Remember

By Elizabeth Ricks

Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).

What do you think is the most important word in the dictionary? President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) said that perhaps the most important word is remember. He said our greatest need is to remember (see “Circles of Exaltation,” address to religious educators, Brigham Young University, June 28, 1968, 8).

The Book of Mormon prophet Helaman knew how important it is to remember. He urged his sons Nephi and Lehi to remember to keep the commandments of God. He asked them to remember the great men they were named after. He asked them to remember the words of the prophets. Most of all, he asked them to remember that Jesus Christ would come to redeem the world. Helaman said, “My sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation” (Helaman 5:12; see also vv. 5–9).

Nephi and Lehi did remember the teachings of their father. They were valiant men who kept the commandments of God all their lives.

We go to sacrament meeting every Sunday to take the sacrament. It is a time to remember our baptismal covenants. When a priest blesses the sacrament, we hear him say, “Always remember him and keep his commandments” (D&C 20:77; emphasis added).

Your faith will grow when you make baptismal covenants. After you are baptized and confirmed, you must remember to keep those covenants throughout your life. Your faith will continue to grow as you remember Jesus Christ.

Activity

Mount page 16 on heavy paper, and cut out the pictures. Place them face down. Turn over two of the pictures. If they match, put them in a pile, and take another turn. If they don’t match, turn them back over, and let the next person turn over two pictures. Try to remember where each picture is. Keep playing until all of the pictures and the word remember have been matched.

Illustrations by Dilleen Marsh

Note: If you do not wish to remove pages from the magazine, this activity may be copied or printed from the Internet at www.lds.org. Click on Gospel Library.

Sharing Time Ideas

(Note: All songs are from Children’s Songbook unless otherwise noted; GAK = Gospel Art Picture Kit, TNGC = Teaching, No Greater Call.)

1. Pretend to be a journalist. Show the children GAK 208 (John the Baptist Baptizing Jesus). Ask them to help you find out what is happening in the picture. Explain that a journalist needs to find out six things: what, where, when, who, how, and why. Ask the children to discover the answer to each of these words. You might direct them to Matthew 3:13–17. For example, the answer to who is “Jesus was baptized by John.” The answer to where is “in the Jordan River.”

After you have answered all of the questions, put the answers together to form a story. Invite the chorister to lead the children in “Baptism” (pp. 100–101), and point out that the first five questions are answered in the first verse of the song and that the why question is answered in the second verse.

Learn the first verse of “I Want to Be Baptized” (Friend, July 2005, 45):

I want to be baptized in clothes pure and white,
To follow the Savior, to do what is right.
I’ll covenant with Him to always be true,
For this is the thing that He wants me to do.

(If you cannot access this song, teach “When I Am Baptized” [p. 103] or another baptism song from Children’s Songbook.)

Explain that Jesus set an example for us and that each of us needs to be baptized. Bear your testimony that Jesus is the Son of God.

2. Write each word of John 3:5 on pieces of paper, and distribute the papers to the children. Ask the children to read the words in random order, and ask them what the scripture might be about. Explain that key words such as water, Spirit, and enter might help them. When the children correctly guess that the scripture is about baptism, give them the scripture reference, and help them put the words in order. Repeat it several times together.

The week before Primary, invite children to ask their parents how the children got their names. Ask them to report on what their names mean or why their parents chose their names. Then ask what it means to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. Conduct a discussion (see TNGC, 63–65) on taking upon oneself the name of Christ. Be prepared with examples, such as the missionaries have the name of Jesus Christ on their name tags because they are some of His representatives.

Together, have the children repeat from My Gospel Standards: “I will remember my baptismal covenants and listen to the Holy Ghost.”

Learn the second verse of “I Want to Be Baptized”:

I want to be baptized when I have turned eight,
To enter Christ’s kingdom through baptism’s gate.
I’ll take His name gladly, be known as His child,
And strive to be worthy, more Christlike and mild.

Invite the music leader to testify of the importance of baptism. Then bear a second witness of baptism and of Jesus Christ. Bear testimony that each of us needs to be baptized, or we cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

3. Divide the Primary into two groups. Ask the first group to find a scripture that tells who the third member of the Godhead is. Ask the second group to find a scripture that tells what the fourth principle and ordinance of the gospel is. If they need a clue, remind them that the Articles of Faith are part of the Pearl of Great Price. Review the first and fourth articles of faith.

Describe a time when you felt guided by the Holy Ghost. Or read the experience in “Guided by the Holy Ghost” (Friend, Oct. 2001, 8–9), by Elder Dale E. Miller of the Seventy.

Tell the children that it is difficult to explain exactly what the Spirit feels like but that Jesus taught about the Holy Ghost. Ask an older child to read John 14:26. Tell the children to listen for another name for the Holy Ghost (Comforter) as they listen to the scripture. Display a soft blanket or comforter. Point out the similarities between the Holy Ghost and the blanket. For example, the blanket provides a warm and a soft feeling, just like the Holy Ghost.

Learn the third verse of “I Want to Be Baptized”:

I want to be baptized by God’s priesthood pow’r,
Be given His Spirit, be cleansed as by fire.
The Spirit will guide me if I will obey
And help me return to my Father one day.

(If you cannot access this song, teach “The Holy Ghost” [p. 105] or another song about the Holy Ghost from Children’s Songbook.)

Challenge the children to listen for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Tell them that they can feel the Spirit as they keep the commandments. Express your appreciation for this third member of the Godhead.

4. Display a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water. Also display GAK 604 (Passing the Sacrament). Ask the children what the difference is between plain bread and water and sacrament bread and water. Explain that the sacrament is sacred because it has been blessed by priesthood authority. It reminds us of Jesus’s body and blood.

Use True to the Faith, 147–49, and Gospel Principles, 151–56, to help you create questions such as “Who introduced the sacrament?” (Christ), “Who passes the sacrament?” (priesthood holders, usually the deacons), and “What should we think of while the sacrament is being passed?” (Christ and His Atonement). Ask enough questions to help the children understand the sacrament. Use a picture of the sacrament to create a puzzle. Cut the picture into puzzle pieces, making the same number of pieces as questions. Each time a question is answered correctly, invite the child to tape a puzzle piece to the chalkboard. When the puzzle is complete, sing “To Think about Jesus” (p. 71). Point out that while the song sounds a little sad when it begins, its ending sounds happy. Although the sacrament is a time to be very quiet, it is also a time to be happy as we think of what Jesus has done for us. Bear testimony of the importance of the sacrament.

For younger children: Add actions to the poem “The Sacrament” (Friend, Feb. 1995, 16). Help the children memorize the poem by repeating it several times.

Quietly I eat the bread (fingers to mouth)
and drink the water too. (fingers pretending to hold a sacrament cup to mouth)
I fold my arms (fold arms)
and think of Jesus— (finger to forehead)
That’s what I should do. (nod head)

5. Song presentation: “I Want to Live the Gospel” (p. 148). Ask the children, “What do you want?” Give many children an opportunity to respond so that there is a broad assortment of ideas. List them on the board. Tell the children that you are going to tell them what you want. Sing the first verse of “I Want to Live the Gospel.” Ask them what you want (to live the gospel). Post four wordstrips: “to live,” “to know,” “to follow,” “live.” Using questions and repetition, teach the first verse of the song. Ask the children how likely it will be that they get the things listed on the board. Tell them that it is very likely that they will live the gospel if they do what the chorus of the song says. Sing the chorus. Explain that it is a statement of commitment. Point out the words do and say. Ask the children to think of things that they can do and things that they can say to live the gospel. For example, “I can read the scriptures,” or, “I can say thank you to show that I’m grateful.” Ask the children to think of one thing they can do or say this week “to live the gospel more each day.” Tell them that living the gospel begins with trying to do what is right. Testify of the truth of the gospel and the joy it brings.

6. Friend references: “Baptism,” Jan. 2003, 7; “Plain Words about Baptism: Why Is It Important for Me to Be Baptized?” Jan. 2000, 39; “How the Holy Ghost Helps You,” Mar. 1990, inside front cover; “Everyone But Me,” July 1997, 2–4; “The Gift of the Holy Ghost,” Aug. 2005, 24–25; “The Sacrament,” July 2004, 39; “Taking the Sacrament,” Aug. 2003, 34.

Illustration by Dilleen Marsh