1 Nephi 12–14

January 25–31

“Armed with Righteousness and with the Power of God”

Preparing to Teach in Primary

Begin your preparation to teach by reading 1 Nephi 12–14 before studying any supplemental material. Prepare your teaching plan and record your thoughts and impressions. You might also use some of the ideas on the next page or in Come, Follow Me for individuals and families.

Encourage Sharing

• How can you encourage the children to share the feelings and experiences they had as they studied these scriptures individually and with their families? How can you also involve children who may not have read in advance?

Teach the Doctrine

• As you teach the doctrine found in 1 Nephi 12–14, what verses, quotations, experiences, questions, and other resources might you share with the children? How might you use these resources to help children learn gospel principles? How can you encourage children to act on the truths they learn in class?

Encourage Sharing and Learning at Home

• What can the children share at home with their families? How can you encourage them to continue to learn about the Book of Mormon at home?

My Teaching Plan

Improving Our Teaching

Modify activities for the age of the children you teach.

As children mature, they can contribute more in class. They have more experience and may be better at sharing their thoughts. When teaching younger children, you may need to give detailed explanations. Always give children opportunities to share, testify, and participate on their own, and then provide help as needed.

Additional Ideas

Use one or more of the activities below to help children see how Heavenly Father can give them power to choose the right. You may also use your own activities to teach other truths that you find in these chapters.

1 Nephi 12:16–18; 15:23–25. The scriptures give me power to resist temptations.

• If you can help the children trust in the power of the word of God, you will prepare them to resist temptations they will face in the future. Lehi’s vision teaches this powerfully. How could you help children share what they remember about this vision? Would they enjoy drawing a picture and identifying the symbols in the vision? We can read in 1 Nephi 12:16–18 about some of the dangers along the path to the tree of life, and 1 Nephi 15:23–25 teaches how we avoid those dangers. What do the children learn from these verses? What do they feel inspired to do to stay on the path?

1 Nephi 13:26–29, 35–36, 40. The Book of Mormon restores precious truths.

• The truths in the Book of Mormon give us power. To teach this, you could invite children to make a list of truths that give them power to make good choices—for example, the truth that they are children of God. Older children may be able to read 1 Nephi 13:26–29 and identify what happens when people do not have the “plain and precious” truths of the gospel. Younger children may enjoy a simple activity showing that when we can’t see things clearly, we stumble. These discussions could be a good opportunity for you (or one of the children) to bear testimony of truths you have learned from the Book of Mormon.

1 Nephi 14:14. Covenants bring me power.

• When we make covenants with God, He promises to give us power (see 1 Nephi 14:14). For example, when we are baptized, God gives us power through the gift of the Holy Ghost. One way to illustrate the power of our covenants is to invite the children to complete a challenging activity by themselves (like building something or solving a puzzle), and then offer your help. You might explain how this relates to the help Heavenly Father gives us. If the children are preparing for baptism, you could use this opportunity to help them better understand the importance of the baptismal covenant they will make.

Sharing Time

Singing Time

Help the children learn the gospel through music.

• Consider singing “On a Golden Springtime” or “Book of Mormon Stories” (Children’s Songbook, 88 and 118–19).

Sharing by Children

Create opportunities for children to share how they are learning and living the gospel.

• Children could share how they “arm” themselves with righteousness (1 Nephi 14:14) through the scriptures, prayer, family home evening, and other ways. Children could also share a favorite verse of scripture that teaches a “plain and precious” truth (1 Nephi 13:28).