“May 29–June 4. Genesis 37–41: ‘And the Lord Was with Joseph’” Come, Follow Me: Living, Learning, and Teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for Primary (2017)
“May 29–June 4. Genesis 37–41,” Come, Follow Me for Primary
May 29–June 4
Genesis 37–41
“And the Lord Was with Joseph”
Begin by reading Genesis 37–41, looking for principles that might bless the children you teach. This outline and Come, Follow Me for individuals and families can give you ideas.
Improving Our Teaching
Invite sharing. Ask the children about their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. You will find that they often have simple yet profound insights.
Invite Sharing
How can you encourage the children to share what they may be learning at home? One idea is to show them a picture from the story of Joseph in Egypt and ask them what they know about the story.
Teach the Doctrine
Younger Children
Kindness begins with me.
Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him and treated him unkindly. How can you help the children understand the importance of being kind to others?
Possible Activities
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Tell the story of Joseph and his brothers, using the picture in Come, Follow Me for individuals and families. How were Joseph’s brothers unkind to him? What should they have done instead? What can we do when we feel upset with members of our family?
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Show a picture of a family (for example, see Gospel Art Book, no. 112), or invite the children to draw pictures of their families. Ask them to share ways they can be kind to their families.
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Bring pictures that represent different members of an immediate and extended family. Invite several children to hold up the pictures as you sing together “A Happy Family” (Children’s Songbook, 198). Include alternate words in place of mother and daddy, such as grandma and uncle.
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Let the children color this week’s activity page and draw a picture of family members being kind in the space provided.
God can help me when bad things happen.
A lot of bad things happened to Joseph, but because he chose to keep the commandments the Lord was with him. One message for young children in this story is that God wants to help them.
Possible Activities
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Describe some of the difficult things that happened to Joseph (you might use chapters 12 and 13 in Old Testament Stories). Emphasize how the Lord supported Joseph because he was faithful.
2:453:16 -
Give each child a lemon slice to taste. Explain that by adding sugar and water to lemon juice, we can make lemonade. Discuss how God can make “sour” experiences “sweet.”
God can warn me of danger.
Pharaoh had two dreams, and God helped Joseph understand what they meant. The dreams were a warning to prepare for hard times coming in the future.
Possible Activities
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Describe Pharaoh’s dreams, and invite the children to draw pictures of corn and cattle. Use their drawings to share Joseph’s interpretation.
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Scatter pictures of corn around the room, and invite the children to gather the corn and “store” it in a container. Use this to illustrate that God warned Egypt to prepare for the famine.
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Show a picture of the current prophet. Tell the children about warnings the prophets have given us today. Explain to them that they will be safe as they follow the prophets.
Teach the Doctrine
Older Children
If I am obedient, God will be with me no matter what.
Even though Joseph had many difficult trials, he remained faithful. Because of this, “the Lord was with [him]” (Genesis 39:2). His experiences can help the children feel that God is near when they have trials.
Possible Activities
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Ask the children to find words or phrases in Genesis 39:1–3, 20–23 and 41:38 that show that God was with Joseph during his hard times.
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What does it mean that “the Lord was with Joseph”? Share an experience when you felt God’s presence in your life. Invite the children to share their experiences as well.
Kindness begins with me.
Jealousy led Joseph’s brothers to make terrible choices and sell Joseph as a slave. Their wrong choices broke their father’s heart. How can you use this story to inspire the children to be kind to others?
Possible Activities
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Read together Genesis 37:3–4, 18–28. Why did Joseph’s brothers hate him? How could they have responded differently?
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Share scenarios in which someone isn’t being kind. Invite the children to role-play how they could respond kindly.
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Invite the children to draw pictures of their families and loved ones and share what they love about them. Help them make a list of kind things they can do for their families, and encourage them to do at least one each day.
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Sing “Kindness Begins with Me” (Children’s Songbook, 145). How can showing kindness help others want to be kind?
God can help me flee from temptation.
The children you teach are learning to recognize the Holy Ghost’s promptings and Satan’s temptations. Look for what Joseph did to resist temptation in these verses.
Possible Activities
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Share the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (explain that Potiphar’s wife was asking Joseph to commit a serious sin). You could use the picture Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife (Gospel Art Book, no. 11).
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How did Joseph resist temptation? Help the children find the words “fled, and got him out” in verse 12. How can children flee tempting situations?
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Display two magnets to represent God and Satan and a small metal object, like a paper clip, to represent us. Use the magnets to illustrate that the closer we are to God (or Satan) the stronger His influence will be on us. What can we do to draw close to God?
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Read Articles of Faith 1:13 together. How can seeking after good things help us resist temptation?
Encourage Learning at Home
How will you encourage the children to learn from the Old Testament at home? You could invite them to share with their families a picture they drew in class and talk about what they learned about Joseph in Egypt.
Sharing Time
Singing Time (25 minutes)
Use music to reinforce principles the children are learning this month—obedience, the importance of families, forgiveness, and so forth. You can choose your own songs from the Children’s Songbook, or you can use these:
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“Choose the Right Way,” Children’s Songbook, 160–61
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“Families Can Be Together Forever,” Children’s Songbook, 188
You might invite the children to draw pictures of their families to hold up as everyone sings “Families Can Be Together Forever.”
Sharing by Children (10 minutes)
Create opportunities for children to share how they are learning and living the gospel.
Younger Children
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Invite a few of the children’s family members to come to sharing time and share what the children do to show kindness at home.
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Sing together “If You’re Happy” (Children’s Songbook, 266) several times. After each time, ask one of the children to share something that helps him or her feel happy.
Older Children
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Bring pictures of Joseph and others in the scriptures who received support from God during their trials (such as Nephi, Daniel, Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith). Invite the children to help you share their stories.
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Invite each class to prepare a short skit to share in which they role-play resisting temptation.