Be Not Afraid

By Elizabeth Ricks

“If ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21).

Look at the picture on the left. Imagine that you are one of the children. Would you be afraid to cross a rushing stream? Would you be afraid if the Savior were holding on to you?

This beautiful picture is titled Be Not Afraid. The children in the picture do not need to be afraid because the Savior is helping them to the other side.

Brother Greg Olsen, the artist who painted this picture, explained that the children represent each of us. “The stream represents the difficult, trying times that we all go through,” he says. “We need to do our part, reach as high as we can, and the Savior will lead us safely across to the other side.”

When we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we understand that we are not alone on our journey through life. When we are humble and have faith, we can know that the Lord will lead us by the hand and give us answers to our prayers (see D&C 112:10). When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will not be afraid.

Activity

Glue the picture and the frame pieces on page F4 to heavier paper. Cut out the picture and frame pieces, and carefully glue or tape the corners together to form the frame. Put the frame around the picture, and secure it with tape or glue. Display the picture Be Not Afraid where it will remind you to have faith in Jesus Christ. Imagine that you are the child reaching up to grasp His hand or that you are being held safely in His arm.

Be Not Afraid, by Greg Olsen, may not be copied

Note: If you do not wish to remove pages from the magazine, this activity may be copied, traced, or printed from www.lds.org. For English, click on “Gospel Library.” For other languages, click on the world map.

Sharing Time Ideas

Explain that when we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we allow Him to lead us, even though we can’t necessarily see or understand where we are going. Use chairs, tables, and other items to create a path. Select one child to walk the path. Next ask for a volunteer to be blindfolded. Let him or her go through the path. Ask for a volunteer to be blindfolded, but explain that you are going to rearrange the path. Ask him or her to choose a friend who will not be blindfolded to be a guide. Have the two children leave the room. Rearrange the path. Let the friend guide the blindfolded child through the course. The guide can use verbal instructions and gently hold the child’s arm. Repeat, changing the course each time, as time allows. Explain that as we journey through life, we need a guide to help us. We need to choose a guide we know we can trust. Bear testimony that the best guide is Jesus Christ.
Ask the children, “What would happen if you put on your shoes before you put on your socks?” “What would happen if you went to college when you were five years old?” Discuss the importance of doing things in the right order. Ask the children what the first principle of the gospel is. Have them look up the answer in the Articles of Faith. Explain that the first principle of the gospel is not just “faith”; it is “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Ask the children why they think faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle rather than some other important principle like repentance, priesthood, or tithing. Display the following pictures: Gospel Art Picture Kit 100 (Creation—Living Creatures), 243 (Christ Walking on the Water), 318 (The Brother of Jared Sees the Finger of the Lord), 412 (Mary Fielding and Joseph F. Smith Crossing the Plains). Briefly review each story. After the story ask the children a question such as “What did Peter need before he could walk on water?” Have the children respond by saying, “First, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Repeat for each story.