Bring a small candy like a starburst, set it on the table and ask "who wants the candy? Who REALLY wants the candy? " Whoever seems most eager, pick for the example. Say, "Joey, (or whoever) you really want the candy. It'll make you very happy. So you can have it, but you can't use any part of your body to pick it up or unwrap it, you can only chew." So Joey'll be confused- how does he get it? Ask, is there anyone who is willing to help Joey eat the candy? See if anyone will. Afterward, talk about how the dead really want their work done but can't do it themselves. Why not? They have no bodies. Reward the helper with candy if you like.
You'll need a stool and some youth leaders.
Have a youth stand on the stool. Demonstrate that with a little effort, if the person stands alone, you can knock him/her off the perch.
Point out that it's very difficult for someone to Stand in Holy Places all alone. How can they "be not moved?" Scripture study, Prayer, Good Friends, etc, will be common responses. Have the some helpers (youth leaders) come up and stand around the person on the stool representing each topic. After the person is surrounded, ask a priesthood leader to come up and defend the stool. With all these things in place, you can effectively stand in holy places and be protected from the world.
Show that when one of these principles is missing, there could be an opening for Satan to get through.
Open a discussion on how priesthood and other leaders, parents, scriptures all help us maintain our footing and keep us in Holy Places.
I used this object lesson to teach about hypocrisy to my Seminary class. First, I printed chewing gum inserts on card stock. Each insert was 140mm x 18mm and fit inside a Juicy Fruit wrapper. On each was written the following references and words: "Thou Whited Wall" Acts 23:3 and "Full of Dead Men's Bones" Matthew 23:27.
After cutting them out, I put the "fake" gum in the center section of my gum box so I could keep them straight.
While teaching the class about the Apostle Paul's appearance before Ananias and the Sanhedrin in Acts 23, I stopped just before Paul called Ananias a "whited wall". I asked the kids if they wanted any gum to help them stay awake. Some said yes, and I gave some untouched gum and to others I gave gum with the handout inside. Once the students realized that they had been gypped, I asked them why it was a problem that the gum was different on the inside than the outside indicated. It's hypocritical. We say one thing, and do another. We talk the talk, but we don't walk the walk. We read the scriptures on the handout, and talked about how outside the Pharisees looked good, but inside they were spiritually dead, or "full of dead men's bones". We cross-referenced with 1 Samuel 16:7 ( a scripture mastery!) to talk about how God looks on men's hearts and not on their outward appearance. How should we treat others?
For your information, the phrase "whited wall" could be termed whitewashed wall, meaning a thin veneer of paint put on something to cover up the ugliness beneath.
This post was adapted from the original at http://seminaryatsixam.blogspot.com/2012/11/seminary-in-my-pocket.html Classroom In My Pocket During an early Seminary lesson, I gave each student a rock to keep in their pocket as a reminder of our lesson that day. Little did I know that "Seminary In My Pocket" had been born. During my first lesson, I shared a story with [my students] about an experience I had when I visited the death camps in Poland and showed them a rough, rugged rock I found while I was there that had one shiny side and could be easily over looked. I compared it to people in our lives who may appear rough and rugged, yet if we will look at them the way Christ does, we will be able to find something "shiny" about them. To remind them to look for the shiny side in everyone, I gave each of them a shiny rock to put in their pockets. I told them that each time they reached inside their pocket and felt that rock, to remember to view people as Christ does and always look for the good (the shiny) Seven weeks later, they are still showing me their rocks (a few have asked for replacements when they can't find theirs)
When we discussed Temptations of Christ and our own personal temptations, I gave each of them a rubber band to wear and told them to memorize something that they could keep in their minds that would push bad thoughts out (a Scripture, the Sacrament prayer, the Young Women Theme, a Hymn, etc. are some of the ideas we came up with for memorization) When they have a bad thought or are tempted to do something wrong, I told them to snap the rubber band and recite whatever they memorized to bring their mind and spirit back to Christ. (That was 4 weeks ago and they are still wearing them)
When we learned about the widow's mite and sacrifice, I gave them a penny for their pockets
When we learned about choosing our words carefully and using uplifting language, I gave them a button. They were challenged to know when to keep their lips "buttoned" and when to open their mouths and share uplifting words of love and encouragement.
Last week, they received plastic spiders as we discussed honesty and not getting caught in webs of deceit and lying. I challenged them to not weave their own personal webs like spiders do. We also did a fun group activity with yarn as we were standing in a circle and the yarn represented lying and dishonesty. We passed the yarn back and forth as we discussed lies and deceit until no one could move inside the circle due to all the lying and dishonesty. It was interesting to see the kids figure out that if they crawled down low, they could avoid the webs, yet it was awkward for them so I reminded them of how awkward it becomes when you have to constantly think of ways to avoid your own messes (webs)
25 Scripture Mastery Scriptures= 1 Quarter with a red happy face painted on the back. I told them that there are 25 scriptures set apart from the others that they are to know inside and out this Seminary year. The other scriptures are valuable and for our benefit, but the 25 Scripture Mastery scriptures are to "stand out" in their hearts and minds. I used red nail polish to paint a simple happy face on the back of each quarter to make it "stand out" from the other quarters that they may have in their pockets that are also valuable.
Parable of the Sower. To represent the seeds, I gave them a popcorn kernel. I knew it would not sprout or break apart in their pockets as they year goes on. I really wanted to give them some beautiful black soil from Belle Glade, Florida (right next to where we live) but I was not sure how that would last through one school day, although I am still trying... I dont have one specific day of the week I give them an item for their pockets, in fact, there will most likely be weeks that I don't give them anything. The items always go with a lesson and are designed to reinforce what we learn in Seminary. It is way for my students to carry a tangible reminder of Seminary throughout the day. At first, I thought they would throw the items away, but a day does not go by without a student showing me the items from their pockets. I have had the experience of sitting in Sacrament Meeting and one of my students will catch my attention to show me they are wearing their rubber band. It has become "cool" to have all these little things that most teenagers would have lost or thrown away by now. Most of my students are the only Latter day Saint in their schools. As they leave our class each day, it is my goal to send them armed with the spirit. I know these little reminders in their pockets are an effective way to reinforce their experiences in Seminary class. At the end of this week, I have a small drawstring fabric bag for each student who would like to keep their items in it. I know this will work better for some of them who don't have pockets or do not want to move their items from pocket to pocket each day.
Please share any ideas you have for "Seminary In My Pocket" with Shauna at shaunahh at gmail dot com.
Great for: Building class unity, Encouraging student participation, Getting the attention of uninterested students, Helping students find meaning in the scriptures
Class size: Any class size
Helps Students: SEE a gospel principle in action
Prep Time: 5 mintues
Student Age: Any age
Equipment needed:
For a Fast Sunday lesson on the power of our words and how we set an example, I used looked through old status updates that our Young Women and YW Leaders have posted on their Facebook profiles. I selected one good one from each girl (we only have about 10 girls, wards or stakes with more can just hand pick a few girls) and had them guess who posted that status. I handed out the paper face down and spoke about how through Facebook we can connect with people no matter where they live and that every time we post anything it is being read by potentially hundreds of people.
I explained that I created a sheet listing some of the girls status updates and they needed to figure out who said what. IMMEDIATELY there were groans and nervous feelings of what post of theirs might be on the paper. I told them that that feeling of "UH-OH" should stay with them the next time they went to post something other people would read.
Of course there was nothing bad on their posts and the girls got most of the answers right and loved the lesson.
Jenny says: "You could use this lesson to talk about appropriate language, gospel standards, being a missionary or setting an example online, bullying, and more."
I started by taking something of value from each girl and displaying it in a basket. For example: a pair of earrings or a necklace that matched an outfit, a set of scriptures with the girl's name on it, etc.
Then I explained that there are young women who don't own or can't afford such nice things, and I am going to donate these items for this cause as I stuck a label on the basket which read "Sacrifice Basket". I explained that sacrifice means to give up something we value for a good or better cause.
Then we discussed the level of sacrifice for each girl. For example: the one who gave up her personalized scriptures felt more of a loss because they were very personal to her.
The one who gave up the jewelry said she didn't mind as much because she has other jewelry, and so on.
I was able to make the point that we all will be asked to sacrifice in our lives and some sacrifices will be more difficult than others.
Jenny says: "I would not use this object lesson with younger children, as they may not understand or grasp why items of importance are being taken from them, and they may not understand they will get them back."
When I started teaching the lesson, I was holding a big, delicious-looking cake. I just held it in front of me while I spoke. A lot of the YW kept looking at the cake, instead of me. I said "guys - I'm trying to talk to you - please pay attention to me!" One beehive said "Can I have some of that cake?" and I said "Not right now - ignore the cake, and please just listen to me speak! Just ignore the cake!" she said "I can't, it looks so good!" And I said - "how hard is it to concentrate on what people are saying when there is something tempting right in front of your face? If you want people to pay attention to YOU, cover yourself up - or they will only be distracted and focused on a part of your body, instead of YOU"
A feather, a large rock
Place the feather on a table and ask someone to come and blow the feather off the table. Place the rock on the table and have another person come and try to blow it off the table. You may want to have several people together try to blow the rock off the table.
Discussion: We must be strong. Our testimonies must be form, solid, and built on the rock of revelation. Our foundation must be the Savior and we must believe in and follow the prophet of God. If we have this foundation, we will not be blown away by temptations.
Psalms 18:2
Ephesians 4:14
3 Nephi 14:24-25
D&C 8:2-3
A raw egg, food coloring, hypodermic needle (see your local pharmacy), a clear bowl.
Color the inside of the egg by injecting it with the needle full of food coloring.
Show the egg. Put it into the clear bowl. Ask your family to tell you everything they know about an egg. Describe an egg. What is the egg's potential? What are its uses? What would you expect to find inside an egg? How do you know all this about an egg? Crack open the egg into the bowl and watch your family's reaction.
What changed the egg's contents? We are born as special children of God. Why do we sometimes fall short of our potential? What do we sometimes let enter into our lives that keeps us from reaching our potential?
"All the water in all the world, no matter how hard it tried, could never sink the smallest ship, unless it got inside. And all the evil in all the world, the blackest kind of sin, could never hurt you the least little bit unless you let it in." (Author unknown)
Psalms 119:11
Proverbs 21:4
2 Peter 2:14
2 Nephi 4:27; 9:49
D&C 10:25-26
