Everyday object lessons

Submitted by Amanda Nelson

The lesson is about trust.  You will need a bunch of building blocks, the wooden kind, not Lego’s or anything that locks together.  You can tape labels  on the blocks that build character like, caring for others, responsibility, fairness, service, being a good friend, truthfulness, etc.  (This is not necessary, but helpful)  Then as a group, build a tower together until its as high as you can build it.  Then have one person try to knock it down.  Ask them to try and do it in one kick or push.  Then tell them that you need to build it again.  Once that is done you can explain that just like trust in a person, it builds over time, but it only takes one kick (lie or broken promise) to destroy it all.  All trust is broken.  It also takes a long time to rebuild that trust once it has been broken.

This lesson requires the game of Stak Attack or Jenga. Those are the games that stack up wooden blocks in a weave pattern and then you pull out the blocks and re stack them on top until the tower tumbles.

The object lesson is that as you build the tower you discuss what foundations a nation or life needs in order to be prosperous and happy. Then as you play the game you discuss the actions and attitudes that weaken and destroy a nation or people.

For this lesson all the scriptural references are taken from the Book of Mormon but you could use any holy scriptures that fit your lesson.

My game has 16 layers so I split the group into 8 or 4 and each group looks up 1 or 2 scriptures then before they put the wooden pieces into the container they tell what the scripture talked about.

1. Obedience to laws of land -Mosiah 29:11,41, 43
2. Christ- Helaman 5:12
3. Thanksgiving- Alma 7: 23,24
4. Freedom to worship -Alma 21:22
5. Honesty- Alma 27:27 & Mosiah 4:28
6. Family- Jacob 3:7
7. 10 commandments – Mosiah 12:35, 36 & Mosiah 13:12-24
8. Alma 23: 7

When everyone has loaded up the pieces, turn the game over on a table and hand out the new scriptures. As each group tells what actions or attitudes cause eventual destruction, each person in the group gets to remove one piece and stack it on top. The game just keeps going until the tower falls over. If anyone didn’t get a turn, re stack the pieces while as you discuss again the foundations of a strong nation, and play again.

If everyone gets a turn and the tower is still strong, have the class members repeat again the things they learned from their scripture when its their turn again. Repetition is just fine.

1. Unrighteous judges and lawyers – Alma 10:27 & Alma 11:20
2. Gadianton robbers -Helaman 2:13 & Helaman 6:21, 23
3. Dishonesty, etc – Helaman 7:20,21
4. Wickedness – Moroni 9:20
5. Moroni 8:3-5
6. Ether 11:22
7. Mormon 8:37
8. Mosiah 29:27

This lesson comes fromMeridian magazine in the section for Family Home Evening. The article is by C.S. Bezas.
Each person gets a half of a raw potato. The potato represents your brain. Begin to carve a very simple shape (square, circle, star, music note) into the potato and take off the pieces of the potato that are not part of the shape. This carving represents the music that you listen to. It forms and shapes your brain in a very specific way. It helps shape your attitudes, affects learning ability and has an effect on your physical, mental and emotional health. When the shape has been cut, put the potato in some paint and stamp the potato shapes onto paper. If you carved a circle, you won’t stamp out a square. If you are listening to uplifting and positive music, that’s how your brain is going to be shaped and you will reap the benefits and blessings.
You can add things like listening to music, making a stamp poster, discussing the negative or positive benefits of music, talking about the standards in For the Strength of Youth that discuss music.
This topic is wide open and this is a good lesson that can reinforce how the music actually makes brain pathways like the knife carves a potato. For older kids, do a search and get some info about how the brain works or how music affects brain ability.

I will have a 2 pieces of paper. We will be drawing 2 houses. One will be drawn with permanent markers and the other will be drawn with water-soluble. We will read the story from two different sections, Matthew 5:24-27 and Luke 6: 46-48. They both offer some interesting insights. As we draw and fill in the houses, we will talk about the symbolism of the different parts, the foundation, the rock, the sand, the house, the floods and rain and the great fall of the house. Each boy will get a chance to draw something onto the picture.

We will take the pictures outside or someplace where it won’t make too much of a mess and then spray the pictures with a water gun or squirt bottle to represent the floods and rain. Of course the water soluble pix will run off the paper. The permanent marker will not be ruined.

This is specifically how I will teach my 8-11 yr old boys the story of the temptations of Jesus and other concepts about temptation. You can change the lesson to fit your circumstances. My objective for this lesson is to cover some simple concepts
1) Temptation is influence of Satan to choose the wrong behavior. We have the age (over eight) and mental ability (not handicapped) to know right from wrong and are accountable. It is a battle within our heart and mind of whether to choose Satan or choose God.
2) When we choose Satan we choose darkness for our spirit, when we choose God, we choose light and companionship of the Holy Ghost.
3) Tell the simple JST translation story of Jesus’ temptation after the 40 day fast
4) Repeat the scripture many times: get thee behind me Satan

Here’s how I want to do that
On the flannel board have 3 scenes, each one of the 3 different temptations of Jesus. On the wall or door or board have the word temptation and then a line leading to a picture of the Savior and another line with nothing on the end.

Our classroom can go entirely dark, so each boy will have a flashlight to shine on the flannel story or board.

1. Hand out the flashlights very soon after walking in. Give instructions that they are to shine the flashlight on the item that I tell them, or they lose the flashlight and if they flash in someone else’s face, they lose their light. I will probably give them a second chance after awhile, but I’m not going to tell them that! Turn off the lights and ask them to check that the light works. Tell them we have a very special, fun lesson where we get to use the flashlights in the dark, so lets get thru the other things quickly so we have lots of time to use the flashlights.

2. Cover any announcements and other things as needed.

3) Turn off the lights. Shine on the word temptation and discuss the simple definition. When we talk about the battle going on in our heart and mind, then they get to go wild with the light all over the room and we when we say, Get thee behind me Satan, then all the lights shine on the pix of the Savior. One time we will illustrate that choosing Satan’s influence leaves our spirit in darkness and everyone will turn off their light.

4) Have someone read the stories of the temptations of Christ – the Joseph Smith Translation gives a better detail so I will use that. As we get to each one the boys can shine the lights on the flannel board.

5) Reinforce the idea that thru our whole life we will have temptations. Satan will influence us to behave different than we know is right. We must do as Jesus taught us and say to ourselves, Get thee behind me Satan and then have courage and choose God. Use the lights on the words and pix on the board.

6) Find one or two stories that give illustration of temptation and how the choice brought the person more light. And then do step 5 again. Maybe there is a primary song we can sing that goes with this too.

Submitted by: Robin Guthrie
After many lessons on explaining a testimony, I did this for my YW class: I played a game with the YW with about 20 questions of general and interesting things to know about the organization, history and doctrines of the Church (Some easy and some a little harder and interesting. ie–How old was Joseph Smith when he received the First Vision? How old was Pres. Monson when he was called to the Quorum of the 12? Who is the current prophet?) We played this game for most of class time, and then the last question I asked was “What is the difference between knowing the answers to these questions and a testimony?” Basically I was trying to teach the girls that you can know all of the answers to our game, but still not have a testimony if you don’t DO the things we’re asked to do. The adversary and his angels KNOW all of the answers to the questions we asked. They know Pres. Hinckley is the prophet today and that Joseph Smith restored the Gospel. The testimony comes when you have the faith to DO what Heavenly Father has asked us to do.

Then I talked to them about the story behind “I am a Child of God” song. Originally the words read “Teach me all that I must know to live with Him someday,” but President Spencer W. Kimball said that that’s not enough–we have to DO. I challenged them to keep the commandments and test these truths for themselves.

Several years ago in our primary, we had an object lesson that made quite an impression. I hope my words are adequate to describe how we did this. It does require some preparation.
First…bake cookies (snickerdoodles work well) Second bake some (just a few) cookies with your substituted recipe. Take them to class covered and in a jar or on a plate. Gather ingredients for the making of cookies–measuring spoons, bowls, flour, salt, etc. The only thing is to leave out some of the key ingredients such as sugar. Substitute salt for the sugar, alum for the baking powder, etc.

Explain as you assemble the cookie ingredients that the cookies will turn out just fine with substituted ingredients and that they will taste just fine if we don’t follow the recipe. (You are playing a role of the adversary here). Continue to add ingredients (I usually make clay that can be taken to the nursery afterward and let the nursery children use it), all the time acting embarrassed that you forgot the correct ingredients but confident that things will turn our all right in the end. This is really fun and can be camped up to really get the kids participating.

When all is said and done and they have an opportunity (through the magic of your already baked cookies) to taste the results, explain to them how our Heavenly Father gives us a “recipe” for our lives through the scriptures, counsel from the leaders and prophet, our parents, etc. and if we follow it, we will turn our all right in the end. If we don’t follow the counsel and substitute our own “ingredients” believing that we will turn our all right in the end, that we could end up like our failed cookies and not be acceptable to ourselves and others.

For this story, tell a story that you have actually experienced or heard (we have all done this!) about driving on a new highway and its unfamiliar. You have a map or even someone giving you directions and for what ever reason, you drive past the exit.This is parable that illustrates the scripture I Cor 10:13, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. If we are listening to the spirit, following the council of prophets and scriptures, then there will always be an exit off the highway. If we do not get off the highway at the first exit, and choose to continue in a temptation, then we have ignored the escape, we have chosen the temptation. God is faithful to give us an exit, but he will not take away our free agency to ignore the exit and it will be our own will if we succumb to evil and temptation.

Aim:
If you let your bad habits grow out of control, you will be overcome by them (their effects) and will find it very hard to win over them. Therefore identify your bad habits at their roots and make your best to overcome them as soon as possible. Apparatus:
– Test tube filled with water
– Potassium parmanganate crystals (powder)
All pharmacies sell potassium permanganate as it is used as a disinfectant to wash fruit. Note that since the postassium permanganate is sold as powder you won’t actually see the crystals .
– spatula
– piece of white paper (A4/letter size will do)
Method:

Introduce this object lesson to your audience by saying that the potassium parmanganate crystals, which are very small (barely visible with the naked eye) can be compared to our bad habits, that can also seem unimportant. Now take a very small amount of potassium permanganate with the spatula, and in front of the class drop the crystals in the test tube. Mix well. Place the white paper behind the test tube and ask the class if they can observe any differences. Potassium parmanganate is very soluble in water so the colour would have changed to a pinkish colour, but not every one will notice this change. Observe to your audience that these little defects did not make any difference even if left unchecked, therefore lets repeat our behaviour. Add some more crystals (a small amount) and you should notice that the pinkish colour becomes more visible. With two more repetitions the colour of the water changes into a visible pink colour. At this point, point out to your audience that the small potassium parmanganate crystals have changed considerbly the colour of the water. So do our defects if they go unchecked they are capable of changing are character and the way people see us completely.

Aid:
With this you can build on with the story of the prince and the dwarf. The prince was walking in the forest when he met a dwarf that challenged him for a duel. The prince refused, because the dwarf was small and weak. But the dwarf wouldn’t listen and the prince was forced to fight. The battle was short lived in a couple of seconds the prince disarmed the dwarf and knocked him on the floor. The prince walked away. Time passed and the prince became king. One day while walking in the forest a giant lept out at the king and challenged him for a duel. The king had no choice but to fight for his life to the bitter end. The fight took a long time, but finally though exhausted the king overcame the dwarf and killed him. At this point the king realised that the giant was the same dwarf that he fought with years ago. The gist is that the prince should have finished the dwarf of the first time round. Because he didn’t, he nearly got killed by the giant. The same applies to our defects (dwarfs), if we let them grow unchecked they become (giants) which are difficult if not impossible to overcome.

Source: J.R. Sharp and Deaunna Evans
We were all excited when he asked the class if anybody wanted some gum. He then passed around a plate with pieces of gum that had already been chewed (ABC) along with pieces of gum still wrapped up “clean and pure”. Well we were all thoroughly disgusted and everyone choose the “clean and pure” gum. He acted surprised and questioned us as to why no chose the ABC gum. Why had we all chose the “clean and pure” gum?

He then gave a wonderful lesson on chastity and encouraged us to keep ourselves “clean and pure” for our future husbands and wives.