Lesson 2

Heavenly Father Trusts Us to Follow His Plan

Purpose

To help each child understand that Heavenly Father trusts him or her to make right choices.

Preparation

1. Study Abraham 3:22–28.

2. Make a badge for each child and one for yourself as shown:

   

   In the center of your badge, write the letters CTR.

3. Be prepared to teach the second verse of “Choose the Right Way” (Children’s Songbook, p. 160); the words are included at the back of this manual.

4. Materials needed:

   1. A crayon or pencil for each child.

   2. A pin or a piece of tape for each badge.

   3. The CTR shield at the front of the manual.

   4. Chalk, chalkboard, and eraser (or some other writing surface).

   5. Picture 3-2, Heavenly Father Gave Us His Plan.

5. Make the necessary preparations for any enrichment activities that you will be using.

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 Are Children of a Great King

Attention activity

Tell the following story about the son of a great king:

Once there was a king whose son, the prince, was captured and taken far away from his home.

His captors tried to force the prince to do wrong. They tried to teach him to be unkind to the people around him. They used bad language and tried to make him swear. They tried to force him to lie, cheat, and steal. They even tried to force him to take foods and drink that weren’t good for his health. But not once did the prince do any of these bad things. Finally, after six months of this terrible treatment, the captors asked the prince, “Why won’t you do what we want you to do?”

He answered, “I cannot do what you ask, because I am the son of a king, and my father has taught me to do what is right. I was born to be a king.”

Discussion

Explain that the prince knew he was the son of a king and was expected to be a king himself when he grew up.

Tell the children that the child of a king is in the classroom today.

Poem

Ask the children to listen to a poem to discover who this great king’s child is. Read or help one of the children read the following poem:

“I am a child of royal birth.

My Father is King of heaven and earth.

My spirit was born in the courts on high.

A child beloved, a princess (or prince) am I.”

(Anna Johnson, “I Am a Child of Royal Birth,” Children’s Friend, Oct. 1959, p. 29.)

• Who is the royal child? (Each of us.)

• Who is the king? (Heavenly Father.)

Help the children understand that each person in the class is a prince or princess. We are all children of the greatest of all kings, our loving Heavenly Father. He wants us to do what is right, just as the prince in the story did.

Heavenly Father Trusts Us

Chalkboard activity

Print the word trust on the chalkboard.

• What does trust mean?

Allow the children to respond.

Story

• Have you ever been where it is very dark?

Tell the following story:

When Susan was nine years old, her father took her to explore a cave near their home. As they entered the cave, Susan was frightened because it was dark and strange. Her father helped calm her fears by taking her hand and talking with her as they walked inside. He taught her to feel the walls with her hands and slide her feet along the uneven ground.

Slowly they inched their way through the cave in the darkness. Susan was frightened and at times wanted to turn back, but her father was always close by and encouraged her to go on.

Soon Susan saw a light up ahead. It was an opening at the other end of the cave. Filled with courage, she stepped quickly to the opening and felt great pride about what she had done. Her father smiled. Then he asked Susan whether she thought she could make the trip back through the cave alone. Susan was a little frightened at the idea of going alone but was willing to go. Susan’s father told her that she would be safe in the tunnel and expressed great confidence in her ability to make it alone. He also assured her that he would be waiting at the other end of the tunnel for her.

Susan moved back inside the cave with slow cautious steps, feeling the walls with her hands and the ground with her feet, just as her father had taught her. Susan felt new excitement as she slowly moved closer to the other end of the cave. She was very happy when she walked out the other end of the cave into the sunlight and her father’s waiting arms.

Tell the children that just as Susan’s father taught her how to find her way through the cave, our Heavenly Father teaches us how to find our way through life and return to him. When Susan’s father sent her back through the cave alone, he trusted her to feel the walls and the ground in order to find her way out. Our Father in Heaven trusts us to make right choices so that we can find our way back to him. He is waiting for us to come back to him.

Discussion

• Where were we before we came to earth? (We lived with our Heavenly Father; see Abraham 3:22–23.)

Explain that we loved Heavenly Father, and we knew that he loved us. We were happy there. Heavenly Father told us that he wanted us to become like him and that he had a plan that would help us accomplish this goal.

Picture

Show picture 3-2, Heavenly Father Gave Us His Plan, and point out that Jesus was there with us. We were all there together.

Heavenly Father’s plan included the creation of an earth for us. On earth we would learn the difference between right and wrong and choose for ourselves what we would do. Our Heavenly Father knew that we would make mistakes. But he would send Jesus Christ to help us overcome them. (See Abraham 3:24–27.)

Explain that Heavenly Father chose Jesus to help us because he was obedient and wanted to follow Heavenly Father’s plan. Heavenly Father also chose him to create this earth for us.

We had another brother named Lucifer. He wanted us to follow him instead of Heavenly Father. But following Lucifer would not have been good for us. Heavenly Father knew that and chose Jesus to carry out his plan. That made Lucifer very angry. (See Abraham 3:27–28.)

• What did Lucifer do? (He convinced many people to follow him instead of Heavenly Father.

• Whom did we choose to follow? (Heavenly Father and Jesus. Explain that only those who chose to follow Heavenly Father and Jesus receive bodies. Those who chose to follow Lucifer do not get bodies.)

• What happened to Lucifer? (He was cast out of heaven and is known as Satan or the devil. He tries to tempt us to do wrong. Explain that he is still trying to get us to follow him instead of Heavenly Father and Jesus, just as he was when we all lived with Heavenly Father.)

Tell the children that choosing to follow Heavenly Father and Jesus was the right choice and that Heavenly Father and Jesus were pleased with our decision. Heavenly Father wants us to choose to follow his plan here on earth so we can return to live with him.

We Can Follow Heavenly Father’s Plan by Choosing the Right

Game

Explain to the children that there are many ways to choose the right every day. Help them play the game “What Would Heavenly Father Want Me to Do?”

Give each child a turn to answer one of the following questions. Add more questions if needed so that each child has the opportunity to choose what he or she would do. Make the questions appropriate for your class.

1. What would Heavenly Father want me to do if I were so tired one night that I wanted to go to sleep without saying my prayers?

2. What would Heavenly Father want me to do if I promised my mother I would help her, but a friend came by and asked me to play instead?

3. What would Heavenly Father want me to do if I found something that belonged to someone else?

4. What would Heavenly Father want me to do if I accidentally broke my friend’s favorite toy?

5. What would Heavenly Father want me to do if I promised my mother I would be home at a certain time?

Song and discussion

Tell the children that the second verse of “Choose the Right Way” explains some ways we can choose the right and show that we are worthy of Heavenly Father’s trust in us. Have them listen as you repeat the words to the second verse.

• What does the song tell us we can do to choose the right? (Pray, have faith, repent, and obey.)

Print these words on the chalkboard. For younger children, say the words aloud and have them repeat the words with you. Ask the children what these words mean. Enlarge on their ideas as needed:

1. Pray means to talk to Heavenly Father. Thank him for all his blessings to you, and ask him to help you choose the right.

2. Have faith means to believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you and will help you.

3. Repent is to feel sorry for anything you have done wrong, ask Heavenly Father to forgive you, and not do it again.

4. Obey means to do what Heavenly Father has asked us to do.

• What does the song say will happen if we live the teachings of Jesus? (We will be happy.)

Help the children learn the words by repeating them several times. Then sing the song through with the children. You might want to erase the words on the chalkboard as the children learn them.

Summary

Badge

Give each child a paper badge and a crayon or pencil if they can write. Read aloud the words “My Heavenly Father Trusts Me to—”.

• What does Heavenly Father trust us to do? (Choose the right.)

Help the children understand that when they are eight years old, they can choose to be baptized because they are old enough to know right from wrong. Heavenly Father trusts them to choose the right.

Show the children the CTR shield found in the front of the manual. You might also want to remind them of the letters CTR on their rings.

Have an older child write on the chalkboard the letters that stand for “choose the right.” Let the children see your badge with the letters in the center. Have them write the letters on their own badges if they can and help them pin the badges on their clothing.

Testimony

Bear testimony that all of the children in the class are children of Heavenly Father. He is more powerful than any king on earth. Heavenly Father trusts each one of them to do what is right so they can return to live with him again.

Suggest that the child giving the closing prayer give thanks for a loving Heavenly Father who trusts us to do right.

Enrichment Activities

Choose from the following activities those that will work best for your children. 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.”

1. Tell the children that you are going to step out of the room for a moment, but before you do, you will whisper some instructions in each child’s ear. Let the children know that these instructions will tell them something that will please their Heavenly Father. Tell them that if they should need you, you will be close by. Explain that you will be happy if they follow your instructions.

   Whisper the same instructions to each child, “Fold your arms, close your eyes, and think about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.”

   Leave the room and stand by the door. Remain there a few seconds. As you reenter the room, thank the children who followed your instructions. Explain that our Heavenly Father and Jesus have given us instructions, and they want us to follow them. If we do, we will return safely to them someday.

2. Have each child draw and color a picture of something they could do to follow Heavenly Father’s plan.