November 13–19

James

“Be Ye Doers of the Word, and Not Hearers Only”

The Epistle of James contains many truths that can bless the children you teach. Follow the Spirit to determine which truths you will share with them. The ideas in this outline can help.

Invite Sharing

Invite the children to share a gospel principle they remember learning with their family during the past week or from their Primary class last Sunday. After each child shares, invite another child in the class to summarize what was shared.

Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children

James 1:5–6

I can ask Heavenly Father to help me learn what is true.

Help the children you teach understand that they can turn to Heavenly Father for wisdom. Doing so will bless them greatly when they face difficult questions.

Possible Activities

• Help the children repeat the phrase “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” (James 1:5). How do we ask God questions? How does He answer us?

• Show a picture of the First Vision (Gospel Art Book, no. 90), or show the video “Joseph Smith’s First Vision” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Explain how reading James 1:5 prompted Joseph Smith to ask Heavenly Father to help him with a question (see Joseph Smith—History 1:1–20). Share your testimony that God answers prayers, and testify that the children can pray to Him when they have questions. Let the children draw their own pictures of Joseph Smith reading James 1:5 and praying to Heavenly Father.

James 3:1–13

I can speak with kindness.

As James testified, learning to say only kind things to others will help us become like Jesus Christ (see James 3:2).

Possible Activities

• Show pictures of something sweet and something sour. Help the children understand that Heavenly Father asks us to use our tongues to say sweet (or kind) things and not sour (or unkind) things (see James 3:10). Help them think of examples of nice things we can say to others.

• Give each child a simple drawing of a person speaking. Invite the children to hold it up when you say something nice that we can do with our words (such as telling the truth, giving compliments, and offering to help someone) and put it down when you say something that we shouldn’t do with our tongues (such as telling lies, calling other people names, and refusing to obey a parent).

• Reinforce the message of James 3:1–13 by singing together a song about being kind, such as “Kindness Begins with Me” (Children’s Songbook, 145).

James 5:7–11

Receiving God’s blessings requires patience.

Patience doesn’t always come naturally, especially for children. Consider how you can use James’s counsel to help the children you teach learn patience.

Possible Activities

• Help the children think of times when they have had to wait for something that they really wanted. Share an experience when you had to wait. Explain that waiting for something we want without complaining is called being patient.

• Summarize James 5:7 in your own words, and show a picture of a seed or seedling. Why do we need patience when we grow plants? What would happen if we tried to pull on the seedling to make it grow faster? You might also talk with the children about what it means to be patient with others and ourselves. Testify that God can help us learn to be patient.

• Share the story of Job, who is mentioned in James 5:11 as an example of patience (see “Job,” in Old Testament Stories, or the corresponding video on ChurchofJesusChrist.org). How was Job blessed for being patient?

Teach the Doctrine: Older Children

James 1:5–6

Heavenly Father will help me learn truth if I seek His help.

The children you teach are only a few years younger than Joseph Smith was when he read James 1:5 and was inspired to approach Heavenly Father in prayer. Consider how you can help the children you teach build their faith that God will help them when they lack wisdom.

Possible Activities

• Ask the children to tell you the story of Joseph Smith’s First Vision in their own words (see Joseph Smith—History 1:5–20; see also the video “Joseph Smith’s First Vision” on ChurchofJesusChrist.org). How did reading James 1:5 help Joseph? Help the children think of other examples of people in the scriptures who received an answer to their prayers, such as Nephi (see 1 Nephi 11:1–6) and the brother of Jared (see Ether 2:18–3:9). What are some things we can ask Heavenly Father in prayer?

• Read with the children Joseph Smith—History 1:10–14. Invite the children to find things Joseph Smith did to receive answers to his questions. How can we follow Joseph’s example when we have questions?

James 1:22–27; 2:14–26

“Faith without works is dead.”

How will you help the children see the connection between what they believe and what they do?

Possible Activities

• Show the children a flashlight without batteries, a pencil without lead, or something else that is useless or “dead.” Ask the children to read James 2:14–17. How do these objects illustrate the truth in these verses?

• Invite some of the children to quietly read James 1:22–27 and others to read 2:14–18. Then invite them to share what they could do to show that they are doers of the word. For instance, how are they keeping their baptismal covenant? Do they know someone who is sick or lonely who they might visit? How could they serve their families more? You could also remind them of words they might have heard in sacrament meeting today. How can we be doers of these words?

“Abraham believed God” (James 2:23). Abraham on the Plains of Mamre, by Grant Romney Clawson

James 3:1–13

I can choose to speak with kindness.

The words we say to each other may seem unimportant, but as James testified, they can have a powerful influence, for good or bad.

Possible Activities

• Is there someone in the ward, perhaps one of the children you teach, who has worked with horses or knows something about boats? You could invite him or her to provide insights about James’s teachings in James 3:3–4 about using kind words. Or provide some of your own insights. What do we learn about controlling our tongues from these examples?

• Invite the children to read James 3:1–13 and to draw a picture of something they find that teaches about controlling our tongues. Give them time to share their pictures and what they learned. Sing together a song about using kind words, such as “Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words” (Hymns, no. 232).

• After reviewing James 3:1–13 together, review the standards for language in For the Strength of Youth ([booklet, 2022], 12). Help the children set a goal to improve the way they speak to others, and encourage them to ask Heavenly Father to help them with this goal.

Encourage Learning at Home

Invite the children to do something this week to apply what they learned in class, like praying to Heavenly Father with a question or trying to be more patient. Ask them to share their experience in the next class.

Improving Our Teaching

Help children be active. “As you teach children, allow them to build, draw, color, write, and create. These things are more than fun activities—they are essential to learning” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 25).