Lesson 1 Heading 3 Mnm's And Prophets

Preach My Gospel, Lesson 1, Heading 3 “Heavenly Father Reveals His Gospel in Every Dispensation”

Heavenly Father Reveals His Gospel in Every Dispensation Preparation: Have a bowl of MnM’s or some other treat ready. Prepare pictures for flannelboard story – Enoch. Have 2 words strips ready: “Apostasy” and “Dispensation”. Gather GAK pictures. Opening Song: “Follow the Prophet” ~God calls prophets to teach His gospel (see Amos 3:7) Pretend that it’s a beautiful summer evening and you have been playing outside with your brothers and sisters. Now imagine that your mom calls to you and asks you to tell them to come in for dinner. You are speaking for your mom, delivering a message for her to your family. Will they listen? Heavenly Father loves all of his children, and has wanted all of them to know about His plan for our happiness. So throughout the ages, Father in Heaven has chosen certain men to speak for Him. These men are called prophets, and they are messengers for Heavenly Father. What is the message the prophets deliver for Heavenly Father? (They teach us what Heavenly Father wants us to know. They warn us about what will happen if we disobey. They also tell us about the wonderful blessings that will come when we do obey.) We choose whether or not we will listen and obey. ~Dispensations are periods of time when prophets have taught the gospel. Previous dispensations have ended in apostasy (see D&C 136:36-38). We need a helper to be the MnM Dispenser. (Choose someone to “dispense” a few MnM’s to each member of the family). Did you enjoy the dispensation of MnM’s? (Put wordstrip on flannelboard) “Dispensation” means to give out something. When Heavenly Father has a prophet on the earth to give out the ordinances of the gospel, it is called a “Dispensation.” Tell the story of Enoch and his people, using flannelboard pictures: Enoch was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Adam, and the great-grandfather of Noah. Adam ordained Enoch (gave him the priesthood) when he was twenty-five years old. The Lord came to Enoch and told him to warn the people to repent, or they would not be able to live with Heavenly Father. Enoch was to tell the people that after they had repented, they should be baptized. The people who believed the prophet Enoch and followed him were blessed. When their enemies came to fight them, he “spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness. )

“And from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people. ) “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness. ) “And lo, Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven. And the Lord said unto Enoch: Behold mine abode forever.”‡ The people who believed the prophet Enoch, and had faith in Jesus Christ, and kept His commandments were blessed to live with Him in Zion forever.

~Apostasy means to reject prophets and the gospel Sometimes people listen to the prophets and obey and are happy, like the people of Enoch. But most often they don’t. The scriptures tell many stories of prophets and the people who would not listen to them. Can you think of some? (Noah, Moses, Abinadi, Samuel the Lamanite, etc.) When people choose to disobey or not listen to the Lord’s prophet, they begin to live in spiritual darkness. This is called “apostasy.” Apostasy is very sad because it means that Heavenly Father has to take the gospel away from the earth. (Take away “Dispensation” wordstrip and the bowl of MnM’s, and put up “Apostasy” wordstrip). Tell the story of Noah in your own words, using the GAK picture, and focusing on the fact that almost no one listened to him. They were in APOSTASY. After time has passed, Heavenly Father calls another prophet and tries again to teach His children the gospel. So what’s it called? “A DISPENSATION!” Are we living in a dispensation? ~Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and other ancient prophets all taught the gospel (see Moses 5:4-12). Before Jesus came to the earth, there were many prophets. They all worked hard to teach the people that Christ would come, and that they should obey Heavenly Father’s commandments. Play “Who Am I?” game: Hand out one of the following pictures to each member of your family. Have them stand up when you give the clues for their prophet. (Make up your own clues on the spot, or you can use the brief information on the GAK pictures). (*Note: all of these are available to print online at the Church’s website. Just follow the links below, if you need them. ☺)

Adam GAK 119 Noah GAK 102

Enoch GAK 120 Moses GAK 108 Isaiah GAK 113 Lehi GAK 300 Bear testimony of prophets and how they are special messengers of Heavenly Father. Sources: Diane S. Nichols, “Sharing Time: The Prophet Speaks for Heavenly Father,” Friend, Jan 2001, 14 “Follow the Prophet,” Friend, May 2001, 42 “Prophets—Called of God for Us,” Friend, Jan 2001, 28 Lds.org

Visuals:

(sorry these aren’t in color! Maybe one of your children would enjoy handling that part. . . ☺)