I Am A Child Of God Fhe Lesson

I am a Child of God by Lara Goold

Materials needed: scriptures, crayons or markers Purpose:

Teach family members that they are children of God and that Heavenly Father and their parents here on earth love each one of them individually.

Scripture:

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” Romans 8:16-17

Songs:

“I am a Child of God”, Children’s Songbook page 2 “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” Children’s Songbook, page 228-229 “I Lived in Heaven”, Hymns, page 4

Opening song and prayer: Opening Activity: “Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home” booklet: Read each page (or improvise with your own words with similar concepts) Discuss: Remind your family that Heavenly Father and their parents here on earth love each of their special children. Emphasize to them that it does not matter what we look like or where we live, that their love is unconditional and very real. Lesson: Moses with visual: Using enclosed summary or your own words to tell about how Moses learned that he was a child of God and how each of us are as well. “We Grow to Be Like Our Parents” Puzzle: Have your family put the pieces of the puzzle together and discuss that just as caterpillars grow to be moths or butterflies, that we were made in God’s image and will grow to be more like Him someday. Discuss: Ask older children what qualities they have developed that are like those of their parents (sense of humor, patience, talents, thoughtfulness, unselfishness, etc.). Discuss what qualities we would need to develop for us to be more like our Father in Heaven. Emphasize: That we should always remember that not only are each of them specifically children of God, but also the annoying kid from school, their teachers, and their family members and that this knowledge should affect the way we treat one another. Briefly bear your testimony or share a personal experience about how remembering to treat others as the children of God has changed or affected you (or the other person). Coloring Activity: Follow the clues and do the color-by-number activity to find a secret message. Closing song and prayer: Refreshments: see recipe below

Ultimate Filled Peanut Butter Cookies 1 bag of miniature Reese's peanut butter cups --FROZEN 1-1/4 cups flour 3/4 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco (no substitutions) 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla In a large mixing bowl, cream together the Crisco, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy. Next add the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place them in an UNgreased mini muffin pan. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Immediately press a FROZEN miniature Reese's PB cup into the center of each cookie--pressing down until the top of the candy is at the same level as the top of the cookie. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 2 minutes before removing them. To remove, insert just the tip of a thin knife between the cookie and the pan. Allow to cool completely and the chocolate to reset before serving. Makes about 30-36 cookies (mini-muffin size). Enjoy!

Print the following pages of the booklet, ―Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home‖ onto cardstock. Laminate if desired, punch hole(s), and attach with binder ring or yarn to form a booklet to read together

“Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home” booklet—page 1 (these visuals are from http://craftycopies.com)

A long time ago our Father in Heaven created us as spirit children. We lived with our Heavenly Father before we were born and He loved us dearly and wanted us to grow and be happy.

“Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home” booklet—page 2 (these visuals are from http://craftycopies.com)

Heavenly Father saved His choicest spirits to come to earth in the last days to prepare the way for Jesus to come again. You are one of those special spirits and we are so happy you came to our family!

“Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home” booklet—page 3 (these visuals are from http://craftycopies.com)

All of the lovely things here on earth were created by our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ because they love each one of us very much.

“Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home” booklet—page 4 (these visuals are from http://craftycopies.com)

Each person on this earth is unique. We may each have different colors of skin, eyes, or hair…

“Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home” booklet—page 5 (these visuals are from http://craftycopies.com)

and some people are tall, or wide, or thin, or short….

“Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home” booklet—page 6 (these visuals are from http://craftycopies.com)

and people live in different countries, different kinds of homes, and speak lots of different languages…

“Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home” booklet—page 7 (these visuals are from http://craftycopies.com)

but it does not matter how we are different. We are ALL children of God and our Father in Heaven loves us all unconditionally. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to choose the right. He wants to hear our prayers. He wants us to show kindness, love, and respect to the children of God all around us. And most of all He wants for us to be able to be with our families forever and to return to live with Him someday.

“Heavenly Father and Our Earthly Home” booklet—page 8

Whenever you’re feeling sad or sick or worried or lonely you should always remember that Heavenly Father knows your name and loves you individually because you are his child. He created this world for you, He sent you to your family that loves you very much as well, and most importantly He sent his son to die for us so that we can all return to live with Him someday.

“Moses,” Friend, Feb 1994, 48 (See Moses 1:1–22 in the Pearl of Great Price.) And, behold, thou art my son (Moses 1:4). Long ago, before Moses led the children of Israel through the wilderness, he was called by the Lord to a high mountain. There he saw the glory of God and spoke to Him face to face. ―Behold,‖ the Lord said, ―I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name.‖ The very next thing He said to Moses was, ―And, behold, thou art my son.‖ He told Moses that He had an important work for him to do and promised to show him many things. Then the Lord told him, once again, that he was His son, a son ―in the similitude of mine Only Begotten.‖ Next the Lord showed him a wonderful vision of the whole earth and all the people who were created. The glory of God was upon Moses, or he would not have been able to see such things. When the vision was finished, the glory of God left him, and he was very weak. It took him several hours to regain his strength. After Moses’ strength had returned, Satan came to tempt him, saying, ―Moses, son of man, worship me.‖ But Moses had seen the glory of the Lord. He had been told by that Holy Being that he, Moses, was not just a son of man but a child of God, so he was able to say to the devil, ―Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?‖ Satan responded by crying out in a loud voice and ranting, and though Moses was frightened at first, he called upon Heavenly Father for strength and told Satan to leave. Knowing that he was a child of a glorious Heavenly Father, a Father who loved him and would hear his prayers, gave Moses courage and strength to withstand evil. In his heart was the peace of knowing who he was.

Print onto heavy cardstock, laminate, and mount with popsicle stick. Kids love holding up visual aids.

We Grow to Be Like Our Parents, Friend, Apr 1984, 14 Honour thy father and thy mother (Matt. 19:19). As you grow older, you will become more and more like your parents. Maybe your hair will be the same color as your mother’s. Perhaps you will be as tall as your father. We often become like our parents in the things we do and the way we do them. We honor our parents when we do the right things that they have taught us. There is someone else whom we can grow to be like. In the Bible we read that ―God created man in his own image‖ (Gen. 1:27). Besides being similar in appearance to our Father in Heaven, we can also become like Him in the things we do. Look at the picture puzzles on this page. As you can see, each puzzle piece has only one matching piece. Bunnies grow to be rabbits—they never grow to be frogs! And an apple seed will not grow to be a pine tree; it will become an apple tree. ______________________________________________________________________________________________

“We Grow to Be Like Our Parents” puzzle pieces—print onto heavy cardstock, cut out, laminate, and cut out again. (Cutting twice ensures that the edges of the laminate are sealed properly). PART 1

“We Grow to Be Like Our Parents” puzzle pieces—print onto heavy cardstock, cut out, laminate, and cut out again. (Cutting twice ensures that the edges of the laminate are sealed properly). PART 2

“We Grow to Be Like Our Parents” puzzle pieces—print onto heavy cardstock, cut out, laminate, and cut out again. (Cutting twice ensures that the edges of the laminate are sealed properly). PART 3

“We Grow to Be Like Our Parents” puzzle pieces—print onto heavy cardstock, cut out, laminate, and cut out again. (Cutting twice ensures that the edges of the laminate are sealed properly). PART 4

“I am a Child of God” Color by Number Activity (for older kids)-Clue 1: I lived in heaven with Heavenly Father before I was born (see D&C 93:29). Color 1s red. Clue 2: Heavenly Father sent His Son Jesus to earth to help me return to Him (see D&C 49:5). Color 2s blue. Clue 3: Heavenly Father has given me an earthly family to help me and to guide me (see D&C 68:25–28). Color 3s green. Clue 4: Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, created a beautiful world for me (see D&C 14:9). Color 4s yellow. Clue 5: Heavenly Father has given me certain talents (see D&C 46:11). Color 5s pink. Clue 6: Heavenly Father has given me Church leaders and teachers (see D&C 124:143). Color 6s purple. Clue 7: Heavenly Father has given me the scriptures so that I can learn about Him (see D&C 33:16). Color 7s orange. Clue 8: Heavenly Father answers my prayers (see D&C 112:10). Color 8s turquoise blue. Clue 9: I can return to live with Heavenly Father some day (see D&C 78:7). Color 9s gold.

Print enough copies of the following page to match the needs of your family. When they are complete, be sure to show them off somewhere. Hang them up, send them to Grandma, put into a scrapbook, something to help them remember.