Lesson 13: Enos-Words of Mormon

March 23-29
Enos-Words of Mormon
"He Works In Me to Do His Will"

Materials: Enos handout, scissors, glue, piece of construction paper, Picture: Enos Praying by Robert R Barrett (in manual)
Opening Song: "A Child's Prayer" (Children's Songbook, 12)
Opening Prayer:
Scripture: Enos 1:4

Attention Activity: 
Do a small physical activity with your family like a pillow fight, dog pile, wrestling, whatever your comfortable with. What does the word wrestle mean? In the book of Enos, Enos describes his prayer as a "wrestle". Read Enos 1:2. What do you think he means? Why do you think he picked the word wrestle?

Lesson:
Enos was the son of Jacob and the next keeper of the plates. He went hunting and had a spiritual experience through prayer. Enos's prayer was full of faith and so Heavenly Father answers Enos's prayer. The chapter is sort of laid out like a Q&A. Enos prays for something; then the Lord responds. 

Activity: Enos Paper Doll
Have a copy of the paper doll printed and cut out. Have your family members take turns pasting a piece of the paper doll to a piece of construction paper starting with the torso. As you go read the scriptures the are on the pieces. Below are some discussion points you can talk about with your family.

Torso- Enos prays for repentance. Read Enos 1:4. Enos uses powerful language to describe his prayer. What was some of the language Enos used to describe his prayer? ("my soul hungered", "cried to Him", "raise my voice high") How long did Enos's prayer last? Although we do not have to pray that long to have a heartfelt prayer, we should take our time and try not to rush through our prayers. Enos also went to a quiet, private place to pray. He knelt down on his knees and said his prayer out loud. Enos is an excellent example of saying a meaningful prayer.

What do you think was the Lord's response? Read Enos 1:5. God forgave Enos of his sins and promised to bless him. 

Right Arm- Enos prays for others. Read Enos 1:9. After Enos asked for forgiveness, he asked the Lord to bless his brethren, the Nephites. What can we learn for Enos's example here? In response the Lord replies to Enos in verse 10: "I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments." Blessings from the Lord are always based on our faithfulness in keeping his commandments. 

Left Arm- Enos prays for his enemies. Read Enos 1:11. Why do you think Enos prayed for the Lamanites? Why is it important to pray for our enemies (the people we struggle with, don't agree with)? 

In response to this inquiry, God gives Enos an amazing answer because he is impressed by Enos's faith. Read Enos 1:12. The Lord tells Enos he will grant his desires. Enos demonstrated having a righteous desires. Righteous desires are specific blessings we ask from the Lord that help us to stay on the covenant path. Righteous desires do not come from a place of greed or vanity. They are the sacred and meaningful things that we want for ourselves and for others. "Our heart is right with God when we truly desire what is righteous—when we desire what God desires" ("The Desires of Our Hearts" Dallin H. Oaks, BYU Speeches October 8, 1985). 

Legs- Enos prayed for the records to be preserved. Read Enos 1:16. Enos was worried that the Lamanites would destroy the plates. He asked the Lord to help keep the plates safe. The Lord did keep the plates safe and promised he would bring them forth when it was time--which now know was when the Prophet Joseph restored the church in the latter-days. Enos wanted the work of God to continue. How can we pray for God's work to continue in our day? (We can pray for missionary experiences, pray for investigators in our area, pray for the missionaries, pray for our church leaders like our bishop and President Nelson.)

Optional Activity: 
Book of Mormon Videos: Enos Prays Mightily 

Review with your family some examples Enos set for us in his prayer. Testify of the power of prayer in your own life and how it has helped you and others come closer to Heavenly Father. 


Closing Song: "Sweet Hour of Prayer" (Hymnal, 142)
Closing Prayer:

Refreshment:
Triple Vanilla Brownies recipe here

Lesson 12: Jacob 5-7

March 16-23
Jacob 5-7
"The Lord Labors With Us"

Materials: Puzzle, Match game (prepared beforehand; see below), chart in CFM manual pg. 49 (print it out)
Opening Song: "The Spirit of God" (Hymnal, 2)
Opening Prayer:
Scripture: Jacob 5:75 I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessedart thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.

Attention Activity:
Have your family put together a puzzle. When the puzzle is complete tell your family that the gathering of Israel is similar to putting together a puzzle. Before the puzzle was put together, the pieces were scattered. They needed to come together to fulfill their purpose. Each puzzle piece had a special place in the overall picture. Just like we put the puzzle pieces together, we have been asked by President Nelson to help in the gathering of Israel. This we are going to talk about the gathering of Israel through the Allegory of the Olive Tree. 


Lesson:
What is a symbol? What are some common symbols? (peace sign, heart, happy face, emojis, etc.) In an allegory symbols are used to tell a story to teach us something. Over the next week, we will be talking about a rather lengthy allegory in the Book of Mormon called the Allegory of the Olive Tree. 

Activity: Allegory Match Game

Directions: Cut out the following cards and place onto card stock. Have your family take turns matching the symbols in the allegory to their counterparts. 

Now that we familiar with the symbol that Zenos used in his allegory, let's have a brief overview of the allegory. Show the chart on pg. 49 of the Come Follow Me Manual. This chart gives a visual representation of what is described in Jacob 5. The allegory describes the gathering of Israel over the course of the Plan of Salvation. The Master of the vineyard, God, will make different trips to the vineyard to check the progress of the trees. Each visit is symbolic of a different period of Earth's history. 

Have your family member take turns reading the chart starting with the green section, then yellow, orange, pink, and purple. As we read Jacob 5 this week, we can refer back to this chart to help us understand what is taking place in the allegory. 

Which phase are we in right now? We are in the pink phase, where the restoration of the gospel is taking place and Israel is being gathered together. Since President Nelson became the prophet, he has emphasized that it is our responsibility as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to help gather Israel. So what does that mean? How do we gather Israel? President Nelson explained, "the gathering of Israel ultimately means offering the gospel of Jesus Christ to God's children on both sides of the veil who have neither made crucial covenants with God not received their essential ordinances." ("Hope of Israel" Youth Devotional, June 3, 2018)

So how can you help? What can we do to help gather Israel? President Nelson also gave some ideas in this same devotional: do family history work, talk with others about the gospel, be a good example showing Christlike attributes, do baptisms for the dead, make better choices, travel where the Lord wants us to go, learn a new language, share copies of the Book of Mormon, be kind, pray daily for investigators, and share copies of the For Strength of Youth. All of these things are simple but powerful, and that is how God does the majority of his work. "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass" (Alma 37:6)

Bear your testimony of the Gathering of Israel. The wonderful thing about the gospel is that the blessings of the gospel are available to all. Even though most of us were not born into the house of Israel, we can all be "grafted in" as we become truly converted and obtain all of those amazing blessings. 

Closing Song: "Israel, Israel, God is Calling" (Hymnal, 7)
Closing Prayer: 

Refreshment:
Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls recipe here