“April 27–May 3. Mosiah 7–10: ‘In the Strength of the Lord,’” Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Book of Mormon 2020 (2020)
“April 27–May 3. Mosiah 7–10,” Come, Follow Me—For Primary: 2020
Minerva K. Teichert (1888-1976), Ammon before King Limhi, 1949-1951, oil on masonite, 35 15/16 x 48 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1969.
April 27–May 3
Mosiah 7–10
“In the Strength of the Lord”
Prayerfully read Mosiah 7–10, pondering the impressions you receive. How can the truths in these chapters help meet the needs of the children you teach?
Record Your Impressions
Invite Sharing
Encourage the children to share anything they might know about the events in these chapters. You might find help in “Chapter 13: Zeniff” (Book of Mormon Stories, 36–37, or the corresponding video on ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
God helped people in the scriptures, and He can help me.
Limhi’s people, who were in slavery to the Lamanites, needed faith that God would help them, so Limhi reminded them of times when God helped His people.
Possible Activities
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Ask the children to share a time when they needed help. Explain that King Limhi’s people were in trouble, so he shared a story to help them have faith. Read Mosiah 7:19 to the children, and show a picture of the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea (see Moses Parting the Red Sea, ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Review this story and the story of the manna, and help the children act out the stories (see chapters 17 and 18 in Old Testament Stories, or the corresponding videos on ChurchofJesusChrist.org). How did the Lord help the people? Testify that the Lord can also help us.
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Read Mosiah 7:33 to the children, and help them understand what the verse teaches us to do to receive help from the Lord. Help the children think of actions to represent these things, and repeat the verse while they do the actions. What are some things we need help with? How can we show that we trust the Lord? Share an experience when you trusted the Lord and He helped you.
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Select some verses of “Book of Mormon Stories” or “Nephi’s Courage” (Children’s Songbook, 118–19, 120–21) to sing with the children. Help them identify how the Lord helped people in the Book of Mormon. Share other scripture stories that you feel would help the children learn to trust the Lord.
God has given us prophets, seers, and revelators.
How can you use Mosiah 8:16–17 to teach the children about a prophet’s role as a seer?
Possible Activities
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Show the children how to hold their hands up to their eyes as if they were looking through glasses or binoculars. Read Mosiah 8:17, and ask the children to put on their “glasses” each time they hear the word “seer.” Explain that God has given us prophets and that one of the roles of a prophet is to be a “seer” because he can “see” things to come. Share some examples of things that prophets have seen and revealed to us (including the scriptures), or share an example of when a prophet was acting as a seer (such as 1 Nephi 11:20–21).
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Make paper footprints, and draw on them pictures of things that prophets have counseled us to do. Place these footprints in a path around the room, and describe the pictures. Let the children take turns acting as a prophet and guiding the other children in following these footprints.
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Display the picture in this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families, and ask the children to describe what they see. Explain that the Prophet Joseph Smith was a seer. The Lord gave him tools called the Urim and Thummim and a seer stone to use in translating the Book of Mormon.
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Show a short clip of a recent conference message from the President of the Church (or show a picture of him and read something he has taught). Bear your testimony that he is a prophet, seer, and revelator.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
Mosiah 7:18–20, 33; 9:14–19; 10:6–10, 19–21
God helped people in the scriptures, and He can help me.
Zeniff and his people, who had settled in the Lamanites’ land, were being attacked by the Lamanites and needed God’s help. What can the children learn from this story about God helping His children?
Possible Activities
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Divide the children into three groups, and invite each group to study one of the following scripture stories: the Israelites crossing the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:10–14, 21–31), Lehi’s family traveling in the wilderness (see 1 Nephi 16:9–16; 17:1–6), and Zeniff’s people being delivered from the Lamanites (see Mosiah 9:14–19; 10:6–10, 19–21). How did the people in these stories show that they trusted in God? How did God help them? How does He help us when we trust Him?
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Invite three children to write a trial or challenge they face on the board. Ask a child to read Mosiah 7:33, and encourage the other children to erase one of the trials or challenges each time they hear something they can do to receive the Lord’s help. How can trusting in the Lord help us overcome our challenges?
God provides prophets, seers, and revelators to benefit mankind.
We sustain the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. How can you teach the children about the value of prophets?
Possible Activities
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Select several important words from Mosiah 8:12–19, and write them on the board. Invite a child to read these verses, and ask the other children to raise their hands when they hear each word on the board. Stop the reading and discuss each word as a class.
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Ask the children to review Mosiah 8:16–18 to learn what a seer is. Write this sentence on the board: A seer is like . Help the children think of ways to complete the sentence to explain why a seer is a blessing to us—for example, a seer is like a lifeguard, who warns us of danger.
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Pick a phrase from Mosiah 8:16–17, and write it on the board, replacing each word with a made-up symbol. Give the children a list of the symbols and the words they represent, and let them decode or “translate” the phrase as seers do. What are some other ways that prophets, seers, and revelators are “a great benefit” to us? (Mosiah 8:18).
When I am weak, the Lord can strengthen me.
When children face challenges, they sometimes feel weak and helpless. Use the account of Zeniff’s people to teach the children that they can receive strength from the Lord.
Possible Activities
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Ask the children to share ways they can become physically strong. What does it mean to have “the strength of men”? (see Mosiah 10:11). What does it mean to have “the strength of the Lord”? (see Mosiah 9:17–18; 10:10). How do we receive the strength of the Lord?
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Invite the children to draw a picture of someone who they feel has the strength of the Lord and share why they drew this person.
Encourage Learning at Home
Invite the children to share with their families a story from the scriptures that inspires them to “put [their] trust in God” (Mosiah 7:19).
Improving Our Teaching
Ask inspired questions. Ask questions that invite the children to share their testimonies of gospel truths. For example, if you are discussing prophets, you could ask the children to share how prophets have blessed them.