Ye Are Not Forgotten, by Jon McNaughton

June 1–7

Alma 5–7

“Have Ye Experienced This Mighty Change in Your Hearts?”

Prayerfully consider principles in Alma 5–7 that you feel are especially relevant to the children you teach.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

Invite the children to share what they remember learning about Alma the Younger a few weeks ago. Explain that after Alma was converted, he taught the people important things about the gospel. Let the children share what they know about the things he taught.

Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children

Alma 5:44–48

I can gain my own testimony through the Holy Ghost.

The children you teach can develop their own strong testimonies, even while they are young.

Possible Activities

• Use a picture of Alma the Younger (see Gospel Art Book, no. 77) to review the account of the angel visiting him (see Mosiah 27). Then ask the children to describe what a testimony is, and help them as necessary. Explain that Alma worked to gain a testimony after the angel visited him. Slowly read Alma 5:46 a few times, and invite the children to listen for what Alma did and how he knew the truth. (You may need to explain that fasting means going without food and water.)

  

  When we accept the gospel, it’s like starting a new life.

• Display pictures of things that grow gradually and need constant care, like a plant or a baby animal. Ask the children to share how we take care of these things and help them grow. Remind them that we must also take constant care of our testimonies.

• Use an empty balloon to represent a testimony and blow air into it each time you share something that helps testimonies grow. Tie the balloon and pass it around, asking the children to share one thing they can do to help their testimonies grow. Invite the children to draw themselves doing things that will strengthen their testimonies.

Alma 7:10–13

The Savior took upon Himself my sins, pains, and afflictions.

The truths in Alma 7:10–13 can help the children know that Jesus Christ cares about them and can help them.

Possible Activities

• Show the children a picture of Jesus. Explain that He knows what it’s like to be hurt, sad, or scared. Read some of the words in Alma 7:11–13 that describe what the Savior suffered, and explain words the children might not understand. Point out that Jesus can help and comfort us when we are sad. Share how the Savior has helped and comforted you.

• Ask the children to share experiences when they were sick or in pain or had another problem that made them sad. Bear your testimony that the Savior has suffered those things too and knows how to help us.

Alma 7:19–20

The path back to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is straight.

How can you use Alma’s description of the path back to Heavenly Father to help the children learn to make good choices?

Possible Activities

• Read Alma 7:19 to the children, and explain that when we make good choices, we are in the path that leads back to Heavenly Father. Give the children a series of choices or actions (such as being unkind to family members or serving them). Ask them to tell you if each choice is good and leads back to God or if it is evil and leads away from Him.

• Read Alma 7:20 and help the children understand the words in these verses that describe the path back to God. Draw on the board a straight path from us to Heavenly Father. Then draw a crooked path that includes dead ends that lead away from God. Invite the children to trace both paths with their fingers. Which path is better? Help them think of good choices that will help them stay on the straight path.

Teach the Doctrine: Older Children

Alma 5:12–14, 27–28, 57; 7:14–24

I must be born again and then follow the path that leads back to God.

How can you help the children understand what it means to be born again?

Possible Activities

• Show the children a picture of a baby, and invite them to talk about what a baby is like when he or she is first born. Invite a child to read Alma 5:14. To help the children understand what it means to be “spiritually … born of God,” ask them to think about what Alma the Younger was like before he was converted. What was he like afterward? (See Mosiah 27:23–32 and Alma 36:12–24.) Explain that when we have faith in Jesus Christ and live His gospel, it is like we have started a new life, as a baby does.

• Read together Alma 7:19, and explain that after we are born again, we must follow “the path which leads to the kingdom of God.” Hide papers around the room with the following scripture references written on them: Alma 5:12–13, 27–28, 57; 7:14–16, 23–24. Invite the children to find the papers, look up the scriptures, and share what each scripture teaches we must do to return to God’s presence.

Alma 5:14, 44–48

I can gain my own testimony through the Holy Ghost.

Alma was visited by an angel, but his testimony was “made known unto [him] by the Holy Spirit” (Alma 5:46).

Possible Activities

• Read with the children Alma 5:44–46. What did Alma do to gain his own testimony of the gospel? Give each child a piece of paper and invite them to make a plan to do one thing this week to strengthen their testimonies.

• Pass around a mirror and let children look at their reflections as you read Alma 5:14. What does it mean to have the Savior’s image in our countenance? Share times when someone said or did something that reminded you of the Savior, and ask the children to do the same.

Alma 7:10–13

The Savior took upon Himself my sins, pains, and afflictions.

As you study Alma 7, ponder how you can build the children’s faith in Jesus Christ so that they will turn to Him in their trials.

Possible Activities

• Invite the children to read Alma 7:11–13, looking for the things Jesus Christ suffered. They may be willing to share experiences when they felt pain, sickness, or afflictions. According to these verses, why was the Savior willing to suffer all of this? (Explain that “succor” means “to help.”)

• Tell the children about an illness, injury, or other affliction you have had, and ask if they have felt something similar. Read together Alma 7:11–13, and point out what Jesus suffered for us. Help the children think of times when the Savior experienced these things, such as when He was tempted (see Matthew 4:1–11) or when He was suffering in Gethsemane. How does it help us to know that Jesus understands our struggles? Share your testimony of Jesus’s power to comfort, help, and heal us.

Encourage Learning at Home

Invite the children to hang a picture of Jesus in a place where they will see it often to remind them of what they learned about Him today.

Improving Our Teaching

Improve as a Christlike teacher. As a teacher, it is important to ponder ways you can increase your ability to help the children build their faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Consider using the personal evaluation questions on page 37 of Teaching in the Savior’s Way.