the clean shirt

In the New Testament we read, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” With our baptism we symbolically put on Christ.

Put Ye On the Lord Jesus Christ  

By Sister J. Anette Dennis

Galatians 3:27

This reminded me an object lesson a missionary did for us years ago. Elder Minert was teaching about baptism. To keep it short, baptism and repentance are taking off a dirty shirt and putting on the clean shirt. We put on the clean life of Christ. 

the treasure box

we all have some kind of treasure box, scrapbook or something that we keep our precious memories in.



you can go back and open the box and remember those things again. it's like reopening a gift.



a journal is like a memory box. you fill it with inspiration, trials, lessons learned, and sacred moments. those things can be opened again to remind you of precious and sacred times in your life.

5 short object lessons on freedom to choose and adam and eve's choice.

5 short object lessons on freedom to choose and adam and eve's choice.   
our relief society pres gave the lesson this week and had some great object lessons.   thought i would share.

sit someone at a table with a can of peaches and an apple.   they may sit and eat peaches as long as they want, it will never run out.   they must stay there though and can't share it with anyone else.   they can choose to eat the apple but then they must leave the table and never return.  but, if they choose the apple, it will benefit billions of other people.  
i missed the scripture for that but obviously the choice that adam and eve made.   a friend of mine explained that any woman who wanted a baby but was not able to have children would understand why eve made the decision to eat.   a mother's instinct and drive to have children would be enough for her, even in her naive and childlike state, to take steps to be a mother.

tell someone they will receive a large reward if they only choose the right / make good decisions all day long.   can they do that?   there are no rules, just choose the right.  
if there are no rules, how can you choose the right?   there are no rules so not defined right, therefore it is impossible to choose the right.   2 nephi 2 : 11-13

show someone an empty table and tell them they may choose any one thing from the table to keep.  there is no choice.

2 nephi 2:16

lay a few of the same exact thing on the table and and offer them any one of them they want.   when they choose, pull out a different option and ask why they didn't take that one.   (she used plain granola bars and then pulled out a chocolate bar)

you can't choose something you don't know.   relates to the first one about choosing the tree of knowledge.  
2 nephi 2:16 (i think. i am translating and numbers still mess me up sometimes)   helaman 14:30-31

place two things on a table.   tell them to choose one.   as they go to choose, take it yourself or swipe it off the table.   this worked the first time but she got it the second time.    they ended up with the other thing flying off the table too.    it was pretty funny.
2 nephi 2:27   again, you can't choose if someone takes your choice from you, satan's plan.  

she also made the point that if there was no choice, there would be no need for a savior.   without choice, there is no sin so no salvation would be needed.  
if there was no savior, the choice wouldn't matter because no matter our choice, we cannot achieve salvation on our own.   

The Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Chapter 6: The Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

i have a gift for you today, some assembly required

paper -

the first piece is a piece of white paper. i know, it's an expensive and impressive gift.

what can you do with it?????????

you can fold it and cut it and crumple it up but that isn't what it was invented for. that isn't its purpose. paper is for writing on. it is for recording information.

this paper actually represents something you already have, or rather what you are. this piece of paper represents your spirit. it is clean and white and waiting for information to be written on it. it is waiting for experience.

pencil -

what can you do with the pencil alone????????

you can throw it and poke your neighbor with it, make some kind of craft with it, but that isn't its purpose either.

a pencil is for writing or drawing. it is for recording information.

the pencil represents your body. the body is sturdy and makes a mark on anything it touches. the body moves through mortality having experiences and recording this experience on your spirit. that is why we are here.

just as a pencil and paper are meant to be together, so are a spirit and body. neither can fulfill their true purpose without the other.

2 Nephi 2:23

And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

#1

“In the glorious dawn of Easter morning, when the thoughts of the Christian world are turned to the resurrection of Jesus for a few fleeting moments, let us express appreciation to our Heavenly Father for the great plan of salvation that has been provided for us.”

this is the plan of salvation. our spirits came to earth to receive bodies. in life we experience joy and sorrow. we learn new talents and commit sin. our spirit papers are waiting for experience.

i'm going to give you a moment to write down at least one of each of these that are important in your life right now.

at least one joy, one sorrow or worry, one talent you are using or developing, and one sin you are struggling with. these are yours, we are not sharing them so it should be things that are personal and meaningful to you.

----------time---------

keep these things in mind today and apply the lesson to those things.

pres hunter loved the holy land. he was often there. as he shares his thoughts when visiting special places there, we will travel with him and hopefully gain a deeper understanding and testimony on our journey.

my next gift to you.

blood / sacrament

#2

I have stood in the garden of Gethsemane on many occasions. I’ve contemplated in my mind the suffering, the agony of the Savior—that agony that was experienced when our Heavenly Father permitted him, in a way our minds cannot even comprehend, to take upon himself the pain and sins of all mankind. My soul was filled with sorrow as I’ve thought of his great sacrifice for mankind.

Matt 26:27 - 28

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mosiah 3:7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

----------time----------

the next piece of your gift-----------cross / nails------

#3

I’ve stood beneath Golgotha, the place of the skull, and contemplated the humiliation of the crucifixion which led to our Savior’s mortal death, but which brought to pass his and all mankind’s immortality. And again my soul has been subdued.

John 10:17-18

17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

John 19:28 and 30
28 ¶After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

i did a lot of studying trying to find one or two scriptures to represent the crucifixion. 2 stuck out to me.

over and over, it says, "that the scripture might be fulfilled". these things were not done to Him outside of His control. He allowed it. not only did he allow it, He made sure every mortal and spiritual obligation was fulfilled. He made sure His death prepared the way for us, down to the tiniest detail. He was filling list of the demands of justice, that we might have mercy.

#4

Think of it! When his body was taken from the cross and hastily placed in a borrowed tomb, he, the sinless Son of God, had already taken upon him not only the sins and temptations of every human soul who will repent, but all of our sickness and grief and pain of every kind. He suffered these afflictions as we suffer them, according to the flesh. He suffered them all. He did this to perfect his mercy and his ability to lift us above every earthly trial.

----------time-----------

-----------------tomb-------------gift---------------

#5

And I’ve stood in front of the garden tomb and imagined that glorious day of resurrection when the Savior emerged from the tomb alive, resurrected, immortal. In that contemplation my heart has swelled with joy.

#6

Without the Resurrection, the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes a litany of wise sayings and seemingly unexplainable miracles—but sayings and miracles with no ultimate triumph. No, the ultimate triumph is in the ultimate miracle: for the first time in the history of mankind, one who was dead raised himself into living immortality. He was the Son of God, the Son of our immortal Father in Heaven, and his triumph over physical and spiritual death is the good news every Christian tongue should speak.

although the tomb is empty, all of the things Christ did are contained in it.

just as Christ left behind His mortality when He emerged immortal from the tomb, we leave all of our sorrows, sins and pains of this world behind as we partake of the sacrament and His atonement.

--------------blood and nail in tomb----------

#7

Christ’s resurrection ushers in the blessing of immortality and the possibility of eternal life. His empty tomb proclaims to all the world, “He is not here, but is risen.” (Luke 24:6.) These words contain all the hope, assurance, and belief necessary to sustain us in our challenging and sometimes grief-filled lives.

we will someday also rise from the tomb. we will leave our mortal life behind to be immortal and live with Him forever.

------------spirit and pencil in tomb------------------

----------passalong card----------------https://www.mormon.org/easter

my last gift to you, is an invitation. i invite you to search the scriptures and read about Christ's Atonement. search for the many details and effort Christ went to to pay for us fully.

i encourage you to share this gift with others.

#8

It is the responsibility and joy of all men and women everywhere to “seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have [testified]” (Ether 12:41) and to have the spiritual witness of his divinity. It is the right and blessing of all who humbly seek, to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness of the Father and his resurrected Son.

it is my testimony that no matter how dark the hour, day, weeks may seem, Jesus Christ has taken the path before us. He has carried it all before He has asked us to. He carries the majority of the load if we will but allow Him to.

**************how to****************

if anyone wants to make their own set, i just copied and pasted the sacrament prayers from doc and cov 20 .   77 is the bread and 79 is the water.  i changed the wine to water to make it what it is today.   (less miraculous in this case than it was biblically)      i used craft pins, not a sewing pin for the nail in the prayer for the bread and drop of red paint watered down for the red spot to represent the blood.   

the tomb is a coloring page from the church i edited it so i had a top to put on the envelope flap.   

you can see in the picture that the top of the tomb would be gone with the stone in place, the envelope closed without that extra piece.   i got two on a page by printing them as 5x7 size . . .  .( i think).   i had to play with the size a bit so it would fit my envelopes.   envelopes with a triangle flap work better so you have room for the top of the tomb and the stone to overlap.   

we used wood, bricks and stones to color on.  i made 50 for my lesson so the different under textures let us mix it up a bit.  

if possible, leave time at the end for testimonies, be sure to bare your testimony.  

i hope you enjoy this lesson and can feel the Spirit of the Lord in it.   

alma 24-25 - bury your swords

alma 24 - 25
family home evening we did with alma 24. 

materials-
cereal box
crayons or colored pencils
bits of scrap paper
scissors
pens / pencils
glue and or tape
printed or written alma 24:17 (all or just part)
tacks if you want to hang it
this is a fhe we did a while back. i have seen it done many ways, i wanted something that we could leave hanging up to be a reminder but i have seen people use cardboard swords a and buy them in the yard etc.
i used a piece of a cereal box for "ground" so it would be stronger and last a little longer. cut a section off of a corner of the cereal box. i put the fold so the back side is longer then the front.and colored. i glued cut green paper on the back half to look like grass (and cover the cereal label). i folded little strips of paper and cut swords shapes. 

we read and talked about the people of anti-nephi-lehi and how they had been converted and would no longer fight so they buried their swords. we then talked about what might be swords in our family and how we could bury them. the kids took the little swords and wrote things that they used as swords to hurt others. i let them come up with them and was surprised how many and how correct they were. they were harder on themselves than i was but i let them choose. we got things like being disobedient, yelling, teasing, etc. we then stuck them in the "ground" one at a time and talked about ways we could keep them buried. for a few weeks after that, we would say, "i thought we buried that sword" when something would come up. it was a good reminder. we may re-visit it again actually.

the footstool story

when i was 18, i met my father for the first time.   one of the first stories he told me was of the footstool.   he made me a small footstool for a necklace and i wore it for a long time.    although the necklace has been lost to moving and time, the story has stuck with me.   i prefer the memory since it is the only one of the two i can take with me.

the story goes something like this - (it has been a few years since i heard the story so the details may be off but the gist is the same) -
every night my dad would need to get up in the middle of the night.   you know how that goes.   well, he tried to not wake the house full of kids and wife, so he didn't turn on the light.   this would normally be great and not a problem.   he knew where the furniture was.  certainly a man can navigate his own home in the dark, right?
yes, unless you have kids.   the kids were pretty good about the toys, but there was this little footstool that was just the perfect height.   it was great for climbing up, sitting down, hopping over, driving cars under.   everything!  that meant that it got used a lot.   that means it was never in the same place twice.   so, as my dad would carefully and quietly make his way through the house . . .thump!  found the footstool with his toe, banged into it with his ankle or just tripped over the darn thing. . . e v e r y night.  

you would think that at some point he would turn on a light, get a flashlight, light a candle, something.   no!   this was becoming a matter of pride!   this was war!   he was bound and determined to get through the house without the stool beating him!   it's just a footstool, right?   right!

night after night, my dad stubbornly stubbed his toe.   then, he finally decided that his toe was more important than his pride.   toes tend to hurt more than pride after a while.   he turned on a light.   the funny thing is, by turning on the light, he won.   his toes won!

it has always reminded me of how silly our pride, our competition, our stubbornness makes our lives harder, sometimes even painful.   we work so hard at doing something the way we want to do it, that we miss the simple answer that will allow us to move forward.

look around, turn on the light and really look at what is causing you pain, what is it that is making your life harder than it really needs to be?   what is it that just needs a little light?  

missionary lessons for kids #2 - plan of salvation

the plan of salvation is an interesting one.   i searched high and low for some pictures for the kids to color while listening to the lesson as well as activities and some visuals without words.   here are several links and the finished product i came up with.

the coloring pages i used- downloadable pdf 

  http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8403

the no words version for the visuals - also downloadable

http://ayearoffhe.blogspot.de/2011/10/2011-wk-42-plan-of-salvation.html

i had to make it a jpeg so i could paint out the words and translate it to german.   i added the resurrection to it as well. 

i took the plan of salvation maze from these conference packets - http://simple2url.com/GeneralConferencePackets
the maze is in the senior primary version.   love these packets.

allow the kids to color while they listen to the lesson.   you can ask the to color the part you are talking about, what do they think it would look like?   you can color your own version too.   i think it's less of a lesson when you are just "coloring together".   then you can cut them out after explaining it and ask them to put their version in order.

some other ideas would be cut out some large puzzle pieces and let them glue their artwork to the puzzle pieces and put their puzzle together over and over.   we are gluing it to a strip of paper and hanging it up.

a few more references -
 http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4319
this is another version that looks like they have cut out a person and are moving the person through the plan.   you could also use a picture of the child to move through the plan.   if your family is dealing with a friend or loved one passing away, use a picture of that person.    you could do a lot of role play with pictures of family past and present to show how we all move through the plan at different times but all end up in the same place together.   the second link has cut outs in color and black and white to represent the body and spirit.   this concept could be used with family pictures as well to show that the spirit is still alive, just separate from the body.

the official church version -http://www.lds.org/friend/1994/03/sharing-time-the-plan-of-salvation-offers-me-peace?lang=eng&query=plan+of+salvation

patches

i was patching my favorite pair of jeans today.   i love these jeans!   i inspected them and kept finding places that needed little reinforcements before they tore out.   i am determined to continue patching these jeans until i am patching patches and there is nothing left but patches.   in an effort to better use my time, i was also listening to a talk by craig a. cardon entitled, the Savior wants to forgive

i took me until the end of the talk to realize the object lesson in this.  

"Peter once inquired how many times he should forgive his brother and then asked, “Till seven times?” Surely that would be more than enough. But the Savior’s response opened wide the door to His merciful heart: “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

i realized that i was doing for my jeans, is what the Savior does for our spirits through the Atonement.   he patches, and patches, and patches, and patches.

as i was finding those thin spots, and applying some backing to strengthen them, i realized the same thing happens in our spirits as well.

"The Lord knows our weakness and the eternal consequences of “the world” upon imperfect men and women. ".   

ether 12:27  And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

 God strengthens us, He sees the weak spots and will bolster us so that those places do not completely wear through.     of course, we have to do our part.   like my jeans, passing through the heat of my iron, we have to read, pray, have faith, all of those simple primary answers that just seem too easy to have any effect.   all of those things put a patch on our weak spots.   the simple, daily things that God has asked us to do, strengthen us.    the Atonement repairs us.   Christ wants to patch us up, heal our souls, because he loves us.   He loves us more than i could ever love my jeans that i am putting so much work into.   He does so much more than patch.      

i don't know how crafty you are, but if you have ever have to patch a pair of pants, a tire, a stuffed animal, a roof, or anything else, use that moment to teach and learn something deeper.



the references for the underlined quotes from brother cardons talk
Matthew 18:21–22; emphasis added; see also Luke 17:1–4.

Doctrine and Covenants 64:2; emphasis added.

1 Nephi 20:9–11; Doctrine and Covenants 24:2; 50:41; 63:47;108:1–8.

snap back

there was a missionary that always had d rubber band around his wrist.   finally i asked him why.   he said that when things were tough and he was having a hard time or beginning to whine, he would pull it and snap himself.   it reminded him that things could be worse and that the painful times only last a little while.  just like the snapping of a rubber band.   it really hurts for a second but then it's gone with in moments.   it doesn't seem so bad once it's over.

through the button hole

we had the missionaries over for family home evening last night.   what a blast!

we used the games i wrote about here - missionary games.   we also gave them a positive packet that i describe here - perpetual positive propulsion packet.   in their packet, and as one of the activities while we ate, i gave them this object lesson.   i found the basic idea here - http://agwebservices.org/Content/RSSResources/Spain_MissionsObjectLesson.pdf

of course, i tweaked it a bit.

i wanted something that they could take with them and use on their mission, in life, family etc.    the original uses paper but i wanted it sturdy.   i thought about fabric but had no time, my sewing machine is not running and i was afraid that the fabric would give too much and thus , not really get the point across.   so, i used one of my favorite, go to, fixer upper, do it all, resources - duct tape!

i tore a piece about 10 inches long, folded it over, (probably the hardest part of this craft), and cut.   make sure that your holes at the bottom are not too big.   a slit or little oval is better than a hole.   it only needs to be as large as the center strip you cut.    i think the one you see laying out flat is the one that had a too large hole and i had to quickly make another one for my industrious missionary that was able to get his button out of the hole.

the buttons were fun to do and i probably overdid just because i like to crochet.   my excuse is that i wanted to make something sturdy.   that's my story and i'm sticking with it.


you could use buttons, sticks, pieces of wood, bottle caps or can tabs as long as your hole is smaller that what you use.  you may notice that my string is much shorter than the one in the original site.   my son was able to pull the string over the top and get the thing off that way.  even with the strings so short as i made them, one missionary got his off that way.   ok, so there is more than one way to solve a problem.  here's a basic on how i crocheted the buttons together.   just a tiny hook and pull the yarn through the holes.   i did 20 stitches between the buttons and it turned out about right.

 i let the boys struggle with these and listened to the conversations.   when someone thought they had it figured out, they would hide it under the table so no one else could see.   one young man got the buttons off but wasn't sure if he got it right and wanted to know how i had done it.  i showed him because he asked.

the object of the lesson is a bit more than the thought on the original site.  i told them that everyone is handed problems in life, everyone has struggles.   we have to do all we can to solve them.   we also know that it is possible, no matter how impossible it seems, God always provides a way.   then i pointed out that most of them had not asked for help.   i pointed out that we have to help each other in our troubles.   we all laughed about the helping each other in times of trouble because they had been really secret about their discoveries.   they had a little ah-ha moment about the way they had been teasing each other and telling each other not to cheat.   it was all fun and very light.  we all laughed about the lesson compared to the behavior.   i don't think ah-ha moments need to be serious all the time.  

i truly just kind of went with the spirit on this lesson, i had a basic idea and just went with whatever came out of it.

here's the finished product, (you can see that i did not measure in any way shape or form).    i hope you have fun with it and can use it in your object lessons.  

here's a quick how-to on getting the buttons on and off.   pull the center strip through the hole.   push the buttons through to get them on or pull them out to get them off.   that's all there is to it.   super simple once you know how.

what's on your sunday?

we had the missionaries over the other day and were talking about object lessons.   this one came up and i thought i would share.

the teacher comes in and sets down a box of ice cream and asks who wants some.  (our missionary happened to volunteer and pointed out that his birthday had just past so he should get to help out with this lesson.)   the teacher put some ice cream in a bowl and then asked what his volunteer's favorite sport was.  basketball - ketchup on the ice cream.   what's your favorite music? rock - mustard on the ice cream.   hobbies, books, games, all resulted in things pepper, salt, pickles etc being put on the ice cream.  the point being, the although all these things are good, and have a time and a place . . . they just don't belong on your sunday.

i love the play on words.   i'm wondering if he would have gotten some chocolate for his book had he said the scriptures or something.   obviously, our sunday is not the place for every other day things.

a light in the dark

i heard an intersting comparative in church today.   it was mentioned briefly to illistrate doc. & cov. 45:7  
for verily I say unto you that I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the light and the life of the world - a light that shines forth in the darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.    I've been rolling this around in my head all day and it has gained more and more meaning.   i have gained different points of perspective on it.   it has been opening up new possibilities of object lessons all day.  

i have expanded the brief idea and i'm including my few thoughts for object lessons.   you could use a candle in a candle holder or a little Christmas house with a light in it.  

think about a house in the middle of the darkest night.  the house has lights on inside.   if you open the door, the dark does not come in, instead, the light shines out.   the dark can not come into the light.   the light wins and penetrates the darkness every time.   scientifically, darkness does not exist, it is only the absence of light.


now, compare this to God's light.   satan cast himself out of the light, he is in the absence of God's light.

how about being in the world and not of it?   we can shine into the light without stepping into it.

the Holy Ghost being in more than one place at a time.   people in different places can see the lights in the house all at the same time, the house does not move, but the light radiates.   the sun has been used to illustrate this as well.   half the earth can see and feel the sun all at the same time, the sun sits still but still affects half the earth all at once.   the Holy Ghost does not withdraw, we simply turn away from it.

don't think of yourself as being in the dark, but rather in an absence of light.   you can change that!   this is amazing missionary thought.

how about that same line of thinking just with positive thinking?   there may be negative darkness all around you but you can shine positive light into it.

God's love is always extended to us.   we may move away from the light, but the house and the light stay put, with an open door, waiting for us to come back inside, and into the light. 

missionary games

We have the missionaries over most every week.   last week, the kids decided they needed to come over for a game night for family home evening.   hmmm . . . games to play with the missionaries.

here's what we came up with -

SCRIPTURE SCAVENGER HUNT
I came up with a couple versions of this game. You can make this fit any scriptures you are studying or subject you are talking about.
you could always use scriptures you're working with or the
 Articles of Faith,
The Family: A Proclamation to the World,
The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,
 http://seminary.lds.org/mastery/?lang=eng
you can use 4 teams with each using the scripture mastery set from the 4 sets of works, old test., new test., book of mormon, doc. & cov.   everyone can use the same set, mix it up however suits your purposes.   use time limit or til each team is done or just go all together.   we aren't competitive, so we don't keep score anyway.   it would be a fun thing to take on a nature walk or on a car ride  as well.   basic scavenger hunt  except you get to be creative with it.

take this scripture for example : john 10:16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
you could find a sheep or something sheep related. - we got toy sheep taped together into one fold and we got a toy sheep with a farmer (shepard).
you could find something to represent fold, like folded clothing.
something for hearing or voice.
a shepherd or shepherds staff or a stick.
possibly a fence to keep the sheep together
the number 1.
you could get less symbolic and go with america or nephites/lamanites which is what this refers to. . . .
you get it.

it's fun to see what people come up with.   if someone gets too far off, take a vote.

one of the other options is to use the scriptures as clues to where to find things/more clues.
genesis 8: 6  And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. That would lead to the window where another clue would be found.  
Leviticus 25:22 22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store which would lead to your food storage etc.
if you've read book of mormon sleuth, it does this all the way through and has some really obscure references.

I found a quick list for a scavenger hunt if you are too lazy to look some up, (like i am)    http://katscratchme2.blogspot.de/2009/04/scripture-scavenger-hunt.html
I used all but the last one and added john 10:6 from above. We got some really creative answers. It was fun to see what they came up with.


BALLOON BOUNCE
*spiritual thought - surround yourself with those who are uplifting and be uplifting to others*
we always have balloons, they are better for you than candy.    everyone enjoyed batting them back and forth.   there are rules, but no one really plays by them for more than a few minutes.   and when you're playing with a rambunctious 2 year old, just keeping the balloon it the air is great


WHO'S THE ANIMAL?
*spiritual thought - listen closely to recognize who you're following*
To start the game, you need a person that is it. Everyone stands in the circle, except the person who is it, they stand in the middle. Put a blindfold on the person who is it. Have them say "Go" everyone runs around, not making any clue of where they are. When the person who is it says "Stop" all the people stop in the circle again. The person who is it points in a direction, saying an animal. Whoever he/she points to has to make the animal noise that they were told. Trying not to sound like themselves. The person tries to guess the person who made the noise. If he/she guesses right, the person who did the animal is it, if not you just pick someone else to be it. - Maren Jacobs from http://ldssplash.com/fhe/fhe_games/family_home_evening_games.htm
this was really fun.   we got a bit off topic and started naming pokemon and other sci-fi creatures which was just more hilarious.   one of the missionaries wasn't familiar with pokemon so he was totally lost but a good sport anyway.


 FLOUR TOWER

*this is a great example of how satan and the world slowly cuts away at your will, truth, righteous choices etc. until your most valuable possession  your eternal progression falls.   through the Atonement, you can repent and rebuild your tower and again claim eternal glory*or show how the church was cut away until it fell and was taken from the earth by God.   he used the same things (priesthood prophets etc = flour) to rebuild the church (tower)*
 use a cup and form your flour like a sand castle.  you'll have to pack it to get it to stay.  .   then put your plate on top of the cup and turn them over so the flour can come out on the plate.   i used an old ice cream cup and put a hole in the bottom so it would release easier.    clear is best so you can see if it is coming out, tapp it a bit with knife.   place a penny on the top and take turns cutting chunks off of the tower with a butter or plastic knife.   you have to cut from top to bottom, no chicken little chunks.   the one who makes the penny fall loses.    we played this a lot.   the new rule we had to make is that the little blonde 2 year old curls gets to finish the tower after the penny falls and if you're holding the knife when he bumps the table making the penny fall, you lose.


SCREAMING TOES-
spiritual thought for this game – when faced with temptation, scream and run away
so much fun!   Everyone gets in a circle. Look down, close your eyes, someone says, “1.2.3” and everyone opens their eyes to look at someone's toes. You look at the face of the owner of those toes and if that person is looking at you, you scream and get out of the circle. Sometimes we get an elder that is shy and doesn't really scream. We tell him he is going to outer darkness because he won't scream in the face of evil and then show him how to scream. They usually will get into it after they hear everyone else screaming like madmen. It's tons of fun! One of our elders made crazy noises while screaming. He unleashed his t-rex scream on my daughter. She laughed so hard that she just sat down to keep from falling over, (so did everyone else).


SIGNS A.K.A. NEPHITE IN THE MIDDLE
*spiritual thought - you could talk about gadianton robbers or recognizing evil, the murders around the judgment seat during pahoran's time is a great story for this game.
(one of the missionaries taught us this game and we have now passed it on to the next set of missionaries.) everyone has a sign.   like a finger mustache, bunny ears, pulling your hair, scratching your chin, something with your hands. It should be something you can do quickly.   one person in the middle closes their eyes and turns three times.   the people around the outside start the game while "it" turns.   That just gives everyone a chance to get going without “it” seeing. the first person makes their own sign and then another person's sign. that person makes their own sign to accept the turn. Then they make the sign of another person.   the person in the center tries to catch the person who has the sign.   so if the person has not accepted the sign yet, the person who sent it is still has it.   another version is if you send "it"out of the room and everyone makes up their sign and the person in the middle tries to guess someones sign.   the person whose sign they guess correctly is it. This gets crazy. You can sit or stand. It's better to stand, I think, so you can all move a little easier and see the other people.


STICK PULL
this is just a favorite game of joseph smith.
usually, two people sit opposite of each other, they grab a stick and try to pull the other person over.  we didn't have stick so they just held hands.   my younger two ganged up on the missionaries but it was lots of fun.


NINJA.
I failed to get spiritual thought for this one. I told the kids they could play it if they come up with something spiritual for it, didn’t but played it anyway because they all like it so much.
i don't get it cuz i'm old.  but the missionaries had played before and all of my kids thought it was great.   the little blonde curls didn't play by the rules, surprise surprise.   bow to each other.   pose like a ninja.   step or attack each move.   so the first steps or makes a new ninja pose that tries to hit the other person's hand.  you can move your hand/arm or step back to avoid the attack.  it's looks like robot ninjas and i love watching them.   its hilarious!


we'll have to do this again when it's warmer and can play outside.   one of the neighbors showed up and played with us.   the missionaries gave a short lesson and we had treats, (of course).   any other fun games?   ldssplash had a lot of other fun games as well.   they tried gospel says but it didn't go very far.    i think the curly toddler had something to do with that.   


Update-
We have now done another round of missionary monday. They did get to play the scavenger hunt outside. I gave them a positive propulsion book and a puzzle object lesson that we worked on and talked about during dinner. All worked out wonderfully again and was extremely fun! This last time we had four missionaries over instead of two. The increase in people was great.

update jan 2014
this time, we used the articles of faith for our scavenger hunt.   i have to keep reminding them that they have a time limit and it is not a race.   the scavenger hunt gives me time to get food started.  i always have to remind them to really think out of the box and get more than one thing for each scripture.   whatever is the same from the other team, doesn't count.  

we learned a new game this time.  
WASH THE DISHES
to play this game, you need a piece of paper and pencil.   decide on an order, we just used how people were sitting around the table.   the first person writes down a number and everyone in turn tries to guess it.    they are told higher or lower as they go.   the first person to guess the number is the washer.   the next person in line writes down a number.   the guessing continues until you find a new washer and the old washer becomes the drier.   this rotation in and out continues with the drier going out or putting away until all the dishes are done.   this was lots of fun but we had to keep everyone guessing.   some of them decided they wouldn't guess very fast to keep their turn from coming up or they would just guess up and down one number at t time.   stinkers.   i had to implement some rules.   the number had to be a whole number between 1 and 100.   no fractions or decimals, no numbers like 827,340,827,350,928,309,470,374 and no negative numbers.   if you have math geeks in the group, you may need to specify more rules.

 http://ldssplash.com/fhe/fhe_games/family_home_evening_games.htm

The Holy Ghost

This object lesson is one that my brother came to show my son not long before his death.   It was a painful trip for my brother and a special gift for my son's eighth birthday.

You'll need:

a tea bag (it must be the tube type that is filled, folded over and stapled.)

a plate (not plastic or paper)

matches or lighter

scissors

The tea bag represents the spirit, clean and white, until we sin, (the tea).  We cannot return to our Heavenly Father dirty or with sin in our souls. 
  
We can clean our souls because of Jesus' atonement.   To use the atonement we must sacrifice, (cut the top with the staple off).   We must sacrifice our pride and be humble, we must sacrifice our sins and give them up, we need to have "a broken heart and a contrite spirit".   When we are willing to do this we can use the atonement to wash away our sins and become clean again.   

We are baptized to show our willingness to do these things (dump out the tea, open up the tea bag tube and stand it up on the plate).   

This is only the beginning, we must do our best to stay clean and continue to repent with the sacrament.   

It is sometimes hard to know right from wrong, so God will give us a guide, the Holy Ghost.   The Gift of the Holy Ghost is also called Baptism by Fire.   After baptism with water we can receive the Baptism by Fire, (light the top of the tea bag tube). 


If we listen to the Holy Ghost ,do the things we are prompted to do, and continue to repent with the sacrament, we can go up to live with our Heavenly Father again, (the tube will burn down and become a very fragile ash, because it is hot it will float up).

Use as much or as little detail as you want, depending on your audience.   It is a wonderful object lesson for those approaching baptism at any age.   

Tip: Do it inside, breezes and even heavy breathing can tip the tea bag tube.   Also cut the tube straight so that it will have a level bottom to stand on.   I have seen it done on a bare hand but I don't recommend it, some tea bags lift before burning completely others don't.