“Listen to the Still, Small Voice,” Friend, Aug. 2007, 10–12
Sharing Time:
Listen to the Still, Small Voice
For, behold, the Comforter knoweth all things, and beareth record of the Father and of the Son (D&C 42:17).
What are some important things to know? We need to know how to tie our shoes. We need to know how to write our names.
There is one thing that is more important than anything else. We find this in John 17:3. John records the words that Jesus spoke to His Father, our Heavenly Father: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Knowing our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, is the most important knowledge you will ever have. This knowledge is called a testimony.
How can we find things out? We are blessed to have two sets of parents—earthly parents and heavenly parents. When you need to know something like how to tie your shoes, your earthly parents can help. They can also use dictionaries, science books, and the scriptures to help answer your questions.
To have a testimony of sacred things, you can ask Heavenly Father. He usually uses the third member of the Godhead—the Holy Ghost—to answer you. The Holy Ghost bears witness of the Father and the Son. Through His still, small voice, the Holy Ghost can witness to you that Jesus is the Son of God. He can witness to you that Joseph Smith restored the gospel and that we have a prophet today. In the Book of Mormon, Moroni tells us that through the power of the Holy Ghost, we can know the truth of all things (see Moroni 10:5).
As you listen to the still, small voice, you can have a testimony. Your faith in Jesus Christ will grow when you listen to the Holy Ghost.
Activity
A blanket or a quilt can make your body feel warm, just as the Holy Ghost can give your spirit a feeling of warmth and peace. Learn more about the Holy Ghost by looking up each of the scripture references on the quilt. You might want to underline the words Comforter, Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost in your scriptures. Then color the quilt patch. Hang your picture near your bed to remind you that the Holy Ghost can comfort you and that your faith will grow as you listen to His promptings.
Note: If you do not wish to remove pages from the magazine, this activity may be copied or printed from the Internet at www.lds.org. Click on Gospel Library.
Sharing Time Ideas
(Note: All songs are from Children’s Songbook unless otherwise noted; GAK = Gospel Art Picture Kit; TNGC = Teaching, No Greater Call.)
1. Introduce the children to True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference. Ask an older child to look up “Testimony” and write the definition on the chalkboard. Point out that a testimony comes from the Holy Ghost.
Review Alma 5:45–46. Show that Alma needed to fast and pray so he could receive a testimony through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Ask them to look up D&C 42:17 and name the members of the Godhead. Explain that “the Comforter” is another name for the Holy Ghost. Divide the Primary into three groups. Have one group stand and say, “the Comforter,” another, “of the Father,” and the last, “of the Son.” Repeat, adding a few words until they memorize the scripture.
Choose a song from the Children’s Songbook topic index under “Testimony,” and have the children sing it as a way of sharing their testimonies. Bear your own testimony in either song or words.
2. Before Primary, make a card large enough for all the children to see. Write the word Invitation on the front of the card at the top. Ask them to raise their hands if they like to get invitations. Open the card to reveal the following message: “I invite the promptings of the Holy Ghost when I …”
Ask the children how they can invite the promptings of the Holy Ghost to help them in their lives. On the inside of the card list ideas such as praying, reading the scriptures, keeping the commandments, singing Primary songs, and following the living prophets.
Give each child a card to fold into an invitation and ask the pianist to softly play “The Holy Ghost” (p. 105). Have them copy the words “I invite the promptings of the Holy Ghost when I …” on the front of the card. On the inside, have them list the ideas you have talked about and their own ideas.
Review “My Baptismal Covenant” from the Faith in God booklet. Part of the covenant is that we will feel the Holy Ghost guiding us. Sing the third verse of “I Like My Birthdays” (p. 104). Promise the children that if they do what is right and diligently seek the Spirit, they will feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Bear testimony of this truth.
For younger children: Play a musical game to have the children learn about ways to invite the Holy Ghost into their lives. Give clues by having the pianist play such songs as “Don’t Ever Forget to Pray” (Friend, Apr. 2006, 11), “Search, Ponder, and Pray” (p. 109), “Follow the Prophet” (pp. 110–11), and “Keep the Commandments” (pp. 146–47). Let the children guess the song. Sing the songs to reinforce the message.
3. Use an object lesson (see “Object Lessons,” TNGC, 164) to show how to recognize the Spirit. Prepare a “box with socks” by cutting two holes, about three inches (8 cm) in diameter and about six inches (15 cm) apart, in the bottom of a box. The box should be large enough to allow a child to put his or her hands in it, but small enough to be held up for the Primary to see. Line the holes with the cut-off tops of two old socks. Staple these in place, being sure that the staple ends go into the box so they will not scratch anyone. Lining the holes with socks will prevent the child from seeing through the holes.
Without letting the children see the item, put a familiar item in the box, close the top, and turn the box on its side. Hold up the box or place it on a table, and ask a child to insert his or her hands through the socks and try to figure out what is inside. Open the top of the box so the Primary children can see what the item is. Repeat the activity with different children and objects. Explain that we can easily identify objects that are familiar to us.
Next, give the children objects that are less familiar. If the child cannot name the object, ask him or her to describe the way it feels.
Compare the box experience with recognizing the promptings of the Holy Ghost. When we are familiar with the Spirit, we know what it feels like and can easily recognize it. However, when we have not had many experiences with the Spirit, we might not easily recognize the Spirit.
Sing the first verse of “I Feel the Spirit” (Friend, Feb. 2004, 15). Point out the words that describe the feeling of the Holy Ghost—gentle, peace, love, joy, faith, comfort. These are ways the Spirit speaks to us. Bear your testimony of the Holy Ghost, and share an experience of when you felt His promptings.
4. Display the words teach, guide, warn, protect, and comfort in different places around the room. Tell the children that you are going to give the meanings of the words and that you want them to find the word you are defining. Use simple definitions. Explain that you know of one person who can do all of these things. Let the children guess that it is the Holy Ghost.
Show the following pictures: GAK 520 (Gordon B. Hinckley), GAK 518 (Ezra Taft Benson), and GAK 516 (Harold B. Lee). Help the children name each of these Church Presidents. Read selected quotes from the following articles to illustrate three of the five words: teach (Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Godhead,” Friend, Feb. 1995, inside front cover), protect (Ezra Taft Benson, “To the Children of the Church,” Friend, June 1989, 2), and warn (Harold B. Lee story, Primary 1, 19). Feel free to substitute meaningful stories of your own or to refer to the following articles to illustrate the other two words: comfort (James E. Faust, “The Comforter,” Friend, Apr. 2005, 2) and guide (Thomas S. Monson, “Miracles in Our Time,” Friend, May 1998, inside front cover).
Sing the chorus of “The Gift of the Holy Ghost” (Friend, Aug. 2005, 24). Bear testimony of how the Holy Ghost has helped you personally.
5. Song presentation: “Listen, Listen” (p. 107). In a very quiet voice, tell the children that they need to listen carefully and then echo back to you everything that you sing. Begin with “listen” (have them echo), “listen to” (echo), “listen to the” (echo), and then “listen to the still small voice” (echo). Ask the children if they know what the still, small voice is. When you ask the question, sing the words “still small voice” so that they hear the melody notes several times. Have a child read D&C 8:2. Explain that our Heavenly Father communicates with us through the Holy Ghost. The song direction says to sing the song gently. That is because the Holy Ghost speaks in a gentle voice. Tell the children that the way we hear Him is to (you sing), “Listen, listen.” Have the children sing with you, “Listen, listen.” Explain that the second line tells of a time when we should listen to the Holy Ghost. Teach the next line in the same manner as the first line, singing one word at a time and having the children echo it. Ask the children to suggest other times when they think the Holy Ghost will guide them. Tell them that the last word of the song tells when He will guide them. Sing the last phrase very softly, pausing before the word always. Remind the children that the last line of the sacrament prayer on the bread says, “… that they may always have his Spirit to be with them” (Moroni 4:3; emphasis added). Sing the song together. Testify that the Holy Ghost will always guide us as we listen to the still, small voice.
6. Friend references: “How the Holy Ghost Helps You,” Mar. 1990, inside front cover; “Guided by the Holy Ghost,” Oct. 2001, 8–9; “The Gift of the Holy Ghost,” Aug. 2005, 24–25; Fiction: “Sister Simon’s Saints,” Feb. 1998, 47; “How I Knew,” May 2006, 4–5; Fiction: “Everyone But Me,” July 1997, 2.