Minerva K. Teichert (1888–1976), Alma Baptizes in the Waters of Mormon, 1949–1951, oil on masonite, 35⅞ x 48 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1969

November 30–December 6

Moroni 1–6

“To Keep Them in the Right Way”

Before you begin planning learning activities for the children, prayerfully study Moroni 1–6, looking for principles and verses that you feel they need to understand.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

Invite the children to share what they have been learning about Moroni. You could use “Chapter 53: Moroni and His Teachings” (Book of Mormon Stories, 154–55, or the corresponding video on ChurchofJesusChrist.org) to help them remember.

Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children

Moroni 4–5

I take the sacrament to show that I will always remember Jesus Christ.

The sacrament can be a sacred spiritual experience—even for young children. How can you help the children you teach use the time during the sacrament to think of Jesus?

Possible Activities

• Show a picture of people partaking of the sacrament (see this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families or Gospel Art Book, no. 108). Ask the children to tell you what happens during the sacrament. What should we be doing during the sacrament?

• Invite two ward members to come to class to read Moroni 4:3 and 5:2 to the children and share why they take the sacrament every week. Ask them to suggest things the children can do to help them think about Jesus during the sacrament and remember Him always.

• Sing a song that helps the children think about Jesus, such as “Reverently, Quietly” (Children’s Songbook, 26). Ask the children to practice sitting reverently like they would during the sacrament.

Moroni 6:1–3

I can prepare to be baptized.

Moroni’s description of people who were baptized in his day can help the children prepare to receive this important ordinance today.

Possible Activities

• Read phrases from Moroni 6:1–3 that teach who can be baptized. Explain terms the children may not understand. For instance, one meaning of “a broken heart and a contrite spirit” is to feel sorry for our sins (Moroni 6:2). Tell about how you prepared to be baptized, or ask someone who was recently baptized to explain how he or she prepared. Help the children think of ways they can prepare to be baptized someday.

• Display pictures of people being baptized (see Gospel Art Book, nos. 103, 104), and let the children talk about what they see in the pictures. Help them notice details, such as the water and the white clothing. Ask the children why we get baptized, and explain why you chose to be baptized.

Moroni 6:4–6, 9

I am blessed when I go to church.

Do the children you teach understand why we go to church every week? Moroni 6 gives some important reasons.

Possible Activities

• Ask the children why they like going to church, and help them name some of the things we do at church. Read to them some of these things from Moroni 6:4–6, 9, and invite them to act out or draw pictures of themselves doing some of these things (such as praying, preaching, singing, and partaking of the sacrament).

• Help the children sing a song about attending church, such as “When I Go to Church” (Children’s Songbook, 157). Tell the children why you love going to church and how it has blessed you.

Teach the Doctrine: Older Children

Moroni 2–6

The Holy Ghost is a sacred gift.

The Holy Ghost is mentioned several times in Moroni 2–6. How can you use these chapters to help the children understand how the Holy Ghost can help them?

Possible Activities

• Ask the children to find every verse in Moroni 2–6 that mentions the Holy Ghost or the Spirit. Read each of these verses together, and ask the children to list on the board the things they learn about the Holy Ghost. How can the Holy Ghost help us?

• Tell the children about a time when you felt the influence of the Holy Ghost, either at church or elsewhere. Explain how you knew it was the Holy Ghost and how He helped you. Invite the children to share any experiences they have had with the Holy Ghost, and encourage them to seek His influence.

  

  The gift of the Holy Ghost is given through the laying on of hands.

Moroni 4–5

I take the sacrament to show that I will always remember Jesus Christ.

When the children understand the sacredness of the sacrament, they are more likely to treat it with reverence and feel close to God during this ordinance.

Possible Activities

• Write phrases from Moroni 4:3 and 5:2 on separate strips of paper, and ask the children to put the phrases in the correct order. According to these verses, why is the sacrament important?

• Invite the children to imagine that a friend is coming to sacrament meeting for the first time. How would they explain to their friend what the sacrament is and why we partake of it? Encourage them to use Moroni 4:3 and 5:2 in their explanations.

• Invite the children to share things their families do during the sacrament to be reverent and think about Jesus Christ. What other ideas do they have? Invite them to pick one of these ideas and set a goal to spend more time thinking of the Savior during the sacrament.

Moroni 6:4–6, 9

We go to church to take the sacrament and support each other.

Moroni’s words could help the children you teach find greater purpose in coming to church each week.

Possible Activities

• Write Why do we come to church? on the board, and ask the children to write possible answers. Invite them to find additional answers in Moroni 6:4–6, 9 and add them to their list on the board. Invite the children to share how they have been blessed for attending church. Let them role-play explaining to a friend of another faith why they are thankful to belong to the Church.

• Show pictures or examples of nourishing foods. Why is it important to nourish our bodies? Read together Moroni 6:4, and ask the children what they think the phrase “nourished by the good word of God” means. How does the word of God nourish us?

• Invite one of the children to read the following quotation from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and discuss what it teaches about how we can nourish each other: “Most people don’t come to church looking merely for a few new gospel facts or to see old friends, though all of that is important. They come seeking a spiritual experience. They want peace. They want their faith fortified and their hope renewed. They want, in short, to be nourished by the good word of God, to be strengthened by the powers of heaven” (“A Teacher Come from God,” Ensign, May 1998, 26). How can we help spiritually nourish each other at church?

Encourage Learning at Home

Encourage the children to talk to their family about reasons they like to attend church each week.

Improving Our Teaching

Support parents. Prayerfully seek ways to support the parents of the children you teach. How can you support their efforts to teach the gospel to their children? For example, you might talk to parents about the needs and interests of their children or share with them what their children are learning in class (see Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 25).