Additional Sharing Time Ideas, April 2007

The following are additional ideas Primary leaders may use with the Sharing Time printed in the April 2007 Liahona. For the lesson, instructions, and activity that correspond with these ideas, see “He Lives!” on pages F4 and F5 of the children’s section in this issue.

1. Write the word wrong on the chalkboard. Tell the children that when they repent they turn wrong into right. Ask the children to help you turn the word wrong into right by figuring out what they could do to repent. Use three case studies (see “Case Studies,” Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 161–62) to give situations where children need to repent. After the first case study, sing a song or hymn about repentance, and explain that repentance is the second principle of the gospel. After the second case study, sing a song or hymn about repentance. After the third case study, sing a song or hymn about forgiveness and explain that we need to forgive others who repent. Erase the word wrong from the board, and write the word right. Recite from My Gospel Standards, “I will choose the right. I know I can repent when I make a mistake.” Bear your testimony of repentance and of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

2. Explain that our living prophet holds all of the priesthood keys and authority in the Church today. Hold up a picture of the prophet. Explain, however, that he leads the Church under someone else’s direction. Ask the children who that person is (Jesus Christ). Hold up a picture of Jesus Christ, and place it above the picture of the prophet, signifying that the prophet works under His direction. Show the children the most recent conference edition of the Liahona. Explain that when our prophet speaks to us at general conference, he is teaching us what Jesus Christ wants us to hear and do. Carefully select four sentences from the prophet’s recent messages, and invite older children to read them. List four things that children can do to follow the prophet’s words. For example, you might list “pay tithing,” “be more forgiving,” or “read the scriptures.” Invite the children to draw a picture of one of the ideas that they want to work on to better follow the prophet (see “Drawing Activities,” Teaching, No Greater Call, 166–67). Choose a song or hymn to go along with each of the four principles that the prophet has recently spoken of. Invite the children who drew pictures of that particular principle to stand at the front of the room and hold up their pictures while the Primary sings that song. Bear your testimony about the importance of the priesthood.

3. Song presentation: “An Angel Came to Joseph Smith” (this issue, p. F13). Before teaching this song, practice conducting the unique rhythm. The meter changes from 3/4 to 2/4 for one measure in each line.

   Post the following wordstrips in random order—“Moroni,” “Hill Cumorah,” “Nephites,” and “Book of Mormon.” Tell the children that this song is about these four things. Ask them to help you put the wordstrips in the same order that the song is in. Sing the song for them, and then ask which wordstrip comes first. Because the first phrase is “an angel came to Joseph Smith,” the correct wordstrip is “Moroni.” Have the children sing that phrase with you. Sing the song three more times, putting one wordstrip in place each time. Explain that Joseph Smith took the gold plates from Hill Cumorah, that the plates are a record of the Nephites, and that the precious, holy book is the Book of Mormon. Because the song is short, sing the entire song each time that you ask a question. This will help the children become familiar with the words and the interesting rhythm. Encourage the children to tell the story of the Book of Mormon to their families by singing this song. Bear testimony that the story told in the song is true.