December 6 -12
The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 & 2
"We Believe"
Materials: Scriptures, Jeopardy game (link below)
Opening Song: "The Church of Jesus Christ" (Children's Songbook, 77)
Opening Prayer:
Attention Activity:
Imagine I'm one of your friends at school that doesn't go to our church. What would you say if I asked you, "What do you believe?"
Lesson:
"What does your church believe?" is a very common question for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith was asked this same question numerous times.
"In the spring of 1842, John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat, asked Joseph Smith to provide him with a sketch of ‘the rise, progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-Day Saints’ [“Church History,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1842, 706]. … Joseph complied with this request and sent Wentworth a multi-page document containing an account of many of the early events in the history of the Restoration, including the First Vision and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The document also contained thirteen statements outlining Latter-day Saint beliefs, which have come to be known as the Articles of Faith (Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, "The Articles of Faith").
Wentworth never did publish the Articles of Faith, but the Nauvoo newspaper, The Times and Seasons, did in March of 1842. In 1851, the Articles of Faith were included in the first edition of the Pearl of Great Price. And, in 1880, they were canonized as official church doctrine.
Activity: Articles of Faith Jeopardy Game
To learn more about the principles in the Articles of Faith, we will play a jeopardy game. Click on the link below to play.
https://jeopardylabs.com/play/articles-of-faith-fhe
How have the Articles of Faith strengthened your testimony? What can we better do to learn the Articles of Faith?
Elder L. Tom Perry said, “I encourage each of you to study the Articles of Faith and the doctrines they teach. … If you will use them as a guide to direct your studies of the Savior’s doctrine, you will find yourselves prepared to declare your witness of the restored, true Church of the Lord. You will be able to declare with conviction, ‘We believe these things’” (“The Articles of Faith,”Ensign, May 1998, 23–24).
Bear your testimony of the Articles of Faith and how they have shaped your testimony of the principles of the gospel.
Closing Song: "The Fourth Article of Faith" (Children's Songbook, 124)
Closing Prayer:
Refreshment: Christmas Ornament cookies recipe here
