Independence, Missouri, by Al Rounds

May 24–30

Doctrine and Covenants 58–59

“Anxiously Engaged in a Good Cause”

As you read Doctrine and Covenants 58–59, record the spiritual impressions you receive. These impressions can help you plan to teach the doctrine you learned to the children. You might also find ideas in this lesson outline, in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families, or in Church magazines.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

Invite a few children to share something they did during the week to learn from the scriptures.

Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children

Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–28

Heavenly Father has given me power to choose.

Help the children know that Heavenly Father wants us to make good choices that bring happiness to our lives and to others.

Possible Activities

• Read phrases from Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–28 to help children understand that they can choose to do good. Put a happy face on one side of the room and a sad face on the other side. How do we feel when we choose to do good? Describe several situations along with a good or bad choice for each one. After describing each situation and choice, ask the children to stand by the happy face if the choice is good and by the sad face if it is bad.

• Show the children a container of many different colors of crayons. Show them a second container with only one crayon. Ask the children which of these containers they would want to use. Why? Explain that being able to choose is a blessing from Heavenly Father. Testify that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and want us to make good choices.

• Tell the children about a time when you made a good choice, and describe how you felt afterward. Invite the children to draw a picture of your story or a story of their own. Then let them share their pictures with the class and tell what they learned from the story.

Doctrine and Covenants 59:7

Heavenly Father wants me to be grateful.

How can you help the children understand the importance of thanking Heavenly Father for their blessings?

Possible Activities

• Tell the children something that you are thankful for, and ask them to share things they are thankful for. Read Doctrine and Covenants 59:7, and help the children think of ways they can thank Heavenly Father for their blessings. What could they make to take home to remind them to thank Heavenly Father for their blessings?

• Sing together a song about gratitude, such as “For Health and Strength” (Children’s Songbook, 21). Invite the children to replace words in the song with other things they are thankful for.

• Let the children draw pictures of things they are thankful for.

Doctrine and Covenants 59:9–12

The Sabbath is the Lord’s day.

As you share the joy you have found by keeping the Sabbath day holy, you can help the children see the Sabbath as a day when we worship the Lord.

Possible Activities

• Bring pictures or objects that depict good things we can do on Sunday to worship the Lord and find joy. Some ideas are found in Doctrine and Covenants 59:9–12 and “Sabbath Day Observance” (For the Strength of Youth, 30–31). For example, to represent the sacrament, you could show picture 108 in the Gospel Art Book or a sacrament cup and a piece of bread. How does each of these things help us be closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ on the Sabbath?

• Complete this week’s activity page with the children to give them ideas to make the Sabbath a holy day.

  

  Taking the sacrament helps us honor the Sabbath day.

Teach the Doctrine: Older Children

Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–28

Agency is the power to choose.

God has given us the power to choose, and with that power we can “bring to pass much righteousness” (verse 27). How can you help the children you teach see that even though there is wickedness in the world, “the power is in them” to “do good”? (verse 28).

Possible Activities

• Show the children a piece of paper that has the word choice written on one side and the word consequence written on the other side. Explain that choices have consequences, or results that naturally follow actions. Invite a child to pick up the paper to show that when you pick up the paper, you get both the choice and the consequence of that choice. Ask a child to read Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–28. What choices can we make that will “bring to pass much righteousness” or good consequences? (verse 27). When have we made good choices that had consequences that blessed others?

• Write phrases from Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–28 on strips of paper, and hand one to each child. Invite them to read the verses silently and ponder their phrase. Invite the children to sit in the order in which their phrases appear in verses 27–28 and share with each other what they learned. What is the Lord’s message to us in these verses?

• Sing a song about choices, such as “Choose the Right” (Hymns, no. 239). Ask questions to help the children ponder the words of the song—for example, Who helps guide you to make the right choice? Who tries to get you to make the wrong choice? How does choosing the right make you feel?

Doctrine and Covenants 59:9–16

The Sabbath is the Lord’s day.

The Lord said that observing the Sabbath helps us “keep [ourselves] unspotted from the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:9). How can you help the children you teach honor the Sabbath and make it a sign of their love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Possible Activities

• Invite the children to read Doctrine and Covenants 59:9–16 in pairs, and ask each pair to write down something they learn about the Sabbath day from each verse. After several minutes, ask each pair to share with the class what they wrote. What will we do differently on the Sabbath because of what we learned?

• Prepare a simple matching game in which the children match phrases from Doctrine and Covenants 59:9–16 to the correct verse. Choose phrases that teach what the Lord wants us to do on the Sabbath. Discuss what these phrases teach us about the Lord’s day and how we can come closer to Him.

• The Sabbath day is “the Lord’s day” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:12)—a day to show that we remember the many works of the Lord as we worship Him (see Bible Dictionary, “Sabbath”). Help the children ponder these works by inviting them to read the following scripture passages and showing them related pictures: Genesis 2:1–3 (see Gospel Art Book, no. 3); John 20:1–19 (see Gospel Art Book, no. 59). What other mighty works of the Lord can we remember on the Sabbath? What else do we learn about the Sabbath from Doctrine and Covenants 59:9–16?

Encourage Learning at Home

Invite the children to share with their family something they can do to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Improving Our Teaching

Build the children’s self-confidence. Some children may not feel capable of learning the gospel on their own. Promise the children that the Holy Ghost will help them learn.