See also “Respect” Postings
Rooting Out Racism
Friend May 2023 “Rosi’s Prayer” Rosi was teased and made fun of at school because of her skin color. She prays for help. It felt good to tell Heavenly Father about her feelings. She felt warm and loved. She felt that her skin color was beautiful. She was a child of God, and He loved her. After her prayer she had an idea. She and her mom talked to the people in charge of the school about what was happening in her classroom. Rosi also looked out for other kids at school who were being bullied and became friends with them.
Friend November 2020 “Conference News”
Love One Another
Friend April 2021 “Jesus Said Love Everyone” When Jesus was on the earth, He constantly helped those who were left out, overlooked, or mistreated. As His followers, we must do the same!
Friend October 2019 “Loving Others as Jesus Loves Us” We should love others and live peacefully with others even if they don’t believe the same things we do or are different from us. We can do this be being kind to people who are different, show respect for their beliefs, never bully or insult anyone, etc. Activity: Make a Friendship Chain! When you do one of the activities, add that strip to your chain, plus another colored one. Add your own activity to the blank strip. Activities include asking someone who speaks another language how to say “hello” in their language, asking a friend to teach you about a tradition in their family, religion, or culture, etc.
Friend June 2021 “Be Kind” President Oaks tells us to be kind and not tease, reject, bully, and reject those who are different from them.
Ways to show kindness to someone new or from a different country.
Jesus Loves Everyone
Friend June 2020 “Bright Idea” Jesus loves everyone!
Friend June 2021 “Bright Idea”
Friend May 2022 “Gathering Israel” Cut out the pieces, Glue to heavy paper or craft sticks, and put the puzzle together.
Friend April 2021 “Meet Shiloh from the Philippines” Shiloh loves to help people everywhere he goes, and is friendly and willing to play with everyone. It doesn’t matter how different they are. Shiloh has a condition called Down syndrome, but he knows everyone is a child of God! (photos included in story)
Ensign July 2019 “Five Truths for Loving Those Who Believe Differently”
As our children grow up in a diverse world, it’s important that we teach them to peacefully coexist with people who have different backgrounds, ideals, and lifestyles.
1. Many good people believe differently. The fact that someone believes or behaves differently than we do doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad. Most people are trying their best to follow what they believe is right. If your children are wondering why a person is making choices that we know are wrong, explain that not everyone has the same gospel understanding we have. Discussion: Who are some people we know outside the Church? What good things are they doing? Why is it important to look for the good in others?
2. We should respect people’s agency. Agency is “the ability and privilege God gives people to choose and to act for themselves.”1 It is a right that we chose to preserve in premortality and that we must continue to protect now, for us and for others. Therefore, we should respect other people’s right to choose, even when their choices are different from our own. Discussion: What are some daily decisions that we each make? (Examples: wardrobe, food, playtime.) What are the consequences of these decisions? How would we feel if we lost that agency?
3. God loves all of His children. Every person is a beloved child of God, and “all are alike unto [Him]” (2 Nephi 26:33). Just as God “esteemeth all flesh in one” (1 Nephi 17:35), we should treat others with equal love and respect. Discussion: Think of a friend not of our faith. Name five similarities we share. Why should we focus on similarities more than differences? What evidence do we see of God’s love for those who believe differently?
4. Kindness is not condoning. People may worry that supporting a person who doesn’t live according to gospel teachings means advocating a lifestyle they don’t agree with. But you can love someone without approving of that person’s choices. The Lord commanded, “Love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12) and “Love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39). Love will never be the wrong way to treat someone. Discussion: Think of a friend at school who’s different. How can you reach out in kindness, friendship, and love?
5. We can be good examples without making people feel bad. In our interactions with others, we should take extra care to communicate love and inclusion. We should never make someone feel like they don’t belong. Discussion: How can we make others feel welcomed instead of judged or excluded? How can we be an example? Try role-playing different situations, responding in a Christlike way.
Quote to Share
“Our message to others about our faith should always be, ‘I love it. I want to live it. I invite everyone to come and see. If you want to join me, that is wonderful. But if you choose to live differently, I can accept that. I love you no matter what.’”Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Friend July 2020 “Different but Together” Ellie and her family went on a trip to visit their cousins. The cousins didn’t want Ellie’s family to talk about church things while they were there so that they wouldn’t have disagreements. Ellie had had a lot of fun visiting with her cousins. She realized that even if they believed in different things, they could still be a happy family.
Friend August 2020 “As Different as Pythons and Peacocks” Siblings, Andrea and Michael both like the zoo, but they like very different things at the zoo. Even though they are different, they are kind and considerate of each other. (How many animals can you count in this story?)
Unity
Friend October 2018 “Different but the Same” President Eyring explains that we can be united despite our differences. We do this by finding common ground, remembering we are all children of God, and by speaking kindly of others.
Activity: Look up the scripture and fill in the missing word, and write down other things you can do to practice unity using the letters that spell unity.
Focus on Commonalities
Friend July 2018 “Matt and Mandy” Matt reads an email from his cousin in Australia and is a little confused by some of the words, but’s he finds that they have the most important things in common.
Ensign January 2018 “Dealing with Differences” What to say to children when they notice differences in others. For example: focus on what people have in common
We are All Children of God
Friend August 2024 “We Are All Children of God”
Friend May 2023 “Rosi’s Prayer” Rosi was teased and made fun of at school because of her skin color. She prays for help. It felt good to tell Heavenly Father about her feelings. She felt warm and loved. She felt that her skin color was beautiful. She was a child of God, and He loved her. After her prayer she had an idea. She and her mom talked to the people in charge of the school about what was happening in her classroom. Rosi also looked out for other kids at school who were being bullied and became friends with them. (See other tips for Rooting Out Racism below”
Friend September 2020 “Everyone is Important” We’re all daughters and sons of our heavenly parents—not all the same, but all equally important, needed, valuable, and loved!
Friend September 2020 “Children of Heavenly Parents” Lisa Harkness of the General Primary Presidency visited the people in Africa. She found that the people of Africa come from many different countries and cultures and they speak many different languages, but they are rich in their faith and their knowledge that they are children of God.
Friend August 2024 “A Worldwide Family” Elder William K. Jackson tells of a time when his parents did volunteer work in different countries. He wanted to help people around the world too, so he became a doctor. He has worked in many different countries helping people. He tells Primary children that they are part of a special world-wide family with a Father in Heaven that loves them. We are all brothers and sisters, children of God.
Friend September 2024 “Who You Really Are”
Activity: Find the Favorites All of us are different. We have different talents, likes, and dislikes. But we are all children of God!
Use the clues to fill out the chart and find what each of these friends is interested in. Hint: Put an X by what you know is not true. The first one is done for you. When you’re done, each column should have one empty square!
Kai is the only one who likes basketball. The piano player is not Amara or Jade. Max doesn’t like math. None of the boys play an instrument or do karate. The girl who likes animals is not Amara.
Share with Others Your Culture
Friend July 2023 “Kofta for Lunch” Roy’s mom had made his favorite Romanian food for his lunch. When he started to eat it at school, a boy next to him thought it looked weird. Roy was embarrassed. At home, his mom suggested he give others a chance to try it because they had probably never had it before. Roy did that the next day, asking if anyone wanted to try it. They all liked it and Roy made some new friends.
Religious Diversity
Friend September 2022 “Different but Not Alone” Megan is the only member of the church in her school. One day a boy named Bennett scoffed at her religious beliefs. Another boy, who was the only Hindu in the school, helped her feel better. They both wondered if Bennett had been mean because he didn’t feel happy inside and needed a friend. They became his friend, and he apologized for being mean.
Friend July 2019 “Friends and Other Faiths” Henry and his family visit a Sikh temple to to experience other forms of worship for a scout activity. The worship was very different from the way Henry and his family worship, but the people were wonderful, and Henry and his family even got invited to eat food with them afterwards. Henry was so happy to get to know them and he wants to go back sometime.
Friend October 2018 “Liam’s Friends” Liam has lots of friends who are members of other churches, but they still have lots of things in common and have fun playing together.
Friend October 2018 “Praying with Paul” When Hunter had dinner at Paul’s house, Paul’s family made the sign of the cross and then held hands while praying. Hunter wondered why it was so different from how he and his family prayed. Hunter’s mom later explained that Paul and his family were probably Catholic, and she pointed out that they also believed in Jesus and had other similarities. (“Many people around the world pray in different ways. Heavenly Father loves all of His children and hears and answers their prayers.” Friend Oct. 2018)
Ensign June 2018 “Creating a Culture of Inclusion” “In Japan, we’ve visited Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, and we always tell our children that these are sacred places to others, just like our church buildings and temples are to us. We teach them that people in other religions believe other things and that it’s great that, like us, they are trying to be better people.” Cassidy Larsen
Friend February 2024 “Friends Following Jesus” Saria went to a Christian school. That meant they all learned about Jesus Christ together even though not everyone went to the same church. When she invited her friends to her baptism they wanted to know why she wasn’t baptized as a baby. She didn’t know what to say. Later, Saria’s mother explained that we believe that when we’re baptized, we make a sacred covenant. And we need to be old enough to understand the promises we make. Saria realized that she and her friends had differences, but one thing was the same. They all loved Jesus and wanted to follow Him.
Avoid Generalizations
When children make broad claims (like “boys are good at music”) or assumptions about race or religion, you can say, “Oh, who are you thinking of?” They most likely have someone in mind, and you can talk about the specific incident and explain that broad claims aren’t accurate.
Help children focus on specifics. For example, instead of declaring, “Girls can do anything,” try “You can do anything.” When we focus on generalizations (even positive or neutral ones), we teach children that being part of a group determines who you are and what you can do.
Gender Generalizations
Friend March 2023 “The Dinosaur Book” Sophie checked out a book about dinosaurs. Timmy said it was a boy book and that only boys like dinosaurs. The next day the teacher said, “It’s OK to like different things. All of our books and toys are for everyone.” Timmy apologized and Sophie invited him to read the book with her.
Not Alike, but Friends
Friend July 2019 “The Perfect Match” Maggie loved to match things. When she saw a blond girl sitting sadly alone, she tried to friendship her with a friend that was also blond. Later, her father asked Maggie why she didn’t play with Anna. Then he reminded her that we need to love others as Jesus did, and that it didn’t matter whether we looked the same or thought in the the same ways.
Speaking Different Languages
Friend May 2021 “Tara’s New Friend” Tara sees a boy sitting alone at church. She doesn’t speak his language so she decides to draw pictures for him.
There are all kinds of children in the world. And Heavenly Father loves them all! He wants us to love them too. How many hearts can you find?
Friend May 2024 “Chess Friendship” Matvii and his family were moving to Germany because it wasn’t safe where they were from. A bishop’s family let them stay with them. Matvii was upset when he realized the Bishop’s children didn’t understand their language. How could he make friends if he couldn’t talk to them. Eventually the children found games and activities that they all knew and could play together, like football and chess.
Songs
Sing “We Are Different” (Children’s Songbook,140–41, 263).
1. I know you, and you know me. We are as diff’rent as the sun and the sea I know you, and you know me, And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
2. I help you, and you help me. We learn from problems, and we’re starting to see. I help you, and you help me, And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
3. I love you, and you love me We reach together for the best we can be I love you, and you love me, And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
