I Can Be a Missionary

Purpose

To help the children realize that they can do missionary work now.

Preparation

Prayerfully study Doctrine and Covenants 133:37.
Copy (or trace a copy of) the missionary girl or boy for each child.
Be prepared for the class to sing or say the words to “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission” (Children’s Songbook, p. 169); the words are included at the back of this manual.
Materials needed:
1. A Doctrine and Covenants.
2. Paper, scissors, and crayons.
3. Picture 3-51, Sermon on the Mount (62166; Gospel Art Picture Kit 212).
Make the necessary preparations for any enrichment activities that you will be using.

Suggested Lesson Development

Ask the child invited to give the opening prayer to pray for the missionaries throughout the world.

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

We Can Help Teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Attention activity

Ask for a volunteer to help you. Ask the volunteer to hand a piece of paper to each person in the room, starting when you say “go.” After each child has received a piece of paper, collect all the pieces. Ask the children if the volunteer could do it faster with a helper. Ask for a second volunteer to help hand out the pieces of paper. Each volunteer should hand out the pieces of paper to half the class. Point out that the volunteers can accomplish their task much faster when they have help. Have the volunteers return to their seats as you collect the pieces of paper again. (For a small class, you might need to have the volunteers give more than one piece of paper to each child.)

Picture

Display picture 3-51, Sermon on the Mount.

Explain that Jesus Christ has asked us to help him teach the gospel. With enough helpers, his teachings can go to all the people of the earth. Jesus Christ wants everyone to learn his teachings.

Scripture discussion

Read Doctrine and Covenants 133:37. Explain that gospel is another word for Jesus Christ’s teachings, kindred is a group of people who are related to each other, tongue is another word for language, and people means those who belong to a particular country, race, or community.

What does this scripture say will happen? (The gospel will be preached to everyone.)
What do we call those who are called by Heavenly Father to help teach the gospel? (Missionaries.)

Tell the children that every member of the Church, no matter how old or young, can be a missionary by telling others about the gospel.

Story

Have the children listen to the following story about a boy named Ryan who became a missionary:

Ryan enjoyed going to school. He especially liked his teacher, Miss Johnson.

One day Miss Johnson asked the children to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Ryan had no trouble deciding what he would draw. He drew a picture of a man in a suit carrying his scriptures and walking down a street. Ryan wanted more than anything else to become a missionary when he grew up, just like his older brother.

When Ryan’s teacher looked at his picture, she could not understand what he had drawn. Miss Johnson was not a member of the Church, so she didn’t know what the man in Ryan’s picture was doing. She asked Ryan to explain his drawing to her. Ryan told his teacher that he wanted to become a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he grew up. Miss Johnson was surprised that a boy’s greatest desire was to be a missionary, instead of a policeman, a doctor, or some other occupation.

After school, Miss Johnson asked Ryan to tell her more about why he wanted to be a missionary. Ryan told her how much he loved the Church and how his brother was in another country teaching others about the Church. He told her that he knew the Church was true because its teachings are the teachings of Jesus Christ.

That evening Ryan told his parents about Miss Johnson and the picture he had drawn. He asked his parents if he could invite Miss Johnson over for dinner so the family could meet her and talk to her about the gospel.

The next day, Ryan took a note to Miss Johnson inviting her to his home for dinner. She accepted his invitation and went to Ryan’s home a few days later. Miss Johnson enjoyed Ryan and his family so much that she visited them often. They had many discussions about the Church, and six months later Miss Johnson was baptized. She was always grateful to Ryan for sharing his love for the Church with her.

There Are Many Ways to Be Missionaries

Review

Tell the children that there are many ways to be good missionaries. You are going to see if they know some of these ways. Ask them to listen closely to some statements. If the statement is a good way to be a missionary, they should stand up. If it is not a good way to be a missionary, they should sit down.

You won’t let a classmate play with you at school.
You invite a friend to Primary.
You tell a nonmember friend about Jesus Christ’s Church.
You are rude to your neighbor.
You save some money for your missionary bank.
You are reverent during sacrament meeting.
You cheat on a test in school.
Without asking, you take something that doesn’t belong to you.
You don’t obey your parents and then brag about it to your friends.
You invite a friend to your home for family home evening.
You invite someone new in your neighborhood to play with you.
You tease a classmate until she cries.
You pray for the missionaries.

You might want to tell the class about a way in which you have been able to be a missionary. Invite the children to share experiences that they or their family members have had in sharing the gospel.

Summary

Handout activity

Give each child a missionary boy or girl handout, and have each child draw a face on his or her handout. Help them put their names on the name tags and write “The Book of Mormon” on the book. After they color the figures, have them cut the figures out.

Song

Sing or say the words to “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission.”

Ask the child invited to give the closing prayer to thank Heavenly Father for the opportunities they have to be missionaries.

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.”

Invite a convert to the Church to come to class and tell about the people who helped him or her learn about the Church. (Be sure to obtain permission from the bishop or branch president if the person is from outside the ward or branch. Tell the Primary president if the person is from within the ward or branch.)
Have the children discuss, then role-play, the following situations:
1. Your friends who are not members of the Church hear you singing “I Am a Child of God” and ask you what song you are singing. How could you use this opportunity to tell them about the Church and invite them to Primary?
2. You have noticed a new boy in the neighborhood. He is shy and hasn’t made any friends yet. How could you be a good missionary?
3. Your brother gets up on Sunday morning and doesn’t want to go to church. What could you do to be a missionary?
Retell the story of Ammon from lesson 24, using picture 3-50. Toss a ball or soft object to a child and ask him a question about the story. If he answers correctly, have him stand up and toss the ball back to you. Continue tossing the ball and asking questions until all the children are standing up.