Opposition is part of God’s Plan of Salvation. It contributes to our learning, growth, and our ability to experience joy. Whenever we encounter opposition, we have a choice. If we act with faith in the Lord, opposition can teach us, refine us, and strengthen us.
At first glance, this might seem like an overwhelming topic for small children. But the principle of opposition is already operating in their lives (and strengthening them) every day! This lesson will help children to recognize the many different ways that opposition helps us to learn and to grow.
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➤ 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 : "I Am a Child of God"
➤ I N T R O D U C T I O N
Ask children to call out the opposite of each of these words after you say them: “Up” (down), “hot” (cold), “big” (small), “fast” (slow), “darkness” (light).
Explain that Heavenly Father wants us to have opposites because they teach us a lot and help us to grow!
Invite children to lie down on the ground. Explain that gravity is pulling them down to the earth. Invite them to lie there for a minute and feel the power of gravity holding them down - their arms, their legs, their head, etc.
Now ask the children:
Are you strong enough to stand up, even when gravity is trying to pull you down?
Invite the children to show their strength by slowly standing up!
Now discuss the following questions:
1) What power was pulling you down? (Gravity.)
2) What power did you use to stand up? (Their muscles!)
3) How did you muscles get stronger? (From exercise!)
4) What would happen if you tried to stand up in outer space where there is no gravity?
(Nothing. You would just be kicking your legs while you were floating around!)
Explain: We need gravity to stand up! Gravity has to pull us down first, and then can we learn to stand up! In the scriptures, we learn that things that are hard, can actually help us learn and help us grow stronger, just like gravity can help make our muscles stronger!
🎥 V I D E O : "Opposition in All Things: Animated Scripture Lesson for Kids"
Say: “We are going to watch a video about Anna and her new kite. Watch and see how she uses opposites to get her kite to fly!”
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) What was pulling the kite away? (The wind.)
2) What was pulling the kite back? (Anna/the string.)
3) Were these things pulling the kite the same way? Or opposite ways? (Opposite.)
4) Could the kite go up without the wind? (No.) Why not? (Discuss.)
5) How can hard things help us to learn and grow? (Discuss.)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Read the following scriptures together and discuss the questions that follow.
1) Who is speaking? (Lehi is speaking.)
2) Why did Lehi say that we need opposition? (So that there could be righteousness and joy!)
3) Can you think of a time when you felt sick and then you felt better? (Yes.)
4) When you felt better, what was it like to finally feel good again? (Discuss how good it felt!)
Explain that even though sickness is hard, it can help us see how great a blessing it is to have a body and to feel well! Hard things in our lives are sometimes, like being sick. But the hard times can help us learn and grow, and they can help us to feel great joy when the hard times are over!
➤ A C T I V I T Y
Pass out the coloring pages.
Invite each child to design and color their own kite. If the time and supplies are available, children can also cut out their kites and add their own string or ribbon. If they wish to do so, it would work best to print the kites on a tick piece of card stock.
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
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