"My oldest son, Jake, taught Family Home Evening a couple of weeks ago. It all started with a simple experiment. I told Jake that if I poured oil on water it would float on top of the water. Then we went for the food coloring. Then it turned into a discussion, mostly his idea, that ended up being our lesson for FHE. He presented it all by himself. Here is how it went....."
Follow this link to read the original Jake's Object lesson (saved here so it doesn't get lost):
a picture of a straight road with hills (draw or find one)
Here is another object lesson from my friend Brent Anderson, a former Seminary teacher: "This isn't so much of an object lesson, but the kids really responded to this. The straight and narrow path is, of course, straight and narrow, but that doesn't mean that the elevation stays the same. There are hills to climb (challenges to face) and valleys to descend (difficulties that we will experience)."
Jenny adds:
While traveling along a mountainous road one evening through a driving rainstorm punctuated with frequent claps of thunder and flashes of lightning, Sister Wirthlin and I could barely see the road, either in front of us or to the right and the left. I watched the white lines on that road more intently than ever before. Staying within the lines kept us from going onto the shoulder and into the deep canyon on one side and helped us avoid a head-on collision on the other. To wander over either line could have been very dangerous. Then I thought, “Would a right-thinking person deviate to the left or the right of a traffic lane if he knew the result would be fatal? If he valued his mortal life, certainly he would stay between these lines.”
That experience traveling on this mountain road is so like life. If we stay within the lines that God has marked, he will protect us, and we can arrive safely at our destination.
The Savior taught this principle when he said,
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:13–14.)
In modern-day revelation he taught further, “For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it.” (D&C 132:22.)
King Josiah was a king of Judah who reigned in righteousness. When he was only eight years old, he succeeded his father as king. Scripture tells us that although he was just a boy, Josiah “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, … and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” (2 Kgs. 22:2.)
The Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.” (D&C 3:2.)
Joseph B Wirthlin, The Straight and Narrow Way, General Conference, Oct 1990 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/10/the-straight-and-narrow-way?lang=eng
carrot
egg
Here is an object lesson idea emailed to me from my friend Brent Anderson, a former Seminary teacher:
"I took in a carrot and an egg. I asked [the students] what happened when they are boiled. One turns soft and the other turns hard even though the same thing happened to them. Same thing with trials: they can either make us hard or soft depending on how we choose to respond."
"Eunice Black, a Relief Society teacher, told of a speaker who set out 10 apples to represent his monthly income. He 'paid' one apple for food, two apples for rent, and so on until only one apple remained—a tithing apple. Then he asked the bishop to stand next to him. He said that he hoped the Lord would understand he still had many bills to pay and could pay only part of his tithing that month. Then he took a big bite out of the apple and handed the bishop the partially eaten fruit. This lesson left a powerful impression on Sister Black. She determined to pay tithing first, then budget the remainder of her money."
Source: Jon R. Howe, “Object Lessons That Motivate,” Liahona, Mar 1999, 26
raw egg
egg cartons
Wrap a raw egg in *several* layers of egg cartons and tape.
Invite students to bounce the bundle off the wall or drop it on the floor.
Take the package back, pulled it apart, and showed the students the sheltered, unbroken egg inside.
Teach your students that the gospel was designed to protect each of them in the same way—by helping them build layers of testimony as they kept the commandments.
Source: Jon R. Howe, “Object Lessons That Motivate,” Liahona, Mar 1999, 26
D&C 78:7
D&C 138:57-58
Prepare some dominoes for an object lesson (or something that could be used in place of dominoes). On the first domino attach the label, Prayer. Attach other labels such as hate, anger, pride, selfishness, greed, dishonesty, and so on. Use as many dominoes as you think advisable, labeling each. On the reverse side of each domino (except for the one labeled prayer), write labels naming the opposite of the sin on that domino. For instance, love on the reverse of hate, anger and long-suffering, pride and humility, selfishness and unselfishness, greed and generosity, dishonesty and honesty.
Prayer might be compared with pushing over a stack of dominoes. (Stand the dominoes, or other objects, that you have labeled in a line, with the domino labeled prayer first, closest to you, and the other dominoes lined up with the sin-labeled side facing the class, away from you and in front of the prayer domino. Push the prayer-labeled domino over into the line that faces the class. Pull the toppled dominoes out of the stack one at a time and reveal the word on the opposite side. For example, when prayer has toppled pride, humility results. Go through the whole list of sins prayer has toppled, showing the class the results.
Jenny says: You could label the first domino with other words like obedience or gratitude (per the Nephite pride cycle).
Bring a piece of rope to class.
Give a piece of rope to a young woman. Ask her to try to break it using any method except cutting. Then illustrate to the class how the rope can be broken by breaking one strand at a time.
(Yarn or embroidery thread would also work for this object lesson. You can use this idea to teach about unity or temptation. ~Jenny)
Show the children the object covered by a piece of cloth.
Do you believe there is something under here? Why?
Let the children guess what they think the object might be. Then uncover the object. Point out that even though they could not see the object, they believed it was there.
Explain that even though we have not seen Jesus Christ, we believe he is there. We see evidence of his existence everywhere as we look at the world that he created, as we see the stars in the heavens, and especially as we read the scriptures. We also have prophets who have told us that they have seen him. Tell the children that today they will learn of someone from the Book of Mormon who had such great faith that he actually saw Jesus Christ.
Source: Lesson 29: Having Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Primary 3: Choose the Right B, (1994),138
Doctrine and Covenants 38:7-8
7 But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me;
8 But the day soon cometh that ye shall see me, and know that I am; for the veil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified shall not abide the day.
Doctrine and Covenants 84:119
119 For I, the Lord, have put forth my hand to exert the powers of heaven; ye cannot see it now, yet a little while and ye shall see it, and know that I am, and that I will come and reign with my people.
Alma 30:15
15 How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ.
Alma 32:21
21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.
JST, Hebrews 11:1
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Ether 12:6,8
6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.
8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.
2 Corinthians 4:18
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Prepare a snapping turtle trap: Pound nails into a two-foot-long piece of board at three- or four-inch intervals. Bend the head of each nail at a 90-degree angle (see the illustration). If it is not feasible to prepare this trap, draw a picture of it on the chalkboard, [like this:]
(Image is copyright 2010, Intellectual Reserve. Used by permission.)
Display the snapping turtle trap (or refer to the drawing on the chalkboard).
What do you think this object might be?
After class members have had a chance to respond, explain that it is a trap to catch snapping turtles. Give the following information in your own words:
Delicious soup can be made from the meat of snapping turtles. However, these turtles are very smart and very mean, so they are difficult to catch. When they are in the water, they can use their beak-like mouths to steal the bait used to lure them without even touching the hook holding the bait. In the water they are safe and in control. If you can lure them out of the water, however, they are easier to catch.
Hold up one end of the trap so that the bent nails are pointing upward.
If you put raw meat on the top of this trap and set the bottom end of the trap in the water, the turtle will smell the meat and climb up the trap to eat it. When you move toward the trap, the turtle, sensing danger, will pull into its shell and try to slide back into the water. But its shell will catch on one of the nails and it will be stuck. Then you can take it home and make it into turtle soup.
Explain that a man who fished for snapping turtles compared the turtles' safety in the pond to our safety in the gospel. Then he made the following statement:
"Television, movies, magazines, and other media of our day scream out that good times are associated with immorality, alcohol, and violence. Some seemingly good kids in your school may smoke marijuana and use drugs. The attractive young men and women in beer commercials seem to be having fun.
"It's bait. Just like the smelly meat on the plank in my Georgia pond, this bait can be used to trick and betray you. If we allow ourselves to be tricked into leaving the safety of the Church and gospel, we may also be trapped. You simply cannot afford to take the risk of becoming turtle soup!" (Ron Whipple, "Catch a Snapping Turtle," New Era, July 1996, 26–27).
• Why does a turtle climb up on the trap?
Point out that the turtle is seeking something desirable—food. In other circumstances, it would be good for the turtle to eat the food. In this case, however, the food is being improperly offered, and it results in death to the turtle. Similarly, sexual pleasure is not inherently bad, but when sought in
the wrong circumstances—in any situation outside of marriage—it becomes destructive and can result in spiritual death.
Explain that when Satan designs bait to lure us into improper behavior, he is very subtle. He does not begin by immediately tempting us to commit serious sins. Instead, he tempts us into seemingly innocent thoughts and activities that can easily lead to more serious sins (see 2 Nephi 28:8, 20–22).
• What are some kinds of bait that Satan uses to lure us into immorality? (Answers may include immodest clothing, unclean movies or television
programs, dirty jokes, and immoral music.)
Source: Lesson 38: Be Ye Clean, Preparing for Exaltation: Teacher's Manual, 221
Ask a class member to make a paper airplane, or make one yourself. Tape a coin, rock, or weight to one side of the airplane. Stand on the same side of the room as the class members, and ask a class member to throw the airplane gently toward the other side of the room. Next, pick up the airplane and remove the taped object. Have the class member throw the airplane again. After the class member has done so a few times, put the airplane away, and ask the following questions:
How can just one small weight keep the plane from flying correctly?
Explain that taping a weight to the wing of a paper airplane is like holding a grudge. When we refuse to forgive others, we carry around a weight that keeps us from traveling the straight and narrow path our Father in Heaven wants for us. It is important to forgive others so that we can enjoy the companionship of the Holy Spirit and grow spiritually.
(This object lesson can also be likened to repentance. One small sin can keep us from "flying" back to our Father. We need Christ's atoning sacrifice to make us clean. ~Jenny)
Source: Lesson 34: Forgiving Others, Preparing for Exaltation: Teacher's Manual, 197
