Everyday object lessons

From Sarah in Minneapolis

This is an object lesson for teaching a song call the Wise and Foolish Man.

It could be used for any lesson using the idea of building upon the strong foundation of Jesus Christ.

We have been
singing the Wise Man and Foolish Man song now for a couple of weeks.
We sang the song,then I had a kiddo come up and sit in a chair. He had
to build a structure with blocks right on his lap. Of course it
toppled almost immediately. Next I had a kiddo come to the front and
build his structure right on the floor. By this time all the kids were
gathered around so they could see, and I had them all stomp their feet
to see if they could get the building to topple – with no luck. The
kids guessed the lesson they were supposed to learn right away – they loved it.

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.

Submitted by: Peggy Sherman-Daniels
I found a good way to show differences in your testimony and/or faith was to use eggs. I make Jello Jiggler eggs, then also use a raw egg, a soft boiled egg, and a hard boiled egg. Each of the 4 eggs are placed in separate zip-lock bags. The children then got to feel of the eggs and test the firmness of each one. It make the point that all of our testimonies can sometimes be concealed within an outer shell, and they still need work. The favorite is always the Jello egg. It is a great example of testimony or faith that is based on the continuous changes in life. It is solid. It is firm. It retains it’s shape and identity. Yet it gives a bit and adjusts to changes around it, which may include guidance from a parent, teacher, or church authority; experiences with others; revelation; inspiration; etc.