First have students write what pressures they deal with in life on the brick.
Then they write things they have to help them cope on the legos (prayer, scriptures, temple etc...)
Use the legos to build a foundation (a square, walled shelter for the brick).
Explain that the eggs are like their souls.
Put one egg in the foundation and the other in the dish.
Then apply the "pressures" or the brick to each.
The one in the foundation withstands it. The one, cracks and breaks.
I used this quote ahead of time from Thomas S. Monson: "Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order for us to be tested, we must face challenges and difficulties. These can BREAK us, and the surface of our souls may CRACK and crumble—that is, if our FOUNDATION of faith, our testimonies of truth are not deeply embedded within us. We can rely on the faith and testimony of others only so long. Eventually we must have our own strong and deeply placed FOUNDATION, or we will be unable to withstand the storms of life, which will come."
Show the camera to the audience.
Explain that when you feel the Holy Ghost before you are confirmed, it's influence can be felt in flashes, like this camera flash. When you are confirmed, you receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. That gift is like a light that you can keep on all the time, like a flashlight -- a constant companion.
We can keep our "batteries" charged and keep the light of the Spirit in our life by attending church, serving in callings, obeying the commandments, and living worthily. (See D&C 121:45-46)
Kendra H. took this object lesson idea from lesson 10 in Manual 1 of the Young Women manual:
"I took 2 buckets and filled one with Rocks and the other was empty. I had the YW call out things that frustrated them or made them upset during the day and moved the rocks into the empty bucket until the first bucket was empty. I then explained that we all -- especially the parents -- go through the day and come home with an empty bucket. Home and Family is the place we go and receiving support from our family is how we fill our empty bucket to go onto the next day!"
This object lesson requires a magnifying glass, a sunny day , a piece of paper, and just a regular piece of glass. Take your class or family outside and give one person the magnifying glass and another person the normal glass. See who can burn a hole in the paper. The lesson could take many directions after this:
In order to get quickly to the heart of a problem with a solution, you have to have concentrated effort, or,
Magnifying your calling means giving real concentration and the result is magnified power, or,
look what unusual powers glass can have when it is concentrated in that one spot. That is what can happen when a group works together to solve a problem. If they are all working together. If its not a concentrated effort, then there is no power, etc.
Source: ObjectLessons.us
Have students comb their hair, with the stipulation that they cannot bend their elbows. This is quite a hilarious sight to see them trying to comb hair with straight arms. Its basically impossible unless the person has very long hair and can bend over very far. Then give the same comb to a neighbor and again with only straight arms, have the neighbor comb the hair. It is possible for this to happen
You can take this object lesson in several directions. It is the message that there are things we cannot do for ourselves. Another person must do it for us. This can be temple work for the dead, or it can be the savior’s atonement. Develop this idea any way you desire.
Source: ObjectLessons.us
(Elaborating on a story by Wayne Dyer, quoted here [link now no longer functions].)
Have the class, or your family stand up with the goal of jumping as high as they can. Maybe have a goal on the wall or doorway or something to measure how high to jump. In the first situation, no one can bend their knees before they jump - not even a little! So basically you can only go on your tiptoes. You just can't propel yourself into their air without bending your knees first.
Next have them bend their knees just a little bit and jump again and notice how much higher they can jump then finally allow the students to jump as high as they possibly can and bend as much as they desire.
Point out to them that the only way to reach and jump high is to bend low first. So when we are brought low with trials or difficulties we must remember that it takes that bending low to propel us higher. If we are brought low with trials, then we can build sufficient faith and trust in God so he can lift us to a higher spiritual place. There are many stories in the scriptures then that can illustrate this concept.
Source: From a book by Robert Folgrum, as quoted here [link no longer functions]
Turn the light off in the room. Have one person hold the flashlight up and shine it down on the mirror. (You'll have to experiment to find the best way to do this.) The person with the mirror's task is to see if they can reflect the light into the darkest corner of the room. Let two or three people try this and see if they can light up a dark corner.
The story that goes with this would be that Christ or God represents the flashlight, and we are the mirror. The light or the power to bring light to the dark places does not originate with the mirror, it only reflects it into many different places.
That is our mission, our meaning in life, to reflect God's light, or love into all of the dark places that we can.
You need a lazy susan or turntables that go in your cupboard for your spices. Place an unbreakable object, like a plastic cup, on the turntable. Demonstrate what happens if the cup is moved toward the edge of the turntable while it is spun. If you can't have the demonstration then just have them picture the last time they were on a merry-go-round and have the class discuss what happens to a person in the dead center and what happens to someone on the edge when the merry-go-round is going very fast.
The lesson from the New Era is this: You'll find that when you move away from the teachings of the Savior and the prophets, you find yourself taking risks you know you shouldn't. And then you can suddenly find yourself far away from the Church. And it can be really hard to get back on the ride again once you're off. If we stay centered on Him, following the teachings of the Church and the prophets, we won't be tempted to take the risks that will throw us off the path that leads home.
Gather children in the doorway of a room leading out into a long hallway, have the light on in the room (or ask them to imagine such a hallway).
Point out to the kids that you can't tell exactly where it becomes totally black in the hallway, it gradually darkens. Just as some activities we choose aren't totally bad. But the more we choose these kind of things to do the closer we are drawn to that line of good/evil. And in the dark we won't be able to tell when we have stepped over that line.
So always stay in the Light where there is no question about it.
Ask someone in the class if they would be willing to hold a string. After they have the one string, ask them to break it. After they break the string, give them two and tell them to try again. Continue to add a string or two until they are unable to break the bundle. As you add strings, ask the person if the bundle of string was easier or more difficult to break than last time. When that person is unable to break the bundle, ask if they have any hope that they can break it themselves. When they admit they don't have hope. Ask if they would like to ask for someone to help. Give the helper some scissors. After their "helper" has cut through the bundle of strings. Ask both of them how they feel. Thank them for their participation.
Then, draw one string out and explain that this is a sin. (If there is a specific type of sin this age group or class may struggle with or the lesson focuses on name that sin). Explain that with one sin, such is easy to repent of, but as the sin is committed again and again it becomes more difficult to break - it becomes a habit. Repentance of the sin becomes more difficult because the desires of our heart are more on sin than they are on choosing the right.
At some point, we cannot break the habits of sin without the help of our Savior. We become hopeless. If we turn to him, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and repent, he will help us break the habits of sin. He will cut the invisible ties that bind us to the adversary. His atoning sacrifice will bring us hope.
Scripture references:
Matt 12:29, Matt 23:4, Mark 3:27
Other helps:
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e1fa5f74db46c010VgnVCM10...
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM10...
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM10...
