Preparation:
Make the following signs:
GO on a circle
GUIDE
on an arrow shape
SAFETY on a rectangle
LOOK on a diamond shape
LEARN on a triangle shape
GOOD FRIENDS on a heart shape
Obtain pictures of President Thomas S. Monson, President Henry B. Eyring, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Obtain a copy of the Friend magazines mentioned below.
If you have room in your Primary, post the signs around the room (with “GO” at the front) so the children can walk to each one as you discuss it. It there isn’t enough space to move around the room, post them on the front board and have the children walk in place between reading and discussing each one.
Presentation: Show the pictures of the members of the First Presidency and explain to the children that we have a living prophet and his two counselors to help us know what is right. Every year during conference they talk to us. Every month in the Friend magazine some of their words are written down just for children! Show them pages 2 and 3 of the January 2012 Friend. Explain that this is a message just for them from President Thomas S. Monson.
GO. Point to the GO sign and briefly retell the story of President Monson trying to find the house of Brother Salas. Tell them that they are going to pretend to go on an errand, just like President Monson did. To help them know where to go and what to do, they need to look for the signs. As you come to each sign, discuss whom the message is from and what they have to teach us.
GUIDE. In the February 2012 Friend, President Henry B. Eyring tells us “The Book of Mormon is our sure guide on the way home to God.” And that “Each time I read even a few lines in the Book of Mormon, I feel my testimony strengthened.” Discuss how the Book of Mormon can be a guide. Sing “Book of Mormon Stories,” (Children’s Songbook, page 118).
SAFETY. In the October 2011 Friend, President Thomas S. Monson teaches us about the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon who safely crossed the sea. They left a wicked place and came to the Promised Land. President Monson said, “If we heed [the Lord’s] words and live the commandments, we will survive this time of wickedness—a time which can be compared with the waves and the winds and the floods.” Discuss how keeping the commandments will help keep us safe.
LOOK. In the December 2011 Friend, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf tells the story of a grandfather and his four-year-old granddaughter. The girl noticed the shiny “stars” on the ceiling that her grandfather had never noticed before. President Uchtdorf tells us “the glitter of the [Christmas] season should never dim our sight and prevent us from seeing the Prince of Peace in His majesty.” Ask the children if they ever think of the Savior and remember him when they see stars in the sky, or leaves, or flowers, or any of His other beautiful creations. Challenge them to always “look” for evidence of the Savior in the world around them.
FRIENDS. In the November 2011 Friend, President Henry B. Eyring tells us that we become the Savior’s friends as we serve others for Him. He says, “You have many opportunities to be a friend for Him. It may be as you walk on a dusty road. It may be as you look for a place to sit at church. . . . Living prophets of God have asked us to be faithful friends to those who come into the Church as converts and to go to the rescue of those who have drifted away.” Sing, “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus,” (Children’s Songbook, page 78) or “We Are Different,” (CS, page 263).
LEARN. In the September 2011 Friend, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf tells of an experience he had when he saw two desks in a classmate’s home. He loved to learn and wanted to be able to sit at a desk and study. He said, “For members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea—it’s a commandment. We are to learn of things both in heaven and in the earth.” And “strive to increase your knowledge.” Discuss ways and places the children can learn.
Have the children return to their seats. Bear testimony that through the words of these wonderful men we are hearing the word of the Lord for us. Read D&C 1:38: “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, . . . whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”