Invite Sharing
Display pictures of the events in Daniel 1–6 (see this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families or Gospel Art Book, nos. 23, 24, 25, 26). Ask the children to share what they know about events in the pictures. Invite them to share a time when they chose to follow the Savior, like Daniel and his friends did.
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
Heavenly Father wants me to take care of my body.
Daniel and his friends refused the meat and wine the king offered them because they wanted to follow God’s commandments and avoid harming their bodies. Today the Word of Wisdom helps us avoid substances that would harm our bodies.
Possible Activities
Share with the children “Daniel and His Friends” (in Old Testament Stories), or summarize Daniel 1:1–17. Invite the children to act out the story. Help them understand how the Lord blessed Daniel and his friends for choosing to obey Him (see verse 17). What blessings do we receive from God when we choose the right?
(Click on the picture to be taken to the church's website to watch this.)
Show the children pictures of things the Word of Wisdom teaches us to eat or use and things it tells us not to eat or use (see Doctrine and Covenants 89). Invite the children to pretend to eat the good things and say no to the bad things. Testify that the Lord blesses us when we care for our bodies. Sing together a song about caring for our bodies, such as “The Lord Gave Me a Temple” or “The Word of Wisdom” (Children’s Songbook, 153, 154–55). What does this song teach us?
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They color the daily shapes when they have completed their health goal for that day.
I want to be totally honest, my home printer didn't print this very well, you can see from the picture. But, if you send it to a copy center, I bet it will be much better.
God will bless me as I choose to follow Jesus Christ.
The book of Daniel contains stories of people who chose to follow God’s commandments even when doing so was hard. How will you help the children learn from these examples?
Possible Activities
Find pictures of the stories in Daniel 1, 3, and 6 (see this week’s activity page, this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families, or Gospel Art Book, nos. 23, 25, 26). Place the pictures facedown on the board or on the floor. Invite a child to turn over one of the pictures, and help him or her tell the story it represents. (For help, see “Daniel and His Friends,” “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,” and “Daniel and the Lions’ Den” in Old Testament Stories.) After each story, discuss questions like these: What did the people do to follow the Lord? How did the Lord bless them? Share how you have been blessed for choosing to follow Jesus Christ. Ask the children to share their experiences.
Click on the image, to be take to the churches website to watch this.
Invite the children to act out situations where they can show their faith in God by keeping His commandments. These could include being kind to a sibling, telling someone about the Savior, or praying each night. Show a picture of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the fiery furnace (see Gospel Art Book, no. 25), and ask the children to count the people in the furnace. Read Daniel 3:24–25 to find out who else was in the furnace. Share your testimony that the Lord is with us as we follow Him.
Before class, cut the puzzle line. Read the scripture with the larger piece, have the children count how many people. Then have a child(ren) add the other half of the puzzle. Complete the scripture and again have the children count how many people there are. Testify that we are not alone, when we keep the commandments.
Heavenly Father wants me to pray often.
Daniel was willing to risk his life so he could pray to Heavenly Father each day. How can you help the children develop a similar desire to pray?
Possible Activities
Tell the story in Daniel 6 (see “Daniel and the Lions’ Den” in Old Testament Stories), and invite the children to draw a picture of the story. Ask them to use their pictures to tell the story to each other. Why does Heavenly Father want us to pray to Him? Share why prayer is important to you.
Talk with the children about times when they can pray, such as when they are scared, when they make mistakes, or when they need help in school. Why is it good to pray in these situations? Teach the children that no matter where they are, they can always pray in their hearts.
Click on this image to be take to the page to print this.
Sing together a song about prayer, such as “We Bow Our Heads” (Children’s Songbook, 25). Talk with the children about things we can pray for.
Click on this image to be take to a page to print it.
Click on the image.
My friend Mitzi created a book. You might recognize her name from comefollowmekid.com Click on the image to be taken to Amazon, to pre-order it.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
I can do what is right even when it’s hard.
The stories in Daniel 1, 3, and 6 can give the children you teach courage and faith to make good choices, even when they feel alone.
Possible Activities
Draw on the board several arrows all pointing in the same direction and then one arrow pointing in the opposite direction. How are Daniel and his friends like this one arrow? Invite the children to give examples from the stories in Daniel 1, 3, and 6 (see “Daniel and His Friends,” “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,” and “Daniel and the Lions’ Den” in Old Testament Stories). Ask the children why they think it might have been hard for Daniel and his friends to make good choices. How did the Lord bless them for choosing the right?
Assign 4 children an arrow. You can cut out the 4 arrows at the top and hand it to them.
Have the 4 children stand up in a line looking at you, the teacher.
Explain that when they see their arrow, they will start walking to that side of the classroom.
Hold up the first strip of paper. Then have them come back to the center and hold up another strip, until you have been through all of the strips.
Then ask them how they felt when they were the only one walking opposite of the other children. How did it feel to even have one person come with you?
Compare the Bible stories about Daniel being alone in the lion's den, and the 3 boys in the fire. How much courage would that take to stand alone?
Help the children think of situations when they might be pressured to make a wrong choice. Invite them to share experiences when they were blessed for choosing the right even when it was hard. Sing together a song related to this topic, such as “Choose the Right” (Hymns, no. 239).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth.
When Daniel gave his inspired interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he saw a stone “cut out of the mountain without hands” (Daniel 2:45). This stone represents The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is destined to fill the earth.
Possible Activities
Read Daniel 2:31–35, 44–45 with the children, and invite them to draw a picture of what Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. Ask the children what they learn from these verses about the stone in the dream. Explain that this stone represents The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ask the children to name some things Heavenly Father did to set up His Church in the latter days. To give them ideas, show pictures of events in the Restoration of the Church (see Gospel Art Book, nos. 90–95).
Have the children come up with ideas to put around rock.
Give each child a crumpled-up piece of paper to represent the stone in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Ask each child to share how he or she knows that the Church was restored by God. As the children share, invite them to give their “stones” to you. Wrap the stones together using tape or string to form a large stone. Testify that as we strengthen our testimonies and share the gospel with others, we unite our faith to help the kingdom of God “[fill] the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35).
I was thinking, if I was a senior primary teacher, I would really want to make this lesson memorable. I found a stone/rock and wrote the churches name on it, to represent the scripture. I would give each child a ball of play-doh, (probably half of what is in that container) and then as they bear their testimony about the restored church they can wrap that play-doh around the rock, and someone else (with a different color of play-doh) can add their testimony and their play-doh to it. When everyone is done, bear your testimony that as we unite our faith, the gospel will grow, till it fills the Earth.
This is a complimentary scripture to Daniel 2:35, very similar, might be good for the children to compare them.
Encourage Learning at Home
Invite the children to do something this week that shows their faith in Jesus Christ.