2 Nephi 26-30
"A Marvelous Work and a Wonder"
Materials: string or yarn, picture of a dragon, flame printouts (cut out and placed in a bowel), tape
Opening Song: "The Iron Rod" (Hymnal, 274)
Opening Prayer:
Scripture: 2 Nephi 26:22 And there are also secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever.
Attention Activity:
Invite a member of your family to come participate in an object lesson. Tie a string or a piece of yarn in a loose knot around their wrists. This string represents a sin they made. Have them try to break free from the string. Do it again but this time, come up with more "sins" they committed and wrap the string around and around until the string is thick around the wrists. Ask them to break it. When they can't tell them this is how Satan gets us. He tells us it's just a little lie or it's just one time until we feel like we can't get out.
Lesson:
Read 2 Nephi 26:22. Elder Carlos E. Asay said, “The first wrongdoing is like a single strand of flaxen thread; it is easily broken and thrown aside. But each time the wrong is repeated another strand is intertwined around the first, and on and on it goes until an almost unbreakable cord of multi-strands is woven. ‘The chains of habit,’ said Samuel Johnson, ‘are too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken’” (The Road to Somewhere: A Guide for Young Men and Women[1994], 88).
Satan tries to lead us away from God with temptation and sin like rope around someone's neck. He seeks to bind us forever with our sins in hell. Obviously, we don't want that. We want to live freely with our Heavenly Father. So we need to be aware of all of the ways Satan will try to get us to make bad choices. What are some ways Satan tries to get us to do bad things? (lies, half-truths, tries to get us to act in anger or on impulse, he uses doubt, pride, lust, greed, promises instant gratification, promises no consequences)
Activity: The Dragon
Display the picture of the dragon below. Remind everyone that the dragon is the symbol John used in Revelation to describe Satan. Take the bowl of flame papers (see materials) and have each member of your family take turns pulling out a flame from the bowl and reading the tactic Satan uses against us described in 2 Nephi chapter 28. Tape the flames around the dragon for a visual.
Why is it important that we understand how Satan operates? Every prophet has warned us against sin and pleaded with us to repent and not to fall into Satan's grasp. President Gordon B. Hinckley has warned us and pleaded with us: ‘I wish to say in the strongest language of which I am capable, stay away from moral iniquity. You know what is right and wrong. You cannot use ignorance as an excuse for unacceptable behavior...I beg of you, my dear young friends, to avoid such behavior. It will not be easy. It will require self-discipline. … You need the strength that comes of prayer’ (“To Men of the Priesthood,” Ensign, Nov. 2002, 58–59)”
With the guidance of the Holy Ghost, self control, and perserverance we can withstand the tactics the devil will try to use against us. Bear your testimony.
Closing Song: "Choose the Right" (Hymnal, 239)
Closing Prayer:
Refreshment:
Dragonfruit popsicles recipe here
