This week we are studying the vision of the tree of life. This scriptures story is so rich in imagery and there are so many layers of lessons to be found. It is one of our kids favorite parts of scripture! As we considered what doctrines to pull out we decided to focus on REPENTANCE. This is HOW we stay on the path and hold to the rod of iron. We will mess up, our kids will mess up. They won't be perfect and that is ok! That is WHY we have a Savior, so we could mess up, repent, and be able to keep holding on and pressing forward. This week's lesson bundle will focus on this truth found in Lehi's vision.
Download this week's Lesson Bundle HERE!
➤ 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 : "Come Unto Jesus"
➤ I N T R O D U C T I O N
Hold up an image of Jesus Christ. Invite all children to stand and face the image. Now invite children to turn around (so that they are facing away from the image). Ask them how they feel when they are turned away from Jesus Christ. Ask them what they want to do (turn around).
Now invite children to turn around and face Jesus Christ again.
Explain: “When we are not keeping the commandments, we don’t want Jesus Christ to see what we are doing and we turn our hearts away from Him. But when we are keeping the commandments, we turn our hearts towards Jesus again.”
🎥 V I D E O : "Diego the Dune Buggy: A Story About Testimony"
Say: “We are going to watch a video about something called repentance. After the video, I’ll ask you what repentance means. See if you can remember what repentance means.”
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) What does it mean to repent? (Turning around.)
2) What is it called when we are going away from God? (Sin.)
3) What is it called when we are going towards God? (Righteousness.)
4) If we get really far away from Heavenly Father, can we still go back to Him? (Yes.)
5) Who helped us so that we can always go back to Heavenly Father? (Jesus Christ.)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Read the following scriptures together and discuss the questions that follow.
1) Who did Lehi see in this verse? (Sariah, Sam, and Nephi.)
2) Did they know where to go? (No.)
1) What did Lehi do when he saw Sariah, Sam, and Nephi? (Told them to come to the tree and eat the fruit.)
1) What did they do after Lehi called to them? (They went to Lehi and ate the fruit.)
2) What are some times when we feel like we want to go to Heavenly Father? (Discuss)
1) Who did Lehi look for next? (Laman and Lemuel.)
1) Did Laman and Lemuel go to Lehi and eat the fruit? (No, they would not partake of the fruit.)
2) What are some times when we don’t feel like we want to go to Heavenly Father? (Discuss.)
3) What can we do if we feel like this? (We can repent, and turn our hearts to Heavenly Father.)
➤ A C T I V I T Y
Play “Arrows and Ladders.” Cut out the race cars and fold on the dotted lines. Cut out the numbers and place them in a bag or cup. Take turns drawing numbers to move forward. If you land at the bottom of a ladder, you can climb up! If you land at the start of an arrow, you have to slide down. First to the finish line is the winner! Use this activity to start a discussion about going towards Heavenly Father (righteousness), going away from Heavenly Father (sin), and repentance (turning around).
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
'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.