Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
Sharing my testimony can bless others.
Jethro rejoiced when Moses shared what the Lord had done for the children of Israel. This story can inspire the children you teach to share with others what they know is true.
Possible Activities
Read to the children the following words from Exodus 18:8: “And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done.” Ask the children if they remember what the Lord did to help the children of Israel escape from Egypt. (To help them remember, show pictures or activity pages from previous lessons). What things has the Lord done to help us? Help the children know that like Moses, we can tell other people about the great things the Lord has done for us.
If you didn't get the chance to use this coloring book, it would be a great way to review the things the Lord has done for the Children of Israel. And you can just send it home if you don't have time to do all of it in class.
Click on the picture to take you to the page to print it.
Primary class can be a great place for children to practice sharing a simple testimony. Share your testimony with them, and help them share with each other gospel truths that they believe.
(click on the picture to take you to the page to download it)
God gives commandments because He wants me to be happy.
Commandments are Heavenly Father’s instructions for finding peace in this life and joy in eternity. How can you encourage the children to obey God’s commandments?
Possible Activities
Show pictures from “Moses on Mount Sinai” (in Old Testament Stories), and invite the children to share what they know about the story. Help them understand any parts of the story they aren’t familiar with.
Click on picture to take you to the movie and story.
As you read several of the commandments from Exodus 20:3–17 to the children (or paraphrase them in words they can understand), invite them to give you a thumbs up if the commandment is about something we should do and a thumbs down if it is about something we should not do. Share your testimony about the happiness that comes from obeying God’s commandments (see Mosiah 2:41).
After you make a match you can have the kids put there thumbs up or down like the primary manual suggests, or you can just talk about that commandment.
Sing with the children a song about how Heavenly Father blesses us when we obey the commandments, such as “Keep the Commandments” (Children’s Songbook, 146–47). Invite the children to listen to the words to find out what blessings we can receive when we obey.
Music is so powerful, as well as small motor and touch, for these little guys.
Here is a coloring page, but you could also lead a class in doing it together.
I can honor my parents.
Honoring parents involves more than just obeying them. Help the children understand other ways they can honor their parents.
Possible Activities
Help the children learn the phrase “Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12). If needed, explain that to “honor” someone can mean to show respect for them or to bring them happiness. What did Jesus do to honor His Heavenly Father? How did He honor His mother? (see Luke 2:48–51; John 19:26–27). Help the children think of things they can do to honor their parents, and invite them to act out their ideas.
Invite the children to make a thank-you card for their parents. They could write or draw inside the card something they will do to honor their parents.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
I can help “bear the burden” of doing the Lord’s work.
Moses learned that trying to lead the children of Israel all by himself was “not good” (Exodus 18:17). Loving and serving one another can help ease the burdens of our leaders.
Possible Activities
Invite the children to draw many circles on the board to represent members of the ward. Draw a circle labeled bishop. Why would it be a problem if the bishop were the only one helping everyone else? Read together Exodus 18:13–26 to find out what advice Jethro gave when Moses was trying to do everything himself. Ask the children to label other circles to represent other ward leaders and members who help the bishop serve others. How do these other leaders and members make the bishop’s burden lighter? How can we do the same for our ward leaders? for our parents at home?
Senior Primary, the best place for object lessons(:
Here is my first idea:
Have the circles cut out and placed on the board.
In a backpack have books, cans, rocks, or whatever you have on hand. Have them labeled, with the jobs below, like clean the church.
Open the backpack for the children and show them what is inside. Doesn't that sound like a lot to carry?
Have someone take the Bishop circle and put it on their chest (like a name tag), and then have them put the bag-pack on. Then follow the Primary manual:Why would it be a problem if the bishop were the only one helping everyone else? Read together Exodus 18:13–26 to find out what advice Jethro gave when Moses was trying to do everything himself.
Have the children put circles on themselves as name tags (can have more than one) and divide the jobs (the weight) in the bag amongst them. Than ask how we can help our leaders or parents.
Help the children make a list of leaders in your ward. As a class, select one and discuss what this person does to accomplish the Lord’s work and what the children can do to help.
It is important to put the Lord first in my life.
We all have things that we might be tempted to put before God in our lives. How can you help the children understand what it means to put Heavenly Father first?
Possible Activities
Read together Exodus 20:1–7, and explain that anything we put before God in our lives can be like the “others gods” and “graven image[s]” mentioned in verses 3–4. Ask the children why Heavenly Father wants us to put Him first. What blessings does He promise us if we do? Ask the children how we can show Heavenly Father that He is more important than anything else in our lives.
Think of a task that has an important first step, such as washing our hands before we eat or putting on socks before putting on shoes. What could happen if we didn’t do the important things first? How is this like putting Heavenly Father first in our lives? Share your testimony of how putting God first has blessed you, and invite the children to share their testimonies, too.
Sing a song about Heavenly Father, such as “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” (Children’s Songbook, 228–29). What do we learn from the song about why it is important to put Heavenly Father first in our lives?
God gives commandments because He wants me to be happy.
The children will be more likely to keep the commandments if they see them as expressions of God’s love and as opportunities to express their love for Him.
Possible Activities
Prepare strips of paper with the commandments in Exodus 20:3–17 on them. Write the numbers one through ten on the board, and invite the children to put the strips in the correct order on the board. Talk about how we can follow these commandments. For ideas, they could look at the Gospel Topics article “Ten Commandments” (topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
They aren't strips, but they will work.
Invite the children to draw pictures of key words from the commandments to help them remember them.
Tell the story about Chloe from Sister Carole M. Stephens’s message “If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 118–20). How does the story help us understand why the Lord gives us commandments? How does being obedient show our love for God?