The children had all eaten a lot on Thanksgiving, but they were not too full to devour chocolate-chip cookies! We talked about what today is: Sunday, or the Sabbath. We discussed things that are good to do on the Sabbath, and the first thing on everybody's list was going to church! We learned that to worship means to show our love and respect for Heavenly Father and Jesus, and that we will be happy and feel the influence of the Holy Ghost if we worship properly. We discussed what to do during the Sacrament, while somebody is giving a prayer, during a lesson, and during singing times. The children had lots of great ideas of what they should and should not do! We learned that singing is a form of worship, and singing a hymn is like saying a prayer. The children enjoyed a story about Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone. When he was a child, his family was too poor to buy shoes. He had to wear old nurse's shoes to go to church, because they were the only thing that fit, and he was almost too embarrassed to leave the house. Elder Featherstone learned that it is more important to go to church than it is to have nice shoes, and he learned that his classmates loved and respected him no matter what was on his feet. The children couldn't imagine not having enough money to buy shoes, but they were very relieved and happy that he made the choice to go to church. We learned from a story about President Kimball that we should listen carefully when we go to church, so that we can learn what Heavenly Father wants us to know and do. As a boy, President Kimball heard a church leader encourage the members to study the scriptures, so he started reading the Bible every night. It took a whole year, but he finished the whole book! The children shared some of the teachings they have learned by coming to church. We colored flip books to help us remember the words to the song "When I Go to Church".
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We started class with a thumbs-up, thumbs-down exercise. The children considered various behaviors and decided if they were good or bad to do during the Sacrament. They thought it was really funny that the boys found all of the good answers and the girls found all but one of the bad answers! We read part of one of the Sacrament prayers and discussed the promises we make to Heavenly Father every week when we partake of the Sacrament. We also talked about how the Sacrament prayers are always the same, even though most of our prayers are different every time. We learned that Heavenly Father will send the Holy Ghost to be with us always if we keep our promises to Him. We talked about a few situations, including one with a boy named Ian(!), and decided how to keep the commandments in each scenario. We drew pictures of ways to be reverent during the Sacrament and made what were supposed to be pyramids into a variety of two- and three-dimensional shapes.
Having successfully completed the Primary Program, everybody was full of energy today! The children became even more excited when they saw the chocolate cupcakes, generously provided by Senior Primary Sister Combs in honor of her birthday. We made a big mess and had a spirited discussion about our favorite flavors of cake and frosting. Sister Combs's birthday is next month, and the children think that she should bring a big cake to celebrate. We played several rounds of a memory game, and then talked about something we do at church every week that helps us to remember Jesus Christ: we partake of the Sacrament. The children pointed out that we use small cups of water instead of a big cup of wine, and that our chapel looks different than the room where Jesus taught his Apostles about the Sacrament. We learned that these things are not important--the things that matter are the Sacrament prayers and our reverence during the Sacrament. We learned that Jesus also taught the Nephites how to administer the Sacrament, because it is important for all of his disciples to remember him. We had a lot of fun demonstrating how we should and should not behave while the Sacrament is being administered. The children all agreed that dancing in your seat and talking to your neighbors are not appropriate! Instead, we should sit quietly, think about Jesus, and politely pass the trays to our neighbors (if Mom and Dad say we can). We colored pictures showing correct behavior during the Sacrament to take home and share with our families.
We ate flower-shaped sugar cookies with pink frosting and lavender sanding sugar on top for a snack. They were so exciting (particularly because we were allowed to have seconds!) that Sister Combs forgot to take a picture of them. The children knew exactly who was in this picture and what they were doing. We talked about the Last Supper, and how important it was for the Apostles to remember Jesus after he left, so that they could lead the Church and teach others what they had learned. We discussed how we partake of the Sacrament just as Jesus and his disciples did. The children mentioned that the Sacramental prayers have to be said correctly, so the priests repeat the prayer if they make a mistake. Ryan observed that the same is true of baptism: if the prayer is said incorrectly or the person being baptized is not completely immersed in water, the baptism must be redone. Reed pointed out that we use little plastic cups for the water, but Jesus and his friends shared one big cup of wine. He explained that the important thing was to remember Jesus, not what size or shape of cup you use. We talked about what to do during the Sacrament. The children had lots of suggestions:
We looked at this picture of the Christus statue. Several members of our class had seen it and were excited to share their experiences. We also discussed some of our favorite scripture stories about Jesus, since they would be good to think about during the Sacrament.
We agreed that it was not wise to sing out loud during the Sacrament, but we could sing a Church song in our minds that would help us remember Jesus. Brooklynn suggested "The Family is of God", and a few others suggested "I Am a Child of God". Sister Combs shared "To Think About Jesus", which she learned in Primary as a little girl and still remembers during the Sacrament sometimes. We concluded by coloring a happy family reverently partaking of the Sacrament. There was a little extra time for free art and lots of happy face stickers. . .because remembering the wonderful things Jesus has done for us makes us happy! |
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