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Take a spool of thread and wrap the thread once or twice around the volunteer's fingers or wrists. Have them break the thread.
This represents bad habits. When we first begin a bad habit like smoking, or even something as simple as watching an inappropriate t.v. show or using foul language, it is easy to break.
Now wrap the thread around many many times and see if the volunteer can break the thread. If we let bad habits go on and on, we lose the power to easily return to something better. It requires more will power and may require help from someone else. Don't give up your freedom and power by remaining in your bad habits. The Family Home Evening manual uses this lesson to demonstrate the web we create when we tell lies.
Honesty, FHE Manual, p 194. Source: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/4746/lessons.html, some additions made by Jenny Smith
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Take a sock ( an old one preferably one you don't care about getting real muddy), soak the sock in mud, get it real dirty and then put it in a plastic bag. Take it to your class and during your lesson ask someone if they would mind putting on a sock (of course they haven't seen the sock yet), someone will volunteer.
Then take out the muddy sock from the bag and ask them to put it on their clean foot. Hopefully no one will want to do this.
Liken this to the holy spirit not wanting to dwell in an unclean body. How can you put your foot in a dirty sock and expect it to feel ok? You can't ask the spirit to dwell in an unclean body, it absolutely will not.
Source: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/4746/lessons.html
Alma 7:21 And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Scoop out a handful of mud and ask "What would you do if a friend ran up with his arms full of mud? Do you move closer and hold out your arms and accept all that mud? Or do you say, 'No, thanks. I don't want that mud.' " And keep on walking?
The mud is like gossip or angry words or sarcasm or cutting remarks or criticism. People who dish this mud out of their mouths are wanting to give it to you. Do you have to take it? Or can you refuse? Of course, you have the choice to refuse. You don't have to take offense, or get angry. You can choose to not let the other person's angry words rub off on you.
This lesson also applies to pornography, bad music, bad language, taking the Lord's name in vain, dirty jokes, drug use, in fact, nearly any kind of sin.
Source: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/4746/lessons.html, some additions by Jenny Smith
Get two envelopes; put a picture of the temple on one envelope.
Put cut-outs (paper dolls? magazine people?) of family members in each envelope.
Seal shut the envelope with the temple picture.
All the while, talk about the one family going to the temple and the other not going. Then dump both envelopes containing families upside down. The family in the envelope that was not sealed will fall out all over the place. The family in the sealed envelope, will be all together. Source: http://www.eprimary.dk/ - (visit the Primary Object lessons section)
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Have your class or family stand at the bottom of a staircase and you are at the top. Challenge any one of them to find a way to get to the top of the stairs without touching the stairs or the rails or the walls. Tell them there is a solution. If no one figures it out, then go to the bottom and have someone piggy back on you and carry them up the stairs.
The lesson in this could be several different things. Teamwork, service, doing for others what they can't do for themselves, our missions in life are to help and lift others.
The other message is the mission of Jesus, how he is the one to carry us up the stairs, we can't do it ourselves. That's what grace is; what the atonement is.
Some scripture references you can use with this lesson are 2 Sam. 22:49 ...thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
Ps. 3:3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
Psalms 30:1 I WILL extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
Alma 36:3 ...I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
And another saying that could be used:
Quaker Proverb: Thee lift me, and me lift thee, and together we'll ascend to heaven.
Source: Focus on the Family, some additions by Jenny
Have one child stand at one end of the room and another at the other end. Then ask those seated how we can link the two without either of them moving? The way is for each of the children to link arms and then they can link the two children, to link those gone before by doing their work in the present.
Source: http://www.eprimary.dk/ - (visit the Primary Object lessons section)
Show the class or family a new plot of ground that has just been dug up and prepared to be planted and ask: If this ground were left alone for a year just like it is right now, what would it look like? Would it have flowers and vegetables or would it have weeds and grass?
The new ground represents each one of us. We must actively sow seeds of service, unselfishness, forgiveness, courtesy, kindness and actively dig up and remove the ever-present weeds of contention, selfishness, and pursuit of worldly pleasures. We must work hard to weed out bad influences, just like the gardener must work hard to have a beautiful flower garden or to grow abundant vegetables.
A good handout for this object lesson would be a package of flower seeds or a small trowel.
Source: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/4746/lessons.html, some additions by Jenny Smith
Demonstrate what sustaining a church leader means.I saw a great demonstration done at a Regional Workshop.
Sister Myers had a Bishop come up and put his hands out.
She had a pile of hymnbooks to represent his responsibilities.
Every time she said one of his responsibilities, she put a book in his hands.
His arms started to get tired really fast.
Then she had three Primary leaders
(representing a presidency) come up and put their hands under his to help support the books (giving him support in his calling)
The load was much easier to bear and together they could take on more books.(responsibilities).
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This could be switched to where the children could come up and be the supports and tell what they could do to support (sustain) whomever you have being the church leader.
Things that they could do could be ~ help keep the buildings clean, be an example and a missionary to others, prepare to now to some day enter the temple, help in Primary when asked, etc... (Dana H)
Source: http://www.eprimary.dk/ - (visit the Primary Object lessons section)
