Tag Archives: Book of Mormon

Jul 26 2012

Lesson 29: Nephi Prophesies

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Lesson 29: Nephi Prophesies

Preparation
• Items needed: one clear glass full of water and two empty clear glasses, a piece of saran wrap, a clear glass pie pan, a scoop of dirt, a pen or pencil, a water filter (or a picture of a water filter), a picture of Jesus, a half of a paper towel, a rubber band, a brad, tape or magnets, the Book of Mormon Stories DVD, a TV, and a DVD player.
• Cover the glass of water with the piece of saran wrap. Press the sides tightly around the glass. Double the paper towel and put it on top of one of the empty glasses. Push down on the middle so it is concave. Stretch a rubber band around the glass to hold the paper towel in place.
• Print the scripture story visual aids. Cut each page in half so one picture or sign is on each half. Number the back of the scripture story pictures in the order they were printed. (Note: The scripture story visual aids are from chapter 38 of Book of Mormon Stories.)
• Print the watchman on the tower activity onto white cardstock. Cut out the wheel. Using an exacto knife, cut the dotted openings on the tower picture leaving one side on each opening uncut in order to open and close the flaps. Poke a hole in the middle dot on the tower and wheel picture using a large needle. Put the tower picture on top of the prophet wheel. Put the brad through the middle dot on each page, and open up the arms of the brad on the back of the wheel. Cut out the nine cards of prophet’s quotes.

Attention Activity

Show the children the glass of water. Point out how clean the water is and remind them how healthy and good it is for the body.

Explain that the Nephites had been blessed with many good things for the body and spirit, but because of the ease of the way, they forgot that it was because of God they were so blessed. They didn’t keep their hearts focused on God and his commandments, and they began allowing contaminants into their lives that were harmful. (Put the glass of water in the glass pie pan. Pour a pile of dirt onto the saran wrap. )

Scripture Story
Tell the following story as you show the matching scripture story visual aids to the children. (Some visual aids can be used more than once in the story.)

When Nephi returned to his home in Zarahemla from preaching to a people in the north, he saw that the people had allowed wickedness to enter their lives. It filled him with great sorrow. Nephi knelt in prayer on his garden tower and poured out his sorrow to the Lord. Nephi’s garden tower was next to a highway which led to the chief market in Zarahemla. Certain men were passing by and saw Nephi as he was pouring out his soul unto God. They ran and told the people what they had seen, and the people came together in multitudes that they might know the cause of such great mourning. When Nephi arose he saw the multitudes who had gathered together, and he asked if they had gathered to have him tell them of their iniquities

Have the children look up Helaman 7:20 – 21 & 26 to discover what sins the Nephite’s were committing. Have the children poke holes in the saran wrap with the tip of a pen or pencil for each sin they find. (Pride, vanity, set heart on riches and praises of men, murder, stealing and lying in order to get gain, forgetting God) Ask the children if they have seen any of these kinds of sins in the world today.

• Shake the water slightly so it clouds up. Point out the dirt in the water and ask, “Is the water still healthy and desirable?” What would happen if someone drank the water? It could make them sick.

The evil the Nephites had let into their lives was making them spiritually sick. The more they partook of sin the sicker it made their spirits. Nephi knew the results of letting wickedness into their lives and he warned them of the consequences. (Put up sign # 1 on the board: Prophets warn about the dangers of sin.)

Have the children look up the following scriptures to find the warned consequences Nephi prophesied would happen if they did not clean up their lives and repent. (Helaman 7:16, 22, 28) (No strength from God to withstand their enemies, city and lands taken away, destroyed from the face of the earth, everlasting misery and endless woe.)

After Nephi had warned the multitude concerning their sins, some men among them who belonged to a secret band called the Gadianton robbers were angry and cried out against Nephi.

• Who were the Gadianton robbers? They were a Satan inspired secret band whose two objectives were to get gain and power, and they used any illicit and unlawful means possible to obtain their objective including murder, threats, bribery, blackmail, theft, lying, etc.

The Lamanites, who had become more righteous than the Nephites, did not tolerate the Gadianton robbers and destroyed those who were among them. But Satan had a hold on the Nephites, and many of them had united with the Gadiantons, building them up and supporting them until they had spread over all the land and had seduced even the righteous to believe in their works. (Helaman 6:20-21 & 38)

Many members of the secret band of Gadianton robbers had infiltrated the Nephite’s system of government and had become judges, but they did not administer justice. They condemned the righteous, and they let the guilty and the wicked go unpunished for money.

Some of these Gadianton judges were among the multitude at Nephi’s home. They tried to stir up the people against Nephi.

• Why would the Gadianton robbers wish to stir up the people against Nephi? (See Helaman 8:4) Nephi had spoken plainly against them concerning their secret works of darkness. They endeavored to destroy anyone who would expose, threaten, or interfere with their evil objectives.

But there were some in the crowd who said, “Let this man alone, for he is a good man, and those things which he saith will surely come to pass except we repent.”

When Nephi saw that he had gained favor in the eyes of some, he continued to speak to them. He reminded them that all the prophets have testified of a way to make their lives clean again, and that was through the atonement of Jesus Christ. (Put sign #2 on the board: Prophets testify of Jesus Christ and teach repentance.)

• What did the people of Nephi need to do in order to apply the atonement and clean up their lives? First they needed to realize they had done wrong. Then they needed to repent and stop the flow of unclean things into their lives. (Take the dirt off the cup.) How can people in today’s world stop the flow of unclean things into their lives? By removing the things from their lives that influence and encourage them to commit sin.

• What did the Nephites need to do after they had stopped the flow of unclean things into their lives? They needed to do everything  they could to make things right again and fix the damage that had been done. (Put the paper towel covered glass in the pie pan. Pour the dirty water into the paper towel covered glass. This should filter out the larger pieces of dirt.)

• After the flow of dirt has been stopped, and as much as possible has been done to clean up their lives, would the Nephites then be clean and pure again? Point out the dirt that is still in the water. Explain that it is impossible to fix or remove all the damage we have done to ourselves and others. We need help. Show the children the water filter (or a picture of a water filter). Explain (or show) that if we were to pour the water into the filter it would take out all the impurities.

Just as we would need a water filter in order to make dirty water clean again, so do we need the Savior in order to make our lives clean of sin. (Put the picture of the Savior on the board.) We can’t do it ourselves.

The Gadianton judges did not want to change their lives. They wanted to continue to seek for riches and power, so they did not want to listen to Nephi, and they did not want the crowd to listen to him either. They tried to make the people doubt Nephi’s ability to prophesy of the judgments that would come upon them. They said they were a powerful people and there was no way their enemies could take away their cities and land.

Nephi reminded the people of the power given to prophets of old such as Moses. He told them that if God gave such power to those prophets, couldn’t He give power to Nephi to know the judgments that would come upon the Nephites.

Nephi demonstrated his prophetic power given to him by God by telling the crowd of an event that was occurring in the city that no one else was aware of. He said the chief judge had been killed by his brother because the brother desired to sit on the judgment seat, and both men belonged to the secret Gadianton band. Nephi explained that this act demonstrated the evil that was among them, and that the Nephites were at the doors of destruction.

Video Presentation
Play chapter thirty-eight of the Book of Mormon Stories DVD, starting at the point Nephi tells the crowd about the murder of the chief judge. Afterwards ask the following discussion questions:

Discussion
• The Gadianton judges accused Nephi of committing the murder to raise himself up to be a prophet. Why might the wicked judges desire to make Nephi appear to be a false prophet?

• What was Nephi’s response to their accusations? (Helaman 9:25–35.) He told them to repent or be destroyed, and then Nephi once again demonstrated his God-given prophetic ability by telling the people of an upcoming chain of events that would occur.

Why did Nephi demonstrate his prophetic ability to the Nephites? So they would know he had power from God to know of things that would happen in the future if they did not repent.

Latter-day prophets have also been given power, knowledge, and wisdom from God. They teach us what has been revealed to them. (Put sign #3 on the board: Prophets teach the revealed word of God.)

• How can we strengthen our testimony of the living prophet? By doing what he says. Remind the children of the five men who went to the city to see about the chief judge. They did not believe Nephi was a prophet, but when they got there and saw that his words were true, they did believe and they fell down in fear of the judgments Nephi had prophesied. Explain that when we do what the prophet says, we will see the truth of his words, and we will see there is safety in following his words.

Activity

Show the picture of the watchman on the tower. Explain that during the Savior’s time, robbers would sometimes come into vineyards to steal or destroy crops. Wise farmers would build tall towers in their vineyards and hire a trusted watchman to stand on the tower and watch for danger. From where he stood, the watchman on the tower could see things the others could not see.

Through the ages, Heavenly Father has given his children “watchmen.” These trusted watchmen the Lord gives us are called prophets. Nephi was one of these watchmen. These watchmen help keep us safe from the destructive attacks of Satan by warning us of danger.

• What would happen if we did not heed the warnings of our watchmen the prophets? Satan’s destructive attacks and influence could cause the loss of earthly blessings and the loss of the blessings of eternal life.

Show the children the flaps that open on the picture of the watchman on the tower. Explain that behind the top flap is a picture of a latter-day prophet and behind the bottom flap is something that prophet taught. Give each child, or set of two children, the list of some of the things these latter-day prophets taught. Spin the wheel and then have a volunteer open the top flap on the tower picture and show it to the class. Then have the child face the picture toward themselves to see what the bottom box says. Have the child pantomime what the bottom box says and see if the other children can guess which item on the list it is. Have the child who guesses correctly explain how we are blessed and kept safe when we follow that teaching. Continue with this activity until every child has had a turn acting out one of the items, or until time is up. You may wish to mention something the living prophet has emphasized in his teachings at the end of the activity. (For example: President Monson emphasizes service.)

Conclusion

Point to the signs on the board and remind the children that Heavenly Father sends prophets to warn us of the dangers of sin, to teach us about the Savior and repentance, and to lead and guide us on the earth with God’s revealed word. We are blessed when we listen to and follow the prophet.

Weekly Reading Assignment

Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Helaman 7:1-22, Helaman 8:1-10 & 26–28, Helaman 9:1-41

 

 

 

May 17 2012

Lesson 28 – Nephi and Lehi in Prison

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Lesson 28

 Nephi and Lehi in Prison

Preparation
• Items needed: a lamp or battery powered lantern, a clear page protector, a half sheet of poster board, double-sided removable tape, a picture of Jesus , scriptures for each child, a table easel, chalk and eraser, a small piece of thick dark paper, a piece of cooking wax paper, and a Pringles potato chip canister with plastic lid (or some other type of container that won’t let light in but is thin enough to cut holes in such as a shoe box.)
• Print the signs. Cut out the sign that says “I am the light of the world” and tape it to the top of the picture of Jesus. Also cut out the direction card that says “Look behind the picture of Jesus.” Tape the direction card to the inside bottom of the canister. Cut out a circle of wax paper and a circle of dark paper using the plastic lid as a guide. Put a hole in the middle of each paper about the size of a pea. Tape the wax paper inside the clear plastic lid. Tape the dark paper under the wax paper. Put the lid on the canister. Optional: glue decorative paper onto the outside of the canister. (If using a shoe box for this activity, poke an eye hole in the tall end of the box about the size of a pea and put the direction card on the opposite end. Cut a golf ball sized hole in the side of the box and tape a piece of thick dark paper over the hole.)
• Print the activity visual aids. Cover the back of the cloud page with glue (Scotch permanent glue stick works well), and adhere it to the front of the picture of Jesus. Cut the combined page into 12 puzzle pieces using the puzzle outline as a guide. Tape a page protector to the middle of the half sheet of poster board. Attach the puzzle pieces around it with double-sided removable tape (see above picture). Press the pieces on lightly so the tape will remain on the puzzle pieces when moving them to the page protector. Have extra tape available in class just in case.
• Print the handouts; one cloud handout will be needed per child. Glue the cloud page on top of the pictures of Jesus (just like the activity page). Cut the page into four sections so one cloud is on each cut section. Put the handouts in a Ziploc baggie. Place the Ziploc baggie on the easel and then put the picture of Jesus in front of it. Display the picture of Jesus on a table in class.
• Print the scripture story visual aids. Cut each page in half so one picture is on each half. Number the back of each picture in the order printed.

 

Attention Activity
Show the children the canister and explain that there are directions inside the canister that will lead them to a special handout. Have them take turns looking through the eye hole to try and read the directions. Ask the children if any of them can see the directions. Take the dark cover off the lid and ask them to try again. (Tell the children to wait to follow the directions. Explain that they will retrieve the items towards the end of the lesson.)

• Why were the directions visible the second time? Because light was let into the canister.

Ask a child to read the caption on the picture of Jesus. Explain that the full scripture is found in John 8:12 and it says: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

• What does the “light of life” mean? (The guiding light that leads to eternal life.) How is Jesus the guiding light of the world? Jesus lights the way to eternal life through His example and teachings.

• What might happen if a person didn’t have a light when walking in a dark area such as in a forest on a dark, cloudy night? (They might trip and fall over obstacles and get hurt.) Could the person find their desired destination? It would be difficult.

Just as we would need a light to help us find our way in the dark, we also need a light to help us find our way through the dark clouds of Satan’s lies and temptations on earth and see the way to eternal life.

Scripture Account
Remind the children of last week’s lesson concerning Helaman and the stripling warriors. Explain that after the war with the Lamanites, Helaman once again began to preach the gospel and build up the church. After Helaman died, the records he had kept were eventually given to his son who was also named Helaman. His son Helaman became a chief judge and served righteously. He had two sons by the names of Nephi and Lehi. He taught them many things

• Why do you think Helaman named his sons after Nephi and Lehi? (See Helaman 5:6.) He named them after righteous men hoping his sons would be reminded of their deeds and try to be like them.

• Ask the children if any of them are named after a person with praiseworthy characteristics.  Ask them how they feel when they hear about the characteristics of the person they are named after. Does it inspire them? Do they want to strive to be like that person?

• Remind the children that they took on a special name at baptism. What name is that? (See 2 Nephi 31:13 & Mosiah 6:1-2) The name of Jesus Christ. Explain that in today’s lesson they are going to discuss ways they can become more like Jesus Christ.

Scripture Story Continued
After Helaman died, his son Nephi served as chief judge for a time, but when the people began to become wicked and prideful he gave up the judgment seat to go and preach among them with his brother Lehi.

• The judgment seat was the top political office among the Nephites. It was influential like being a president or a prime minister. Why would Nephi give up a position where he could influence many people for good? The laws of the land were established by the voice of the people, and because of the wickedness of the people the laws had become corrupted and had little influence for good. Nephi felt he would have more influence and do more good by preaching the word of God.

Nephi and Lehi went from city to city preaching the word of God with great power, convincing many to repent. After they had gone among all the people of Nehi in the land southward, they went among the Lamanites and preached to them. Many of the Lamanites and the Nephite dissenters who lived among them were baptized unto repentance.

Scripture Story Activity
Put the scripture story visuals on the right side of the board in random order using tape or magnets. Read the story below to the children in numerical order. After reading each numbered section, stop and have a child choose a visual aid that goes with that part of the story. Have them turn over the card to see if it is right. The number on the back should match the number on the paragraph you read. If it is correct have the child move it to the left side of the board. The pictures on the left should be kept in the correct order.

1. Nephi and Lehi then went to the Land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites and Nephite dissenters who resided there. In the Land of Nephi the Lamanites cast Nephi and Lehi into prison. They were given no food.

2. After several days the Lamanites came to the prison to slay them. When the Lamanites entered the prison, Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire. The Lamanites dared not lay their hands on them fearing they would be burned.

3. Nephi and Lehi were not burned by the fire. They told the Lamanites that God was demonstrating his marvelous power by protecting them with the fire.

4. Then the earth and the walls of the prison shook as if they might tumble down. The Lamanites were overshadowed by a cloud of darkness and they were afraid.

5. As they stood there in the darkness they heard a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness saying, “Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.” It was not a voice of thunder but a still voice of perfect mildness, and it did pierce them to their souls.

6. The walls and earth shook and the voice spoke to them two more times. The Lamanites were frozen with fear.

7. There was a Nephite among them who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented. He saw through the cloud of darkness and saw that Nephi and Lehi’s faces were shining with light.

8. Their eyes were lifted up to heaven, and they were in the attitude of talking to some being that they beheld.

9. The Nephite man did cry unto the multitude to turn and look. The Lamanites asked the man what it all meant and who Nephi and Lehi were conversing with. The Nephite, whose name was Aminadab, said that they do converse with the angels of God. The Lamanites asked Aminadab what they could do to make the cloud of darkness disperse. Aminadab told them they must repent and pray to God until they gained faith in Christ.

10. They did as Aminadab said and the cloud of darkness dispersed.

11. When they looked about and saw the cloud of darkness had dispersed, they also saw they were encircled by a pillar of fire. It did not hurt them and they were filled with unspeakable joy. The Spirit of God did enter into their hearts. They saw and heard many marvelous things.

12. There were about three hundred souls who saw and heard these things, and they did go forth and minister to the people declaring all the things they had heard and seen.

13. The more part of the Lamanites were convinced of the truth of the matter because of the great amount of evidence. All those who were convinced did lay down their weapons of war, and they let go of their hatred and the traditions of their fathers.

The Lamanites had been living their lives in darkness by believing Satan’s lies, following the incorrect traditions of their fathers, and filling their lives with hatred for the Nephites.

• What did the Lamanites do to escape the darkness? They prayed for forgiveness and for faith in Jesus Christ. Afterwards they changed their lives and followed the teachings of Jesus.

Activity
Put the puzzle and page protector on the board and explain that the children are going to do an activity that will help show them ways they can follow Jesus and fill their lives with light. Have them work in groups of two. Explain that you want them to think of some things that Jesus taught or some examples he set (if they need help they can look in the chapter headlines of the book of Luke in the New Testament for ideas.) Ideas might include the following: ministered to the sick and afflicted, prayed, fasted, kept the Sabbath Day holy, taught the gospel, knew the scriptures, served others, was baptized, was meek and humble, loved others, forgave. (Remind the children that one way to know and remember what Jesus did and taught is to read their scriptures daily. His teachings are found in all the books of scripture.)

Have the groups take turns telling an answer. After they give an answer have them write it on the board and then put a puzzle piece on the page protector. Continue in this manner until all the puzzle pieces are in the correct order on the page protector. When all the pieces are in the correct order, tape or pin the page protector on a lamp (or lantern) and turn on the lamp. The picture of Jesus should shine through. Explain that when we learn and do the things Jesus taught, then we are filling our lives with light: the knowledge, understanding, and truths that lead to eternal life.

Have one of the children now follow the directions they read in the canister. Once the child has retrieved the items from behind the picture of Jesus, explain that the items are miniature copies of the picture on the lamp. Tell them to each take one home and pin or tape it to the outside of a lamp shade (preferably a lamp in their room, and with permission from parents). Explain that every time the lamp is turned on they will see the picture of Jesus, and it will be a reminder for them to follow Jesus because he is the light that leads to eternal life.

Weekly Reading Assignment

Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Helaman 5:14-52

 

Apr 18 2012

Lesson 27: Helaman and the Stripling Warriors

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Lesson 27
Helaman and the Stripling Warriors

 Preparation
• Items needed: tape, scriptures for each child, two containers, colored markers, several pieces of chalk and an eraser, scissors for each child (child scissors can usually be checked out at meetinghouse libraries).

• Print and cut out the health statements. Tape the “true” and “false” signs onto the containers, one on each.  Also print and cut out the characteristics activity items.
• Print and cut out the scripture story visual aids. (The footprints are not in the correct order. This is to allow you to use different colored paper for  each of the three groups. To help you identify the groups, there are letters next to each number on the footprints. S stands for stripling warrior, L stands for Lamanites, and N stands for Nephites. Also trace and cut out one blank footprint for each group from the color paper used.)
• Print the small footprints. One copy is needed per child, and they can be printed or copied onto different colored papers if desired.
• Print or obtain the pictures of the Two Thousand Young Warriors and The Anti-Nephi-Lehies Burying their Swords.
• Put the scripture story answer strips on the board using magnets or tape before class begins, or pre-stick them to a small portable display board using sticky tack. Post the big sign that says “Faith in God” on a wall.

Attention Activity
Put the true and false labeled containers on the table. Give each child a health statement, and have them take turns reading their statement. Tell the children to stand up if they hear a statement read that is not true. Ask the children to explain why it is not true. After a statement is read, have the child put their statement in the true or the false container.

Ask the children how they knew when something was false. (Because their mothers or someone had taught them what is correct.)

• What would happen if someone did the things that were on the false statements? (Their body could become unhealthy, sick, or injured). Does knowing the consequences of following the false health statements help you want to do what is correct? Did knowing what was right help you stand up and declare when something was false?

Tell the children that in today’s lesson they will learn about a group of young men who were taught what is right by their mothers; they were taught to have faith in God and to be obedient to God’s commandments. This knowledge helped them be valiant in doing and defending what is right.

Scripture Story
Remind the children of last week’s lesson concerning Amalickiah and his desire to rule over all the land. His wicked desires motivated him to start a war to attain his purposes. Explain that Amalickiah’s quest for power was brief because he was killed by the Nephite Teancum. But Amalickiah’s brother, Ammaron, was appointed to be king over the Lamanites in Amalickiah’s stead. Ammaron also desired power, and he continued the terrible war his brother had started.

There was much suffering and death that occurred because of the war. The Lamanites attacked and captured many Nephite cities. They accomplished this through cunning and through their numberless hosts. The cities they captured were all strongly fortified after the manner of the fortifications of Moroni; all of which afforded strongholds for the Lamanites.

Show a picture of the “Anti-Nephi-Lehies Burying Their Swords”, and ask the children if they remember who the people in the picture are and why they were burying their weapons. Remind the children that after the Anti-Nephi-Lehies (the people of Ammon) repented of their many sins, they made a covenant to never shed blood again. Because of their covenant they would not defend themselves against the Lamanites. In order to protect the people of Ammon, the Nephites gave them the land of Jershon to live in. (Put the land of Jershon picture on the top left of the board (or wall).

When the people of Ammon saw the danger, the afflictions, and the many tribulations the Nephites were enduring in the war against the Lamanites, they were moved to compassion and wished to take up arms in defense of their country. Helaman persuaded them not to break their oath because Helaman feared they would lose their souls if they broke their covenant.

The people of Ammon had many sons who had not entered into the covenant. These young sons gathered and covenanted to fight for the liberty of the people. (Put the picture of the stripling warriors at the top right of the board.) These young warriors chose a leader, and then they marched toward the southern borders in support of the people there.

Activity
Put footprint number one on the board, next to the land of Jershon, heading towards the bottom right of the board. Have a child read the question on the footprint and then find the matching answer. Have the children look up and read the scripture reference to make sure the answer is correct. If the answer is incorrect have the child exchange their answer for the correct one. Afterwards, add any additional discussion or comments that are listed under the question below. Continue in this manner with each footprint, going in numerical order.

1-S) Who did the young Ammonites choose as their leader? (Alma 53:19) The stripling warriors desired Helaman to be their leader.

• Who was Helaman? He was the oldest son of the prophet Alma the younger. He had been chosen to be the next spiritual leader of the people and the keeper of the records.

• Why would choosing and following a righteous leader make a difference in the young Ammonite’s effectiveness and safety in battle? A righteous leader would seek for, be worthy of, and follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost as he made decisions concerning their endeavors.

2-S) How many of these young Ammonite warriors were there at first? (Alma 53:22) There were two thousand of these young men called stripling warriors.

• What does “stripling” mean? The dictionary defines it as a boy in his teenage years who has not yet grown to his full size.

3-S) What did Helaman call the stripling warriors? (Alma 56:10) Sons

• Why did Helaman call the stripling warriors sons? They were young and worthy to be called sons, and Helaman loved each of these young men like a father loves his children.

4-S) What city did the sons of Helaman march to? (Alma 56:9) The city of Judea (Put the picture of the city of Judea on the board, along with footprint five leading to its entrance.)

5-S) How did the Nephites in Judea respond when they saw the stripling warriors? (Alma 56:10 & 16-17) (Joyfully)  The leader Antipus rejoiced to have reinforcements to strengthen his army. The Nephite soldiers were also joyful. They had lost many men and had suffered much in defense of their cities, and it gave them hope and joy to see the stripling warriors.

Now that the Nephites had reinforcements they wished to try and draw out the Lamanites from the Nephite cities they had taken. They did not desire to attack the Lamanites in their strongholds.

6-S) Who did Antipus send out of the city of Judea as bait to pretend to take provisions to a neighboring city? (Alma 56:30) Helaman and the stripling warriors

7-S) Which Lamanite conquered city did Helaman and his two thousand stripling warriors march past in order to try and draw the Lamanites out? (Alma 56:31) Antiparah (Put the city of Antiparah just below footprint number six.)

(Put the next footprint (8-L) coming out of the city of Antiparah.)

8-L) What did the Lamanites in Antiparah do when they saw Helaman and his young warriors? (Alma 56:35-36) The Lamanites came forth from Antiparah with their army and pursued after them. Helaman and his stripling warriors did flee before the Lamanites, and thus they did accomplish their goal of leading away a large Lamanite army from their stronghold.

(Put the next footprint coming out of the city of Judea. The footprints after that will be added to the end of the footprints of each group according to their label of L for Lamanites, N for Nephites, and S for the stripling warriors.)

9-N) What were Antipus and part of his army doing when the stripling warriors were marching past Antiparah? (Alma 56:33) They were marching forth from Judea to go attack the Lamanites that came out of Antiparah.

10-L) What did the Lamanites desire to do before the Nephite army overtook them? (Alma 56:37) Slay Helaman and his stripling warriors so they would not be surrounded when the Nephite army overtook them.

11-N) What did Antipus do when he saw the danger to the young stripling warriors? (Alma 56:38) Increased the speed of his army

12 -S) How many days did the Lamanites pursue Helaman and the stripling warriors? (Alma 56:42) Two days and two nights, and into the morning of the third day. (Put one blank footprint on each group to represent the pursuit, and then explain that on the morning of the third day the Lamanites halted their pursuit.

13-S) What did the stripling warriors want to do when they saw they were no longer being pursued? (Alma 56:43-46) They wanted to turn back, even though the situation could be a trap. They wanted to make sure Antipus and his army had not been overcome by the Lamanites.

(Put the next footprints turning back to head towards the Lamanite footprints).

14-S) Why were the stripling warriors not afraid to fight in the battle against the Lamanites? (Alma 56:47) (Love for family & faith in God) They had been taught by their mothers that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

15-S) What did the stripling warriors discover when they turned back? (Alma 56:49) They discovered a terrible battle had commenced between the Lamanites and the army of Antipus. (Put the visual aid that is labeled battle area between the end of the Lamanite and Nephite footprints.)

(Put the next footprint on top of the battle area.)

16-N) What would have happened to the army of Antipus if the stripling warriors had not turned back? (Alma 56:50) The army of Antipus was weary from their long, fast march and they were about to fall into the hands of the Lamanites. If Helaman and his stripling warriors had not returned, the army would have fallen.

(Put footprint sixteen on top of footprint fifteen.)

17-L) The Lamanites surrendered to the Nephites. What factors compelled them to surrender? (Alma 56:54 & 56) With the arrival of the two thousand stripling warriors into the battle, the Lamanites were surrounded, but the most compelling reason for their surrender was that they became afraid when they saw the mighty power and strength the two thousand warriors fought with.

(Put footprint eighteen on top of footprint seventeen, and tell the children that after the Lamanites surrendered, Helaman numbered his young men fearing that many had been slain.)

18-S) How many stripling warriors died in battle? (Alma 55-56) To his great joy he discovered that not one of them had been slain by the sword

After returning to the city of Judea and receiving reinforcements, the Nephites and stripling warriors waged other battles against the Lamanites, and they took back several cities. After one great battle, where they were outnumbered and many people were killed, Helaman was once again worried that that some of his young men might have been killed.

Activity

Have six children, in sets of two, quickly draw on the board some stick figures under the title of Nephites, Lamanites, and stripling warriors. Have a child erase some of the Nephites. Explain that a thousand Nephites were killed in the terrible battle. Have another child erase some the Lamanites. Explain that many Lamanites were also killed in the battle. (Activity Source: Teaching the Scripture Readers)

• How many of the stripling warriors were killed in the battle? Every one of the stripling warriors had several injuries, but Helaman was happy to find out that not one of them had perished. (Alma 57:25)

The stripling warrior’s preservation was astonishing to the Nephite army, and they attributed it to the stripling warrior’s great faith in the Lord that He would preserve them.

Activity
The stripling warriors gained their great faith while in their youth as they listened to and obeyed the teachings of their mothers. Heavenly Father gives us parents to love, teach, and guide us through our lives.

• What are some things that your parents or other family members (such as grandparents) have taught you that led you to gaining faith in the Lord?

Give each child a page of the small footsteps and have the children write their answers on the small footsteps. (For example: Keep the Sabbath Day holy, read the scriptures, say prayers, be honest, be forgiving, serve others, etc.) Have them roughly cut a few out and post them on the wall heading toward the sign that says “Faith in God.” Tell the children that at the end of class you want them to take their footsteps (cutting out the rest later) and put them on a wall in their room leading to their sign that says “Faith in God”. This will help remind them that following the righteous teachings of their parents and family members can lead them to gaining faith in God.

Activity & Game
As the Ammonites listened to and obeyed the righteous teachings of their mothers, not only did they gain great faith but they also developed other strong, righteous characteristics.

Divide the children into four groups and explain that each group is going to look up a scripture that tells about one of the righteous characteristics the young Ammonites developed in their youth. Give each group their characteristic card and their scripture and discussion ideas card. Tell them to read their discussion card and scripture and be prepared to tell what their characteristic is, tell about or describe their characteristic, and read the related parts of their scripture to the class. Have them tape their characteristic on the board. (Be prepared to add in any additional needed discussion to what the children present.)

After a group presents their characteristic, do the following game: Have a child stand and tell how they can demonstrate that characteristic as they go about their day to day life. For example “I can courageously stand up for the right by sticking up for a child that is being picked on.” Have the next child stand and say the same thing plus add their own. Continue doing this until all the children have had a turn. (Start with a different child each time a new characteristic is presented.)

• Trustworthy and Reliable (Read the second half of Alma 53:20) The stripling warriors were “true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.” The Lord could count on them to always do the right things and firmly follow through with whatever he asked of them. The people around them could also rely on them to be dependable and trustworthy.

• Courageous (Read the first half of Alma 53:20) “They were exceedingly valiant for courage.” They had great courage and did not fear death. “They did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives.” (Alma 56:47) They courageously stood for what is right because of their love for their family. Our family and friends are also under attack – spiritual attack. We need to have the courage to stand up for what is right and defend truth and right to help make the world a safer and better place for them.

• Hard Working (Read the first half of Alma 53:20) “They were exceedingly valiant for courage and also for strength and activity.’ Valiant for strength and activity means they worked hard to do whatever needed to be done.

• Obedient – to parents, leaders, and the commandments of God. (Read the scriptures below.)
• How did the young Ammonites respond to the commands they received from their leaders and from God? (See Alma 57:21) “They did obey…. every word of command with exactness.” (Alma 58:40) “They are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually.”

(Read this quote after the characteristic of obedience is presented.) “The key to their success was to obey every word and command. Yes, if we are going to draw upon the powers of heaven, intention is not enough. We must obey every word of command with exactness…We must actually obey the law; intention is not enough!” Rex C. Reeve, New Era, Jul 1981

Explain to the children that they can be given the strength and power to stand up for what is right and gain characteristics of great worth like the stripling warriors if they will listen to and follow the righteous teachings and examples of their parents and leaders.

Weekly Reading Assignment

Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Alma 53: 10–22 & Alma 56:21-56

Mar 28 2012

Lesson 26 – Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty

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Lesson 26
Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty

Preparation
• Items needed: a national flag or pictures of the flag, patriotic music such as “The Star Spangled Banner” (Note: Hymn CD’s and players can be checked out at the meeting house library), a large piece of fabric that can be torn up, a pole or long stick, coloring markers, tape or sticky tack, scisssors, and a roll of wide masking tape. (Optional Items: small dowel rods to attach the children’s flags and glue or tape.)
• Each child will be making a flag from a piece of the fabric, so you need to determine how many flag pieces you need and how big you want them to be. With a pair of scissors, cut into the fabric slightly at the sections you wish to tear to make each child’s flag. Also cut or tear a large piece off of the fabric to make a prepared example of Moroni’s Title of Liberty. Write the following words on it using markers: “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children.” Be prepared to attach the “Title of Liberty” to a pole.
• Print and cut out the scripture story visual aids. Cut each page in half so one picture is on each half. Number the back of the pictures in the order they were printed. Print and cut out the activity visual aids. Be sure to cut out each stone.

Attention Activity
Have patriotic music playing and a flag displayed (or pictures of a flag) as the children enter into the classroom. Ask the children how they felt as they heard the music and saw the flag. Ask if they felt a sense of patriotic loyalty and devotion. Ask the children how they would feel if they heard that someone wanted to take over their country, take away their freedoms, take away their right to go to church, and even possibly harm their family members in the process.

Explain that in today’s lesson they are going to learn of a people who had to face this very problem, and they will learn what a leader of these people did to protect his people. They are also going to learn how the actions of this leader demonstrated how we can protect ourselves from the attacks of a spiritual enemy who desires to destroy our freedom and lives.

Scripture Story
Tell the following story using the scripture story visual aids.

1.  Among the Nephites there was a man named Amalickiah. He desired to be king. He sought to destroy the church and destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted them. (Alma 46:10)

• Why would Amalickiah want to destroy the church and the liberty of the people? Perhaps as a way to gain total power and influence over the people.

• In the preexistence who had a plan to destroy the freedoms and agency of the people who came to earth? (Satan) What did Satan hope to gain from implementing his plan? (Glory and power)

• What would life be like without agency? To help the children imagine what it might be like to live under Lucifer’s plan, tell them that for the next few minutes they must do exactly what you say and nothing else (make sure they know they cannot talk). Have them stand and remain standing perfectly still for a few seconds. Then tell each child where to sit. (Do not sit friends near each other.) Tell the children they must sit erect, feet flat to the floor, looking straight ahead, not moving or speaking. Have them hold the position until you tell them otherwise. After about thirty seconds, let them stand again and sit where they want. (Walk in His Ways pg 62)

Ask the children how they felt during the exercise and how they would feel if they were forced to do exactly what they were told to do, all day every day.

2. In Amalickiah’s quest for power he was able to get many people to follow him. He flattered them and told them he would make them rulers over the people if they supported him and made him their king.

3. When Moroni, the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, heard of these dissensions he was angry with Amalickiah.

Moroni rent (tore) his coat to make a flag to rally his people to fight against these threats to their freedom. Explain that a coat back in Moroni’s day was probably a cloak. (Using the large piece of fabric, demonstrate how a cloak might have looked and how it might have been used as a coat.)

After demonstrating how it was used as a coat, dramatically take the cloth off and tear it along one of the precut slices in the fabric. Explain that fabric wasn’t easy to make or as easily available back in Moroni’s time, so tearing his coat to make a flag demonstrated the depths of Moroni’s emotion and commitment.

Show the children the piece of fabric you prepared, and explain that Moroni wrote the following words on his rent coat, “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children.” He then fastened it to the end of a pole, and he called it the Title of Liberty. (Attach your prepared piece of fabric to a pole.)

Explain that the word “Title” has many definitions in the dictionary. One of its meanings is, “something that justifies a claim or an established right.” So the words on the Title of Liberty might have represented their claims and rights to fight for liberty.

4.  After making the Title of Liberty, Moroni put on his armor and bowed himself to the earth. He prayed mightily unto God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren.

5. Then Moroni went among the people waving the Title of Liberty in the air that all might see the writing, and crying with a loud voice saying,  “Whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them.”

6.  When Moroni had proclaimed these words, the people came running together with their armor girded about them, rending their garments in token or as a covenant that they would not forsake the Lord their God.

• The Nephites would need to fight to defend their families and their freedoms. What direction had the Lord given to the Nephites concerning war? (Read Alma 43:47)

Explain to the children that we are also fighting a daily spiritual war against Satan. He wishes to bring us into captivity through getting us to sin. Demonstrate how Satan takes away our freedom through sin by doing the following object lesson.

Object Lesson
Ask for a volunteer. Have the volunteer put their hands together. Wrap one layer of the masking tape around their fingers and thumbs. Ask them if they can break free. Explain that when we first make a mistake or sin we are easily able to break free of its grasp and repent. But Satan knows that if he can get us to do the sin again and again, that eventually the sin will become a habit or an addiction and then we are bound in captivity to the sin. (Wrap the tape around the child’s hands several times, layering one area around the fingers and thumbs.) Ask the child to try and break free from the bindings. They shouldn’t be able to.

(Read 2 Nephi 2:27) “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”

Satan wants us to be miserable like he is, and he knows that sin destroys lives and keeps us from the many joys and blessings we could be enjoying. (Ask the child whose hands are bound to try and do some form of activity they normally could do if their hands were free such as tying their shoes. With their fingers bound they shouldn’t be able to do the activity. Afterwards, remove the tape and thank them for their help.)

Explain that they are going to do an activity that will help them realize and think about all the blessings they enjoy due to freedom from sin.

Activity
Tear up the rest of the fabric into pre-sized pieces and give each child one of the pieces. Ask them to draw on it pictures or write on it the blessings they enjoy due to freedom from sin.

Share an example, such as a person who is a drug addict may not be enjoying the following blessings: good health, good relationships with family and friends, spiritual blessings such as temple attendance, freedom (they may be locked up in prison for illegal drug transactions), financial security (due to wasting their money on drugs), integrity and the trust of others (due to lying and stealing to buy drugs), etc. Their addiction becomes more important than anything else and destroys their ability to hold onto and enjoy all the good and wholesome things in life.

Once the children’s flags are finished, give them the option to share what they put on their flags. Afterwards explain that they should each post their flag in their room to remind them of the many blessings they enjoy and the many reasons to fight to maintain their freedom from Satan’s traps of sin.

Scripture Story Continued
7. When Amalickiah saw that the people of Moroni were more numerous than the Amalickiahites, and he also saw that his people were doubtful concerning the justice of the cause in which they had undertaken, therefore, fearing that he should not gain the point, he took those of his people who would go with him, and he departed into the land of Nephi.

8. Moroni thought to cut off the people of Amalickiah before they joined the Lamanites because he knew that Amalickiah would stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites and cause them to come to battle against the them to obtain his purposes. Moroni headed off the armies of Amalickiah, but Amalickiah escaped with a few of his men.

9. Moroni caused the Title of Liberty to be hoisted upon every tower in the land of the Nephites; and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the Nephites. And there was peace in the land for four years.

10. After Amalickiah escaped Moroni and his army, he fled to the Lamanites. With much deceit, fraud, and murder he became king of the Lamanites. After becoming their king, he stirred up the Lamanites to go to war against the Nephites. He sought to rule over all the land.

11. While Amalickiah had been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni had been strengthening the Nephites against attack. He strengthened the armies and built up high banks of earth and high walls of stone around their forts, cities, and around their borders.

• Moroni had also been strengthening his people spiritually. Why was it important for the Nephites to be prepared spiritually? So they would be worthy of and in-tune to the Lord’s guidance when defending themselves against the attacks of the Lamanites. Moroni told the people to obey God’s commandments. If they would obey, God would help them to be free.” (Also see Alma 48:15–16.)

•In what other ways does obeying commandments help us be free? Obeying commandments helps protect us from Satan’s attacks (temptations) and helps keep us free of Satan’s destructive traps (sin). A loving Father in Heaven gives us commandments because he wants us to be safe and happy, just as a father or mother on earth gives their children rules such as “don’t play in the street” or “don’t touch the hot stove” because they want their children to be safe and happy.

Show the children the pictures of the signs, and ask what would happen if they didn’t obey the laws, rules, and warning signs that are around them in the world. (They could become seriously injured or even die.) Explain that just like laws, rules, and warning signs are meant for our protection, so are the commandments meant to be for our protection. We are free to choose whether or not we will obey God’s commandments, but we must also live with the consequences that follow as a result of our choices.

Scripture Story Continued
12. The Lamanites had prepared themselves for battle with armor, shields, and thick clothing. Being prepared they thought they could easily overpower the Nephites, but they were astonished and afraid when they saw the fortifications around the Nephite cities.

13. They attempted to attack and gain entrance to the cities in many different ways, but the Nephite’s defenses and preparations prevented the Lamanites from succeeding in their attempts. During these initial attempts to attack the cities, all of the Lamanite’s chief captains were slain and more than a thousand of the Lamanite’s soldiers were slain, but not one Nephite was killed.

The Lamanites fled and reported to King Amalickiah of their great losses. Amalickiah was exceedingly angry at his people because he had not gained his desire to bring the Nephites into bondage. He cursed God and Moroni.

14. The Nephites, on the other hand, did thank the Lord their God for delivering them from the Lamanites.

Activity
The Nephites built up fortifications to protect themselves from the attacks of the Lamanites. Through keeping the commandments we are also building up protective barriers and fortifying ourselves against the fiery darts of Satan’s attacks. (Ephesians 6:16)

Put the picture of the fiery darts on the board, and then put the wall outline to the left of the picture. Have the children build a barrier wall in front of the fiery darts by taking turns telling a commandment, explaining how that commandment helps protect them, writing the commandment on a stone, and then attaching it to the wall outline. Continue in this manner until the wall is built.

Remind the children that keeping the commandments helps keep us safe from Satan’s attacks and from his attempts to enslave us in sin. Express your testimony and gratitude for the commandments of God and for the freedoms and protection we enjoy through keeping the commandments.

Weekly Reading Assignment

Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Alma 46:4-22, Alma 48:1-17, Alma 49:1–30. Additional optional chapter: Alma 47

Mar 9 2012

Lesson 25: Captain Moroni Defeats Zerahemnah

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Lesson 25
Captain Moroni Defeats Zerahemnah

Preparation

  • Items needed: paper, crayons, and a pencil for each child. You will also need an orange, tape, two page protectors, a dry erase marker, an empty binder, one 3X5 card for each child or some strips of paper, and some removable double-sided tape.
  • Print and cut out the Armor of God pictures.  Also print one set of the small version of the armor of God per child. If possible, quickly cut out the small pieces of armor. If not, provide scissors for each child to cut out the pieces.
  • Print the Game Items. Put each of the game boards into a page protector. Tape one of the game boards to the inside cover of the binder.
  • Be prepared to play the video of chapter 31 of Book the Mormon Stories. The Book of Mormon Stories DVD can be checked out from your meetinghouse library, or the video “Captain Moroni Defeats Zerahemnah” can be downloaded and watched on a laptop computer.

Attention Activity

Show the children the orange. Ask a child to catch it and then toss it back. Do this a couple more times. Ask what would happen to the orange, as it is tossed around, if didn’t have a protective shell on it. (It would quickly become dirty and damaged.) Ask the children if they can think of other items that have protective outside coverings. Items might include: bananas, eggs, nuts, etc.

• For what reason might a person wear a protective outside covering such as armor? To protect their body in dangerous situations such as war.

Scripture Story
Tell the children they are going to watch a video about a battle that occurred between the Nephites and Lamanites. Tell them to watch carefully to see what the Nephites do to protect themselves against the Lamanite’s attacks.

Before starting the video, first tell a little of the background story. Ask the children if they remember who the Zoramites were. They were a people so wicked that they cast out anybody who believed in the prophet Alma’s teachings. The people they cast out were taken in and cared for by the people of Ammon. This made the wicked Zoramites angry, and they stirred up the Lamanites against the people of Ammon and against the Nephites. The Lamanite army (which included the Zoramites who had joined the Lamanites) attacked the land of Jershon where the people of Ammon resided.

Have the children watch chapter twenty-five of the Book of Mormon Stories video. After the video ask the children the following questions:

• What methods did Captain Moroni use to protect his people against the Lamanites? He had his soldiers wear armor, he consulted with the prophet for guidance and help, he had faith in the Lord, and he used cunning and strategy against the Lamanites.

• Explain to the children that we are also fighting a daily battle against an enemy who is trying to destroy us. Who are we battling against? Satan and his temptations.

• What can we do to protect ourselves from Satan’s attacks? (Read Ephesians 6:13–18) Put the picture of the soldier on the board. Have the children read along with you from Ephesians. Stop as each piece of armor is mentioned, explain what it represents, and then put it on the soldier.

  • Loins Girded in Truth – Knowing truth helps us be prepared to make right choices concerning many things including virtue.
  • Breastplate of Righteousness – Represents making righteous choices.
  • Feet Shod in the Gospel of Peace – Our knowledge of the gospel helps guide the direction we go in life.
  • Shield of Faith – Having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Helmet of Salvation – Salvation was made possible through the Savior’s atonement. We need to always remember Him and His teachings.
  • Sword of the Spirit –  The guidance of the Spirit and the guidance found in the revealed word of God helps us in our fight against Satan’s attacks.

• What happened to the Lamanites because they did not have armor to protect them? (They were overcome.) What could happen to us spiritually if we do not clothe ourselves in the armor of God? (We may fall to Satan’s temptations and suffer spiritual injury or even spiritual death.)

Activity
Give each child a piece of paper, crayons, pencil, and a small copy of each piece of armor. Have them draw a picture of themselves on the paper, a size that would fit the small set of armor.  Have them attach their armor pieces to the drawing of themselves using small pieces of removable double-sided tape. Remind them what each piece represents and have them write it on their paper next to the armor piece.

• Each protective piece of armor relates to our knowledge, understanding, and practice of the word of God. How can we build up our protective armor? (Have them write the answers on their papers.) Answers might include: Have personal and family scripture study, have family home evening, attend church, listen to the words of the prophet, call on God for help through prayer, keep the commandments, listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

• What other ways can we protect ourselves from Satan’s attacks? Moroni used cunning and strategy to protect the Nephites from the Lamanites attacks. We can also use cunning and strategy by planning ahead what we will do when temptation is confronting us.

Have each of the children think of a temptation and write it on one of the 3×5 cards. Mix the cards up and have the children take turns choosing one, reading it, and then telling what they could do if they were in that situation. Point out that they are using strategy by planning ahead what they would do when confronted with certain temptations.

Review Game
If time permits play the following scripture story review game.
Explain that the review activity is like the game Battleship, but instead of trying to find ships, they will be trying to find the Lamanite army. After they find the Lamanites, they will then try to collect the Lamanite’s weapons and oath of peace.

Put the game board on the display board and show the children the game pieces. Open the binder and stand it up so the teacher game board is facing you and the children cannot see it. Explain that you will be putting the game pieces on the hidden game board, and that it is identical to the one on the display board.

Put the pieces on the teacher game board, and then put one location point of the Lamanite army on the prophet card, and put the card next to the game board. The prophet card will be available for additional help, but only if they ask for it. Or they can use it when question #7 is answered.

Explain that you will be asking them questions about the story, and if they get the answer right they can guess a location on the board where the Lamanites might be. If they guess the location correctly they can circle that spot on the game board (with the dry erase pen). If the location is wrong they can mark the spot on the game board with an x. Explain that the army takes up four spaces, the weapons and oath each take up three spaces. The army, weapons, and oath could be vertical or horizontal. The children must find the army first. If they make a hit on the other items before finding the army, they can circle it, but you will inform them it is not the army, and they must then look elsewhere.

Have the children take turns answering the questions. Let them know they can get help from another person if needed, or they can look up the scripture reference to find the answer.

Questions

1. What was the Lamanite’s motive for coming to war against the Nephites? The Lamanite desired the war because they wanted to rule over the Nephites and bring them into bondage. (Alma 43:8)

2. What was the Nephites motive for battling the Lamanites? To protect their wives, children, homes, privileges, liberties, and their right to worship God according to their desires. (Alma 43:9) (Read Alma 43:46-47)

3. What was the name of the chief captain of the Nephites?  The man appointed to be the chief captain over the Nephites was called Moroni. (Have the children guess how old he was when he was appointed to be chief captain.) He was appointed when he was only 25 years old. (Alma 43:16-17)

4. What was the name of the chief commander of the Lamanite army? (Zerahemnah)  Zerahemnah appointed Nephite dissenters as the chief captains to insight the Lamanites to aggressiveness and hostility because the Nephite dissenters were more wicked and murderous than the Lamanites. (Alma 43:5-7)

5. The Lamanite army outnumbered the Nephite army, so why were the Lamanites frightened when they saw Captain Moroni and his army? Because Moroni had prepared his people with armor which include breastplatess, thick clothing, arm shields, and helmets to protect their bodies and heads. The army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing. They had on very little clothing. (Alma 43:19-21)

6. What did the Lamanites do when they saw the armor of the Nephites? They retreated into the wilderness and intended to come into the land of the Nephites at a different, secret location. (Alma 43:22)

7. Captain Moroni didn’t know where the Lamanites would secretly attack. How did he find out where he should send his army? Moroni sent men to inquire of the prophet Alma where the Nephite army should go to defend against the Lamanites. The word of the Lord came to Alma, and he told them where the Lamanites were going. (Alma 43:23–24) (If the children have not located the army yet, show the children the prophet card and explain that it has a location point for the Lamanite army.)

8. How did Captain Moroni set a trap for the Lamanites? He concealed his army on two sides of the river Sidon where the Lamanites were entering into the land. (Alma 43:31-32)

9. During the battle, the Lamanites fought fiercely which caused fear in the Nephites. The Nephites wanted to flee. What did they do to receive strength and courage? They cried to the Lord for help, and he strengthened them. (Alma 43:48–50) They had great faith in God. They had gained faith in him through their obedience. (Read Alma 44:3-4)

10. The Nephites surrounded the Lamanites. When the Lamanites saw they were surrounded they were filled with terror. What did Captain Moroni do to show compassion and mercy? He ordered the fighting to stop, and he promised to spare their lives if they would deliver up their weapons and make an oath to never come to war against them again (Alma 43:53-54; 44:6)

11. What did Zerahemnah do and say when he heard Moroni’s words? He delivered his weapons to Moroni, but he said he would not make an oath to never return. (Alma 44:8)

12. When Zerahemnah would not give an oath of peace, what did Moroni do? Moroni gave Zerahemnah back his weapons so they could end the conflict. He could not allow the Lamanites to depart without their oath of peace. (Alma 44:10-11)

13. What did Zerahemnah do when Moroni gave him back his weapons? He became angry and rushed at Moroni and tried to kill him. (Alma 44:12)

14. What happened when Zerahemnah tried to kill Moroni? One of Moroni’s soldiers blocked Zerahemnah, broke his sword, and cut off his scalp. (Alma 44:12)

15. What did the soldier say and do with the scalp of Zerahemnah that made many of the Lamanites give up their weapons and give an oath of peace? The soldier took the scalp off the ground and put it on tip of his sword and raised it up high. He said with a loud voice that even as the scalp of their leader had fallen to the earth, so would they fall if they didn’t relinquish their weapons and make a covenant of peace. (Alma 44:13-15)

16. What happened after many of the Lamanites gave up their weapons and were allowed to leave in peace? Zerahemnah was exceedingly angry and stirred up the remainder of his men, and the fighting commenced again. (Alma 44:16)

17. What made Zerahemnah finally surrender and give an oath of peace? The Lamanites began to rapidly be swept down by the sword because of their naked skin and bare heads. When Zerahemnah saw they were about to be destroyed, he called to Moroni and asked him to spare them. Zerahemnah agreed to make an oath to never come to war against the Nephites again. Moroni stopped the destruction and took their weapons and oath and allowed them to depart. (Alma 44:18-20)

Conclusion
The Nephites had prepared themselves both spiritually and physically for the battle against the Lamanites, and they were able to win the battle. We must also prepare ourselves to fight and win the battle against Satan’s attacks by putting on the whole armor of God.

Tell the children to put their armor of God picture somewhere in their bedroom to remind them daily of the things they need to do to help build up their protective spiritual armor.

Weekly Reading Assignment

Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Alma 43:4-54 & Alma 44:1-20

Mar 8 2012

Lesson 24 – Alma Counsels His Son Corianton

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Lesson 24
Alma Counsels His Son Corianton

Preparation

  • Items needed: chalk and eraser, two paper bags or boxes- one filled with garbage and the other filled with desirable items such as treats or little party favor toys, two cardboard toilet paper rolls, paper towels, first aid items and medicines.
  • Dip a few sheets of the paper towels in mud and put them in a ziplock bag.
  • Optional: Do a Google search for news articles concerning lost or injured hikers. Print some of the articles.

Lesson Introduction

Show the children the news articles, or ask the children if they have heard of people getting lost or injured while hiking in the mountains. One reason some people become lost or injured is because they stray off the main trail into dangerous areas. Explain that just like the people who stray off the hiking trail, there are some people in life who stray off the path that leads to eternal life; they are tempted to go and things that can injure the spirit.

Show the children the medical items and ask what they are used for. (To help treat and heal physical injuries and sickness.) Explain that in today’s lesson they are going to learn of some ways to heal spiritual injuries and sickness, and also some ways to prevent getting spiritually injured.

Scripture Account
Remind the children that in last week’s lesson they learned of the counsel Alma gave to two of his sons. Explain that in today’s lesson they will learn of the counsel that Alma gave to another son named Corianton. This counsel was different from the counsel he gave to his other sons. His other sons had been living righteously, but Corianton had committed serious sins. He had strayed off the path and was in need of some guidance and healing.

Corianton, along with his brothers, had been called to be missionaries to the Zoramites, but Corianton chose to forsake the ministry to chase a woman with an immoral reputation who had stolen many hearts.

• If someone were to stray off a path, fall, and become injured, what would be some of the possible symptoms and effects of being injured? Answers might include: pain, shock, bruises, scrapes, cuts, bleeding, broken bones, sprain, concussion, etc.

Just like a person would suffer the effects of being injured, a person who had sinned would also suffer the consequences and results of that sin. What are some of the consequences that can occur because of sin? Answers might include: guilt, loss of the Spirit’s help and guidance, possible loss of freedom, loss of other’s trust, damaged relationships, possible loss of good health, loss of inheritance in the kingdom of God, etc.

• What would happen if a person who is injured ignores the injury and doesn’t do anything to help it heal such as cleaning out the wound, putting anti-bacterial cream on it, protecting it with a bandage, or going to the doctor if it is a serious injury? The wound could become infected, or the injury could increasingly get worse. A serious injury could even lead to death if it is not taken care of.

• What happens when we sin and are spiritually injured but we hide the sin and refuse to repent? The sinful action could increase, and the damage could become worse. It could even lead to spiritual death.

Alma told his son Corianton that he could not hide his sin from God, pretend it didn’t happen, and hope its consequences wouldn’t affect him. He needed to repent of his sins or he would suffer the consequences, including having the sin stand as a testimony against him at judgment. Pres Uchdorf said, “The longer we delay corrective action, the larger and more difficult the needed changes become, and the longer it takes to get back on the correct course.”

Just as an injured person would need to treat the injury, so would a person who has sinned and is spiritually sick need to repent in order to heal.

To repent, Corianton needed to follow the steps of repentance. Ask the children if they remember what those steps are. Write a short version of each step on the board as they are mentioned.

Corianton needed to:
• 1. Recognize he had done wrong
• 2.Confess his sins and ask for forgiveness
• 3. Right the wrong
• 4. Never repeat the wrong.

Corianton needed to recognize he had done wrong,  confess his sins, and ask for forgiveness.

• Who is the master physician that can heal our spiritual wounds, small or large? (Jesus Christ)  What did Alma teach about Christ in Alma 39:15? (That Christ would come to take away the sins of the world and bring salvation.) The Savior said: ‘Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? … If ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life.’”

Corianton also needed to right the wrong he had committed. He would have to try and fix the problems his sins had caused. One of the problems his actions had caused was damage to the Zoramite missionary effort. Alma had tried to teach the Zoramites about obeying the commandments, but they would not listen or believe because they saw his son’s conduct. (Alma 39:11) Alma told Corianton that he needed to return to the Zoramites and acknowledge the wrongs he had done and try to fix the damage he had caused. (Alma 39:13) Alma told Corianton that he also needed to preach the healing power of Christ so that the Zoramites may repent and be healed also. Alma 39:6-19

Another part of the repentance process is forsaking the sin. Corianton needed to commit himself to not follow any more forbidden paths. Alma told Corianton to cross himself in all things. (Alma 39:9)

• What does it mean to cross oneself? It means to deny yourself – to exercise self control and avoid the things that can cause spiritual injury even if they look appealing and tempting.

• What were the attitudes and actions that led to Corianton straying off the path and into sin? (Have the children look in Alma 39:2-4 to find the answers.) (Draw a path on the board that splits in the middle so there are two paths going in different directions – a Y shape.  Mark the end of the left path with the words “sin and unhappiness” and the end of the right path with “righteousness and happiness.” Write the answers to the question on the left of the board.)

Attitudes and actions that led to Corianton’s sin:

1. He boasted in his own strength and overestimated his power to resist temptation.
2. He went where he should not have been, and he gazed upon and considered things he should not have considered.
3. He did not listen to his father and instead followed the crowd.

• What counsel did Alma give to Corianton on how he could avoid sin in the future? (Have the children look up Alma 39:9-14 to find the answer. Write these on the right side of the board.)

Ways to avoid sin and spiritual injury:

1. Be humble and depend on the Lord for strength.

We must be humble and turn to the Lord for guidance and help. Satan has thousands of years of experience in tempting people, and if we try to depend on our own limited knowledge and strength to overcome his temptations we may be overcome. Alma told Corianton to turn to the Lord with all his mind, might, and strength. (Alma 39:13)

2. Avoid places and things that lead to temptation and instead fill our lives with good things.

Things we see or hear can influence our thoughts, and thoughts can become actions. If we choose to spend our time around things or people that depict or promote inappropriate actions, that is where our thoughts will be, and we will eventually do what we focus on consistently.

Object Lesson
Demonstrate this with an empty toilet paper roll or paper towel roll. Shove the dirt covered paper towels into the cardboard roll. Ask what would happen if you continued to shove dirty paper towels into the roll. (They would come out the other end.) What happens when we fill our minds with things that are unclean? They come out and manifest themselves through unclean actions.

Show another toilet paper roll and fill it with clean paper towels and ask the children what will come out the other end. Explain that the clean paper towels represents doing things like going to church, participating in church activities, reading our scriptures, participating in family home evening, etc. When we fill our lives with  things that are good and uplifting, our thoughts and actions become clean. Corianton should have spent his time doing his missionary work which would have helped him keep his thoughts clean.

How could Corianton clean up his already contaminated thoughts? Shove clean paper towels into the cardboard roll that contains the dirty paper towels, and ask what would happen if you continued to do this. (The clean towels will eventually push out the dirt. Explain that it takes time, but eventually thoughts and actions can become clean again.)

3. Follow righteous examples and counsel.

Who were Corianton’s righteous examples? His father and older brothers. Alma told Corianton to counsel with his brothers. (Alma 39:10)

How can counseling with righteous family members help strengthen our resistance to temptation? They love us and want what is best for us, and being experienced in righteous living, they can help give advice on how to avoid temptation and difficulty.

Not only can we receive direction from righteous family members, but there may be other people around us who are also righteous examples.

  • From what other sources can you receive righteous counsel and examples?

Object Lesson
Demonstrate how it helps to have advice and counsel from someone who knows what is right by doing the following object lesson.

Show the children the two bags or boxes, and explain that one has something undesirable in it and the other has something desirable in it. Show one of the children what is in the boxes. Tell the other children that they can ask the child yes or no questions about the items (with the exception of directly asking which is the good or bad container) until they can decide which is the good choice. Ask the children if it helped to talk to someone who was informed about which was the bad choice and which was the good choice. Point out that it also helps to counsel with those who are experienced in righteous living in order to get help and direction in making good choices in life.

Conclusion
• Why did Alma talk to Corianton about his iniquities? Because he loved his son and wanted him to make good choices and be happy. Alma had also received revelation from the Lord directing him to command his son Corianton to do good and refrain from iniquity. (Alma 39:12)

• Why did Heavenly Father want Alma to command his son to be good? Because our Heavenly Father also loves his children and doesn’t want his children to do things that will harm themselves or others.

• If you had done wrong, why would your parents wish to talk to you about it? Because they love you and want to help you.

Corianton eventually repented and returned to full activity and participation in the church (See Alma 43:1-2)

In life there will be many choices we have to make, but if we stay on the path that leads to eternal life and listen to the guides that Heavenly Father has provided for us, we can avoid going down dangerous paths that could damage our spirits and cause suffering and unhappiness.

Weekly Reading Assignment

Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Alma 39

Jan 28 2012

Lesson 18 – King Lamoni’s Father

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Lesson 18
King Lamoni’s Father

Preparation

  • Print the scripture story visual aids. Cut each page in half (except for the last page) so that one picture is on each half. Number the back of each picture according to the order they were printed. Roll the last printed page into a scroll and tie it with a string.  (Note: The visual aids are from chapters twenty-four and twenty-five of Book of Mormon Stories.)
  •  Items needed: a television, a DVD or video player, a shirt that can be damaged, a bar of soap, a large plastic garbage bag, items that can be used to stain the shirt such as chocolate syrup, mustard, mud, ketchup, oil, etc.
  •  Obtain the video or DVD of Book of Mormon Presentations from your meetinghouse library, or download chapter 30  “The Mediator” onto your computer.

Attention Activity
Show the children the shirt you brought, and lay it on top of a spread out plastic garbage bag. Explain to the children that sin is like dirt and stains. Apply staining items to the shirt as you mention sins that stain our spirits, such as lying, stealing, hate, etc. (The garbage bag is to help prevent spills on the carpet.) Ask the children how they would feel if they had to wear the dirty shirt and how they would feel if they could never change the shirt or take a shower.

• Would it be difficult going out among people in that state?  Would we feel comfortable in heaven being among spiritually clean people if we have stains of sin upon us?

Show the children the soap and explain that just like we have soap to clean our bodies and our clothes, Heavenly Father has provided a way for us to become clean from our sins. He provided a Savior for us who took upon himself our sins.

The Lamanites were a people who did not know they could be cleansed of their sins. They lived daily with the guilt and horror of their sinful actions.

Tell the children that in today’s lesson they will learn about a Lamanite king who learned about the atonement of Christ and about how he could be free of sin through repentance.

Scripture Story
Tell the following story using the pictures from chapters twenty-four and twenty-five of Book of Mormon Storiesas visual aids. Before telling the story, put all the pictures on the chalk board in random order. As you tell the story, stop at the end of each numbered paragraph and have the children find the picture that goes with that part. Check the number on the back of the picture to make sure if it matches the paragraph’s number. Before starting, remind the children of Ammon and the conversion of King Lamoni and his people. (Note: It is important to make time for the video presentation in this lesson. Simplify the scripture story by cutting out the activity part if needed.)

1) After the church was established among King Lamoni’s people, the king wanted Ammon to go with him to the land of Nephi to meet his father who was king over all the land. But the Lord told Ammon he should not go to the land of Nephi because Lamoni’s father would seek to kill him. The Lord told Ammon that instead he should go to Middoni because his brother Aaron and a couple of his companions were in prison there. Ammon told Lamoni what the Lord had told him. Lamoni said he would go with Ammon to help get his brethren out of prison.

2) As they were traveling to Middoni they met Lamoni’s father. Lamoni’s father asked Lamoni why he had not come to the feast he had prepared, and he asked where Lamoni was going with a Nephite. Lamoni told his father that he and his people had received the word of God from Ammon, and that he was going to help get Ammon’s brethren out of prison.

3) Lamoni’s father was angry with Lamoni for helping a Nephite, and he commanded his son to slay Ammon. He called Ammon a thief and a liar. Lamoni refused to slay Ammon. He told his father that he knew Ammon and his brethren were just men and prophets of God.

4) When Lamoni’s father heard this he became very angry and drew his sword to smite Lamoni.

• Would Lamoni’s father have regretted it if he had hurt his son? Most likely. One reason the Lord tells us we should not become angry with others is because it can lead to bigger sins. Anger can cause us to say and do things that could seriously hurt others. It is an easy thing to get angry, but it shows strength to control our emotions.

5) When the king tried to smite Lamoni, Ammon stood forward and prevented him from harming Lamoni. The king tried to kill Ammon instead. Ammon withstood him and overpowered him.

6) The king pled with Ammon to spare his life, and he offered Ammon whatever he wished, even half his kingdom. Ammon made the king promise to help him get his brethren out of prison.

7) He also wanted the king to allow Lamoni to retain his kingdom and govern it without interference. The king was surprised that Ammon asked nothing for himself. He was also astonished when he saw the love Ammon had for his son.

8) He told Ammon he would grant his desires, and he asked that Ammon and his brethren come to his kingdom so he could learn more about what they were teaching.

• Why had it been better for Ammon to meet Lamoni’s father away from the king’s own lands? If Lamoni’s father had met Ammon in his palace and lands, he would have had Ammon killed or imprisoned without getting to know him. Because of the way they met, Lamoni’s father had the opportunity to see Ammon’s good example of love, kindness, and unselfishness.

9) After the encounter with Lamoni’s father, Ammon and Lamoni proceeded to Middoni and were able get Ammon’s brethren released. Ammon was sorrowful when he saw how badly his brethren had been treated and how much they had suffered.

Aaron and his companions had fallen among a stiff-necked and hardened people. These hard hearted people were a sect of Nephite apostates. These apostate people would not listen to them, and they mocked Aaron and his companions and treated them harshly.

Aaron and his companions had been patient in their afflictions because the Lord had told them if they were patient in affliction he would bless them with success as missionaries.

• What did Aaron and his companions do after being released from prison? (See Alma 21:15) After Aaron and his brethren were released from prison they continued preaching in the land.

10) They were led by the spirit to the Land of Nephi where Lamoni’s father dwelled. Aaron and his brethren went to the king’s palace and introduced themselves as the brethren of Ammon.

11) The king wanted to learn about what they were teaching. Aaron taught him from the scriptures.

• What was the first thing Aaron taught Lamoni’s father? (See Alma 22:7–8) That there is a God.

• Why did Aaron first teach Lamoni’s father about a belief in God before teaching him anything else? People will not obey God until they know and believe that there is a God. They also need to understand God’s plan: that he created the earth for us to gain bodies, and he gave us commandments to help us become like him. Aaron also taught that because of mortality and the weaknesses of the flesh, we will all make mistakes and sin. He taught that we needed a Savior in order to return to God’s presence and gain eternal life.

12) The king wanted to know what he needed to do to gain the eternal life which Aaron had taught him about. He said he would give all he possessed, even his kingdom, to gain this great blessing and joy. Aaron told the king that he needed to bow down before God, repent, and call upon God in faith and belief.

13) Others had bowed down to the king during his life, now he must bow down before the greatest of all kings. The king got upon his knees and cried mightily unto God. He wanted to know that there is a God.

14) When the king said these words, he was struck as if dead. The servants ran and told the queen all that had happened. When she saw the king lying as if he were dead, and Aaron standing over him, she was angry and commanded the servants to take Aaron and his brethren and slay them. But the servants had seen the cause of the king’s fall, and they dared not to touch Aaron and his brethren. When the queen saw the fear of the servants, she began to fear Aaron also, so she sent the servants to call the people so that they might slay Aaron.

15) When Aaron saw the determination of the queen, and because he knew the hardness of the hearts of the people, he took the king’s hand and raised him. When the queen and the servants saw this they marveled and began to fear. The king ministered to them, and the whole household was converted.

16) A multitude had gathered because of the commands of the queen, and they were murmuring because of Aaron and his brethren. The king went among them and ministered to them, and they were pacified. When the king saw they were pacified, he had Aaron and his brethren preach to them.

They king had experienced a conversion similar to his son Lamoni. He had been overcome by the power of the Spirit because he had the desire to learn the truth. This type of conversion is unusual, but because of the things these two leaders learned from the Spirit, many others were influenced as well.

The king sent a proclamation to all his people. (Show the scroll to the children and ask them what they think the king told his people, then have someone read the scroll out loud.) After this proclamation, Aaron and his brethren went from city to city preaching and establishing churches. They began to have great success, and thousands were brought to the knowledge of God.

Video Presentation

Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation included a Savior to pay the price for our sins. Without Jesus Christ’s atonement we could not be forgiven of our sins. To help the children understand this concept show them the ten minute video of “The Mediator.” Ask the following questions after the video.

• In the video a man borrowed a large amount of money. He was warned by his friends not to take on the debt. What did the debt represent? Our wrong actions (sins) we commit on earth. The man in the video got into debt because he wanted to do and have the things he wanted right then. He thought he could pay the debt back later, just like some people think that they can commit sin and then repent and fix the sin later.

• Why was the man not able to pay back the debt? The debt was too big for him to handle. He also wasted time he could have put toward working to pay it back. Sin is too big for us to fix on our own, and sometimes we waste our opportunities to try and fix our mistakes.

• What did the settlement day (the day the loan was due) represent? Judgment Day, which is when we will be judged according to what we did in mortal life. We will be held accountable for our sins and have to pay the price for them.

• What was going to be the price the man had to pay because he couldn’t pay his debt? He was going to lose everything and go to prison.

• If justice demanded the man pay the debt, why would mercy interfere with justice? If mercy is extended then justice is not met.

• What is needed for both mercy and justice to be served? A mediator. Someone who will pay the contract price that is due.

• The man in the video had a friend who paid the debt for him, but the amount was probably a big sacrifice for his friend to pay. Why did the man’s friend pay his debt? The friend loved him and didn’t want to see him go to prison.

• Who did the friend represent? Jesus Christ

• How did Jesus pay our spiritual debt for sin? He took upon himself our sins and suffered and paid the price for them.

* Jesus Christ took upon himself our debt. How can we repay him? We can never repay the debt we owe the Lord, but He offers us forgiveness of our sins if we abide by the terms which He has set, which is to repent and keep the commandments.

Remind the children of the object lesson at the beginning of the lesson, and remind the children of how wonderful it is that we can be clean of sin because of what the Jesus Christ did for us. Bear testimony of your gratitude for the atonement.

Weekly Reading Assignment

Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week:
Alma 20:1-30, Alma 22:1-26, and Alma 23:1, 4-5

Jan 26 2012

Lesson 17 – Ammon – A Mighty Missionary

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Lesson 17
Ammon – A Mighty Missionary

Preparation
• Items needed: several wrapped treats, a plate or platter for the treats, tape, marbles (or some other small, heavy  items), a few small vegetables, a Kleenex, a large rubber band, a large clear vase or jar, 26 inches of cord or twine, a small piece of thick cloth, several four inch square pieces of paper, and some thick thread.
• Print and cut out the activity visual aids. Tape each gospel blessing card to a wrapped treat.
• Tape the pictures of the sheep to the inside of the large clear vase. Separate the two layers of a Kleenex sheet. Cover the top opening of the vase with one layer of the Kleenex. Put a large rubber band around the Kleenex to secure it. The Kleenex should be stretched tight across the opening of the vase.
• Print the scripture story visual aids. Cut the pages in half, and number the back of each page to help keep them in the correct order. (The scripture story visuals come from chapter twenty-three of Book of Mormon Stories.)
• Make an example slingshot. Cut two, thirteen inch pieces of cord or twine. Cut out a piece of thick cloth 1¾ inches by 4 inches. Put one inch of the cord on top of one end of the fabric. Gather the fabric around the cord end and tightly wrap a piece of tape around it. Wrap thick thread around the tape several times and tie it off. Do the same with the other piece of cord and the other end of the fabric. The fabric should form a pocket when you are done. Also make several paper balls by tightly crumpling 4 inch square pieces of paper. Try out the slingshot by using the instructions found in the lesson.

Attention Activity
Show the children the treat you brought. Point out how wonderful and mouth watering it looks. Take a bite and describe the texture and flavor; tell them how delicious it is. Ask the children how they would feel if you ate the treat in front of them and didn’t share.

Show the treats with the gospel blessing labels attached. Explain to the children that the labeled treats represent the many blessings they enjoy because they are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Read the labels to the children. Ask if it would be fair or right if we kept the blessings of the gospel to ourselves and didn’t share with anyone else.

• Tell the children that you brought treats to share with each of them. Ask how that makes them feel. Inform the children that in today’s lesson they will learn of the joy experienced by the Lamanites when a missionary named Ammon shared the gospel with them.

Ammon was one of the sons of Mosiah. The sons of Mosiah desired to share the joy of redemption they had found in the gospel. They had sinned much in their youth. They had felt the sorrow and suffering that occurs when someone realizes the awfulness of their sins. They wanted to go on a mission and teach repentance to the Lamanites because they could not bear the thought of any human soul suffering the consequences of sin.

• If you were given the choice between serving a mission to a people who regarded you as their enemy or becoming a king with great power and honor, which would you choose? Mosiah was king of the Nephites and his sons were the heirs to the throne, but the sons of Mosiah gave up the throne to serve a mission to the Lamanites. Mosiah’s sons were taking on a very difficult task. The Lamanites were a wild and ferocious people, and they hated the Nephites.

Before leaving on their mission, the sons of Mosiah prepared diligently. They searched the scriptures, fasted, and prayed.

• Why did they search the scriptures, fast, and pray to prepare for their mission? (To help the children learn the answer to this question have them do the following role play activity.)

Role Play Activity
Choose a child to pretend to be an investigator, and give that child the list of questions they will ask. Have the other children take turns pretending to be missionary companions responding to the investigator’s questions. When they are done, ask the children if it was hard to answer the questions.

• How can someone gain the knowledge to answer those kinds of questions? Missionaries must study the scriptures to gain a knowledge and understanding of the gospel, and they must fast and pray for divine help in teaching and testifying about those gospel precepts.

The sons of Mosiah had searched the scriptures, fasted, and prayed so they could effectively teach the gospel with the Spirit and bring the Lamanites to a knowledge of the truth.

Scripture Story
Tell the following story using the pictures from chapter twenty-three of Book of Mormon Stories as visual aids. (Optional activity: Put the pictures on the board in random order and have the children choose a picture that depicts what happens next after each story part is told.)

When the sons of Mosiah arrived in the land of the Lamanites they separated and went to different parts of the land.

One of the sons, whose name was Ammon, went to the land of Ishmael. As he entered the land of Ishmael the Lamanites took him, bound him, and carried him before their king to decide whether he should be killed, imprisoned, or thrown out of their land. The king’s name was Lamoni.

Ammon told the king he wanted to dwell among the Lamanites. King Lamoni was so pleased with Ammon that he offered Ammon one of his daughters as a wife. Ammon declined the generous offer and said he would be the king’s servant. The king assigned him to help watch the flocks.

As Ammon and the other servants were driving the flocks to water, thieving Lamanites scattered the king’s flocks to plunder them. The servants were afraid. They said the king would kill them because the flocks were scattered and lost. They were so afraid they wept.

• In Alma 17:29 it says that Ammon’s heart swelled with joy when he saw the fears of the servants. Why do you think he felt that way? Ammon was looking for an opportunity to win the hearts of the servants and show them the power of God.

Ammon convinced the servants to search for the flocks and gather them back together. After they had gathered the flocks, the wicked Lamanites sought to scatter them again because they delighted in the destruction of others. Ammon told the servants to watch the flocks and that he would go and contend with the evil, trouble causing Lamanites.

The wicked Lamanites did not fear him. They thought one of their men could easily slay Ammon. Ammon began to cast stones at them with his sling.

Activity
• How does a sling work? Show the children the example sling you made. Demonstrate how to use it by holding one string firmly in your fist. Hold the other string in the same hand between your thumb and index finger. Put a paper ball in the pouch of the sling. Whirl the sling around your head and let go of the string between your thumb and index finger. Hold the other string tightly. Let a few of the class members try and throw a paper ball at a target. Ask them if it was difficult. (Teaching the Scripture Readers pg.75)

Ammon was probably very practiced at using a sling, but he also had the power of God with him. Ammon cast the stones with so much power and accuracy that he killed several of the evil Lamanites who were maliciously trying to destroy him and his companions.

The wicked Lamanites were astonished at Ammon’s power, but they were also angry because he had slain some of their companions They tried to throw stones at Ammon. They could not hit him because he was under the Lord’s protection, so they attacked him with their clubs. With his sword, Ammon smote off the arm of every man that lifted his club to smite him. The wicked Lamanites ran away in fear.

The servants told the king what had happened, and they showed him the arms that had been smitten off by Ammon. When the king learned of the faithfulness of Ammon in preserving his flocks, and had heard of his great power in contending against those who sought to slay him, he was astonished. The king thought Alma was more than a man, that he must be the Great Spirit.

Lamoni asked the servants where Ammon was. When Lamoni heard that Ammon was carrying out his orders to prepare the horses and chariots, he was even more astonished because of the faithfulness and diligence of Ammon.

When Ammon finished preparing the horses and chariots, he went to the king to ask what the king desired him to do next. The king did not answer him. Ammon, being filled with the Spirit of God, perceived the thoughts of the king. He asked the king why he was marveling at the deeds he had done. King Lamoni was astonished even more because Ammon could discern his thoughts.

King Lamoni asked Ammon if he was the Great Spirit. Ammon told him he was not, that he was just a man. Lamoni wanted to know by what power Ammon was able to do the things he had done.

Ammon taught Lamoni of God and told him that the Lord had given him the power to contend with the wicked Lamanites. Ammon also taught Lamoni many other things about God and about the words of God found in the scriptures. The king believed his words, and he cried unto the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.

• Would the king have listened to Ammon’s message if Ammon had tried to teach him the first time they had met? Why not? The king didn’t know Ammon then. He might not have trusted or believed the message because he didn’t know what Ammon’s intentions were.

• Why did the king believe Ammon after seeing his actions? Through Ammon’s actions the king got to know that Ammon sincerely cared about his welfare and the welfare of his servants. He came to trust Ammon.

When the king cried to the Lord for mercy, he fell to the earth as if he were dead. Lamoni lay as if he were dead for two days and nights. His wife and children mourned over him.

The servants were about to take his body to be buried, but Lamoni’s wife did not believe that her husband was dead. She sent for Ammon. Ammon told the queen that the king was not dead, and that on the next day he would rise.

The next day Lamoni rose according to the words of Ammon. The king said, “Blessed be the name of God.” Then he told the queen that he had seen the redeemer. He was filled with great joy.

Lamoni taught his people about Jesus Christ and God. Many who heard his words were converted. Those who believed were baptized and they became a righteous people.

Conclusion
The Savior once told his disciples, “Feed my sheep”, which means to teach the people and feed them spiritual food. While Ammon was on his mission to the Lamanites, not only did he feed and take care of the king’s flocks he also fed the people of the land spiritually.

• Remind the children of the treats at the beginning of the lesson, and ask if they remember what the treats represent. (The gospel blessings) Explain to the children that the Lord has asked us to share the gospel with others and help feed his children spiritual food so they can enjoy the blessings of the gospel too.

• Do you have to be an adult before you can be a missionary? Latter day prophets have told us that every person in the church should be a missionary. We should all share the gospel with the people we know and associate with.

Activity
Show the container with the sheep inside it. Point out the Kleenex, and explain that it represents the barrier that people put up against things they don’t trust or understand. Put some vegetables onto the Kleenex, and tell the children the vegetables represent the gospel, which is food for our spirits.

Tell the children they are going to do an activity where they will share ways to help feed Heavenly Father’s children. Remind the children of Ammon’s example and how he showed the king that he cared and that he could be trusted. Have the children think of ways they can show neighbors and friends that they care about them and that they are trustworthy. Also have the children think of ways they can be good examples of gospel standards. Have them take turns telling their ideas and then putting a marble or other weighted item on the Kleenex. (Eventually the barrier will break and the food will pour out.) (If the items you chose aren’t very heavy, have the children put several on the Kleenex each time they give an answer. Experiment with this activity before teaching the lesson.)

Explain to the children that each of our actions makes an impression, and when people realize they can trust us and that we care about them, then the barriers will come down and a way will open for us to share with them the spiritual food of the gospel.

Weekly Reading Assignment Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Alma 17:19-39, Alma 18:8-43 and Alma 19:1-36

 

Jan 4 2012

Lesson 15 – Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah

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Lesson 15
Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah

Preparation
• Items needed: a variety of fishing lures with hooks (or you can use the provided pictures of fishing lures), a nut in a shell placed in a small paper bag, chalk and eraser, a paper towel, a dry erase marker, tape or magnets, and two page protectors.
• Print and cut apart the scripture story visual aids. (The scripture story visual aids are from chapter twenty-two of Book of Mormon Stories. ) Also print and cut out the activity visual aids. Put the picture of the fishing pole and the picture of the children in the page protectors.

Attention Activity
Show the children the fishing lures (or the picture of fishing lures), and ask the children if they know what the items are used for.

Explain to the children that fishing lures are designed to attract and catch fish. Some lures are sparkly and shiny and some look like food (like bugs or small fish), but they are all traps. The lures are always attached to a hook. (Show the children the hooks.) When a fish takes the lure or bait they become hooked and can’t get away. Their lives are destroyed and they are devoured.

Satan also uses lures. His lures are appealing to people, and they are meant to entice us to sin. Many times we don’t see the danger or harm in his lures, and then we take the bait. When we take the bait and allow the hook to be set, then we’re caught. In today’s lesson we will learn about some of Satan’s lures and the destruction and damage that his traps can cause.

Scripture Story
Tell the following story using the scripture story visual aids.

As King Mosiah grew old he needed to decide who would replace him as king. His sons were the rightful heirs, but none of them wished to be king. They desired to go on a mission to the Lamanites and teach them the gospel. Instead of having a king, King Mosiah recommended to the people that they set up a system of judges. He gave them many reasons why judges would be better than having a king. The people were convinced of the truth of King Mosiah’s words, and they elected judges. Alma the younger was appointed to be the first chief judge in the land. He was also the leader over the church. His father had grown old and had conferred the leadership upon him. Alma the younger had become a strong and righteous leader in the church.

There was peace in the land for awhile. The members of the church were righteous and they prospered for a time, but then the members began to be lifted up in pride because of their riches.

• How does Satan try to lure people to sin because of riches?

o He tries to get people to think they were better than others because of their riches.
o He tries to get people to be selfish and not use their riches to help others.
o He tries to get people to think they received their riches because of their own ingenuity and not through the blessings of the Lord.
o He tries to tempt people to spend all their time seeking after riches instead of spending their time doing good things for others.

When Alma saw the problems that were occurring in the church, he selected a righteous man to take his place as chief judge. He then went among the people to preach the word of God. He wanted to help them remember their duty, and he wanted to expose Satan’s traps. After he got the church in Zarahemla in order, he began to travel to other cities to preach the word of God. One of the cities he went to was called Ammonihah. Satan had a great hold on the hearts of the people in Ammonihah, and they would not listen to Alma.

The people in Ammonihah had once been obedient members of the church, but they had allowed themselves to be influenced by the teachings of Nehor. Nehor was a Nephite that introduced priestcraft to the people. Priestcraft is when men preach to get gain and the praise of the world. They teach false and enticing things to attract people to follow them. The followers of Nehor taught that God redeems all men, and that he will give everyone eternal life regardless of what they do on the earth.

• Why do you think this type of preaching appealed to people? It meant that people could give into temptation because according to Nehor they could sin and still be saved. The people of Ammonihah allowed Satan to lure them with this false doctrine, and his hook and hold on them was great because of their desire for sin.

The people of Ammonihah reviled against Alma and cast him out of their city because the things he preached were in opposition to what they wanted to do.

Alma was very sorrowful because of the wickedness of the people of Ammonihah. As he travelled towards another city, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. The angel told him to return to the city of Ammonihah. He was to preach to them and warn them that if they did not repent they would be destroyed.

• Do you think it would be hard to go back to a place where you had been treated cruelly? How did Alma react when he heard the news he needed to go back? (Read Alma 8:18) Alma returned speedily to Ammonihah.

• Why did Alma speedily return? He was always obedient to the Lord’s commandments, and he wanted to help the people of Ammonihah. He knew that if they did not repent they would be destroyed, and they would also suffer eternal consequences because of their sins.

When Alma entered into the city of Ammonihah, he was hungry because he had fasted many days for the people. He saw a man and asked him for food. The man said he knew that Alma was a prophet of God. The man had seen an angel in a vision, and the angel told him to receive Alma into his house. The man’s name was Amulek. He fed and took care of Alma at his house for many days.

• What might have taken place during the many days Alma stayed with Amulek? Amulek was probably being taught by Alma.

The Lord told Alma that Amulek also needed to preach and warn the people to repent. Amulek was a wealthy man with high standing in the community. He had many friends and family. He knew the ways of the Lord but had hardened his heart against them until the angel appeared to him. When the people heard Amulek’s story and heard him preach, they were astonished because there was more than one witness against them.

  • Ask the children if they think having more than one witness helped strengthen Alma’s message. Illustrate this concept by doing the following object lesson:

Object Lesson

Reach into the bag you brought and grab the nut. Show the children your closed hand. Explain to the children that there is something in your hand that can be eaten, but the thing that can be eaten has never been touched by human hands. Ask the children if they believe you. Show one of the children what is in your hand without letting anyone else see it. Have that child verify to the class that your statement is true. Ask the class if they believe you now. Show the class the shell covered nut.

• Point out that having more than one witness helped the children believe what you had told them.

Alma and Amulek warned the people that if they did not repent they would be utterly destroyed by the Lamanites. (Read Alma 9:18)

In Ammonihah many kinds of sins were being committed, including greed and corruption in the system of judges. The judges and lawyers often stirred up the people to rioting, disturbances, and all manner of wickedness because they were paid according to the amount of time they worked. They stirred up the people against Alma and Amulek so they might get more employ and more money. A man named Zeezrom was one of their most cunning lawyers. He, and other lawyers, tried to trick Alma and Amulek into saying contradictory things. Alma and Amulek had the spirit with them so they knew the thoughts of those trying to deceive them, and they could not be tricked.

Zeezrom was convinced of the power of God because Alma and Amulek had the power to know his thoughts and intents. Alma and Amulek talked to the people about the judgments of God after death. They told the people that they would be judged according to their works, words, and thoughts. After hearing Alma’s and Amulek’s preaching’s, Zeezrom began to tremble because of his guilt.

Activity
• Zeezrom was guilty of many sins. What kind of sins does Satan try to get people to commit? To use profanity, watch bad movies, disobey parents, cheat, steal, lie, listen to bad music, dress immodestly, use drugs, drink alcohol, to smoke, etc.

Explain to the children that Satan uses lures to try to get people to commit these sins. Put the tackle box on the board and the cut out cards of the lures below the tackle box. Put the fishing pole on the board, and have a child write one of the sins on the fishing line with the dry erase marker. Have the child then choose one of the lures that Satan might use to entice someone to commit that sin.

Tell the children that just as fishing lures are not what they appear to be, Satan’s lures are deceitful and false. They are lies meant to entice people into his traps so he can capture and hook them. (Discuss the ways that the lure is a lie.)

• When a person decides to commit a sin how do they become hooked? Their thoughts may dwell on the sin. They may want to try it again. Each time they do the sin it becomes easier to keep doing it. It then becomes a habit and a regular part of their life. They are hooked, and if they try to pull away it can be physically and emotionally difficult and painful.

Satan wants people to get caught and hooked in his traps so he can destroy their lives.

• In what ways does sin destroy and damage lives? ( (Put the picture of the children on the board next to the fishing pole. With the dry erase marker, have the child write a way that the sin might damage or destroy someone’s life on the picture of the children.) Answers may include: People may not trust them anymore. They lose the guidance, safety, and protection of the Holy Ghost. They may hurt those they care about with their actions and words; their relationships become broken and damaged. Their bodies can become damaged if it is a Word of Wisdom problem. They may end up having their freedoms taken away, such as being put in prison. They will lose the opportunity for eternal life unless they repent.

Erase the sin on the fishing line and have another child write a different sin on the line, choose a matching lure, discuss how the lure is a lie, and then write a consequence on the picture of the children. Continue in this way until all the children have had a turn, or all the lures have been used.

Conclusion
Sin always causes misery and unhappiness, and Satan wants us to believe that once we are caught by his lures and hooks there is no way to escape. But the Lord has provided a way we can escape: it is called repentance, and it may be painful and difficult. Imagine how a fish feels having a hook removed from its mouth. It can be very painful. But imagine how the fish feels if it is set free, back into the water. Removing the hook of sin from our lives may be difficult, but the wonderful feeling of being free from its destructive hold is worth the effort. But it is better if we never allow ourselves to be caught in the first place.

• What do we learn from the story of Alma concerning ways to prevent being caught in Satan’s traps?

o Alma preached the word of God to help expose the traps of Satan to the people. We need to learn the word of God by reading the scriptures and listening to the prophet so we can see and avoid the traps of Satan.
o When the wicked lawyers of Ammonihah tried to trick and tempt Alma and Amulek, the Holy Ghost warned and helped them and Alma and Amulek were not deceived. We need to seek for and listen to the guidance of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost will warn us of danger.

Bear testimony that God provides guidance and help, but we need to seek for and follow His direction in order to avoid the destructive traps that are set by Satan.

Weekly Reading Assignment

Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Alma 8:8–32, Alma 10:31-32, Alma11:20-25, and Alma 12:1-7

Sep 6 2011

Lesson 10: King Benjamin

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Lesson 10
King Benjamin

Preparation

  • Print one copy of the large crossword puzzle and clues from pdf or word and cut out each clue and title. (Or print one copy of the smaller Crossword Puzzle and Clues per child and one copy of the section titles pdf or word.) The crossword puzzle is from the Friend, September 2000, Funstuff.
  •  Items needed: pencils, a marker, a Book of Mormon for each child, magnets or tape, and the Gospel Art Picture “King Benjamin Addresses His People”.

Scripture Story Introduction

Briefly review the previous week’s lesson. Explain that after Enos died, the records of the people were passed down from generation to generation. The Nephites had many battles with the Lamanites through the generations. The Lord warned a Nephite named Mosiah to flee out of the land with as many as would listen to the voice of the Lord. The people fled until they came to a land called the Land of Zarahemla. They discovered a people there called the people of Zarahemla (or Mulekites). The people of Zarahemla had been brought by the hand of the Lord to the promised land. They had come out of Jerusalem at the time King Zedekiah of Judah was carried away captive into Babylon. The Mulekite’s language and religious beliefs had become altered because they had brought no records with them. Mosiah had them taught his language. The people of Zarahemla and the people of Mosiah united. Mosiah was appointed their king.

After King Mosiah died, his son King Benjamin ruled. King Benjamin was a righteous king. King Benjamin ruled the people for many years. When he became old, he called his people together to speak to them and to confer the kingdom upon his son Mosiah. (Display the picture of King Benjamin addressing his people.)

Scripture Story Activity
Hand out a crossword puzzle, crossword puzzle clues (or use the enlarged version of the clues and puzzle and post them on the board when indicated in the lesson),  pencil, and a Book of Mormon to each child. Explain to the children that as they do the crossword puzzle they will learn more about King Benjamin and about his final address to his people.

Instructions: Attach the section title to the board (go in the order given) and read it to the class; also read any explanation that goes with it. Either post the enlarged version of the clues below it (one at a time and in the order given), or have a volunteer read out loud the crossword puzzle clue from their own list. Have a child try to guess what the missing word might be. Direct all the children to look up the scripture reference to see if the guess is correct. Have someone read the whole scripture out loud. Have the children fill in their crossword puzzle space with the correct answer, or have the class fill out the bigger version together on the board. Afterwards, read any further explanations that are given about the answer in the sections below.

King Benjamin called the people together to speak to them before he died.

King Benjamin was getting old and knew that he would die soon. He needed to confer the kingdom upon one of his sons, and he wished to speak to the people before he died. He had his son Mosiah gather the people together.

7 Down) LAND

3 Across) TEMPLE

The temple was of great spiritual consequence to the people, so it was a significant place for King Benjamin to teach and instruct the people.

12 Down) TOWER

The multitude was so great that King Benjamin had a tower built so they could hear his words.

20 Diagonally Up) WRITTEN

Many of the people still could not hear his words as he spoke from the tower, so he had his words written down and sent among the people.

What kind of man was King Benjamin?

We learn more about the kind of man and leader King Benjamin was as he begins his address to his people.

1 Across) LABORED

King Benjamin did not seek for the people’s gold or silver. He labored to serve them. He was a righteous leader.

21 Diagonally Down) COMMANDMENT

5 Across) WICKEDNESS

11 Down) PEACE

There was a serious war between the Lamanites and the Nephites, and King Benjamin was instrumental in driving the Lamanites out of the land. He also taught the Nephites to keep the commandments, and he would not suffer that they commit any manner of wickedness. Because of these things, he established peace in the land.

What are some of the things King Benjamin taught the people during his address?

19 Diagonally Down) ANOTHER

2 Across) SERVICE

Heavenly Father loves his children. When we serve others, we are helping the Lord love and care for his children. The Lord has done much for us, and we can show our love and gratitude to Heavenly Father by serving his children.

6 Across) UNPROFITABLE

The word unprofitable means running at a loss. Everything we have–including our life–our Heavenly Father has given us. The only thing we can give to God in return is our obedience. But when we are obedient, he blesses us and we are indebted to him again. We can never repay our Heavenly Father for the blessings he bestows upon us.

13 Down) HEAVENLY

8 Down) KEEP

4 Across) PROSPERED

22 Diagonally Up) CONTENTIONS

15 Down) SALVATION

An angel had appeared to King Benjamin and had told him of the Savior’s coming in great detail, including of His death and resurrection. Jesus Christ suffered and died for us that we might repent of our sins and live with Heavenly Father again.

9 Down) NAME

When each of us is born into a family, we receive a family name. Ask the children to tell what their family name is.

When we are baptized and become members of the church, we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.  Because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, he is the father of our spiritual rebirth and we become his sons and daughters.

Ask the children what characteristics they inherited from their parents. Tell them we can also become like Christ through our covenant to keep His commandments.

Tell the children to read the scripture in this clue again, and then tell why it is important for us to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. (There is no other name or way where salvation can be attained.)

How did the people respond to King Benjamin’s words?

10 Down) SINS

The people of King Benjamin recognized the need for power beyond their own to overcome their sinful condition. They prayed for mercy and asked Heavenly Father to apply the atoning blood of Christ so they could be forgiven of their sins.

16 Down) REMISSION

17 Down) EVIL

The people experienced a mighty change of heart. They had no more disposition to do evil. They had a desire to convert their lives to the things of God.

14 Down) COVENANT

18 Down) SOUL

• When do we make this kind of covenant? (When we are baptized.)  King Benjamin’s people had been baptized; they were members of the church. When King Benjamin spoke to his people, they gained a greater understanding of the gospel and the atonement. They were touched by the Spirit and had a mighty change of heart.  We must also listen to the prophet, study, learn, and gain understanding so we can experience a mighty change of heart and renew and strengthen our commitment to take upon us the name of Christ.

Conclusion
• How did the people of Zarahemla respond to the call to gather to the temple to hear the words of their prophet and king?

• How do we respond to the call to hear the words of the living prophet? Do we eagerly take advantage of those opportunities to hear and read his words?

• When do we have the opportunity to hear the prophet’s words? During General Conference that is held in October and April.

• Where can we read the prophet’s words? Show the children a copy of the Friend magazine and explain that there is a message from the prophet, or one of his counselors, at the beginning of each magazine. We can also read their words in other church magazines.

We need to listen to and obey the living prophet’s words just as King Benjamin’s people listened to and obeyed his words. As we do this, our hearts can change, and we will have no more disposition to do evil but to do good continually.

Weekly Reading Assignment

Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Mosiah 2:1–41 and Mosiah 5:1-8