Sharing Time:

Try, Try, Try

By Elizabeth Ricks

“Follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do” (2 Nephi 31:12).

Many years ago people made fancy garden mazes to delight their friends. They trimmed hedges to form pathways where others could walk and wander and try to find the way out. Many people enjoyed strolling through these large garden mazes. Others sometimes became confused in the passageways, but they still enjoyed the pleasant walk and eventually found their way out. They had to try, try, try. Garden mazes still exist, and visitors enjoy navigating through them.

Just as visitors make their way through garden mazes by making a decision at every fork in the path, each of us makes our way through life. Every day we are faced with decisions. Some of the decisions are not important. It probably doesn’t matter if you wear a blue shirt or a red shirt. But many decisions are important. When you are faced with a decision about whether to tell the truth or tell a lie, it is important to tell the truth.

For important decisions, you can make the right choice if you ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” When we try to be like Jesus—when we try, try, try—we will do what is right. Jesus always did what was right. Our faith grows when we follow His example.

Activity

With your finger, trace a path through the garden maze. Every time you come to a choice, decide which choice Jesus would make. Beginning at “Birth,” follow Jesus’s example until you get to “Eternal Life.”

Illustration by Scott Greer

BIRTH

Pay tithing

Spend money on a toy

Stay home and watch television

Go to church

Be nice to others

Say mean things to someone

Dress modestly

Dress in a popular but immodest style

Say my prayers each morning and night

Pray only when I need help

Sing a Primary song

Get angry and say a bad word

ETERNAL LIFE

Sharing Time Ideas

1. Explain that following Jesus’s example will help us return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. Ask the children what an example is, and give illustrations. For instance, a teacher might solve a math problem to show students how to solve other problems. A soccer coach might kick a ball to show how to kick. Explain that following Jesus’s example can help us make good choices. Prepare case studies (see “Case Studies,” Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 161–62) of true-to-life situations. Give one case study to each class, and have them discuss the problem. Ask the children to solve the problem by asking, “What would I do if I followed Jesus’s example?” Have each class report on how they could follow Jesus. Explain that to be like Jesus, we must try. Trying is the key. Testify that following Jesus’s example will take effort, and it will make us happy.

2. Invite the bishop or branch president (or another member of the bishopric or branch presidency) to show the children a driver’s license. (Any kind of license, such as a fishing license or a marriage license, would also work.) Have him tell the requirements he had to meet to get his license. Then have him show an even more important piece of paper: his temple recommend. Ask him to tell the children some of the things they need to do to get a temple recommend. Prepare several slips of paper on which you write a gospel principle one needs to live in order to go to the temple and a number of steps. For example, “You keep the Word of Wisdom—advance two steps.” Place a picture of a temple on each wall. Have four children begin in the center of the room, and have each one move toward a different temple. (Clarify that this is not a competition. You want all the children to reach the temple.) Have each child choose a slip of paper, read the principle, and move the number of steps it indicates. When each child reaches the temple, have him or her look on the back of the picture for the name of a song. Sing the song, and continue the game. After you have sung all of the songs, encourage the children to live worthy to attend the temple.