Also could be Following Jesus
Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd and He Loves Me
Doctrine and Covenants 50:41–44
Friend June 2018 “Apostles Testify of Jesus” “Shepherds lead their sheep to food, water, and shelter and protect their sheep from harm. Jesus taught that He is the Good Shepherd. When we choose to follow Him, He can lead us to safety and peace. Lead the sheep safely home through the maze!”
Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. We are His sheep, and He loves each of us. Ask the children how they know Jesus loves children.
Make paper sheep, write on them the names of the children in the class, and hide them around the room. Display a picture of the Savior, and read Doctrine and Covenants 50:41–42. Help the children understand what these verses teach about how Jesus Christ feels about them. Let them find the sheep around the room and put them on the board near the picture of Jesus so “none of them … shall be lost” (verse 42).
- Make a matching game using phrases from Doctrine and Covenants 50:40–46. For instance, you could write “Fear not, little children” on one card that would match with another card that says “for you are mine” (verse 41). Read Doctrine and Covenants 50:40–46 together. Then mix up the cards on the floor, a table, or the board, and ask the children to match the phrases. What do these phrases teach us about Jesus Christ?
- To help the children understand how the Savior is like a good shepherd show the video “Jesus Declares the Parable of the Lost Sheep” and ask them to find something in the video that reminds them of what they read. How does Jesus rescue us? How can we be good shepherds to others?
Friend December 2020 “Sheep and Their Shepherd” When Elder Stanfill was young his job at the ranch was to take care of all the abandoned sheep babies. He would drive his little VW to the field and honk his horn and all the babies would run and jump in the car and he would take them to be fed. Just like the sheep knew the sound of that old Volkswagen, we can learn to hear Jesus’s voice. We will feel His love and learn to trust Him.
Jesus knows me and loves me.
The parable of the good shepherd can help the children understand that Jesus loves them and knows who they are.
- Give the children pictures that represent something in the parable of the good shepherd, like sheep, a shepherd, or a wolf. Select some verses from John 10:1–16 to read to the children, and ask them to hold up their pictures when they hear you read about the things in their pictures. Help the children think of ways Jesus is like a shepherd to us. Bear your testimony that the Savior loves us and will guide us back to Him.
- Show the picture of Jesus and the lambs in this week’s outline in Come Follow Me—For Individuals and Families. How do we know Jesus loves the lambs? How can we tell that the lambs love Jesus? How can we show Jesus that we love Him?
Following Jesus’s example of being a Shepherd
Friend August 1983 “A dream come true” – a boy learns to be a shepherd and take care of a flock
Friend July 2021 “Dear Friends” I enjoyed the activity to blow the sheep to Jesus from the Come, Follow Me ideas (Sept. 2020). Ari S., age 4, Texas, USA
“The Lord is my shepherd.”
PSALM 23 David declares, The Lord is my shepherd.
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Old Testament 2022 “Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46”If the children can learn at a young age that the Lord is their shepherd, they will be more likely to follow Him “in the paths of righteousness.”
- Give each child a copy of this week’s activity page, or give each of them a picture from the activity page. Invite them to listen as you read Psalm 23. Ask them to point to or hold up a picture when they hear it mentioned in the psalm. Bear your testimony that Jesus takes care of us, just as a shepherd takes care of his sheep.
- Tell the children some ways you know that the Savior loves you. Invite the children to stand one at a time and share some ways they know Jesus loves them. Sing together a song that could give them ideas, such as “I Feel My Savior’s Love” (Children’s Songbook, 74–75).
Latter Day Kids “The Lord is My Shepherd” Lesson ideas
Friend August 2022 “The Lord Is My Shepherd”
Psalm 23 was the inspiration for several hymns, such as “The Lord Is My Shepherd” and “The Lord My Pasture Will Prepare” (Hymns, nos. 108, 109). Perhaps your family would like to sing one of these hymns and identify words in the psalm that might have inspired the lyrics. Or they might enjoy drawing pictures of something they find in the psalm or the hymn and letting family members guess the verses or lyrics that go with the pictures. How is the Lord like a shepherd to us? (Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: Old Testament 2022 ” Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46″)
PSALM 25 David pleads for truth and asks for pardon—Mercy and truth are for those who keep the commandments.
PSALM 26 David says that he has walked in integrity and obedience—He loves the Lord’s house.
The Lord offers me peace, strength, and guidance.
PSALM 23 David declares, The Lord is my shepherd.
PSALM 27 David says, The Lord is my light and my salvation—He desires to dwell in the house of the Lord forever—He counsels, Wait on the Lord and be of good courage.
PSALM 28 David pleads with the Lord to hear his voice and grant his petitions—David prays, Save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance.
PSALM 32 David says, Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes not iniquity—David acknowledges his sin—He recommends that the righteous be glad in the Lord and rejoice.
PSALM 46 God is our refuge and strength—He dwells in His city, does marvelous things, and says, Be still and know that I am God.
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Old Testament 2022 “Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46” Many of the Psalms testify of the Lord’s blessings in our lives. You can use the Psalms to help the children learn to trust Him and turn to Him.
- Write on the board The Lord is . Let the children choose one or more of the following scriptures to read: Psalms 23:1; 27:1; 28:1; 28:7; 32:7; 46:1. Ask them to complete the sentence on the board using what they learn from their scripture. Help the children discuss what these symbols teach us about the Lord.
- Show the children a picture of a lamb. Ask them to name some things a lamb needs to be safe and healthy, and encourage them to look in Psalm 23:1–4 for ideas. Then show a picture of a child. What do we need to be spiritually safe and healthy? Read together Psalm 23, and ask the children how the things the shepherd does in this psalm could be compared to what Jesus Christ does for us.
Friend April 2023 “Come, Follow Me Activities: The Good Shepherd“
Story: Shepherds take care of their sheep and keep them safe. Jesus Christ is our Shepherd. He said, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep” (John 10:14).
Song: “I Feel My Savior’s Love” (Children’s Songbook, 74–75)
Activity: Play a sheep guessing game! Pick one person to be the shepherd. Everyone else will be sheep. The shepherd closes their eyes while one sheep makes a baa sound. Have the shepherd guess which “sheep” made the noise. Talk about how Jesus knows each of us by name.
Friend April 2023 Come, Follow Me Activities for Little Ones Have your little ones look into a mirror. Tell them that Jesus knows their names, what they look like, what makes them happy, and what makes them sad. Help your little ones say, “Jesus knows me and loves me.”
“In Jesus’s time, the Palestinian shepherd was noted for his protection of his sheep. Unlike modern sheepherders, the shepherd always walked ahead of his flock. He led them. The shepherd knew each of the sheep and usually had a name for each. The sheep knew his voice and trusted him and would not follow a stranger. Thus, when called, the sheep would come to him. (See John 10:14, 16.)
Jesus is like a shepherd to me.
As you study the parable of the good shepherd, look for truths it teaches about our relationship with the Savior. How will knowing these truths bless the children? (In this parable, the sheep of the Good Shepherd are those who hear His voice and follow Him.)
- Write good shepherd and hireling on the board. Explain that a hireling is someone who is hired to do a job for money. Ask the children to list differences they find in John 10:1–18 between a good shepherd and a hireling. Why would you want to follow the good shepherd rather than the hireling? How is Jesus like a shepherd to us? (Note: A hireling is someone whose primary motive for working is getting paid.)
What is the difference between the Good Shepherd and a hireling?
President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) taught:
“At night shepherds would bring their sheep to a corral called a sheepfold. High walls surrounded the sheepfold, and thorns were placed on top of these walls to prevent wild animals and thieves from climbing over.
Sometimes, however, a wild animal driven by hunger would leap over the walls into the midst of the sheep, frightening them. Such a situation separated the true shepherd—one who loved his sheep—from the hireling—one who worked only for pay and duty.
The true shepherd was willing to give his life for the sheep. He would go in amongst the sheep and fight for their welfare. The hireling, on the other hand, valued his own personal safety above the sheep and would usually flee from the danger.
Jesus used this common illustration of [H]is day to declare that He was the Good Shepherd, the True Shepherd. Because of His love for His brothers and sisters, He would willingly and voluntarily lay down His life for them. (See John 10:17–18 .)
(Ezra Taft Benson, “A Call to the Priesthood: ‘Feed My Sheep,’” Ensign, May 1983, 43)
- Draw or show a picture of a door. Read together John 10:7–9, and ask the children how Jesus is like a door. According to verse 9, what blessings come to those who “enter in” the door? How do we enter the door that Jesus Christ provides us?
Why did Jesus say, “I am the door of the sheep”?
New Testament Seminary Student Manual (2023) “John 10” Shepherds in Israel stood at the entrance of a sheepfold and inspected each sheep as it entered, treating injuries as needed. After the sheep were gathered in the enclosure for the night, the shepherd would lie down to sleep in the entrance, barring the way so that predators or thieves could not hurt the sheep. The Savior’s statement “I am the door” makes clear that He was willing to “lay down [His] life for the sheep” ( John 10:7, 15) and that He ultimately will decide who will enter the kingdom of heaven. Using an image similar to a door, the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob declared that “the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel” and that “he employeth no servant there” ( 2 Nephi 9:41).
Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: New Testament 2023 “John 7-10”To involve family members in learning from the parable of the good shepherd, ask each of them to draw a picture of one of the following: a thief, a door, a shepherd, a hireling (a hired worker), a wolf, and a sheep. Invite them to read John 10:1–18, 27–29, and then discuss as a family what the Savior taught about the things they drew.
