“May 16–22. Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34: ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord,’” Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Old Testament 2022 (2021)
“May 16–22. Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34,” Come, Follow Me—For Primary: 2022
Illustration of Moses on Mount Nebo, © Providence Collection/licensed from goodsalt.com
May 16–22
Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34
“Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord”
Ponder how you could adapt the activities in this outline to the needs of the children you teach. For example, if you teach young children, you could help them prepare for baptism by adapting the activities under “Keeping my covenants brings great blessings” in the section for older children.
Record Your Impressions
Invite Sharing
Invite the children to share things they have learned about Moses in Primary or at home over the past few weeks. If needed, show pictures of events from Moses’s life to help them remember. Tell them that today you will be talking about things Moses taught at the end of his life on earth.
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
I can love the Lord with all my heart.
Moses taught the children of Israel that they should love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and might. Think of ways you can help the children you teach increase their love for Heavenly Father and the Savior.
Possible Activities
-
Draw on the board a heart, an outline of a body, and a strong arm. Read Deuteronomy 6:5, and point to the pictures as you read the words “heart,” “soul,” and “might.” Invite the children to take turns pointing to the pictures as the class repeats the scripture passage with you.
-
Sing a song that teaches about God’s love, such as “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” (Children’s Songbook, 228–29). Help the children find words in the song that show that Heavenly Father loves us. Help them think of ways we can show Him we love Him too.
The scriptures are the word of God.
The counsel in Deuteronomy 6:6–9 was meant to help the Israelites “beware lest [they] forget the Lord” and His word (verse 12). How can you help the children make the scriptures a consistent part of their lives?
Possible Activities
-
Invite a child to hide a copy of the scriptures in the room while the rest of the children close their eyes. Then invite the children to open their eyes and try to find the scriptures. Using key phrases from Deuteronomy 6:6–9, share with the children that Moses told the Israelites to put scripture passages in places where they would see them and learn from them every day. Help the children think of places in their homes where they could put scriptures in order to see them every day.
-
Sing a song about the scriptures, such as “Search, Ponder, and Pray” (Children’s Songbook, 109). Share your testimony that the scriptures are the word of God, and tell the children how they bless your life.
Jesus Christ is the prophet like unto Moses.
Prophets teach us about Jesus Christ.
Moses prophesied that Jesus Christ would come and that we should listen to the words Jesus would teach.
Possible Activities
-
Help one of the children read Deuteronomy 18:18, and tell the children that the Prophet like Moses that God would raise up is Jesus Christ. To help the children see ways in which Moses and Jesus are similar, bring pictures of things Moses did and things Jesus Christ did, and let the children match them. For instance, you could bring pictures of Moses and Jesus ordaining others and teaching (see Gospel Art Book, nos. 15, 16, 38, 39).
-
Show the children a picture of our prophet today, and share something he has taught about the Savior. Invite the children to draw a picture of the prophet to share with their families.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
I can keep the word of God in my heart.
Moses taught that we should keep the word of God in our hearts, and he gave the Israelites counsel about how to keep the word of God constantly before them. How will you inspire the children to learn from the word of God daily?
Possible Activities
-
On the board, write words and phrases from Deuteronomy 6:6–9 that indicate when and how the Israelites were to remember the word of God (such as sittest, walkest, liest down, hand, and house). Invite the children to find these words in the verses. What do these words teach about how to make the scriptures part of our everyday lives? Ask the children what they can do to remember the word of God in their daily life.
-
Give each child a piece of paper, and invite them to write down a phrase from Deuteronomy 6 that is meaningful to them. Ask them to share why they chose their phrase. Suggest that they decorate their paper and display it in their home to remember it. Encourage the children to write down and display other phrases they find in the scriptures.
I can joyfully serve those in need.
The teachings in Deuteronomy 15:7–11 can help the children you teach understand that helping others involves more than just actions. It should be done with a willing heart.
Possible Activities
-
Write who, why, and how on the board. Invite the children to read Deuteronomy 15:7–11 to find out who we should help, why we should help them, and how our hearts should feel about helping. Let them write on the board what they find. Sing a song that reinforces the message in these verses, such as “Have I Done Any Good?” (Hymns, no. 223).
-
Ask the children to think of someone they could help—especially in their own family. Provide time for them to write down what they will do this week to help that person. If possible, make plans to reach out as a class to someone in need.
Keeping my covenants brings great blessings.
Like the children of Israel, we need constant reminders to live our covenants. Reading Deuteronomy 30:8–10 can help the children better understand what a covenant is and inspire them to keep their covenants.
Possible Activities
-
Ask the children what a covenant is (if they need help, suggest that they find a definition in “Covenant” in the Guide to the Scriptures [scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org]). Draw a two-column chart on the board with these headings: Israelites’ promises and God’s promises. Invite the children to search Deuteronomy 30:8–10 and fill in the chart. (If necessary, help the children understand the meanings of phrases in verse 9.) Testify of blessings that have come to you from keeping your covenants.
-
Invite the children to list on the board the promises we make at baptism and the promises Heavenly Father makes to us (see Doctrine and Covenants 20:37, 77). What can we do to always remember the Savior and keep our covenants?
Encourage Learning at Home
Invite the children to pretend you are a member of their family, and ask them to tell you one thing they learned in class today. Encourage them to share what they told you with one of their family members when they get home.
Improving Our Teaching
Ask inspired questions. Ask questions that invite the children not just to report facts but to share their testimonies of gospel truths. For example, if you are discussing the commandments, you could ask the children to share how keeping the commandments has blessed them.