As Joseph Smith suffered in liberty jail, and as he pondered over the suffering of the Saints while he was being imprisoned , he cried out to the Lord asking, "Oh God, where art thou?" Many of us can relate to Joseph and his despair. The Lord's answer is profound, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." Our afflictions, in the eternal scheme, will be but a small moment. Often these trials, and how we choose to deal with them, form our character and mold us into what our Father wants us to become.
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 : "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus"
➤ P R E P A R A T I O N
You will need several sheets of printer paper.
➤ I N T R O D U C T I O N
Hold up the sheet of paper, and tell the children that you are going to make a paper airplane. Explain that in order to make the paper airplane, you are going to have to bend the paper. Explain that bending the paper is kind of like when we have trials in our lives. Each time you make a new fold, have the children say “ouch” together.
Now pass out a sheet of paper to each child and invite them to make their own paper airplanes. Display all the finished airplanes together where everyone can see them, then discuss the following questions.
1) What did the paper become? (A paper airplane!)
2) Why did the paper need folds in it? (So it could become an airplane!)
3) What does Heavenly Father want us to become? (He wants us to be like Him and have a fullness of joy!)
4) Why do we need trials? (Because they help us to become more like Heavenly Father.)
Explain: A trial is when we have to experience something that is hard for us. A trial might make us feel sad, or it might make us feel angry, or hurt, or scared. Our trials can be very hard right now, but later, if we have faith in Jesus Christ, we will see that our trials can be for our good, like the folds in the paper airplane. And Heavenly Father will help us in our trials.
🎥 V I D E O : "The Stonecutter | A Story About Trials and Adversity"
Now we are going to watch a video about a stonecutter! Watch and see if you can remember some of the things that the stonecutter was making!
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) What are some of the things the stonecutter was making? (A duck, a digger, a grandmother, a bumble bee, and some children!)
2) Why did the rocks have to have pieces broken off? (So that they could become something new!)
3) Who is the stonecutter kind of like? (Heavenly Father.)
4) What does Heavenly Father want to help us become? (He wants us to learn and grow and become like Him!)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Read the following scriptures and discuss the questions that follow.
My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
1) How long will we live after we are resurrected? (Forever!)
2) How long will our trials last? (A small moment. Not very long compared to forever!)
Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.
2) Who can help us in our trials? (Our friends can help us, and we can help others!)
And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.
1) Who is this scripture talking about? (Jesus Christ.)
2) Did Jesus Christ experience trials? (Yes.)
3) Why did Jesus Christ go through trials and suffering? (Discuss.)
➤ A C T I V I T Y
[Pass out coloring page]
Invite the children to color the scene from the video. Use this time to talk about trials, and how trials can be for our good.
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
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'Come, Follow Me' is a resource offered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is designed to be used in the home to support personal and family scripture study to build faith in Heavenly Father and His plan of salvation and in the Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Come, Follow Me is self-contained and adequate, when used properly. Products and materials designed to supplement this resource, though they may be helpful in some instances, are not necessary for a successful home study program.