“Lesson 14: Dare to Choose the Right,” Primary 2: Choose the Right A (1995), 68–74

“Lesson 14,” Primary 2, 68–74

Lesson 14

Dare to Choose the Right

Purpose

To help the children understand that they can choose the right as Jesus Christ did when Satan tried to tempt him.

Preparation

Prayerfully study Matthew 4:1–11.
Make a simple crown out of construction paper or similar material, as shown:
Trace or copy a “Choose the Right” game board (shown at the end of the lesson) onto stiff paper or cardboard.
Write the questions for the game (pages 71–72) on separate pieces of paper, and put them in a small sack or other container.
Prepare to sing or say the words to the first verse of “Dare to Do Right” (Children’s Songbook, p. 158). The words to this song are included at the back of the manual.
Optional: Copy Elder Pinegar’s letter and put it in an envelope.
Materials needed:
1. A Bible.
2. A few stones.
3. Two buttons or other small objects of different shapes or colors to be used as markers in the “Choose the Right” review game.
4. CTR chart (see lesson 1).
5. Picture 2-21, Elder Rex D. Pinegar; picture 2-22, Temple Used Anciently (Gospel Art Picture Kit 118; 62300).
Make the necessary preparations for any enrichment activities you want to use.

Suggested Lesson Development

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Follow up with the children if you encouraged them to do something during the week.

We Can Make Choices for Ourselves

Attention activity

Show the “Choose the Right” game board and ask the children to listen closely to the lesson so they will be able to answer the questions that go with the game.

Discussion

Has anyone ever dared you to do something?

Let the children tell about times when someone dared them to do something.

Letter

Tell the children that you have a letter for them from Elder Rex D. Pinegar, a General Authority of the Church. Explain that he tells about an experience he had with a dare when he was seven years old. Show picture 2-21, Elder Rex D. Pinegar, and read or tell about the letter. (If you made a copy of the letter and put it in an envelope, read from that letter instead of from the manual.)

“My dear friends,

“‘I dare you!’ are words boys and girls often hear from friends who want you to prove to them that you are brave or strong or daring. They may ask you to do something that your parents or teachers have told you not to do—something that you know is wrong to do. I have learned that when we do something we know is wrong, we show weakness rather than strength. A person shows true bravery and strength only when he has the courage to do right.

“Once, when I was about seven years old, I had a pal whom I liked very much. We often walked home from school together. … We talked of being brave and of being able to do many things.

“Sometimes we would dare each other to jump across a ditch or to climb a tree just to prove that we were brave or that we could do things we had seen older boys and girls do.

“As we came to my home one day we stood out by the road and talked about who was the fastest runner in the school. … When I strongly insisted that I could run faster than my friend, he turned to me and said, ‘If you’re so fast, I dare you to run across the road before that car gets here!’

“I looked up the road and saw a car a short distance away. Without another word I dashed into the road to prove that I was fast and brave. A moment later the car’s brakes squealed! Its bumper hit me, and I landed in an unconscious heap.

“When I opened my eyes, my aching body, a hurt pride, and my mother’s anxious face made me realize that I had been neither fast nor brave. I had only been foolish. I had brought sadness to myself and to others. …

“The lesson I learned … has been valuable to me throughout my life. I learned that the only dare a person should ever accept is the DARE TO DO RIGHT.

“If you accept a dare to do something that is not right, something that Heavenly Father or your parents would not want you to do, you will be left with a sad and disappointed feeling. When you dare to do right you will have a good feeling about yourself.

“As one friend to another I encourage you to be obedient to your parents and to the teachings of the Lord. … By daring to do right you will become a friend of Jesus Christ and you will enjoy His greatest blessings.

“May you always DARE TO DO RIGHT.

“With love, your friend, Rex D. Pinegar” (“Friend to Friend,” Friend, Oct. 1974, pp. 10–11).

Discussion

What choice did young Rex Pinegar make? (He chose to run in front of the car.)
Did he choose the right?
What should he have done?
What do you think he learned from this accident?
When someone dares you to do something, do you have to do it?

Remind the children that Elder Pinegar told them to “dare to do right.”

What does it mean to dare to do right?

Explain that it is not always easy to choose the right, especially when someone dares us to do something wrong. We all want our friends to think we are strong and brave, and we do not want them to call us names. Explain that daring to do right means doing the right thing even when it is difficult.

Song

Have the children stand and sing or say the words to the first verse of “Dare to Do Right.” If the children are not familiar with the song, sing or say it to them a few times to help them learn the words. Suggest to the children that the next time someone dares them to do something foolish, they can think of the words to this song. The words to the song will remind them to choose the right and will help them have the courage to do so.

CTR ring

Ask the children to look at their CTR rings if they are wearing them. Point out that their rings can also help them remember to choose the right.

Teacher presentation

Tell the children that a dare to do something wrong is called a temptation. Have the children repeat the word temptation a few times. Explain that Satan tries to tempt people to make wrong choices. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want everyone to make right choices because they know the only way to be happy is to always try to choose the right. Satan does not want us to be happy, and he knows that wrong choices will make us unhappy.

Satan Wanted Jesus Christ to Make Wrong Choices

Scripture story

Tell the story of Jesus Christ being tempted in the wilderness, as found in Matthew 4:1–11. Explain that after Jesus was baptized, he wanted to be alone to fast and pray so he could feel closer to Heavenly Father. He fasted for forty days and forty nights. That means that he didn’t eat anything for forty days.

How do you feel when you have not eaten anything for a long time?
How do you think Jesus felt after fasting for forty days?

Explain that Satan thought this would be a good time to tempt Jesus because he would be very hungry and weak from not eating. Satan wanted to tempt Jesus to use his power in the wrong way.

Bring out the stones, the paper crown, and picture 2-22, Temple Used Anciently. Ask the children to listen carefully to see what these things have to do with the temptations Satan offered Jesus.

Hold up the stones. Read aloud Matthew 4:3. Explain that Satan first tried to get the Savior to turn the stones into bread. Jesus knew that it was not right to use his power to do this even though he was hungry. Instead he told Satan that food is not as important as doing what is right (see Matthew 4:4).

Hold up picture 2-22, Temple Used Anciently. Explain that Satan next tried to get the Savior to prove he was the Son of God by jumping off the temple. Satan told Jesus that if he jumped and angels saved him from getting hurt, that would prove he was the Son of God (see Matthew 4:6). Jesus refused to do what Satan dared him to do. He knew that it was not right to do foolish things and expect Heavenly Father to protect him (see Matthew 4:7).

Hold up the crown. Explain that Satan tried one more temptation. Satan said Jesus could have all the rich and powerful kingdoms of the world if he would fall down and worship Satan (see Matthew 4:8–9). Jesus knew that he should worship only Heavenly Father. He commanded Satan to leave.

Scripture

Read aloud from Matthew 4:10 what Jesus said to Satan: “Get thee hence, Satan.” Have the children stand and repeat these words.

Explain that Jesus always chose the right because he loved the right and had promised to obey all of Heavenly Father’s commandments.

We Can Choose the Right As Jesus Did

CTR chart

Display the CTR chart and have the children repeat the words on the chart. Explain that we become more like Jesus by always trying to make right choices. Heavenly Father will help us if we try to choose the right.

Review game

Help the children play the “Choose the Right” game. Tell the children the game will help them remember how Jesus Christ always chose the right and how they can also choose the right.

Divide the class into two teams and give each team a button or other small object as a marker. Have each team place its marker on the space on the game board labeled “Go.” Have the children on each team take turns choosing questions from the papers you have prepared (the questions may be used more than once). Read each question and let the team members answer it together. If they answer correctly, they move their marker the number of spaces indicated after the question. If they answer a question incorrectly, they must leave their marker on the same square.

If a team lands on a “CTR” square, they climb up the ladder to the square above. If they land on a “WC” (wrong choice) square, they slide down to the square below.

Questions for the Game

Why did young Rex Pinegar run in front of a car? (Move ahead two spaces.)
Was Elder Pinegar glad or sad that he took the dare? (Move ahead one space.)
How many days did Jesus Christ fast and pray in the wilderness? (Move ahead two spaces.)
Who tried to tempt Jesus? (Move ahead three spaces.)
What does it mean to fast? (Move ahead five spaces.)
How many different ways did Satan try to tempt Jesus? (Move ahead two spaces.)
What did Satan want Jesus to do with the stones? (Move ahead four spaces.)
What did Satan want Jesus to do from the top of the temple? (Move ahead three spaces.)
What did Satan promise Jesus if he would fall down and worship him? (Move ahead five spaces.)
Did Jesus do what Satan wanted him to do? (Move ahead three spaces.)
What do Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to do when someone dares us to do something wrong or foolish? (Move ahead five spaces.)
What should we do when we have a choice to make? (Move ahead six spaces.)
What is a temptation? (Move ahead six spaces.)
Will we be happy or unhappy if we make wrong choices? (Move ahead one space.)
When someone dares you to do something, do you have to do it? (Move ahead two spaces.)

Answers to Questions

He accepted his friend’s dare to do it.
Sad.
Forty.
Satan.
Not eat or drink anything.
Three.
Change them to bread.
Jump off to prove he was the Son of Heavenly Father.
All the kingdoms of the world and their power.
No.
Choose the right.
Choose the right.
A dare to do something wrong.
Unhappy.
No.

Summary

Teacher presentation

Explain that even though Jesus Christ was tempted, he always chose the right. Remind the children that when they need to make choices they can ask themselves, “What would Heavenly Father and Jesus want me to do?” They can also sing “Dare to Do Right” (or “Choose the Right”) and look at their CTR rings. These things will remind them to choose the right.

CTR chart

Have the children again say the words on the CTR chart.

Testimony

Testify to the children that choosing the right will make them happy. You may want to tell about a time when someone dared you to make a foolish choice. Explain the choice you made and how you felt about it afterward.

Encourage the children to choose the right when someone dares them to do something foolish.

Invite a child to give the closing prayer.

Enrichment Activities

Choose from the following activities those that will work best for the children in your class. You can use them in the lesson itself or as a review or summary. For additional guidance, see “Class Time” in “Helps for the Teacher.”

Help the children say the following words or sing them to the tune of “If You’re Happy” (Children’s Songbook, p. 266), using the actions indicated:

To show I choose the right I tell the truth (pat lips [or clap hands] and turn around).

To show I choose the right I tell the truth (pat lips and turn around).

I know the Savior’s way and it shows in what I say;

To show I choose the right, I tell the truth (pat lips and turn around).

You may want to sing or say the song several more times, replacing “I tell the truth” with other phrases such as “I will be kind” or “I say my prayers.”
Help the children act out how they would dare to do right in situations where they have a choice to make. Use the situations below or create some of your own:
1. A friend dares you to steal some candy from the store.
2. Other children in your Primary class are teasing a new boy about the way he is dressed.
3. Your little sister breaks your favorite toy.
4. Your mother has just asked you to do several chores for her when your friend comes to the door and asks you to come outside and play.
5. Your friends dare you to run into the busy street to get the ball they were playing with.
6. A stranger offers you candy.
Show picture 2-38, The First Vision, and briefly tell the story of the First Vision, as found in Joseph Smith—History 1:14–20. Explain that when Joseph Smith told other people that he had seen Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, many people didn’t believe him. They made fun of him and called him names. They wanted him to say the vision wasn’t real (see JS—H 1:21–26). But Joseph Smith dared to do right—he did the things that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ wanted him to do.
Give each child a copy of the CTR shield (found at the front of the manual) and crayons or pencils. Let the children color their shields. Explain to the children that daring to do right can be like a shield and protect them from the consequences of foolish choices. Ask the children to put their shields somewhere in their homes where they will remind the children to choose the right.

Choose the Right

CTR