Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
Following the prophet will bless me and my family.
As children learn to follow the prophet, they will be blessed and kept spiritually safe, just as Noah’s family was kept safe from the Flood.
Possible Activities
In your own words, tell the story of Noah and the ark (see “Noah and His Family” in Old Testament Stories; see also “Follow the Prophet,” Children’s Songbook, 110–11, verse 3). Help the children act out parts of the story—for example, by pretending to use a tool to build the ark or walking like animals entering the ark.
Here is an interactive prophet song, sorry it is only in color.
Download Song Here
I thought it would be fun for the children to have their own little carrying tote to take home and tell their parents the story of Noah's Ark.
I have two sets of animals. One is the animals already paired up, for those of you who would like to print less and just have animals for the children to tell their stories with their totes.
The other one is a matching game, for those of you who feel like you have time for that.
(Print Two)
Read to the children Moses 8:19–20, emphasizing what the Lord commanded Noah to do. Help the children understand that Noah was a prophet and that his family was saved from the Flood because they followed him. Ask the children if they know who our prophet is today. Show a picture of him, and help the children repeat his name.
Bring to class pictures or objects that represent teachings of the current prophet, such as the scriptures or a picture of a temple. Let the children take turns selecting an item and telling what they know about it. Explain to them what the item represents. Encourage them to draw a picture of themselves obeying what the prophet has taught. Bear your testimony about the blessings of following the prophet.
I love this, but I'm adding a little twist. Before class you need to make sure you cut out the picture of the prophet and put it over the top of the picture of Jesus. The children will draw things on the blank cards what the prophet has taught them (temple, scriptures, etc.). After they have attached all of them around the picture of the prophet, remove the picture to show the Savior. Read D&C 1:38 or bear your testimony that the prophet speaks for the lord.
God will keep His promises to us.
It is important for children to know that God keeps His promises, especially as they prepare to make covenants with Him when they are baptized.
Possible Activities
Invite the children to draw pictures of rainbows. Read to them Genesis 9:15–16, and ask them to listen for the word remember. Invite them to hold up their rainbows when they hear the word. Explain that rainbows are reminders of the promises God has made to us.
I created something for my etsy shop, that might help with this. It's in B&W so they can color it, or could glue yarn or beads, noodles, different textures to the different stripes in the rainbow. (Click on the picture to take you there.)
Talk with the children about some of God’s promises—for example, that we can return to Heavenly Father if we follow Jesus Christ or that God will send the Holy Ghost to comfort us. Bear your testimony that God always keeps His promises.
The only way to reach heaven is by following Jesus Christ.
The people of Babel thought they could reach heaven by building a tower rather than by living the gospel of Jesus Christ. How can you help the children understand that following the Savior is the only way back to our Heavenly Father?
Possible Activities
Tell the story of the Tower of Babel in your own words, or read the story found in “The Tower of Babel” (in Old Testament Stories). Encourage the children to help you by sharing what they know about the story.
(Click on the picture to take you to the online primary manual so you can watch this movie)
Let the children build a tower out of blocks or other objects. Then show the children a picture of the Savior, and ask them which is the way to return to Heavenly Father—building a tower or following Jesus Christ? Invite the children to tell about things they can do to follow the Savior.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
Following the prophet will bless me and my family.
Children are growing up in a wicked world, similar in some ways to the world during Noah’s time. Noah’s experience can give them confidence that they can find spiritual safety as they follow the prophet.
Possible Activities
Help the children choose verses from Genesis 6:14–22; 7–8 that they could depict in a drawing. Use their drawings to teach them the story of Noah. Ask the children to share what they learn from the story.
Show a picture of Noah (see Gospel Art Book, nos. 7–8) and the current prophet. Help the children search Moses 8:16, 19–20, 23–24 to find things Noah taught that our Church leaders still teach today. How are we blessed when we obey these teachings?
Share something that the current prophet has recently taught. Ask the children to write something the prophet has taught on strips of paper, and help them arrange the strips into the shape of an ark. How are these teachings like the ark that Noah built?
Here is an ark puzzle they can write things on the back of before they put it together.
We need to remember our covenants.
When we are baptized, we make covenants with God to obey His commandments. In Genesis 9:15–17, the rainbow is identified as a reminder of God’s covenant. These verses can inspire the children to seek ways to remember their covenants with God.
Possible Activities
Show the children something you have that reminds you of something important in your life, such as a wedding ring, a picture, or a journal. Let the children share their own examples. Read together Genesis 9:15–17 (see also Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 9:21–25 [in the Bible appendix]). What does Heavenly Father want us to think about when we see a rainbow?
Remind the children of the covenants they made when they were baptized and that they renew each time they take the sacrament (see Mosiah 18:8–10; Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79). Let the children draw or create something to remind them of their covenants.
I created something for my etsy shop, that might help with this. It's in B&W so they can color it, or could glue yarn or different textures to the different stripes in the rainbow. If I was using this for an activity days craft I would buy the wooden frames at the dollar store and let the kids paint them and wrap embroidery floss around the frame to match the rainbow. They could even write the scripture in Genesis on the back.
The only way to reach heaven is by following Jesus Christ.
While people today might not try to build towers in order to reach heaven, many try to find peace and happiness by following paths other than the one Jesus Christ has established. How might you use the story of the Tower of Babel to teach this principle?
Possible Activities
Ask the children to share what they know about the story of the Tower of Babel (see Genesis 11:1–9). According to Helaman 6:28, why did the people of Babel build the tower? Why was building this tower the wrong way to reach heaven? What advice would we give to the people of Babel?
Invite the children to search 2 Nephi 31:20–21 and Helaman 3:28 to find the right way to reach heaven. Bear your testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ.
Draw a ladder on the chalk board, tape the picture of the God head at the top. Pass out he empty strips of paper and have the children look up the scriptures, and add them to the ladder.
I would like to introduce everyone to a new and fantastic resource. Click on the picture to take you to their amazing page.
Hope you enjoy teaching.
Love
Crystal