Martin Harris’s farm

Martin Harris Farm, by Al Rounds

February 22–28

Doctrine and Covenants 18–19

“The Worth of Souls Is Great”

Ask Heavenly Father to help you find principles in Doctrine and Covenants 18–19 that will be especially meaningful to the children.

Record Your Impressions

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Invite Sharing

Read Doctrine and Covenants 18:2, and explain that the Spirit helped Oliver Cowdery know that the scriptures are true. Tell the children about an experience when the Spirit testified to you that the scriptures are true. Let them share experiences when they felt that the scriptures are true.

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Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children

Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–12

Each of us is of great worth to God.

When children know that Heavenly Father loves them—and all of His children—they are more confident and kinder toward others.

Possible Activities

• Help the children repeat with you Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 several times. Explain that “souls” refers to all of God’s children. Repeat verse 10 with the children, this time replacing “souls” with the children’s names. (See also this week’s activity page.)

• Help the children think of things that people consider valuable. Then let the children take turns looking in a mirror, and as they do, tell each child that he or she is a child of God and of great worth. Testify that to Heavenly Father, they are more valuable than all the things they thought of earlier.

Doctrine and Covenants 18:13–16

Sharing the gospel brings great joy.

How will you inspire the children to invite others to come unto Christ and experience great joy?

Possible Activities

• Tell the children about something that brings you joy. Let each child tell you about something that brings him or her joy. Read Doctrine and Covenants 18:13, 16. What brings the Lord joy? What does He say will bring us joy?

• Sing together a song about missionary work, such as “I Want to Be a Missionary Now” (Children’s Songbook, 168), and help the children think of ways they can share the gospel, including in their own home. Tell about a time when you shared the gospel, and let the children share their experiences.

Doctrine and Covenants 19:18–19, 23–24

Jesus Christ obeyed Heavenly Father, even when it was hard.

The Savior’s willingness to “drink the bitter cup, and [not] shrink” (verse 18) is an example to all of us of obeying Heavenly Father’s will. Consider how you will inspire the children to follow Jesus’s example.

Possible Activities

• Show a picture of Jesus Christ suffering in Gethsemane (see this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families). Ask the children to tell you what they know about what is happening in this picture. Summarize in your own words what the Savior said in Doctrine and Covenants 19:18–19 about His suffering. Emphasize that suffering for our sins was the hardest thing anyone has ever done, but because Jesus loved His Father and us, He obeyed God’s will. How can we obey Heavenly Father?

• Help the children think of simple actions that go along with phrases in Doctrine and Covenants 19:23. Read the verse several times while the children do the actions. Help them think of ways we can learn of Christ and listen to His words.

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Teach the Doctrine: Older Children

Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–12

Each of us is of great worth to God.

Many people struggle with feelings of low self-worth; others are unkind toward people who are different from them. The powerful message of Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 can change how we view ourselves and people around us.

Possible Activities

• Ask each child to write his or her name on a piece of paper and pass the papers around the room. Invite them to write on each paper they receive something they like about that person. Encourage them to be kind and thoughtful in their comments. Then help the children read Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–12, and invite them to share what they learn about how God feels about us. Explain that we are all of great worth to God because we are His children.

• Show the children something that is very valuable to you. How do we treat things that are valuable to us? Ask a child to read Doctrine and Covenants 18:10. How can we show other people that “the worth of [their] souls is great” in our sight?

  Jesus holding a small boy

  Worth of a Soul, by Liz Lemon Swindle

Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19

Jesus Christ suffered for me.

How will you invite a spirit of reverence in your class so that the Holy Ghost can testify to the children that Jesus Christ paid the price for their sins?

Possible Activities

• Share the story of Jesus Christ suffering for our sins (see “Chapter 51: Jesus Suffers in the Garden of Gethsemane,” New Testament Stories, 129–32, or the corresponding video on ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Invite the children to tell the story again in their own words, and then invite them to read how the Savior described the experience in Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19. What do we learn from His description?

• Invite the children to close their eyes as you read Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19 and to think about how they feel about the Savior. Help the children look in Hymns or the Children’s Songbook for songs that help them express their feelings about Jesus Christ (see the topic indexes in these books). Invite the children to sing the songs they chose and bear their testimonies.

• Help the children memorize the third article of faith.

Doctrine and Covenants 19:26, 34–35, 38

God’s blessings are greater than the treasures of the earth.

Printing the Book of Mormon was expensive, and Joseph Smith could not afford it. The Lord asked Martin Harris to “impart a portion of [his] property,” his prosperous farm, to pay the printer (verse 34). We have received tremendous blessings because of the sacrifices of Martin and many others.

Possible Activities

• Write on the board questions like the following to help the children understand Doctrine and Covenants 19:26, 34–35, 38: What did the Lord ask Martin Harris to do? Why did He ask him to do it? What did He promise in return? Invite the children to work in pairs to find answers in these verses. Ask them how they might feel if they were Martin Harris.

• Show the children a copy of the Book of Mormon, and tell them something you love about it. Invite them to share how they feel about it. Briefly talk about Martin Harris’s sacrifice so the Book of Mormon could be printed (Doctrine and Covenants Stories, 33). What did the Lord say to Martin in Doctrine and Covenants 19:38 that might have helped him be faithful and obedient? Help the children think of something they can sacrifice to obey God or help in His work.

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Encourage Learning at Home

Invite the children to think of someone who could be helped by what they learned from Doctrine and Covenants 18 or 19—for example, that we are all of great worth to God. Encourage them to plan how they will share what they learned with that person.

Improving Our Teaching

Help children learn from the scriptures. Some children have a hard time reading scriptures. Focusing on a single verse or phrase may help them.

activity page: I am of great worth