1 and 2 Thessalonians
“Perfect That Which Is Lacking in Your Faith”
As you prayerfully read 1 and 2 Thessalonians with the children in mind, you will find principles that they need to understand.
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
As I follow God’s commandments, I will be ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
We don’t know when the Savior will return to the earth. But we can be watching for Him and preparing for His coming.
Possible Activities
Invite a mother to briefly share what it was like to wait for her baby to be born. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:2–3, and tell the children that Jesus Christ will come to earth again, but no one knows exactly when—just as a mother doesn’t know exactly when her baby will be born.
Before class hide theses pieces around the room. When teaching, show the first uncompleted picture. Say the words “Jesus Christ will come to earth again", read or explain the scripture in Read 1 Thessalonians 5:2–3. Then have them look for the pieces to the picture. Have them complete the picture and talk about Jesus coming to Earth again.
This has been fixed, "thank you" to everyone who lets me know when I need to fix something.
Ask the children to talk about a time when they prepared for a trip or event. What did they do to prepare? Bring a suitcase or bag, and let the children pretend to pack it to get ready for a trip. With each item they pretend to pack, help the children think of one way we can prepare for Jesus Christ to come again.
You can encourage the students to sort out the things that will prepare us for the second coming and the things that will prepare us for a trip. The things for the trip you can put in the suit case the other things you can lay out on the the floor and talk about them. The Book of Mormon works for both(:
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:6 to the children, and explain that if we are not preparing for Jesus to come again, it’s like we have fallen asleep and we won’t be ready for Him. Invite the children to pretend they are asleep. Explain that if we do prepare, it’s like we are awake and waiting for Him. Invite them to wake up.
This is great movement for the littles, move the chairs so the children have room to lay on the ground. Have the children go to sleep and say "this time when you wake up you are going to pretend to read your scriptures...wake up! Ok back to sleep, now this time when you wake up you are going to pretend to serve someone...wake up! Have them act out the things that will help them prepare for the second coming. Bear a simple testimony that if they are doing these things they are preparing for the Savior to come.
Sing together a song about the Second Coming, such as “When He Comes Again” (Children’s Songbook, 82–83).
Click on image to be taken to the churches website to watch this song.
Click on the image to be taken to Etsy.
Paul taught that an apostasy would happen before Jesus Christ comes again.
The Church that Jesus Christ established eventually fell into apostasy, meaning that priesthood authority and gospel truths were taken from the earth. Paul prophesied that this apostasy, or “falling away,” would happen before the Savior’s Second Coming.
Possible Activities
After reading 2 Thessalonians 2:3 with the children, let them help you build a tower out of plastic cups or blocks. Tell the children that the cups or blocks represent important parts of the true Church, such as gospel truths, the priesthood, temple sealings, and prophets. After Paul and the other Apostles died, these things were lost, and the true Church was not on the earth for many years. Invite a child to knock the tower over, and explain that this was called the Apostasy or “falling away.” When Jesus Christ brought His Church back, it was called the Restoration.
Here are some videos that show how you can teach this, it's really fun, but if your students are very little they may not understand this, so do as the primary manual says and just let them stack cups and knock them down. There are some printable's below that you can attach to some cups.
Click on this image to be taken to Etsy. I recommend the Bracelet for older children, it's a little harder to slide it with one hand, but a fun challenge(:
Display a Book of Mormon and pictures of the prophet and a temple. Invite the children to say “Apostasy” when you hide the items in a bag and “Restoration” when you bring the items back out.
Sing songs that teach truths that were taken away during the Apostasy and restored in our day, such as “The Church of Jesus Christ,” “The Priesthood Is Restored,” and “I Love to See the Temple” (Children’s Songbook, 77, 89, 95).
Click on the image to be take to the video of this song.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
As I follow God’s commandments, I will be ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Paul’s counsel can help us be ready and watching for that great day when the Savior comes to earth again.
Possible Activities
Invite a child to read 1 Thessalonians 5:1–6 while the other children follow along. After each verse, ask a child to summarize what he or she thinks the verse is saying. You may want to explain that “the day of the Lord” means the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Why is the Second Coming compared to a thief in the night or a woman about to have a baby?
Tell the children to imagine that the Savior will be visiting your class sometime today. How can we prepare for His visit? Help the children think of things we can do to prepare ourselves for the day Jesus Christ returns. For example, we can repent, forgive, improve our relationships with our family, follow the prophet, seek to have the Holy Ghost’s influence, and keep our covenants. Encourage the children to choose one thing they will do to prepare themselves to receive the Savior at His Coming.
Click on the image to be taken to the churches website.
Paul taught that an apostasy would occur before Jesus Christ comes again.
If the children understand that Jesus Christ’s Church and His gospel were taken away from the earth during the Great Apostasy, the necessity of the Restoration will become clearer to them.
Possible Activities
Invite one of the children to read 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3. According to these verses, what had to happen before “the day of Christ,” which means the Second Coming? What does the phrase “a falling away” mean? Make sure that the children understand that it means the Great Apostasy, which occurred after the deaths of the Savior’s Apostles. You might want to share information from “Apostasy” in the Guide to the Scriptures (scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Help the children list on the board some of the truths and blessings we enjoy because of the gospel. Erase these things one by one, and ask the children how their lives would be different without these things. Explain that these truths were lost during the Great Apostasy. Why was it important that the Church of Jesus Christ be restored to the earth in the latter days? Invite the children to “restore” or rewrite the truths and blessings on the board.
This is better for Senior Primary. Watch the videos and see if you would like to teach it this way, while incorporating the teachings form the primary manual. You can print the pictures in the Junior primary section.
Click on this image to be taken to Etsy. I recommend the Bracelet for older children, it's a little harder to slide it with one hand, but a fun challenge(:
Heavenly Father wants me to work.
How can you help the children see work as a blessing, not something to avoid?
Possible Activities
Invite the children to take turns reading verses from 2 Thessalonians 3:7–13 and look for the problem the Saints were facing. Why does Heavenly Father want us to work? What would happen if we never learned to work hard? Let the children take turns acting out simple chores while the other children guess what they are doing.
Invite the children to talk about a time when they worked hard on a task, a project, or a goal. How did they feel about themselves when they finished? What does it mean to “be not weary in well doing”? (2 Thessalonians 3:13). What helps us keep going when work feels hard?