  [I really like the way Discovering Sunday School tells the story but I’m going to tell it in my own words]

The story of Enos:

Enos was a faithful young man who believed his father’s words.   He thought often of the things that his father had taught him and evaluated whether or not he was living the way he should.  One day, before he went about his jobs, he felt the need to kneel in prayer and ask for forgiveness.

Enos fell to the ground and “cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication” for his own soul.

What does “mighty prayer and supplication mean”?

Have you ever prayed in this way?

After a full day of prayer, a voice answered that Enos’ sins were forgiven.

He knew that the Lord would not lie so his guilt immediately went away.

How long did Enos pray?

Why do you think Enos got such a strong answer to his prayer?

After Enos’ sins were forgiven, he asked the Lord how.  The Lord said that Enos’ sins were forgiven because of his faith in Christ he had been made whole.

Once he had heard these words, he felt a strong desire for the welfare of his people and so he continued in prayer.  This time praying that the Nephites would be blessed and know the truthfulness.

Again, after a period of time, and thoughtful prayer, the Lord answered Enos’ prayer and told him that as long as they were faithful he would continue to bless them.

Following his prayer for the Nephites, Enos felt he needed to pray for the Lamanites.

Why would Enos pray for his enemies?

Who could you pray for like Enos prayed for the Lamanites?

The Lord told him the fate of the Lamanites and the Nephites.

He was told that the Lamanites would survive and that the Nephites would die away because of their sins. The Lord also told him that the Lamanites would try and destroy the records of Enos’s people.

Why were these records so important?

What did the Lord promise Enos?

When Enos had finished this mighty prayer, he spent the rest of his life teaching the people of Nephi and prophesying of the things to come.   He even tried to convert the Lamanites.  But they continued to try and destroy the Nephites.

Why did Enos have the faith to preach the gospel his whole life even when the words he shared were not well received and the Lamanites continued to try and kill his people?

What does that tell you about the power of prayer?

How can you make your prayers more sincere and not just words?

Making our prayers more sincere is a challenge even as a grown up.  We can feel like we are just saying our prayers in the morning and evening to knock things off of our to do list.  Sometimes we even get busy and don’t say our prayers as often as we should.   A sincere prayer is a powerful tool.  It is the way we can communicate with our Heavenly Father.  By communication, I mean have a conversation.  The Lord has promised us he will answer our prayers but we have to take the time to listen to him.  Even when we don’t get an immediate answer, we can recognize the answer later when it comes if we are sincere.

Activity

Hand each child a fan paper.  Have them fold it into a fan.  Then have them unfold it.  On the left side ask them to write down everything they are thankful to Heavenly Father for and then on the right side ask them to write down everything they can ask Heavenly Father for.  Then fold it back into a fan and fold it in half.  Tie a ribbon at the fold.  Explain to them that the fan will help them as they prepare for their prayers.  They can read through the fan and think of any other things they are grateful for or need to ask for.  It will also serve as a reminder that you always thank the Lord before you ask him.

How does the Lord answer prayers?

When should you pray?

Why should you pray every day and not just when you need something?

Do you think that that was Enos’s only prayer?

Make sure we have answered all of the questions on the chalkboard that the children had about prayer.

In closing I’d like to share my testimony on prayer…

I know that God listens to us when we pray – whether we are praying with great faith, in a quick moment, on our knees or while standing in a line.  He listens to us and knows the needs of our hearts.  I also know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers.  Not always the way we want, when we want or how we want, but He does answer them.  If we are not following all of the steps of prayer – that includes taking time to listen – we will not recognize the answers when they come.  It is a two part conversation.  We can’t ask and then rush away and expect to hear the answer.  Only if we listen will we understand and catch the answer.  Prayer is a wonderful and beautiful part of my day.  It is the part that helps me get out of bed in the morning.  It is the part that gets me through a meeting that I’m conducting.  It is what gives me comfort while my girls are at school and Scott is at work.  It is my foundation.  Knowing that God loves me, listens to me and answers me is what makes me who I am.  The mother that I am is because of prayer.

Journal prompt:  What does prayer mean to you?

Show a sign written in a different language.  (For me, I’ll have it written in Russian)  The sign should say, “Nephi listened to the Holy Ghost”.

What does the sign say?

Obviously they won’t be able to translate it without help.

Share [...]]]>

Lesson 7: Crossing the Sea

Show a sign written in a different language.  (For me, I’ll have it written in Russian)  The sign should say, “Nephi listened to the Holy Ghost”.

What does the sign say?

Obviously they won’t be able to translate it without help.

Share with them what it means.

What do you need to do in order to be able to understand this kind of writing?

Is it something you could learn if you wanted to?

Sometimes we are able to do something quickly and easily – without much effort.  But to speak a different language we need to study, practice and listen.

In order for us to hear and understand the Holy Ghost we need to work at it as well.

What are some things that we can do to learn how to hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost?

This week we get to learn about the family’s journey across the sea.  It wasn’t an easy journey nor was it a quick journey.  But it was an important one.

Select one child to come to the front of the classroom and put a blindfold on them.  Once he is blindfolded, have the other class members move the chairs around.

Ask one person to come and direct the blindfolded child through the chairs to get to the other side.

Once he has accomplished that, ask the rest of the class to loudly (without yelling) direct him incorrectly while the one that helped him before helps him again in a quiet and calm voice.

Which way was easier for him to work his way through?

Why was the one easier than the other?

How is that experience similar to what you will encounter?

Personal Story:

A friend of mine was getting baptized.  She wasn’t getting baptized when she was 8.  For several months she studied the gospel and read the Book of Mormon.  She went to church and she met with the missionaries.  During this time, she grew to love the Book of Mormon and she wanted to get baptized and knew with all of her heart that it was the right thing to do.

The night before her baptism, she heard a voice yelling in her ear not to get baptized.  Warning her that it would change her life forever and did she really want to give up all of the worldly things that she had planned.  She began to be afraid until she prayed and was comforted by a very soft voice assuring her that all would work out for her if she got baptized.  She did get baptized.  Yes her life did change.  But she has always known that temptation would be very loud and that the Holy Ghost would be very soft.

Today we are going to talk about Nephi and his family’s journey to the Promised Land.

Please open your Book of Mormon to 1 Nephi 18.

How was Nephi able to build a ship? 1 Nephi 18.1-3

Once the ship was built, the Lord directed them to board and set sail.

Watch the podcast “Chapter 8 – Crossing the Sea”

What did Laman, Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael do?

What happened after they tied Nephi up?

What have we been given that is similar to the Liahona?

In our lives, what are some things that can make it so that we can’t hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost?

Who can remember how Lehi and Sariah felt when Laman and Lemuel were misbehaving?

How do you think your parents feel when you are being disobedient?

What about when you are being like Nephi?

What did you notice about how Nephi acted towards his brothers when they were being mean?

How can you be more like Nephi?

Listening to the Holy Ghost is not always easy.  Sometimes we will be prompted to do something when we don’t want to.  Sometimes we will be tempted to do the opposite of what we know we should.  But I want you to know that I know that the Holy Ghost is a gift: A precious gift that will help us to choose the right.  The Holy Ghost was given to us with a promise that if we listen with our hearts, we will be guided, instructed and comforted.

Personal Story:

Not very long ago, I was in the mountains with my family and it started to snow.  My youngest daughter needed to get to a birthday party down in the valley but my oldest wanted to stay up in the mountains for a little while longer with her dad.  When I was leaving, my husband said to me, “Are you sure you are okay driving in the snow?”  I gave him a look and said, “um, yea, I’ve driven in the snow for over 20 years.  I’ll be fine.”

But guess what?  My husband was listening to a prompting by the Holy Ghost.  Because he said something to me, I was more cautious while I was driving.  My phone rang and I thought about answering it, but I felt very strongly that I needed to let the call go to voicemail.

Just a few seconds later, I was turning the corner very slowly and my car started to slide on the ice.  I prepared everyone in the car because I knew that we weren’t going to stay on the road.  For the next few moments we were rolling down the mountain until we came to a stop on a boulder in the river.

Sometimes, even when we listen to the Holy Ghost, bad things can still happen.  But because I did listen to the Holy Ghost and because my husband listened to the Holy Ghost, I was driving very slowly and carefully.  Because I didn’t answer my phone, I could pay close attention to the road and could adjust the car so that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Has there ever been a time that you have listened closely to the Holy Ghost and made a decision based on how you felt?

How can you be prepared to hear the Holy Ghost?

*** If there is time, we can play one of two games.

The first is a game from the Friend magazine.  It is a good game to test what they remember about Lehi’s journey from Jerusalem.

The second game is from Sugardoodle.net.

After watching them try for a short time – while not laughing at [...]]]>

Lesson 5: Lehi and His Family Are Led through the Wilderness

Attention Activity:

Give each child a ribbon or a string.  Ask them to hold on to the ends and while not letting go, tie the ribbons into a knot.

After watching them try for a short time – while not laughing at them – ask them how well that worked for them.

Now give them step-by-step instructions…

1. Lay the ribbon across your lap
2. Tightly fold your arms
3. While keeping your arms folded, pick up an end with each hand
4. Hold on to the ribbon and pull your arms apart to unfold.

Children should now have a knot in their ribbon.

*** Gather the ribbons so that they are not a constant distraction.

Which way was easier?

What made the difference?

Each of us will face a lot of challenges through out our lives.  Some of these challenges are quickly fixed if we ask our parents or teachers what we need to do.  Others of those trials will require more help and more patience.  Some of those trials can only be helped if we lean on and ask Heavenly Father for help.

Play the video “Chapter 5 – Traveling in the Wilderness”

Have all of the children open up their scriptures to 1 Nephi 16.

What did Lehi receive because of his obedience when he was traveling in the wilderness?

What was the Liahona for?

During the video we heard about Nephi and others going hunting in the wilderness.

What happened while they were hunting?

Pretend that you were there with Nephi and his family.  You had agreed to leave the comforts of your home where you could go to the market to get food, you could climb in your bed for warmth and comfort, and you could change your clothes whenever you wanted.  It had already been several days or weeks since you had left the comforts of home.

How would you respond if the primary source of food was gone?

What did Nephi’s brothers and father do?  (1 Nephi 16:17-21)

Did you notice that this time it wasn’t just his brothers that murmured?  Even Lehi got discouraged.  Sometimes it is really hard not to complain about when we are faced with a struggle.

I would like each of you to take one pebble or a bead and one piece of candy.  Please place the pebble in your shoe and the candy in your mouth.  Now, lets go for a walk.

*** Take a very short walk around the church.  There is likely to be a lot of murmuring and a short walk will get the point across.

Wasn’t that such a nice little walk?  We got out of the classroom for a minute; we got to visit about other stuff, and we got a treat.

What did you think about the walk?

Likely they will complain about the pebble or bead more than they will focus on the treat.  Sometimes it is much harder to focus on the positive than it is to focus on the negative.

Lehi and the rest of Nephi’s family really struggled with finding the good in Nephi losing his bow.  In fact, even looking back at it and having not been there.  I still think – really?  As if they weren’t proving their faith enough did he really need to break his steel bow?

Some of us will have to face trials that we will never understand the reason for.  Whether we will have a sibling get sick, a parent lose their job, a cousin die from cancer or something else.  There is no easy explanation for why.  No easy way to say I guess I learned my lesson.

What did Nephi do to fix the problem? (1 Nephi 16:23-24)

Why did Nephi ask his father for help?

Who do you go to when you need help?

We went for a walk and a lot of you complained about the bead hurting your foot.  Some of you couldn’t even enjoy the candy because the pebble or bead was so annoying.

In this jar of rice, there are several treasures.  There is a ring, an earring, a coin, a charm and a pin.  As you look at it, you can’t see any of the treasures.

*** Have the kids take turns rolling the jar looking for the treasures.  Likely only the coin and ring will ever be seen.  But assure them that they are all there.  It just means we have to really look hard to find the good things in life.

After Nephi asked Lehi for direction on where he should go hunt, Lehi went to the Liahona.  (1 Nephi 16:26-30)

How did the Liahona work?

Today we don’t have a Liahona, so what do we have?

We all have the scriptures that we can turn to.  We have our parents and our teachers and our grandparents that will all help us in the right direction to return to our Heavenly Father.  I’d also like to share a story with you from something else that the children in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have to help them do what is right.

The Friend shares a story of a little girl who won her school spelling bee.

What did Nancy do to help her when she was nervous and needed some extra help?

Today’s lesson has three very important things that I would like you to remember.  All three of these lessons will make every aspect of your life better.

Who can tell me what those three things are?

1. Focus on the positive
2. Seek to find the good
3. Lean on the Lord for direction and comfort

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true and living church.  I know that the Lord will guide us and direct us when we have faith in Him.  I know that when bad things happen we want to curl into a ball or we want to throw a fit and scream about the problem.  The only way that we can overcome our trials is to face them head on and come up with a way to fix the situation.  Laman and Lemual instantly reacted and freaked out whenever things did not go their way.  Nephi always took a minute and looked at the situation.  He considered the situation and sought out a solution.  On our walk, Nephi would have focused on the treat and when we returned from the walk, he would have removed the stone.  Nephi never would have given up looking for the treasures in the jar of rice.

Believe me, I know that it is hard to look on the bright side all the time.  But I know that we can.  I know that if we ask the Lord for guidance, He will help us find the path to happiness and to return to Him.

(Object lessons are both from OBJECT LESSONS MADE EASY by Beth Lefgren and Jennifer Jackson)

When [...]]]> It has been a really long time since I’ve entered a photo in the weekly challenges. I think it all rolls down as part of the funk I’ve been in the past little while. There haven’t been as many pictures taken nor many posts written. But I’m trying desperately to get my groove back.

When I saw the theme for this week, I had to participate. Ivy is my little bookworm. She reads all the time and always has 5-10 books piled on her bed. I told her I wanted to take some pictures of her reading. And my inspiration was her bed and a painting my uncle did. Little did I know but she really got into this book on the Tree of Life. After I finished snapping a few shots of her, she sat peacefully and continued to read until she got to a good stopping point.

Go on over to I Heart Faces for other bookworms.