I love this object lesson taken from this Primary lesson. This is a great life lesson for people of all ages. Do we focus on grievances and injustices or our blessings?
Give each child two pieces of paper and a pencil. On the first piece of paper, have each child write several blessings he or she has received. On the second piece of paper, have each child write something unkind that someone has done to him or her.
Have the children place the papers on which they have written their blessings on their laps and hold the papers that describe the unkind acts right in front of their eyes, touching their noses.
Ask the children if they can see the paper on which they listed their blessings.
Explain that sometimes when someone hurts our feelings, we think about our hurt feelings so much that we can no longer see or enjoy our blessings.
Ask the children to crumple up the papers listing the unkind acts. Collect these papers or have the children put them in the wastebasket. Explain that we can feel happier when we forgive and forget about the unkind things others do and concentrate on our blessings.
Explain that Joseph Smith suffered persecution from many people. Ministers of other religions, strangers, and even some of his friends were unkind to him. He had to decide whether to let this unfair treatment make him angry and unhappy or to be forgiving to these people.
Here are some handouts to use with this lesson.