We Can All Help at Church

Purpose

To help each child understand that every member of the ward or branch can help at church.

Preparation

Prayerfully study 1 Nephi 17:7–15; 18:1–4.
Prepare a simple thank-you card for each child to color and give to the Primary president or to someone else who helps the children at church. You may want to draw a flower on the front of a folded piece of paper and write the words Thank you on the inside.
Materials needed:
1. A Book of Mormon.
2. The fishing pole and fish from lesson 11. On each fish put a clue about the bishop or branch president, such as “He sits on the stand at church,” “He helps the people of our ward [or branch],” or “We can give our tithing to him.”
3. A container of crayons or pencils.
4. Picture 1-8, Passing the Sacrament (62021); picture 1-67, A Reverent Class; picture 1-71, Building the Ship.
Make the necessary preparations for any Enrichment Activities you want to use.

Learning Activities

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Attention Activity

Bring a chair to the center of the classroom and try to lift it by one of its legs. Explain that there are many things we can’t do unless we work together. Invite three children to each take a leg of the chair and help you lift the chair a few inches off the floor. Explain that when everyone works together, we can do many things we can’t do alone.

Heavenly Father and Jesus want us to work together

Story

Show picture 1-71, Building the Ship, and briefly tell the story of Nephi and his family building the ship, as found in 1 Nephi 17:7–15 and 1 Nephi 18:1–4. Emphasize that Nephi needed the help of the Lord (Jesus) and his family to build the ship.

Why couldn’t Nephi build the ship without help?
How did the Lord help Nephi? (See 1 Nephi 17:8–10; 1 Nephi 18:1.)
How did Nephi’s family help? (See 1 Nephi 18:1.)
What happened when everyone worked together? (See 1 Nephi 18:4.)

Allow the children to talk about any experiences they have had working together with other people.

Activity

Explain that we also work together at church. Each person in the ward (or branch) helps the others. Pretend, through words or actions, to be someone who helps the members of your class at church each week, such as the chorister, the pianist, a teacher, or the Primary president. Have the children guess who you are pretending to be. After the children guess who you are, explain the responsibilities of that person’s calling. Repeat as many times as you want.

Show picture 1-8, Passing the Sacrament.

What is this deacon doing?
Do you know anyone who passes the sacrament?

Explain that young men who hold the Aaronic Priesthood may prepare, bless, and pass the sacrament. These are ways that young men can help at church.

Activity

Explain that there is someone in your ward or branch who helps everyone at church. Heavenly Father has given this person an important work to do. Have the children take turns fishing for the clues on the paper fish. Read each clue aloud. Continue until all the clues have been read, and then let the children guess who the person is.

What is the name of our bishop (or branch president)?
What important things does he do to help us?

Discuss the work done by other people in your ward or branch, such as home teachers and visiting teachers. You may want to talk about the callings the children’s family members have.

We can help at church

Activity

Scatter a container of crayons or pencils on the floor. Ask one of the children to pick them up, and time him or her to see how long it takes. Scatter the items again. Have the whole class help pick them up, and see how much time it takes. Explain that when everyone works together, we can get the job done better.

What can you do to help at church?

Help the children think of ways they can help at church, including keeping the meetinghouse clean, being kind to others, helping children who are sad or frightened, and being reverent during meetings.

How can we help keep our classroom and the meetinghouse clean?
How can we help other people at church?

Show picture 1-67, A Reverent Class.

How are these children helping at church?
How does it help our classmates when we are reverent?
How does it help the teacher when everyone is reverent?
How do we feel when everyone is reverent?

Activity

Explain that another way we can help at church is by saying “thank you” to the people who do things for us. Have the children color the thank-you cards you have prepared, and deliver them during class time if possible.

Testimony

Express your gratitude for all the people who help in your ward or branch. Tell how you feel about doing Heavenly Father’s work by being a Primary teacher.

Enrichment Activities

Choose some of these activities to use during the lesson.

Sing or say the words to “Our Bishop” (Children’s Songbook, p. 135). Have the children shake hands with each other whenever the word bishop is mentioned.
If possible, go for a walk to the chapel and show the children where the bishopric (or branch presidency) sits during sacrament meeting. Let the children take turns sitting in the chairs. Then show the children where the bishop’s (or branch president’s) office is.
Toss or hand a soft object such as a ball or beanbag to a child, and ask him or her to name someone in the ward (or branch) who helps at church and explain how that person helps. Then have the child toss the object back to you. Continue until each child has had at least one turn.
With the approval of your Primary president, invite a member of the bishopric or another ward leader to visit the class and tell the children what he or she does to help at church.
Draw a simple face on a paper plate or round piece of paper for each child. Give the children crayons or pencils, and have each child add hair the same color as his or her own hair. Tell the children that if you say something that is true about how they can help at church, they should hold up their paper faces. If the statement is false, they should leave them on their laps. Use statements such as—
- I should throw paper under my chair.
- I should thank people who help me at church.
- I should run on my way to class.
- I should be reverent at church.

Additional Activities for Younger Children

Play “Follow the Leader” with the children. Have the children stand in a line. The first child in line runs, hops, skips, or does some other action to the other side of the room. The other children follow the first child, doing what he or she did. Then the first child goes to the end of the line, and the next child becomes the new leader. Continue until each child has had a turn to be the leader.

After the game remind the children that the bishop is the leader of the ward. He wants us to do the things that will lead us back to Heavenly Father.
Sing the song “Do As I’m Doing” (Children’s Songbook, p. 276), using an action suggested by one of the children in the class. Repeat the song enough times that each child has a turn to choose an action.