Purpose
Help children learn to listen for the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
Activity Suggestion
Set up a safe, short obstacle course using simple items like tables and chairs. Blindfold one child and invite them to make their way through the course by listening to quiet instructions from another child or an adult who represents how the Holy Ghost guides us in a still, small voice. One or two other adults or children can represent worldly voices that distract or mislead the blindfolded child. Encourage the child to listen for the quiet voice of the person giving instructions in order to complete the course. Repeat the activity and let the children take turns navigating the course, being the quiet voice, and being the worldly voices.
As you plan this activity, please follow the counsel given in chapter 13 of Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010) and review “Safety Recommendations for Church Activities.” After the children finish the course, ask how the quiet voice helped them. Compare this to how the Holy Ghost can guide them in their lives.
Please adapt activities as necessary to ensure all individuals are able to participate, belong, and contribute.
Adaptation Ideas
- Instead of creating an obstacle course, hide something in the room and invite a child to find it by listening for clues from the quiet voice. Other adults or children can still try to distract the child.
- If anyone in your group has difficulty hearing, consider using visual cues and distractions instead of voices.
- To help guide your discussion, fill a bowl with clues describing how it feels to have the Spirit and how it feels to not have the Spirit. Each child can take a piece of paper and decide whether this describes feeling the Spirit or not feeling the Spirit. For example:
- You generally feel happy and calm.
- You feel angry and confused.
- You feel generous and kind.
- You feel selfish or self-centered.
- You are glad when others succeed.
- You are jealous of what others do and have.
- Service idea: Revelation often comes as we act. Invite the children to write a letter to someone. Ask them to pray to have the Holy Ghost to help them know what the person might need to hear. Invite them to notice how the Holy Ghost can bring ideas or phrases to their minds as they seek to help others.
Discussion
Encourage children to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:
- What does the still, small voice feel like? Is it always a voice? How do we “hear” it?
- What are some ways the Holy Ghost can help you?
- What experiences have you or someone close to you had when you felt the Holy Ghost guiding you?
- What kinds of things in your life can distract you from or make it hard to feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost?