Objects
1. Read
together and mark Matt 18:1-6 (The Savior uses a child to teach about
the kingdom of heaven.)
2. Read together and mark Matt
5:14-16 (The Savior compares his disciples to light and
candles.)
3. The lesson wants the students to explore
why the Savior used objects. A good answer is in a quote by
Elder Boyd K. Packer.
Quote #1
Elder Boyd K. Packer said:
“In teaching the gospel, we do not
re-create the material world around us; we deal with the intangible
world within us, and there is a big difference. None of the ordinary
tools are available to us. To convey to a youngster the idea of a
cat is much simpler than to convey the idea of faith; faith is very
difficult to describe.
“For instance, how big is faith? We
soon learn that size is not helpful. Only vaguely can we talk to a
youngster who knows nothing about faith by talking about an amount,
such as much faith, or little faith. We can't tell him what color it
is. We can't tell him what shape it is. We can't tell him what
texture it is.”
Then Elder Packer shared a teaching
tool we can use to teach about intangible principles: “Tie the
invisible idea...to some tangible object the student already knows
about and then build from that knowledge” (Teach Ye Diligently,
31-32).
4. Bag of objects - the lesson
suggested to provide the students a bag of random objects and have
them decide what gospel principle could be taught using the objects.
Each student drew one object out of the bag. Here were the
contents of my bag:
I basically raided our storage room.
A camping lantern, pedialyte, waterproofing spray, a box of kraft mac
& cheese, a pack of playing cards, a bar of soap, a miniature
treasure box, a set of keys, a rock, a dime, and a toothbrush.
5. My object - a bachelor
button.
I showed the students a picture of a bachelor
button bloom (since mine have died back for the season) and read them
this blog post I made a few months ago, comparing the bachelor button
plant to overcoming trials:
Kay. So I had these flowers
called bachelor buttons in one of my front flower beds. I was
initially tickled with them - they were sooo hardy. And they
grew at an astronomical rate. And they looked cool and were a
cool color when they bloomed. But then I got upset with them,
because they grew too tall and covered everything behind them.
And then they started to choke out all the other plants. They
were driving me nuts.
So I took them out. I had plans to
put them into the back flower bed. But then my elderly neighbor
came and talked to me for like seventeen hours. And the plants
lay there on their sides, totally wilting in the hot son.
To
add to the indignity, I planted them in very inhospitable soil.
Very clayish and hard. Nothing much is able to grow back
there. I should have mixed some potting soil in with the clay.
I should have given them a little haircut, too. But I was out
of potting soil, and by the time my neighbor stopped talking to me,
sunlight was fading fast and I had to just hurry and dig holes, stick
them in, fill in the holes, and get inside. I also should have
immediately watered them, but I didn't. Too late. Too
busy.
"If they die, oh well," I thought. And
they look HORRIBLE. I still need to trim them down quite a
bit. They have wilted and died. They have, as my
dandelion weed killer bottle says, "experienced plant death."
And I was okay with it. I don't like plants that behave like
weeds. It makes me mad.
So today, as I was mowing,
spreading lawn food, watering my back plants, and then throwing away
the little plastic pots from some callies I just planted out front, I
saw one of my little bachelor buttons. One that I supposed had
experienced plant death.
And the dang thing hasn't
died. Well, most of it has died. But it has a little bit
of new growth and even a bloom. This plant has risen from the ashes.
When I thought it was done for.
I thought about my situation. I
had a really hard week. One of those
I-want-to-wilt-and-turn-grey-and-lie-down-and-experience-plant-death
weeks. But if this little guy can withstand all that I've put
him through and still bloom, I can go through the things I'm going
through and still bloom. I can thrust my roots into this nasty
clayish soil I'm in right now and just hang on and push through and
emerge more spiritually beautiful.
6. Pickles and Cucumbers
This
lesson talks a lot about Elder Bednar's talk from the spring general
conference in 2007, which compares the process of making cucumbers
into pickles to spiritual conversion. First, I had us all read
the beginning part of his talk together, each student reading one
paragraph:
Cucumbers and Pickles
A pickle is a cucumber that has been transformed according to a
specific recipe and series of steps. The first steps in the process
of changing a cucumber into a pickle are
preparing and
cleaning. I remember many hours spent on the back porch of my
home removing stems from and scrubbing dirt off of the cucumbers we
had picked. My mom was very particular about the preparing and
cleaning of the cucumbers. She had high standards of cleanliness and
always inspected my work to make sure this important task was
properly completed.
The next steps in this process of change are
immersing and
saturating the cucumbers in salt brine for an extended period
of time. To prepare the brine, my mom always used a recipe she
learned from her mother—a recipe with special ingredients and
precise procedures. Cucumbers can only become pickles if they are
totally and completely immersed in the brine for the prescribed time
period. The curing process gradually alters the composition of the
cucumber and produces the transparent appearance and distinctive
taste of a pickle. An occasional sprinkle of or dip in the brine
cannot produce the necessary transformation. Rather, steady,
sustained, and complete immersion is required for the desired change
to occur.
The final step in the process requires the
sealing of the
cured pickles in jars that have been sterilized and purified. The
pickles are packed in canning jars, covered with boiling hot brine,
and processed in a boiling-water-bath canner. All impurities must be
removed from both the pickles and the bottles so the finished product
can be protected and preserved. As this procedure is properly
followed, the pickles can be stored and enjoyed for a long period of
time.
To summarize, a cucumber becomes a pickle as it is prepared and
cleaned, immersed in and saturated with salt brine, and sealed in a
sterilized container. This procedure requires time and cannot be
hurried, and none of the essential steps can be ignored or avoided.
I had cut up portions of the latter part of his talk to give to
each kid.
Prepared
Just as a cucumber must be prepared...before it can be changed
into a pickle, so you and I can be prepared with “the words of
faith and of good doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:6).
Cleaned
Just as the cucumber must be...cleaned before it can be changed
into a pickle, so you and I can be...initially cleansed through the
ordinances and covenants administered by the authority of the Aaronic
Priesthood.
“And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth
the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel;
“Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and
the remission of sins” (D&C 84:26-27).
Immersed
And after we come out of the waters of baptism, our souls need to
be continually immersed in...the truth and the light of the Savior's
gospel. Sporadic and shallow dipping in the doctrine of Christ and
partial participation in His restored Church cannot produce the
spiritual transformation that enables us to walk in a newness of
life. Rather, fidelity to covenants, constancy of commitment, and
offering our whole soul unto God are required if we are to receive
the blessings of eternity.
Saturated
Just as a cucumber is transformed into a pickle as it
is...saturated with salt brine, so you and I are born again as we are
absorbed by and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we honor and
“observe the covenants” (DYC42:13) into which we have entered, as
we “feast upon the words of Christ” (2 Nephi 32:3), as we “pray
unto the Father with all the energy of heart” (Moroni 7:48), and as
we “serve {God] with all [of our] heart, might, mind and strength”
(D&C 4:2).
Salt
Significantly, salt is the key ingredient in the recipe. Salt
frequently is used in the scriptures as a symbol both of a covenant
and of a covenant people. And just as salt is essential in
transforming a cucumber into a pickle, so covenants are central to
our spiritual rebirth.
Time
Spiritual rebirth...typically does not occur quickly or all at
once; it is an ongoing process – not a single event. Line upon
line and precept upon precept, gradually and almost imperceptibly,
our motives, our thoughts, our words, and our deeds become aligned
with the will of God. This phase of the transformation process
requires time, persistence, and patience.
Purified
We progressively become purified and sanctified as you and I are
washed in the blood of the Lamb, are born again, and receive the
ordinances and honor the covenants that are administered by the
authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Sealed
The Holy Spirit of Promise is the ratifying power of the Holy
Ghost. When sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, an ordinance, vow,
or covenant is binding on earth and in heaven. (See D&C 132:7.)
Receiving this “stamp of approval” from the Holy Ghost is the
result of faithfulness, integrity, and steadfastness in honoring
gospel covenants “in [the]process of time” (Moses 7:21).
However, this sealing can be forfeited through unrighteousness and
transgression.
I made a chart. On the top left, it says "making pickles."
And on the top right, it says "becoming converted."
After
I cut apart the quotes from the latter part of Elder Bednar's talk, I
stuck them onto the back of some pieces of cardstock.
I had
the kids read the quote on the back of the paper, then write on the
front of the paper, in their own words, what Elder Bednar says about
each of the elements of becoming converted. Then I had them tape
their piece of paper across from the correct procedure.
2. Stories (a.k.a. Parables)1. Your
Favorite Parable
Give the students this handout:
Your Favorite Parable
Directions: Think of your
favorite parable. Find it in the scriptures. Prepare to retell the
parable to the class and why it's meaningful to you. Here are some
parables if you can't think of any:
Matt 25: 1-3 – ten
virgins
Matt 25: 14-30 –
talents
Matt 25: 31-46 –
sheep and goats
Luke 8: 4-15 – sower
Luke 15: 1-7 – lost
sheep
Luke 15: 8-10 –
piece of silver
Luke 15: 11-32 –
prodigal son
Luke 10: 29-35 –
good Samaritan
Matt 24: 32-42 – fig
tree
Matt 13: 24-30 –
wheat and tares
Luke 18: 1-7 – woman
and unjust judge
Matt 21: 28-32 – two
sons
Matt 21: 33-39 –
wicked husbandmen
Matt 13:3-8 – sower
2. My Favorite
Parable
My favorite parable just happens to be the parable
that Elder Holland talked about this last spring in general
conference - the laborers in the vineyard. I'm planning to just
retell it to the kids. The text of Elder Holland's talk is
here, and the parable is found in Matt. 20: 1-15.
3. Why parables?
The
lesson again wants the students to know why the Savior used
parables. I'm going to share 2 things that address this.
a.
The first is the first paragraph under "parables" in the
Bible Dictionary. We're going to look it up and just read that
first paragraph.
b. The second thing I'm going to
share is quote #2.
Quote #2:
From Teaching, No Greater
Call:
Everyone likes good
stories. Stories enrich lessons and capture the interest of learners
as few other teaching methods can. Stories can be used to answer
questions, introduce or reinforce principles, or summarize lessons.
They can be especially effective to clarify and teach gospel
principles by giving examples of righteous living, reaching all
listeners on their own level of understanding.
When stories are used well,
they engage learners' values and emotions. They can help learners
apply gospel principles as they share in great scriptural events,
moments of decision, hardships and struggles, and the blessings of
living the gospel of Jesus Christ. They make principles easier to
understand and remember. They show in vivid and inspiring ways how
gospel principles can be applied in our lives. For example, to teach
about faith, you might share Alma's explanation that if we have faith
we “hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma
32:21). But you would make your teaching more complete if you also
told a story in which someone exercises great faith, such as the
story of David going forth to battle Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17:20-50,
particularly verses 26, 32-37, 45-47).
4. Make your own
parable
The lesson suggests having the students make up their
own parables. According to the lesson, it's easy. There
are only two steps. 1) Pick a gospel principle. 2)
Pick a setting for the parable that's familiar. 3) Fill
in the details of a story.
I made this handout to help the
kids do this, and also a place to jot down their parables:
Making Your Own Parable
Directions: Now you get to
try to make your own gospel-related parable! It's not too hard. Here
are the steps – 1) Pick a gospel principle that really speaks to
you. Something you love, or something you've been thinking about
lately. Faith, the atonement, trials, etc. 2) Think of a setting
or a situation for a parable that is familiar to people. Fitting
things into lockers. Trying to find clean jeans in the morning.
Selecting what to eat for lunch. Whatever. And try to make a
correlation between the two. It's surprisingly easy! Jot down your
parable below:
5. My parable
I
made up a parable, not meaning to, and put it on my blog. I
might actually share this with the students before they get started
on theirs, just as a model of how easy it is.
I went to yoga (which, like
I have told you, makes me feel like a goddess. Seriously.
It's an extremely spiritual experience), and we did a series where
our teacher told a story.
She had us start with the lizard
pose, which is sometimes called the Broken Warrior.
We had done lots of
warm-ups before this, just so you know. You don't want to go
into this without warming up, because dang. Even with the
warm-ups, this pose is the reason my hamstrings are so sore today.
So she said something like this: "The warrior has been in
battle, and he is broken."
Then she had us leave our
right forearm on the mat and reach our left arm into the sky.
And then she said, "The
warrior reaches to heaven for help. He needs help to
heal."
Then we brought the arm that had been reaching up
to the bottom of our backs, almost as if we were preparing for a
binding pose.
But we still kept our right
forearm on the mat. And she said, "The warrior brings the help
into his core and strengthens himself."
Then she had us
raise ourselves to our palms, with our legs in the same position.
And then she said, "Now,
the warrior is a Super Warrior. He has overcome. He has
healed. He has become better. He is stronger and more
able to beat his foe."
To me, it was a wonderful metaphor
for life. I was especially thinking of myself and the things
I've gone through in the past year with my depression. And I
was thinking of someone very close and very dear to me who has been
suffering cruelly with a similar mental disorder.
For a long,
long time, I felt broken. I actually said that in my prayers to
Heavenly Father. I would kneel at the side of my bed and weep,
repeating over and over, "I'm broken. I'm broken. I
need help. Please help me." I was reaching up to Him
to heal me. With his guidance and inspiration, I got the help
that I needed. And I brought that help inside of me. I
don't know if I am yet to the Super Warrior pose, but I am raising
myself up slowly from my forearms to my palms. I'm getting
close. I feel better now than I have in months. I'm less
and less angry and irritated. I'm more mellow and calm.
I
feel like ME again.
Yesterday, I shared this with my dear,
dear friend who has been struggling. She also loves yoga.
And after I showed her the poses and told her the story, we both
cried together.
To my dear friend: You feel broken.
But you are getting the help you need. It doesn't feel like you
will ever, ever be Super Warrior, but because you reached out for
help and are bringing that help inside of you, it will very, very
slowly get better. I love you tons and pray for you always.
6. How parables apply
to you
I'm going to give each student a parable on a slip of
paper - each kid gets a different parable. And these are
completely different from the parables they worked from earlier (the
"your favorite parable" exercise).
Read the parable of the
mustard seed in Matt 13: 31-32. Be prepared to share the parable
with the class and tell us how it applies to you.
Read the parable of the
leaven in Matt 13:31. Be prepared to share the parable with the
class and how it applies to you.
Read the parable of the
treasure in the field in Matt 13:44. Be prepared to share the
parable with the class and how it applies to you.
Read the parable of the
pearl of great price in matt 13: 45-46. Be prepared to share the
parable with the class and how it applies to you.
Read the parable of the net
cast into the sea in Matt 13:47. Be prepared to share the parable
with the class and how it applies to you.
Read the parable of the
Pharisee and the publican in Luke 18:9-14. Be prepared to share the
parable with the class and how it applies to you.
Read the parable of the
unjust steward in Luke 16: 1-8. Be prepared to share the parable
with the class and how it applies to you.
Read the parable of the
rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16: 19-31. Be prepared to share the
parable with the class and how it applies to you.
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