September 2–8

1 Corinthians 14–16

“God Is Not the Author of Confusion, but of Peace”

As you read 1 Corinthians 14–16, the Holy Ghost will help you know what to teach the children in your class. Review this outline for additional ideas.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

You might start this week’s lesson by reading 1 Corinthians 14:26 aloud. Point out that when we come together at church, we can edify (or build up and help) others when we share. What can the children share to edify someone in class today?

Teach the Doctrine

Younger Children

1 Corinthians 15:12–22

I can live with Heavenly Father after I die because Jesus Christ was resurrected.

How can you teach the children in your class that because Jesus Christ was resurrected we can live again?

Possible Activities

• Repeat the following phrase several times with the children: “In Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). Show a picture of the resurrected Savior (see this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families). Explain that we will all die someday, but because Jesus was resurrected, we will all come back to life after we die.

• Use an object lesson like this one to teach about the Resurrection: Show the children a jacket, which represents our physical bodies. When we are alive, our spirits are in our bodies, and our bodies can move (put the jacket on). When we die, our spirits leave our physical bodies, and our bodies cannot move (remove the jacket and lay it on a table or chair to represent a body without its spirit). When we are resurrected, our spirits return to our bodies (put the jacket on again), and they are never separated again. Let the children take turns putting the jacket on and taking it off while another child explains what happens when we are resurrected.

1 Corinthians 15:29

I can be baptized for people who died.

The children you teach can prepare now to go to the temple and be baptized for the dead when they turn 12 years old. Paul mentions this important doctrine in his letter to the Corinthians.

Possible Activities

• Help the children think of things they cannot do for themselves (such as carrying something heavy or reaching something on a high shelf). Who helps them do these things? Show a picture of one of your ancestors who died without being baptized. Tell the children about this person, and explain that this person can’t be baptized without help from someone on earth.

• Ask the children if they have any family members who have been to the temple to perform baptisms for the dead. Show pictures of a temple baptismal font. Do the children know what happens here? Explain that in the temple we can be baptized for people who have died without being baptized. Then those people can choose whether to accept the baptism.

1 Corinthians 15:40–41

Heavenly Father wants me to live with Him in the celestial kingdom.

How can you teach the children about the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms? These activities could help.

Possible Activities

• Write on the board celestial, terrestrial, and telestial. Help the children learn to say these terms.

• Show pictures of the sun, moon, and stars. Which shines the brightest? Read 1 Corinthians 15:40–41 to the children (see also Joseph Smith Translation, 1 Corinthians 15:40, footnote a). Explain that the sun, moon, and stars represent the kingdoms we can live in after we are resurrected. In the celestial kingdom, we can live with Heavenly Father.

• Draw the sun on the board and place small pieces of paper, or steps, on the ground leading to the sun. Each paper could represent something we need to do to enter the celestial kingdom (see D&C 76:50–53). Allow the children to share ideas and take steps toward the celestial kingdom.

Paul compared celestial glory to the sun.

Teach the Doctrine

Older Children

1 Corinthians 15:12–22

Because of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection, I will be resurrected.

Do the children you teach understand the importance of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection? These ideas may help.

Possible Activities

• Invite the children to take turns reading verses in 1 Corinthians 15:12–22, looking for answers to the question “What would happen if there were no resurrection?”

• Invite the children to role-play how to explain resurrection to someone. For ideas, see Thomas S. Monson’s message “Mrs. Patton—the Story Continues” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 21–24). See also the video “Until We Meet Again” (LDS.org). Bear your testimony of the Resurrection of Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:12–13, 20–22, 29

I can prepare to go to the temple to be baptized for the dead.

When the children turn 12, they can receive a temple recommend and perform baptisms for the dead in the temple. How can you help them prepare?

Possible Activities

• Read 1 Corinthians 15:29. What were the Saints in Paul’s day doing that we also do today?

• Ask the children why we are baptized for the dead. If necessary, explain that many of our ancestors did not have the opportunity to be baptized and confirmed during this life. In the temple, we can be baptized and confirmed for them.

• A few days before class, ask a parent of one of the children to come prepared to share his or her family tree, or to tell a story about an ancestor. You could also share about your own ancestors.

• Invite a member of the bishopric to share some things the children can do to be worthy to enter the temple. Ask the children what they can do to remember to do these things. Write their ideas on the board. Invite them to make a goal to go to the temple someday.

1 Corinthians 15:40–41

After I am resurrected, I can live in the celestial kingdom.

To teach the Corinthians about the bodies we will receive in the Resurrection, Paul mentioned three degrees of glory: celestial, terrestrial, and telestial.

Possible Activities

• Read 1 Corinthians 15:40–41 and invite a child to draw a sun, moon, and star on the board. Ask class members to identify which kind of resurrected body is represented by each drawing.

• Sing together a song about temples, such as “The Lord Gave Me a Temple” (Children’s Songbook, 153). What does this song teach us about preparing to live in celestial glory?

• Explain that Joseph Smith had a vision in which he saw three kingdoms that match the kinds of bodies Paul describes. Help the children find phrases from Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–53, 70; 76:71–79; 76:81–82 that describe these three kingdoms.

Encourage Learning at Home

Invite the children to ask their parents to tell them a story about one of their ancestors. They could share the story with the class next week.

Improving Our Teaching

Encourage children to ask questions. “Strive to see [the children’s] questions as opportunities, not as distractions or impediments to your lesson. … Such questions give you valuable insights into what the children are thinking, what concerns they have, and how they are responding to the things they are learning. Help them see that the answers to their questions can be found in the scriptures and the words of living prophets” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 25–26).