Sharing Time from the 2017 Outline
Identify the doctrine (seeing objects related to missionary work): Prepare a small bag or suitcase containing items that full-time missionaries use, such as Sunday shoes, a tie, and scriptures. Invite a few children to pull the items out of the bag and show them to the rest of the children. Ask the children why just having these items does not make someone prepared to be a missionary. Read Doctrine and Covenants 84:62, and invite the children to listen for another thing every missionary needs (testimony). Testify of the importance of gaining a personal testimony.
Encourage understanding (seeing pictures and answering questions): Help the children understand the essential parts of a testimony. Display pictures representing some of those parts (for example, that Heavenly Father loves us, that Jesus Christ is our Savior, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s true Church, and that we are led by a living prophet). Ask several questions about each picture, such as: What or who is this? What do you know about this? How can you strengthen your testimony of this? Ask the children to name people with whom they can share their testimony. Testify that as the children share what they know with others, their testimonies will grow and they will be preparing to serve missions.
Sharing Time Ideas from Little LDS Ideas
I remembered an old idea that I shared a few years ago that went right along with this week’s theme, so that is what I’m using today. I have changed it just a bit to fit this week’s lesson a little better. I hope you enjoy it and use it for your lesson.
For this Sharing Time, Prepare a small bag or suitcase containing items that full-time missionaries use, such as Sunday shoes, a tie, and scriptures. You will need objects that represent things that can help us prepare for a mission now-examples: scriptures, Sunday shoes, a tithing slip, a paper heart, Preach My Gospel, The Friend, etc.
You will also need other objects that will NOT help us prepare for a mission- examples: Movies, video games, books/magazines, etc.
You will also need 3 pictures. These will be used for the beginning of the lesson. Make sure one of the pictures is a picture of missionaries. The other 2 pictures could be a picture of the Prophet, a Primary class, a family, etc.
To Begin Your Sharing Time:
Post the 3 pictures in different areas of the Primary Room. Or you can have them posted on a chalkboard or on a table.
Split the primary into 2 groups (or more if needed), and hand each group a scripture (use the scripture references from the outline). If you do more than one group just give the same scripture to multiple groups, or find another scripture that talks about missionary work.
Explain to the children that they will need to read the scripture and discuss what it is talking about. Then they will find the picture that represents their scripture and stand by it (they can do this as a group or just have one person from each group).
Give them a few minutes to do this activity. At the end everyone should be standing by the picture of the missionaries. Invite some of the children to identify what they learn about missionary work from the scriptures, and discuss it with the whole Primary.
Missionary Suitcase Activity
Have everyone sit down, and bring out your suitcase filled with different objects. Tell the children that today you brought your special “Missionary Suitcase” to primary. Show them the suitcase and tell them that inside the suitcase are things that missionaries need when they’re on their mission, but there is one thing that they need that isn’t in the suitcase. Read Doctrine and Covenants 84:62, and invite the children to listen for another thing every missionary needs (testimony). Testify of the importance of gaining a personal testimony.
Tell the children that Heavenly Father wants the gospel to be preached in all the world and they can prepare now to be missionaries. One way to prepare is to gain a testimony. Explain that inside the suitcase are items that can help prepare us to serve a mission and to gain a testimony.
How to Play:
Invite a child up to the front and have them pick an object out of the suitcase. You could also blind fold the child, that way they don’t know what they’re picking.
Have the child look at the item and decide whether it’s something that will help prepare or if it’s something that will NOT prepare them to be a missionary.
Discuss why or why not with all the children. Some items may be good things to do (for instance…reading books), but remind them that we don’t want to spend all our time doing those things. We need to remember to also do things that will strengthen our testimonies and prepare us to be a missionary.
Continue until all items have been chosen from the suitcase, or until time runs out.
Close by singing “I Hope They Call Me On a Mission” and bear your testimony.
You could also have them draw a picture or write down something they will do to prepare for a mission.
I hope you enjoy this week’s Sharing Time idea and are able to use it for your lesson. I would love to hear what you plan on doing, so leave a comment letting me know.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day and a great Sharing Time!
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