My Father in Heaven Loves Me

By Karen Ashton

“The Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it” (1 Ne. 17:36).

If someone you love very, very much were going on an important journey, you might give him a special gift to use while he is away. You would want the gift to be something that would show how much you love him. You might ask someone to help you prepare your special gift.

If you prepared your special gift and the person you loved didn’t even take time to look at it, you would probably feel sad. If he never said thank-you for the gift, you might think that he didn’t like it.

Your Father in Heaven loves you. You lived with him before you came to this earth. It was part of his plan that you would leave him for a time to receive a physical body, to hear and accept the gospel, and to return to him someday. Because he wanted you to have a wonderful place to live while you were away, he planned the creation of an earth filled with beautiful gifts such as sunlight, air, water, trees, flowers, animals, sunsets, and rainbows. He chose Jesus to be the Creator of the earth. Jesus followed Heavenly Father’s instructions exactly and created an earth filled with gifts of beauty and love for you.

You can see Heavenly Father’s gifts all around you. Take time to look at the stars at night, take a deep breath of fresh air, hold a puppy, listen to the birds sing, smell a flower, make a snowball, feel the rain on your face, run with the wind, jump into a pile of leaves, watch the ocean, splash in a rain puddle, roll down a hill. When you see and enjoy these gifts of love from Heavenly Father, take time to thank him for them.

Sharing Time Ideas

Discuss with the children the immense variety of God’s creations. Give each class a piece of paper and a pencil. Announce a category, such as flowers, birds, fruit, or trees. Have the children write down the names of as many items in the category as they can. Have someone from each class read the class’s list.
Show pictures of some flowers and vegetables that grow from seeds. Discuss with the children the miracle of a seed growing into a plant that then bears other seeds (see Abr. 4:11–12). On a table, place some seeds the children might recognize, such as from a watermelon, sunflower, pea, bean, corn, peach, and avocado. Number the seeds, and give every child a paper and pencil. Have them identify which flower or vegetable grows from which seed. Explain to the children that our faith in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father is like a seed that can grow (see Alma 32:28).
Discuss how different areas of the earth vary in climate, water resources, and elevation. Talk about the variety of landscapes the Lord placed here for us to enjoy, such as mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, oceans, and deserts. Explain that Heavenly Father and Jesus made all these beautiful places because they love you. Show a map and pictures of children from different areas of the world. Have the Primary children guess where each child might live by listening to clues about the geography of his country. For example: (1) My name is Hans Sanderson. I live below sea level in a place that is known for the tulips we grow. There are many canals that carry water throughout my country. I have spent holidays in many other European countries because they are so close. I live in a city named Amsterdam. In which country do I live? (Netherlands) (2) My name is Mikel Ramírez. I live in a very large city in the western hemisphere. My country has many beautiful beaches because it is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Gulf of Mexico on the east. The name of my country and my city are the same. Where do I live? (Mexico City, Mexico)

Instructions

To make your earth decoration, remove this page and mount it on a piece of construction paper. The outer circle with stars represents space. The middle circle represents the sky and clouds that surround the earth. The center circle is the earth. Color the designs. Punch a tiny hole with the tip of your scissors at the end of each dark line, then cut along the heavy dark lines. Fold the paper to form right angles along the dotted lines. Punch a hole at A, thread a long piece of string through it, and tie the ends together. Find a special place to hang your earth decoration.

Illustrated by Scott Greer