Sept 15-21, Come Follow Me, Youth Lesson helps, with Free Print, Sunday School
- redwallace
- Sep 10
- 4 min read
I love starting out a lesson with an object lesson.
Pull out a blank piece of paper. If you want to have fun with this, tell one of the students to catch it while you throw it at them. It won't fly very well. They will probably just look at you like you are crazy. I get that a lot(: Then take that same paper and, as you are folding it, talk about how we are asked to do hard things or we have a trial in our lives that folds us right in half, or it feels like that. All but breaks us.
Say something like this while you are still folding: Maybe our parents are going through a divorce, or you don't have any friends, or you got a bad grade, or Someone is being unkind to you. But you turn to the Savior, you pray for help. It doesn't seem like He is taking away your trials, but He is changing you, and all these painful folds turn you into someone who is capable and strong, who can do the impossible with the Savior's help. Then throw the airplane (asking the same student to catch it).
Some questions for a good discussion: Is God sending you Trials? (Is it part of God's plan to make your parents divorce or make sure you don't have any friends?) I personally believe that we live in a fallen world; it's God who helps us through our trials. He doesn't start His day saying, "Who can I inflict today?".
Another idea from last week's lesson, all these lessons on Trials.... Is God preparing us for something? (:
Just click on the image to take you there.
This week's purchase-able lesson help is very visual, so if you don't want to do an object lesson, you will be fine.
Here is the Free Print for this week. It will make more sense after you read the lesson.
Blessings come after trials of faith.
In many ways, participating in Zion’s Camp was a trial of faith. The journey was long, the weather was hot, and food and water were sometimes scarce. And after all they endured, Zion’s Camp was still unsuccessful in returning the Saints to their land. Imagine you had the opportunity to write a letter to a member of Zion’s Camp whose faith in the Lord was shaken by his or her experience. What might you say to encourage this person? What truths do you find in Doctrine and Covenants 103:5–7, 12–13, 36; 105:1–6, 9–19 that could help?
Then you might think about a more modern example of a trial like Zion’s Camp—such as a missionary who works hard, but no one joins the Church because of his or her efforts. Based on what you’ve studied, how would you help that missionary see that his or her mission was still successful?
How has the Lord blessed you “after much tribulation”? (Doctrine and Covenants 103:12).
See also 1 Nephi 11:16–17; Alma 7:11–12; Doctrine and Covenants 6:33–36; 84:88; 101:35–36; David A. Bednar, “On the Lord’s Side: Lessons from Zion’s Camp,” Ensign, July 2017, 26–35, or Liahona, July 2017, 14–23; Topics and Questions, “Endure to the End,” Gospel Library; “How Firm a Foundation,” Hymns, no. 85.
Start by handing out these four puzzle pieces to four capable youth. Make sure that each of them knows they are being asked to share a personal experience. When they are done, they will put them on a board like this:
You can purchase this in my store @ the Bottom of the page.
Notice the gaping hole? That is where the class is going to make a list of all the trials that youth face today, like this (You can include the ones that the youth that shared mentioned) :
If you share some of the trials you are facing, it will set the example of what that looks like to be transparent.
These things can really be heavy. Does God sometimes take these trials away? Sometimes, but what does he usually do? How is that a blessing to have hard things in our lives?
Split your classroom into 5 groups, and hand them each a little packet. It will look something like this:
You will also split your board like this:
Your first one will be Zion's camp, it will look different than all the others. The students need to read this summary and fill in the blanks. You could even deliver this to a student ahead of time and ask them to teach the class about it.
It will look something like this:
The other groups will have more sorting and less reading, so it's essential to ensure that the first group has students who can handle more reading. If you have a very young class, you may need to help with this.
The other ones will look like this after the students sort them. They can share what they learned and present it to the class.
But you aren't done yet.
Lastly, add this picture to the top, and have the students add their own ideas of The Trials, His Faith, and The Blessings from Jesus Christ's experience in the garden. Write down what they say in the columns.
There are some ideas to help you with the discussion in this Free Print.
I want to watch some of this with my youth. I will only have time for a small clip of his Trials and Blessings. Sorry if you aren't a BYU fan...sorry but not Sorry(;
Close with your testimony of our Savior's example of Faith in His trials.
This gift tag is already in the lesson bundle, but you can purchase it separately by clicking on the image below.
