Lesson 50: Haggai; Zechariah 1-3; 7-14

December 5-11
Haggai; Zechariah 1-3; 7-14
"Holiness unto the Lord"

Materials: Paper and pencils, scriptures, picture of Provo City Center Temple, blocks or marshmallows and toothpicks
Opening Song: "I'm trying to be like Jesus" (Children's Songbook, 78)
Opening Prayer:

Attention Activity:

Give each family member a piece of paper and something to write with. Write down 3 things you would like to accomplish in the next week. Look at the items on your list and number them 1-3 based on what you want to do first. 

When we put an item at the top of our to do list. It is usually because it's important to us or it's something that needs to be done like an obligation. This is called a priority. When we prioritize things in our lives, it means we are putting the most important things on the top of our list. 

Lesson:  

Heavenly Father blesses people who make Him a priority. Think about you list you made. Did you think about putting your personal prayers and scripture study on the list? It is often far to easy to not make the Lord our first priority, but He should be. When we do put the Lord first in our lives, everything else becomes easier to do and blessings follow. Jesus taught about priorities when He said, “Seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (JST, Matt. 6:38, in Matt. 6:33, footnote a).

After Persia allowed Israelites to return to their homeland in Jerusalem, there were many things the Israelites needed to do. "But after roughly 15 years had passed since the Israelites’ return, the Lord was displeased that the rebuilding of the temple had not been given higher priority" (Come Follow Me For Individuals and Families, 2022. pg. 217). The Lord rebuked the Israelites and asked them to "consider their ways" (Haggai 1:5). A similar rebuke was given to Joseph Smith in Kirtland, Ohio, when the saints procrastinated building a temple there. Read D&C 95: 3-4. Why does the Lord want the building of temples to be a priority for His children?

Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God. That means we have to seek it for ourselves by coming unto Christ through the building of our personal testimonies. It also means we need to build the kingdom of God as we share the gospel with others. We can share the gospel with others in our own families, our church callings, and with friends and acquaintances not of our faith. We can also build the kingdom of God as we participate in proxy ordinances in the holy temple. This is why building temples is such a priority in His church. 

Read Haggai 1:8 and 2:9. The Israelites did build a new temple to replace Solomon's temple that had been destroyed by the Assyrians. This new temple was referred to as the temple of Zerubabbel after its architect. (Show the picture of the Provo City Center Temple from the Manuel on page 219). Sometimes, holy buildings are destroyed. The Provo tabernacle burned down in 2010. Like the temple of Zerubabbel, the tabernacle was later rebuilt into the Provo City Center Temple making the "glory of this latter house... greater than of the former." 

Activities: Choose one of the following

• Using children's blocks or marshmallows and toothpicks, have each family member build their own little temple. 
• Go onto the website temples.churchofjesuschrist.org and look at the list of temples. Click on some of the temples that are currently under construction or have been announced. 

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, "We also need priorities. Our priorities determine what we seek in life. Most of what has been taught in this conference concerns priorities. I hope we will heed these teachings... As regards knowledge, the highest priority religious knowledge is what we receive in the temple. That knowledge is obtained from the explicit and symbolic teachings of the endowment, and from the whisperings of the Spirit that come as we are desirous to seek and receptive to hear the revelation available to us in that sacred place" ("Focus and Priorities" April 2001, General Conference). 

Bear your testimony of the temple.  

Closing Prayer:
Closing Song: "Help me dear father" (Children's Songbook, 99)
Refreshment: Peppermint Oreo balls recipe here