December

I Know That Jesus Christ Will Come Again

“I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25).

Supplement the ideas provided here with some of your own. Each week, plan ways to (1) identify the doctrine, (2) help the children understand it, and (3) help them apply it in their lives. Ask yourself, “What will the children do to learn, and how can I help them feel the Spirit?”

Week 1: The prophets foretold that Jesus Christ would come to earth.

Encourage understanding (reading scriptures): Display pictures of Isaiah, Nephi, King Benjamin, Abinadi, Alma, and Samuel the Lamanite from the Gospel Art Book and the Primary 4 picture packet. Divide the children into groups and give each group one of the following scriptures to look up: (1) Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; (2) 1 Nephi 11:14–15, 20–21; (3) Mosiah 3:5–8; (4) Mosiah 15:1; (5) Alma 7:10–12; and (6) Helaman 14:1–3. Ask the children to look for which prophet is speaking and whom he is prophesying about. Ask each group to show the picture of the prophet and tell the other children who he is and what he said. (For younger children, help six children dress in simple costumes to depict the six prophets. Briefly tell about each prophet and what each said concerning the birth and mission of Jesus Christ.) Explain that each of these prophets foretold that Jesus Christ would come to earth. Sing “Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus” (CS, 36). Testify that Jesus Christ came to earth as the prophets foretold.

Testify: As you are prompted, bear your testimony of the doctrine you teach. The Holy Ghost can witness to each child the truth of what you say. Bearing your testimony helps the children feel the Spirit and motivates them to strengthen their testimonies.

Week 2: Jesus Christ will come to the earth again.

Identify the doctrine: Display a picture of the Second Coming (GAB, no. 66). Remind the children that Jesus Christ first came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem. Explain that we learn in the scriptures that He will come to earth again.

Encourage understanding (playing a matching game): Make two matching sets of the following scripture references, with each reference on a separate piece of paper: Matthew 16:27; Matthew 24:30, 36, 42; Acts 1:9–11; D&C 36:8; D&C 45:57–59; D&C 88:95–98. Put the papers facedown on the board. Have the children take turns choosing two pieces of paper. Turn the papers over to see if they match. If they do not match, turn them back over. If they match, leave the scripture showing and ask the children to look up the reference to discover what it teaches about Christ coming again. Repeat until all the matches have been made.

Adapt activities: Adapt activities for the resources you have available and for the children in your Primary. For example, for the application activity in week 3, you could invite the children to hold up one finger for each thing they can do to prepare instead of writing their ideas on a piece of paper.

Week 3: I will prepare to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again.

Identify the doctrine (playing a guessing game): Invite two or three children to pantomime preparing to go to bed, to church, or on a long trip. Ask the other children to guess what they are doing. Discuss with the children what would happen if we did not prepare to do these things. Explain that one important thing we should prepare for is living with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again.

Attention activities, such as pantomime, can be used to create interest and to help the children focus their attention on the subject of the lesson. Those not participating will be engaged as they watch the other children.

Encourage understanding (singing songs): Sing the third verse of “I Am a Child of God” (CS, 2), and invite the children to listen for how we can prepare to live with Heavenly Father again. Invite the children to stand and sing the phrase “If I but learn to do his will” again. Explain that some Primary songs remind us of things we can do to prepare to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again (for example, “I Will Follow God’s Plan” [CS, 164–65], “Keep the Commandments” [CS, 146–47], “Kindness Begins with Me” [CS, 145], and “When I Am Baptized” [CS, 103]). Have the pianist play a few notes from one of these songs, and ask the children to guess which song it is. Invite the children to sing the song and to stand up when they sing about a way they can prepare to live with Heavenly Father. Repeat with the other songs.

Encourage application (drawing): Have the children think of ways they can prepare to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Give each child a piece of paper, and invite them to draw an outline of their hand. Then ask them to write or draw on each finger of the outline one thing they can do to prepare. Ask the children to choose one of those things to work on during the week. Tell them you will ask them to share what they did next Sunday.

Week 4: I have a testimony that I am a child of God.

Identify the doctrine (playing a guessing game): On the board write, “I have a ______________.” Tell the children to listen to the following clues and to fold their arms and stand up when they think they can fill in the blank:

• This makes us feel good, happy, or warm inside.

• The Holy Ghost gives this to us.

• This helps us want to make right choices.

• We can share this with others when we give talks in Primary, in family home evening, and in fast and testimony meeting.

Ask: “What is this wonderful thing?” Fill in the blank with the word testimony, and tell the children that they can have a testimony that they are children of God.

Writing a gospel principle will help the children remember it.

Encourage understanding (singing a song): Invite the children to sing “I Am a Child of God” (CS, 2–3), and ask them to think about how they feel inside as they sing. Ask a few children to share how they felt. Explain that good feelings they may have felt were from the Holy Ghost, telling them they really are children of God. Explain that knowing this is true is what it means to have a testimony. Explain that there are many ways to know we are children of God. Ask: “How do you know you are a child of God?”

Encourage application (hearing testimonies): Ask the children: “Why is it important to have a testimony that we are children of God? How does having a testimony help us make right choices?” Share your testimony and invite a few children and adults to share their testimonies that we are all children of God.