The prophet Joseph Smith gave his life to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ. This week's lesson honors his life and invites your family to reflect on his life.
LESSON BUNDLE DOWNLOADS:
➤ L E S S O N
Open the lesson with a song and a prayer.
🎶 O P E N I N G S O N G : "Praise to the Man"
➤ P R E P A R A T I O N
You will need to print and cut out the “Joseph Smith” puzzle prior to the lesson.
➤ I N T R O D U C T I O N
Invite the children to work together in a group to assemble the Joseph Smith puzzle included in this lesson bundle.
Once the puzzle is completed, invite the children to return to their seats and ask the following questions:
1) Do you know who this is? (Joseph Smith.)
2) What do you know about Joseph Smith? (Allow children to share what they know about Joseph Smith.)
Explain: God called Joseph Smith to be a Prophet and to restore Jesus Christ’s church to the earth in the latter days! Today, we are going to learn about Joseph Smith and some of the important things that God asked Joseph Smith to do.
🎥 V I D E O : "Joseph Smith the Prophet| Animated Scripture Lesson for Kids"
Say: “Now we are going to watch a video about Joseph Smith the prophet. See if you can remember something that Joseph Smith was called to do.”
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) Why did Joseph Smith go into the woods to pray near his home? (He wanted to know which church to join, and he read a scripture that said to ask God.)
2) Can you remember some of the things that Joseph Smith did as the prophet of the restoration? (He translated the Book of Mormon and got it printed, he organized the church, he restored the priesthood, and he restored the temple ordinances.)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Read the following scriptures and discuss the questions that follow.
I give unto you my servant Joseph to be a presiding elder over all my church, to be a translator, a revelator, a seer, and prophet.
1) Who is speaking in this verse? (The Lord is speaking.)
2) What are some of the things that God called Joseph Smith to do? (Be a presiding elder, a translator, a revelator, and a prophet.)
[Read the first part of D&C 135:3]
Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.
1) What is “salvation?” (It means that we overcome sin and death through Jesus Christ.)
2) What are some things that Joseph Smith did to bring salvation to others? (He brought people to Jesus Christ by translating the Book of Mormon, restoring the church, restoring the priesthood to perform ordinances such as baptism, and he taught others about Jesus Christ.)
3) How has Joseph Smith’s works helped to bring you closer to Jesus Christ? (Discuss.)
[Read the first part of D&C 135:1]
To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith the Patriarch. They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about five o’clock p.m.
1) How did Joseph Smith die? (He was shot and killed by an angry mob while he was in Carthage Jail.)
2) What is a “martyr?” (Someone who is killed because of their beliefs.)
➤ A C T I V I T Y
[Pass out the coloring page]
Invite the children to color the Joseph Smith coloring page or to complete the Joseph Smith dot-to-dot activity. Use this time to talk about how you have been blessed by the work that Joseph Smith did.
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
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