“January 13–19. 1 Nephi 8–10: ‘Come and Partake of the Fruit,’” Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Book of Mormon 2020 (2020)
“January 13–19. 1 Nephi 8–10,” Come, Follow Me—For Primary: 2020
Lehi’s Dream, by Steven Lloyd Neal
January 13–19
1 Nephi 8–10
“Come and Partake of the Fruit”
In addition to seeing yourself in Lehi’s vision, try to see the children you teach. How does this vision apply to them?
Record Your Impressions
Invite Sharing
Contact a few children in advance and ask them to think of experiences or scriptures they can share that have helped them feel God’s love.
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
The word of God leads me to God and helps me feel His love.
In Lehi’s vision, we are invited to partake of the love of God, symbolized by the tree and its fruit. How can you help the children accept this invitation?
Possible Activities
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Invite the children to help you tell the story of Lehi’s vision from 1 Nephi 8:10–34. To help them visualize the story, you could show a picture of Lehi’s vision (see this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families) or the pictures in “Chapter 6: Lehi’s Dream” (Book of Mormon Stories, 18–20, or the corresponding video on ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Make sure the children know that the rod of iron represents God’s word, which we read in the scriptures and hear from living prophets. Help them understand that the tree represents God’s love for us.
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Bring a rope to represent the iron rod in Lehi’s vision. Ask the children to hold on to it as you lead them around the room to a picture of a tree. Help them understand that God’s word brings us closer to Him, just as the rope representing the iron rod led us to the tree. To show that the tree represents God’s love, you could display pictures of things God has given us that show His love for us, such as the Savior, our families, and the beautiful world.
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Bring some fruit with a heart attached to it. Give the children a piece of the fruit to taste and ask them about their favorite fruits. Explain that the fruit in Lehi’s vision was the sweetest fruit he had ever tasted, and it filled his soul with joy. Just as sweet fruit makes us happy, we will feel happy when we follow Jesus and live with Heavenly Father again.
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Read 1 Nephi 8:12, and invite the children to listen carefully for what Lehi wanted to do after he tasted the fruit. Let the children take turns pretending to be Lehi inviting others to come and partake of the fruit. What can we do to invite others to come and enjoy the blessings of the gospel with us?
God will reveal truth to me by the power of the Holy Ghost.
After hearing about his father’s vision, Nephi had a desire that we should all have—the desire to know the truth for himself.
Possible Activities
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Read 1 Nephi 10:19, and invite the children to raise their hands when they hear the words “unfolded” and “Holy Ghost.” Help the children understand this scripture, which teaches that the Holy Ghost will help us to know answers to our questions. To help the children visualize what it means for truth to be “unfolded,” bring a folded blanket with a picture of the Savior inside, and ask the children to unfold it.
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Sing a song with the children about seeking truth, such as “Search, Ponder, and Pray” (Children’s Songbook, 109). Show pictures that illustrate words in the song to help the children remember how the Holy Ghost teaches us.
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Consider sharing an experience when the Holy Ghost helped you know something was true. Tell the children how the Holy Ghost spoke to you.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
The word of God leads me to God and helps me feel His love.
As the children in your class learn about Lehi’s vision, encourage them to study God’s word and share God’s love with others.
Possible Activities
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As the children read selected verses from 1 Nephi 8, invite them to find details from these verses in a picture of Lehi’s vision (such as the one in this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families). Or invite them to draw pictures on the board of the details they read about. Then help the children discover what the symbols in the dream represent (see 1 Nephi 11:21–22; 12:16–18; 15:23–33, 36).
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If possible, bring a piece of iron or other metal to class and invite the children to describe some of its properties and things it might be used for. How is the word of God like an iron rod? Where do we find the word of God? Why is the iron rod so important in Lehi’s vision?
ImageLehi eating the fruit of the tree of lifeLehi eating the fruit of the tree of life. Tree of Life, by Marcus Alan Vincent
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Invite the children to write on a piece of paper an experience when the word of God helped them know what they should do or helped them feel closer to Heavenly Father. As they share what they wrote, invite them to roll their paper into the shape of a rod. You could even tape the children’s “rods” together as a representation of the iron rod in Lehi’s dream.
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Invite some of the children to read 1 Nephi 8:10–12 and describe what Lehi saw. Ask the others to read 1 Nephi 11:20–23 and describe what Nephi saw. Why would the angel show Nephi the baby Jesus to teach him about the love of God? To help answer this question, read together John 3:16 or sing together a song about the Savior, such as “He Sent His Son” (Children’s Songbook, 34–35). Tell the children how you have felt the love of Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ in your life.
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Write on the board: What do we learn from Lehi’s example? Invite the children to think about Lehi’s vision and write as many answers as they can. Ask them to share their answers with the class. Then ask the children to think of someone they can share the joy of the gospel with.
God will reveal truth to me by the power of the Holy Ghost.
If we ask Heavenly Father in faith, truth will be “unfolded unto [us] by the power of the Holy Ghost” (1 Nephi 10:19). How can you help the children you teach understand this truth?
Possible Activities
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Invite the children to talk about ways they can find answers to a question. Encourage the children to read 1 Nephi 10:17–19 and 11:1. What would Nephi say if someone asked him how to find answers to a question about the gospel? How does God teach us through the Holy Ghost? (see Doctrine and Covenants 8:2).
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Ask the children to talk about a time when the Holy Ghost helped them know that something was true. Ask them to imagine they have a friend who thinks he or she can’t receive answers through the Holy Ghost. What could they share from 1 Nephi 10:17–19 and 11:1 to help that friend?
Encourage Learning at Home
Encourage the children to use this week’s activity page to share with their families what they learned about Lehi’s vision of the tree of life.
Improving Our Teaching
Children learn in many ways. Children enjoy learning through varied experiences. Use activities that help them move about, use all their senses, and try new things. (See Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 25–26.)