FHE with young kids #13 -- Writing letters

One really simple idea that we did for the first time for FHE was write a Valentine's day card to send to the kids' cousins. Their cousins send them cards for time to time and it's fun to write something and put it in the mail. It teaches about the importance of family and strengthens those distant relationships. And it's fun for the kids to get stuff in the mail!

FHE with young kids #12 -- Duplo Wise and Foolish Man

Wise Man and Foolish Man reenactment with Duplos. The red duplo base is the rock, and the carpet is the sand with a destroyed house on top of it

The meet of today's activity / lesson was singing The Wise Man and the Foolish Man, then discussing it. When we asked if it's better to build a house on a rock or on the sand, our three year old said "sand!". We talked about it for a while, then got the Duplos out.

I asked if rocks are hard or soft. They said hard. I asked if sand was hard or soft. They said soft. I asked if the big red duplo plate was hart or soft. They said hard. I asked if the carpet was hard or soft. They said soft.

Thus, we set up an analogy of the duplo base being a rock and the carpet being the sand. We had fun building a house on the carpet and the duplo base, and the kids had fun seeing how much easier it was to destroy the house on the sand.

It took a while to get the point across even still, when asking why the house on the carpet was easier to destroy. Eventually, our three year old really seemed to get it, however.

I think this one might stick!

Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 3: The Plan of Salvation

Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 3: The Plan of Salvation

Have a missionary come to the board. Give them 4 minutes to draw the Plan of Salvation and teach it as if we were investigators. Time them for fun.

Anybody mind sharing what this diagram means to them? Why it's special?

If you look at the headings of the sections in the chapter, the editors pretty much just take us through that drawing on the board. There’s a section on the premortal life, emphasizing how joyous we were to learn about the Plan of Salvation, basically quoting Job 38: 4-7. Then there’s a section on the fall, saying how it was actually a good thing. Then there’s a section on the the Savior. Then there’s a section basically on Earth Life, then there’s a section on the resurrection, and last there’s a section on judgement and how we’ll get to live with our families forever if we do good.

It’s really quite a lot to cover, which is why this is one of the longer chapters, and there’s a large variety of directions we could go or talk about. In my opinion, however, there is a theme running throughout all of it. Everything points to our experience here on Earth. JFS constantly implies that this mortal life is the crux of everything. This life is a big deal, it's our big moment. We looked forward to it, and we will forever look back on it.

The Premortal life points to now (last paragraph in section, page 60)

We learn from the Pearl of Great Price, that there was a council held in heaven, when the Lord called before him the spirits of his children and presented to them a plan by which they should come down on this earth, partake of mortal life and physical bodies, pass through a probation of mortality and then go on to a higher exaltation through the resurrectionwhich should be brought about through the atonement of his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ [see Moses 4:1–2; Abraham 3:22–28]. The thought of passing through mortality and partaking of all the vicissitudes of earth life in which they would gain experiences through suffering, pain, sorrow, temptation and affliction, as well as the pleasures of life in this mundane existence, and then, if faithful, passing on through the resurrection to eternal life in the kingdom of God, to be like him [see1 John 3:2], filled them with the spirit of rejoicing, and they “shouted for joy.” [See Job 38:4–7.] The experience and knowledge obtained in this mortal life, they could not get in any other way, and the receiving of a physical body was essential to their exaltation.5

The Fall of Adam and Eve Points to now (last paragraph in section, page 61)

The fall of Adam brought to pass all of the vicissitudes of mortality. It brought pain, it brought sorrow, it brought death; but we must not lose sight of the fact that it brought blessings also. … It brought the blessing of knowledge and understanding and mortal life.

The atonement of Jesus Christ points to now, since he suffered for what we did now, and it is our duty now to teach others of him, since every day we can improve and repent now because of him (3rd paragraph in section, page 62)

First ask how atonement points to now

It is our duty to teach the mission of Jesus Christ. Why did he come? What did he do for us? How are we benefited? What did it cost him to do it? Why it cost his life, yes, more than his life! What did he do besides being nailed on the cross? Why was he nailed there? He was nailed there that his blood might be shed to redeem us from this most terrible penalty that could ever come, banishment from the presence of God. He died on the cross to bring us back again, to have our bodies and spirits reunited. He gave us that privilege. If we will only believe in him and keep his commandments, he died for us that we might receive a remission of our sins and not be called upon to pay penalty. He paid the price. …

……...

Now do not ask me how that was done because I do not know. Nobody knows. All we know is that in some way he took upon himself that extreme penalty. He took upon him our transgressions, and paid a price, a price of torment. (can point out that we make a choice, now, to believe, since we don’t know how it works)

This mortal life, obviously, points to now.

Since this is the crux, we’ll read more about what JFS says about our mortal life in a bit.

The Resurrection points to now, as a restoration of what we have now (3rd paragraph in section, page 67)

Every fundamental part of every body will be restored to its proper place again in the resurrection, no matter what may become of the body in death. If it be burned by fire, eaten by sharks, no matter what. Every fundamental part of it will be restored to its own proper place.25

The day of judgement will point to now (5th paragraph in section, page 68)

We are taught in the gospel of Jesus Christ that the family organization will be, so far as celestial exaltation is concerned, one that is complete, an organization linked from father and mother and children of one generation to the father and mother and children of the next generation, and thus expanding and spreading out down to the end of time.30

These glorious blessings of eternal inheritance … do not come except through willingness to keep the commandments and even to suffer with Christ if need be. In other words, candidates for eternal life—the greatest gift of God—are expected to place all that they have on the altar, should it be required, for even then, and should they be required to lay down their lives for his cause, they could never pay him for the abundant blessings which are received and promised based on obedience to his laws and commandments.31

….

I stand now, in what I might call the twilight of life, with the realization that in a not-far-distant day I shall be called upon to give an account of my mortal stewardship. …

I am sure that we all love the Lord. I know that he lives, and I look forward to that day when I shall see his face, and I hope to hear his voice say unto me: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 25:34.)

So it seems that everything in the Plan of Salvation is centered around 2 things: the atonement, and how we live our lives. A plane ticket to heaven is something so expensive that nobody can afford it, but Jesus bought one for all of us. However, he does ask we give him something in return. According to JFS, it’s placing all that we have on the alter.

That’s pretty intimidating, what do you all think?

I think it’s helpful to take things one step at a time. Luckily, in the section about our mortal life, JFS indeed takes us through what we’re supposed to do, one step at a time:

(Building on the foundation of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we work out our salvation during mortality)

Building on the foundation of the atonement, the plan of salvation consists of the following things:

First, we must have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; we must accept him as the Son of God; we must put our trust in him, rely upon his word, and desire to gain the blessings which come by obedience to his laws.

Second, we must repent of our sins; we must forsake the world; we must determine in our hearts, without reservation, that we will live godly and upright lives.

Third, we must be baptized in water, under the hands of a legal administrator, who has power to bind on earth and seal in heaven; we must, through this sacred ordinance, enter into a covenant to serve the Lord and keep his commandments.

Fourth, we must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; we must be born again; we must have sin and iniquity burned out of our souls as though by fire; we must gain a new creation by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Fifth, we must endure to the end; we must keep the commandments afterbaptism; we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling before the Lord; we must so live as to acquire the attributes of godliness and become the kind of people who can enjoy the glory and wonders of the celestial kingdom.

Sounds a bit easier, right?

Since everything about the plan comes down to what we do with our mortal life, and the first step of the gospel that the plan of Salvation requires is faith, how important is step #1? Why is belief the first step? How necessary a part of “The Plan of Salvation” is it? Do you have to believe to be saved? What do you have to believe in? The Plan of Salvation? God? Jesus? The “gospel”? How do you know if you really believe? What if you want to believe, but there’s some things about the gospel you just have a hard time with? Can you force belief? Will we be penalized for our doubts? Is it OK to admit that we have any? Is belief like a cornerstone of the gospel, where a seed of doubt will make everything come crumbling down? If not, and we can still go to heaven without perfect belief, then why is belief even necessary in the first place?

Notice that steps 2-5 are actions. They are things we do. It is true that we build upon a foundation of the atonement, and that the first step is belief. But the important stuff comes next. And how could it be any other way? The first step to doing anything has to be believing it will be for our good. Nobody goes on a diet or starts doing crossfit or goes into debt for school unless they believe it will do some good. Unless they believe that it will be worth it. Everyone’s live is an investment, and we all spend our lives in a way that we think will give us the maximum return.

Nobody becomes Mormon unless they believe it will pay off. Even if someone joins the church for less-than-traditional reasons -- like welfare or friends or social pressure -- they do it because in some way or another they believe it will pay off. And if you join the church and keep going to church and live the gospel because you believe that there is a God, that there is a Jesus who is our savior, that we have prophets to show us the right way, then you believe being a good Mormon and a good Christian will pay off. If you don’t believe that steps 2-5 that JFS outlined are worth doing, you’re of course never going to do them.

So how do you know if you have enough faith? If you really believe?

It’s pondering this question that it really starts to make sense when James said faith without works is dead, when he says he will “shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18). The entire point of faith and belief is getting us to do stuff! To help people, to love others, to engage in service, to covenant with God that we will try and do better. Faith only makes sense when it’s accompanied by good works.

It’s in this context that Alma’s sermon on faith in Alma 32 makes sense. He begs for us to “experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you”. What is the experiment, and what is it that we should desire to believe? In the very least, we can desire to believe that God is there, that he loves us, that he will bless us if we keep the commandments. As Alma says, that is the beginning of faith -- wanting to believe that God is there and he loves us. And ultimately, it’s a choice we all have to make. We can choose to want to believe, or choose not to want it.

FHE with young kids #11 -- CTR Chutes and Ladders

Our 3 year old son loves the Chutes and Ladders game he got for Christmas. I found a CTR chutes and ladders game at this blog.

To start the lesson, I drew the letters CTR on the iPad. My son surprised me by already knowing it meant "Choose The Right". Then, I let him write CTR on the board.

The top left was scribble by our 2 year old, top right is a "C", bottom left is "T", bottom right is "R".

Then we talked about what it means to choose the right, and I showed them various pictures I prepared from Google and discussed if it was a right or wrong choice

• Boys sharing toys (right choice)
• A boy screaming (wrong choice)
• A boy playing in the pool by himself (wrong choice)
• A boy smiling (right choice)
• Boys fighting (wrong choice)
• Boy cleaning up (right choice)

Then we played the CTR chutes and ladders game, which was a hit. They really had a good time and will probably play it again for fun. Their favorite parts were when Mommy or Daddy or Grandma landed on a "wrong choice" spot. Our 2 year old loved that. 

The fact that he was excited about us making a wrong choice meant he understands what it means!

FHE with young kids #10 -- Service Superhero Kids

Grandma made the boys superhero capes for Christmas. They like to run around like crazy people with their capes on.

We started by talking about superheroes, looking at pictures of superman, spiderman, etc. Then I asked them what supeheroes do. Besides flying and getting bad guys, we talked about how they help people.

Then we read this story from the friend about a boy who likes to wear capes and pretend he is a superhero, who also helps his mom around the house.

We talked about how the kids can help out around the house, and got them excited about the idea of putting on their capes when it's time to clean up toys so they can be superheroes.

It went well!

FHE with young kids #9 -- New Years Resolutions

Talked with the kids about New Years Resolutions today. We also talked about how old everyone turns this year.

• Our baby's new year resolution is to sleep through the night.
• Our toddler's resolution is to be nice to his brother and use the potty.
• Our preschooler's resolution is to be nice to his brother and beat his dad in connect 4.
• My resolution is to read the Boo kof Mormon in Chinese every day and give mom a complement every day.
• Mom's resolution is to read the Bible and pay more attention to her health.

Happy New Years!

Lorenzo Snow Chapter 23: The Prophet Joseph Smith

Who is the most charismatic, powerful, impressive person you have ever met? Someone whose character draws you to them and has such an influence on you that you would go to great lengths and sacrifices to do what they ask?

If you were to ask someone in the church from 1830-1844, they probably would have given the answer “Joseph Smith”. Even among critics of the church, it is widely held that he was one of the most charismatic persons of his day. This is something that will never stop fascinating me..

From the bottom of page 273:

The Prophet had the power to impress in a remarkable manner all who approached him. There was something about him which went to their hearts. This was particularly the case with brethren when receiving from him their appointments to go forth and preach the Gospel. The inspiration that flowed from him possessed their souls and his words penetrated to the innermost recesses of their being. They loved him, and believed in him, and were ready to do whatever he directed for the furtherance of the work of God. He filled them with the power of his presence, and thrilled them with the testimony of his prophetic mission. There are many people in the world who possess an extraordinary spirit of friendship and warmth that everyone feels who meets them. I have met many such men, but never yet have I met another person in whose company I felt the peculiar and powerful influence that I felt while in the presence of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was due to the great portion of the Spirit of God that he possessed, merely the shake of his hand would cause a person to become filled with this influence, and any sensitive nature would know that he was shaking the hand of an extraordinary person.

This is neat. You can really tell from this paragraph how enamored Lorenzo Snow was with Joseph Smith. I’m not sure you can read this and not have at least some desire to also meet Joseph Smith, to see if he really did have that peculiar and powerful influence. Thoughts? I, for one, wish I could have met Joseph Smith. I remember a dream I had about 8 years ago when I saw Joseph Smith preaching in the woods. His hair was gray, and he had elegant posture and a bright countenance. As I reflect on it now it feels to me that I was dreaming of Joseph preaching to people in the spirit world. I remember waking up feeling happy.

There are some passages in this chapter that try to bring Joseph Smith down to Earth, passages where he plays ball with the boys and wrestles and rough houses. However, the amount of passages that bring out the spiritual qualities that Joseph Smith had seem to be more abundant. I think they are special, so let’s read the 2 paragraphs before the one we just read:

Toward the latter part of his life Joseph Smith became a master of strength and influence over his fellows. This fact was brought very vividly to my attention on my return from a mission to Europe. I noticed and even remarked to him that he had changed very much since I last saw him; that he had become stronger and more powerful. He admitted this and said that the Lord had endowed him with additional portions of His Spirit.

One day he called the brethren of the Twelve Apostles together and other prominent Elders of the Church to appoint them to their several labors and missions. Each sat and waited with much anxiety to hear the word of the Prophet concerning his future duties. They felt that they were in the presence of a superior being. While in Kirtland the Prophet did not seem to possess that strength and power, … but in later years he had become so strong in the power of the Lord that the people felt it. It was so on this occasion. The Elders realized his superior strength. “Brother Brigham,” he said, “I want you to go east and attend to the affairs of the Church in the Eastern States, and Brother Kimball may accompany you.” Turning to another he said, “You turn your attention to the publication of our paper,” and thus appointed each one to his special mission; all accepting his word as the mind of the Lord. …

Thoughts? The way Lorenzo Snow describes him is very God-like. A “superior-being”, so strong in the power of God people felt it. I have never heard anything like what Lorenzo Snow said about him having a power in Nauvoo that he didn’t have in Kirtland. The idea of him gaining experience points and “leveling up” 1 or 2 is fun, and it reminds me of the scripture that talks about how Jesus developed: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” (Luke 2:52).

Can any of you relate to this on a personal level, where you feel like there was a time when you or someone else experienced noticeable spiritual growth?

For some more fun stuff on Joseph Smith, let’s read another passage that expresses his “supernatural” powers.

Page 270

I attended … meetings in the Temple regularly and heard the Prophet discourse upon the grandest of subjects. At times he was filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking as with the voice of an arch-angel and filled with the power of God, his whole person shone and his face was lightened. …

At times he spoke lightly, and at other times he explained the mysteries of the kingdom. The change was so noticeable that it seemed he was elevated into heaven while addressing the people who were on the earth, and then returned again to more familiar themes. …

Some more pretty powerful stuff. Joseph again sounds like an amazing person to have been around. This passage is interesting to me because when I read it I am reminded of times when I have felt the spirit. It doesn’t matter who was talking or what was happening, but in those moments I felt somewhat like I was “elevated into heaven”. So as I read this account it rings true to me, and I suspect that what Lorenzo snow is saying in his own way is that Joseph frequently spoke with the spirit.

Do any of you have experiences where, similar to what Lorenzo Snow describes, you felt someone was suddenly speaking with the voice of an arch-angel, or perhaps you felt like they or you were elevated into Heaven for a moment?

One of the most interesting things about Joseph Smith is that he had an absolutely fascinating ability of helping those around him see visions and have spiritual experiences that just can’t be easily explained. The 3 and 8 witnesses are one example of this.

Lorenzo snow speaks about how we can have our own spiritual experiences, and he mentions that Joseph Smith opened up a channel for us to do so. From page 273 in the last section:

What is the nature of our testimony? It is this: That this is the dispensation of the fulness of times; that the angel that John the Revelator saw flying through the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred and tongue and people—that that angel has made his appearance and restored the Gospel to the earth, Joseph Smith being the instrument through which the restoration was effected.

Joseph Smith affirmed that Peter, James and John visited him, and conferred on him authority to administer the holy ordinances of the Gospel through which every honest-hearted man and woman were promised the Holy Ghost, and a perfect knowledge of the doctrine

Joseph Smith was authorized to open up a channel and lay down a plan through which man could receive a knowledge of these things, so that we might not be left to depend upon the testimony of the Prophets, or the testimony of the ancient Apostles, or to the testimony of the Apostles of the present day, or to the Book of Mormon, or to anything that was done or said in the past, but that we might know for ourselves. It is an individual knowledge.

One interesting thing to note is that the first and third paragraph actually are supposed to flow together. If you look at the original sermon by Lorenzo Snow in the Deseret News, the first and third paragraph are actually right after each other in the same paragraph. To me, this is helpful because I was wondering what Lorenzo snow meant by “these things” when he says a channel was opened up to help us know “these things”. So, I think that when he says “these things” he means the restoration of the gospel, which manes Lorenzo snow is saying that Joseph Smith opened up a channel for us to gain a testimony of the restoration.

What, then, is the channel that Joseph opened for us to gain a testimony?

I don’t think he opened up a channel, per say, as much as he opened up the knowledge that a channel exists. He revealed the knowledge that the heavens are open, that personal revelation is possible. He preached that we can each gain our own testimony, which was radically different from most teachings of his time and our time as well.

Testimony of polygamy is a wonderful example of how Joseph encouraged others to do this. There are some new pages on the gospel topics section of LDS.org. There is a short page about Plural Marriage, and there is an interesting paragraph that describes the difficulty Joseph Smith and the people around him had with plural marriage:

After God revealed the doctrine of plural marriage to Joseph Smith in 1831 and commanded him to live it, the Prophet, over a period of years, cautiously taught the doctrine to some close associates. Eventually, he and a small number of Church leaders entered into plural marriages in the early years of the Church. Those who practiced plural marriage at that time, both male and female, experienced a significant trial of their faith. The practice was so foreign to them that they needed and received personal inspiration from God to help them obey the commandment.

This is fascinating to me. If Joseph Smith could persuade people to follow him into something as crazy as polygamy, this tells me that he was either one of the most persuasive and charismatic people to ever walk the earth, or the spirit of God touched people’s hearts to convince them that Joseph was a prophet worth following. Either scenario is fascinating. I choose to believe the latter. Thoughts?

So while the very idea of polygamy can be a trial of faith for some members nowadays, I think that one way for it to be faith-promoting is to look at the testimony of some of the very first saints in Joseph’s inner circle who practiced it. It seems that in most instances, Joseph encouraged those he approached about polygamy to seek out their own testimony. Just as we read from the manual earlier that “Joseph Smith was authorized to open up a channel and lay down a plan through which man could receive a knowledge of these things”, many early saints have great stories about receiving a testimony about polygamy.

The following quote from Elizabeth Whitney, husband of Bishop Newell K Whitney,  is taken from a scholar’s named Brian Hales and his work on a multi-volume set about Joseph Smith’s polygamy.

Joseph had the most implicit confidence in my husband’s uprightness and integrity of character, and so he confided to him the principles set forth in that revelation, and also gave him the privilege of reading and making a copy of it, believing it would be perfectly safe with him…  My husband revealed these things to me.  We had always been united, and had the utmost faith and confidence in each other. We pondered upon the matter continually, and our prayers were unceasing that the Lord would grant us some special manifestation concerning this new and strange doctrine.  The Lord was very merciful to us; He revealed unto us His power and glory.  We were seemingly wrapt in a heavenly vision, a halo of light encircled us, and we were convinced in our own bosoms that God heard and approved our prayers and intercedings before him.  Our hearts were comforted and our faith made so perfect that we were willing to give our eldest daughter, then seventeen years of age, to Joseph, in the order of plural marriage.  Laying aside all our traditions and former notions in regard to marriage, we gave her with our mutual consent.

[Edward Tullidge, The Women of Mormondom. New York City: n.p., 1877, 368-69; Elizabeth Ann Whitney, “A Leaf from an Autoibiography,”  Woman’s Exponent, December 15, 1878, vol. 7, no. 14, 105; see also Carol Cornwall Madsen, ed.,  In Their Own Words: Women and the Story of Nauvoo. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1994, 202.]

End with testimony.