Sharing Time:

I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

By Laurel Rohlfing

For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (D&C 115:4).

Over three million children around the world belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They speak different languages, wear different styles of clothes, and live in different kinds of houses. They live on every continent—in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia—and on the isles of the sea. Can you find Bangalore, India, and Surabaya, Indonesia, on a map? That’s where some children who belong to the Church live.

Many children who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints go to church in large brick, wood, or stone meetinghouses that have many rooms. Children in Nairobi, Kenya, often hold their meetings under large banyan trees. Children in Bangalore, India, hold Primary on the flat rooftops of houses. In the Philippines, some children go to Primary in nipa huts that stand on bamboo stilts and have woven bamboo walls. Many children in Guatemala have church in cabanas (homes made with mud walls and thatched roofs). And in the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama, children often attend Primary in buildings made of corn husks.

When we belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it doesn’t matter where we live, what language we speak, or what kind of building we meet in, because we all believe the same important principles. Some of the more important ones are—

1. Jesus Christ is at the head of the Church.

2. There is a prophet to guide us.

3. The correct teachings of Jesus are in the scriptures.

4. We have the blessings of the priesthood—the power and authority to act in God’s name.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased” (D&C 1:30).

Instructions

To help you remember the principles on which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built, cut out the labeled blocks and glue them where they fit on the dotted outline of the meetinghouse.

Sharing Time Ideas

1. Make handouts with four columns, using following headings: Jesus Christ, Prophet, Scriptures, and Priesthood. Have children write as many words or phrases as they can think of that are associated with headings. For example: Prophet—revelation, Joseph Smith, talks to God, President of the Church, etc. Discuss how words on their lists help them understand principles upon which Church is founded.

2. Have children learn to say “I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” in several languages. Ask members of your ward/branch who speak other languages to provide translations and pronunciations for you.

3. Show children on map where some different places are that members of Church live.

4. Have children construct and label simple, three-dimensional meetinghouse out of available materials such as salt dough or sugar cubes.

5. Invite returned missionaries who have served in other countries to tell about children in Church in those lands. Or, refer to Making Friends articles appearing in Friend each month.

6. Sing “The Church of Jesus Christ” (Children’s Songbook, page 77) or “Children All Over the World” (Children’s Songbook, page 16).