Bennett's Mom taught the class Part Three of the Adventures of Nephi series, in which Nephi builds a boat and zaps his rebellious big brothers. Sister Combs looks forward to hearing all about it next week!
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We had delicious M&M Blondies and a cheerful visitor in class, so it was a great day to be a CTR 5! We reviewed last week's lesson about Lehi taking his family into the wilderness and continued with the next part of the adventure. Heavenly Father told Lehi to send his sons back to Jerusalem to ask Laban for the Brass Plates. Laman and Lemuel did not want to go, but Nephi was obedient and convinced his three brothers (not eight or ten or a hundred, as some of the children thought!) to go with him. We learned that Laman was unsuccesful in acquiring the plates, and ran away from Laban in fear for his life. The brothers picked up gold and silver from their home and brought them to Laban to trade for the plates, but Laban took all of the riches and chased the brothers out of his house. The children were outraged that Laban kept all of the precious things! We learned about Laman and Lemuel beating their brothers Nephi and Sam because they wanted to continue being obedient and trying to get the plates. By now, the children were seriously unimpressed with Laman and Lemuel! We learned that an angel came and told the mean brothers to repent. We learned how Nephi finally acquired the brass plates, and that Zoram was righteous and came back with Nephi and his brothers to their father in the wilderness. The children were probably just as relieved and excited as Nephi's family was that they finally had the brass plates! We talked about how important it is to have the scriptures, so that we can learn and remember what Heavenly Father wants us to do.
We reviewed the sequence of events with a coloring activity. Senior Primary Sister Combs made a big batch of the world's best Great Pumpkin Cookies and shared some with our class. They were delicious! We learned that Lehi was a prophet who lived with his family in Jerusalem. He tried to tell the people what Heavenly Father wanted them to do, but they did not want to listen. One night, when he was saying his prayers, he had a vision. He learned that Jerusalem would be destroyed unless the people repented. Heavenly Father told Lehi to tell the people of Jerusalem what he had seen in his vision. Lehi was obedient, but the people mocked him and threatened to kill him for what he had said. They did not want to be obedient. We learned that Lehi was a good father who prayed to know how to take care of his family. Heavenly Father told Lehi to lead his family out of Jerusalem into the wilderness. Lehi was obedient. We discussed some of the things that his family would need in the wilderness: food, tents, blankets, clothing, and the scriptures. We also talked about how much they would have to leave behind, since they only had a few camels to carry their possessions. One of the children suggested that Lehi would need a compass to tell him where to go, so we talked a little about the Liahona. Another realized that they would probably need to hunt for food in the wilderness, so we talked about Nephi's bow and all the different animals that they might have hunted.
We colored pictures to help us remember and retell the story of Lehi's vision and departure from Jerusalem. Due to Mother's Day, Preston's Birthday on Wednesday, Emi's Sister's Baptism on Saturday, and assorted other events, everyone was excited this morning. Each child ate two chocolate-chip cookies for a snack, but at least one boy thought that three or four would have been much more reasonable! We learned that many prophets kept written records of the things Heavenly Father told them to tell His people and the things that they and their families and friends did. We discussed how it was important for them to write these things down, so that they could remember, and also so their descendants and other people could read what Heavenly Father had told them and how He had helped them. We learned that Mormon compiled all the writings of the Nephite prophets and wrote them on the Gold Plates. We know these records as the Book of Mormon because Mormon did so much work to edit them and copy them onto the plates. We talked about why he had chosen to write them on golden plates instead of paper or another medium and decided that the metal would last a long time and not fade or fall apart as it aged. Mormon wanted the plates to last until a much later prophet was instructed to find them. Mormon gave the plates to his son Moroni, who finished writing the records and then buried the plates in a special box. The children know Moroni as the angel we see on top of temples, so they were thrilled to learn more about him. We learned that Moroni came to visit Joseph Smith hundreds of years later to tell him about the Gold Plates. The children were fascinated that Moroni came three times during the night with the same message. We talked about how important the Book of Mormon is and how Joseph Smith needed to learn everything that Moroni taught him thoroughly. The next morning, Joseph Smith went to do his chores on the farm, but he was so tired from spending the whole night talking to an angel that his father sent him home. He fell while climbing over a fence, and while he was lying on the ground, Moroni came to him again! Moroni repeated his message and told Joseph to tell his father what he had learned. The children had been keeping count and announced that this was the fourth visit from Moroni. Joseph told his father all that he had been taught, and Joseph's father believed him and told him to obey the angel's instructions. Later that day, Joseph Smith went to the Hill Cumorah and found the gold plates where Moroni had left them. . .and Moroni appeared again! We talked about how Joseph Smith was not allowed to take the plates yet, but had to come back three more times, a year later each time, and he talked with Moroni every time. Preston thought Joseph Smith must have been really tired of seeing Moroni by the eighth time! The last time, Moroni told Joseph it was time to take the plates and the Urim and Thummim and translate the records. We discussed how grateful we are that Joseph Smith followed Moroni's instructions and brought forth the Book of Mormon, so that we can study and learn from it today. We learned that we can keep records as the prophets did. We can write or draw pictures in journals to help us remember the important things that we learned, did, and felt. The children each chose a journal and embellished it inside and out with crayons, pencils, and alphabet stickers. Everyone enjoyed this activity!
News Flash Part 2: The other class decided that they did not need to trade classrooms with us after all, so we are staying in Room 12 until further notice! We started our lesson discussing what we would need to do if we had a new puppy. The children said they would feed him, take him for walks, give him water, and snuggle with him. Then we talked about what might make a puppy feel sick. Bennett mentioned that chocolate was bad for his dog, so feeding a puppy the wrong food would make him sick. Just like a puppy, a person needs to eat the right things to be healthy. We learned that Heavenly Father wants us to be healthy, so he taught the Prophet Joseph Smith about things are good for our bodies and things that are bad for our bodies. We learned that these teachings are found in Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants. We put a happy face on one side of the classroom, to represent things that are good for our bodies, and a sad face on the other side, for things that are not good. The children took turns selecting a picture of a food or drink and put them near the correct face. They had a lot of fun and made all the right choices! We now know that fruits, vegetables, grains, cheeses, and a little meat are all good for our bodies, and that we should never drink wine, beer, coffee, or tea, or smoke cigarettes. The children also chose to put soda and chips in the Do Not Eat category. We learned about the good example set by Daniel. The king chose Daniel and some other Israelite young men to receive special training. To help them become big and strong, the king wanted the young men to eat a lot of meat and wine. Daniel knew that this was not healthy, so he refused to eat this food, and asked for pulse and water instead. The king's servant was nervous about disobeying the king, but agreed to let Daniel and his friends eat their diet for ten days. At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his friends were healthier and smarter and stronger than all of the people who were eating the king's food. We learned that we will also be blessed if we follow Heavenly Father's instructions of what to eat that are found in the Word of Wisdom. We concluded by drawing pictures of healthy foods on dinner plates. The children enjoyed drawing lots of fruits and vegetables, pasta, rice, and brownies. CTR class is always better with food, even on Fast Sunday!
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