Forgiven, by Greg K. Olsen

March 9–15

Jacob 1–4

Be Reconciled unto God through the Atonement of Christ

As you read Jacob 1–4, ponder which principles from these chapters are most important for the children to learn. Seek for spiritual guidance to know how best to teach these principles, and record your impressions.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

Invite the children to share something they or their families did this week to learn from Jacob 1–4. You could also ask them to share something they remember from last week’s lesson. What questions could you ask to help them remember?

Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children

Jacob 1:6–8, 18; 2:1–11

God calls Church leaders to help me follow Jesus Christ.

Help the children understand that they will be blessed by following the counsel of Church leaders.

Our Church leaders help us follow Jesus Christ.

Possible Activities

• Make simple puppets to represent Jacob and Joseph, Nephi’s younger brothers, who were leaders in the Church. Share some verses from Jacob 1 and 2 to explain what Church leaders are called to do. For example, leaders persuade us to “believe in Christ” (Jacob 1:8), invite us to repent (see Jacob 2:5–6, 9–10), and “declare [God’s] word” (Jacob 2:2, 11). Let the children use the puppets to pretend to do some of these things.

• Invite the children to name some Church leaders they know, like Primary leaders, bishopric members, and prophets and apostles. Help the children think of ways these leaders bless us.

Jacob 2:12–14, 17–21

I can help others in need when I share with them.

Do the children you teach understand the blessings that come when they share with those in need? How can you help them know that Heavenly Father and Jesus want them to help others?

Possible Activities

• Explain that some of the people in Jacob’s time were very rich, but they didn’t want to share what they had with people who were poor. Read Jacob 2:17–19 to help the children understand Jacob’s teachings to these people. As you do, give the children pictures or objects to hold that go with words or phrases in these verses.

• Invite the children to act out ways they can share what they have with someone in need. Testify that we are blessed as we share with others.

• Bring something to class that you can share with the children. Give some of it to each child, and explain that you are sharing. Ask them how they felt when you shared with them. How do they feel when they share with others? Help them think of something they could share to help someone feel happy.

Jacob 4:6

I can strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ.

As Jacob lived righteously despite the wickedness around him, his faith became so strong that it could not be shaken. Ponder how you can help the children understand what it means to have faith that cannot be shaken.

Possible Activities

• Help the children think of things they do to make their bodies stronger. What can we do to make our faith stronger? Open the scriptures to Jacob 4:6, and help the children discover what Jacob and his people did to make their faith “unshaken.”

• Sing “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man” (Children’s Songbook, 281) with the children. On one side of the board, draw a house built on the sand. On the other side of the board, draw a house built on a rock. If possible, bring sand and a rock to class. Which is easier to shake or move? Which one, sand or rock, do we want our faith to be like?

Teach the Doctrine: Older Children

Jacob 1:6–8, 18; 2:1–6, 11

God calls Church leaders to help me follow Jesus Christ.

The children you teach will be blessed as they trust and follow the counsel of Church leaders.

Possible Activities

• Read with the children Jacob 1:6–8 and 2:1–6, 11, helping them look for phrases that describe how God’s servants lead the Church. Ask them to write these phrases on pieces of paper and then display the papers on the board. Why does God call Church leaders to guide us? Ask the children to share experiences with learning or receiving guidance from a Church leader or teacher and the blessings they received.

• Ask the children to draw a picture of a Church leader they know about, and let the rest of the class guess who they drew. What do these leaders do to help us follow Jesus Christ? Invite the children to write notes to Church leaders, thanking them for their service.

• Invite a local Church leader to tell the children what he or she does to fulfill his or her calling. Ask the children to name some things they can do to sustain their leaders.

Jacob 2:12–14, 17–21

I can help others feel happy by sharing with them.

True followers of Jesus Christ are willing to share what they have with others. Encourage the children to bring joy to those in need by sharing with them.

Possible Activities

• Tell the children that many people in Jacob’s time became prideful and unkind because they loved riches (see Jacob 2:12–14, 17–21). Invite a few children to read Jacob 2:17–19 out loud, and help them understand any difficult words. What should we seek before we seek riches? What should we seek to do with any riches we receive?

• Read Jacob 2:17 to the children. What blessings has Heavenly Father shared with us? Why does He want us to share with each other? Invite the children to share times when they shared something with someone else, including how they felt and how the other person felt.

Jacob 4:4–13, 17

I can strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ.

Jacob’s faith became unshaken as he searched the words of prophets and received his own witness (see Jacob 4:6). How can you help the children desire to build faith that cannot be shaken?

Possible Activities

• Invite the children to think of things that become strong and secure over time, such as a large tree. How is faith like the things they thought of? What phrases in Jacob 4:6, 10–11 describe what we can do to make our faith unshaken? Ask the children to make a list on the board of ways they can strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ.

• Share Elder Neil L. Andersen’s analogy of the tree growing in a windy environment, found in his message “Spiritual Whirlwinds” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 18–21), or show the video “Spiritual Whirlwinds” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Why is it important for our faith to be unshaken and strong like the trunk of a tree? What do the whirlwinds represent? What can we do to build unshaken faith? Help the children think of other analogies that teach about having faith that cannot be shaken.

Encourage Learning at Home

Invite the children to think of something they can share with their families—including sharing something they learned in class today. Give them opportunities in a future lesson to talk about what they shared.

Improving Our Teaching

Encourage reverence. Help the children understand that an important aspect of reverence is thinking about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. You might remind them to be reverent by quietly singing or humming a song or displaying a picture of Jesus.