“Lesson 18: The Lord Reveals the Law of Consecration,” Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants and Church History (1997), 91–97
“Lesson 18,” Primary 5, 91–97
Lesson 18
The Lord Reveals the Law of Consecration
Purpose
To encourage the children to willingly share their time, talents, and means to help build up the kingdom of God on the earth.
Preparation
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Prayerfully study Psalm 24:1; Doctrine and Covenants 42:30–39, 42, 53–55, 71–73 (the law of consecration as revealed by the Lord); and the historical account given in this lesson. Then study the lesson and decide how you want to teach the children the scriptural and historical accounts. (See “Preparing Your Lessons,” pp. vi–vii, and “Teaching the Scriptural and Historical Accounts,” pp. vii–ix.)
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Additional reading: Mosiah 2:17; Acts 2:44–45, 4:32; and Gospel Principles (31110), chapters 32 and 34.
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Select the discussion questions and enrichment activities that will involve the children and best help them achieve the purpose of the lesson.
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Write the words food, clothing, shelter, money, and books and games on separate pieces of paper, and put the papers in a bowl or other container.
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Materials needed:
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A Doctrine and Covenants for each child.
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A Bible and a Book of Mormon.
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A piece of paper and a pencil for each child.
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Suggested Lesson Development
Invite a child to give the opening prayer.
Enrichment Activities
You may use one or more of the following activities any time during the lesson or as a review, summary, or challenge.
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To help the children understand the ways they can share with others, draw three columns on the chalkboard and label them Time, Talents, and Means. Tell the children that “means” are money and the material things they own.
Help the children list under each heading ways they or their families are sharing what they have to help others and build the Church. For example, under “means” they could list tithing, fast offerings, missionary fund donations, and food and clothing given to the poor. Under “time” they could list supporting their parents in their Church callings, babysitting while their parents attend the temple, working on a Church welfare project, and visiting someone who is lonely. Under “talents” they could list speaking in Primary or sacrament meeting, playing a musical instrument or singing for others’ enjoyment, and making decorations for a Church activity.
Help the children understand that there are many ways we can share with others, even if we do not have much money or many possessions. You may want to give the children pencils and paper and have each child write down one way he or she will share time or a talent during the week.
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Help the children understand how fast offerings are used. Explain that a bishop can use fast offerings to provide food, shelter, clothing, and medical care for the poor and needy. You could ask your bishop in advance how fast offerings are used in your ward and share his information with the children. Or share the following description of how some fast offerings have been used:
In addition to fasting regularly on fast Sunday, members of the Church sometimes hold special fasts to help needy people throughout the world. The fast offerings donated during these fasts are used for many projects. Some of the money has been used to give immunization shots to children in Africa to protect them from disease. Some money has been given to people in another part of Africa to help them provide clean drinking water to villages. Money has also been given to help farmers in Guatemala learn how to produce more and better quality food to feed their families and livestock. Money from fast offerings has been used to provide medical and dental care to people who would not otherwise have opportunities to be treated by a doctor or dentist, and it has also been used to help victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods. Many people have been blessed by giving and receiving fast offerings. (See Thomas S. Monson, in Conference Report, Apr. 1991, pp. 65–67; or Ensign, May 1991, pp. 48–49.)
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Tell one of the following stories told by President Thomas S. Monson, a member of the First Presidency, about children who shared. Ask your class members to listen closely and be ready to tell you after the story how the children in the story shared their time, talents, or means.
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When Thomas S. Monson was a boy, his Sunday School class was saving money for a big party. The children were very excited about the cakes, cookies, pies, and ice cream that the money would buy. But they found a more important way to use the money:
“None of us will forget that gray morning in January when our beloved teacher announced to us that the mother of one of our classmates had passed away. We thought of our own mothers and how much they meant to us. We felt sorrow for Billy Devenport in his great loss.
“The lesson that Sunday was from the book of Acts, chapter 20, verse 35: ‘Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ At the conclusion of the presentation of a well-prepared lesson, [our teacher] commented on the economic situation of Billy’s family. These were depression times; money was scarce. With a twinkle in her eyes, she asked, ‘How would you like to follow this teaching of the Lord? How would you feel about taking your party fund and, as a class, giving it to the Devenports as an expression of our love?’ The decision was unanimous. We counted very carefully each penny and placed the total sum in a large envelope.
“Ever shall I remember the tiny band walking those three city blocks, entering Billy’s home, greeting him, his brother, sisters, and father. Noticeably absent was his mother. Always I shall treasure the tears which glistened in the eyes of each one present as the white envelope containing our precious party fund passed from the delicate hand of our teacher to the needy hand of a grief-stricken father. We fairly skipped our way back to the chapel. Our hearts were lighter than they had ever been, our joy more full, our understanding more profound. This simple act of kindness welded us together as one. We learned through our own experience that indeed it is more blessed to give than to receive” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1992, pp. 81–82; or Ensign, May 1992, pp. 59–60).
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“When I was a deacon, I loved baseball. … My friends and I would play ball in a small alleyway behind the houses where we lived. The quarters were cramped but all right, provided you hit straight away to center field. However, if you hit the ball to the right of center, disaster was at the door. Here lived a lady who would watch us play, and, as soon as the ball rolled to her porch, her [dog] would retrieve the ball and present it to Mrs. Shinas as she opened the door. Into her house Mrs. Shinas would return and add the ball to the many she had previously confiscated. … None of us had a good word for Mrs. Shinas, but we had plenty of bad words for her. …
“One night as I performed my daily task of hand-watering our front lawn, holding the nozzle of the hose in hand as was the style at that time, I noticed that Mrs. Shinas’s lawn was dry and turning brown. I honestly don’t know what came over me, but I took a few more minutes and, with our hose, watered her lawn. This I did each night, and then when autumn came, I hosed her lawn free of leaves as I did ours, and stacked the leaves in piles at the street’s edge to be burned or gathered. During the entire summer I had not seen Mrs. Shinas. We had long since given up playing ball in the alley. We had run out of baseballs and had no money to buy more.
“Then early one evening, her front door opened, and Mrs. Shinas beckoned for me to … come to her front porch. … [She] invited me into her living room, where I was asked to sit in a comfortable chair. She went to the kitchen and returned with a large box filled with baseballs and softballs, representing several seasons of her confiscation efforts. The filled box was presented to me; however, the treasure was not to be found in the gift, but rather in her voice. I saw for the first time a smile come across the face of Mrs. Shinas, and she said, ‘Tommy, I want you to have these baseballs, and I want to thank you for being kind to me.’ I expressed my own gratitude to her and walked from her home a better boy than when I entered. No longer were we enemies. Now we were friends” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1991, pp. 68–69; or Ensign, May 1991, pp. 49–50).
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“One Sunday morning in a nursing home [where sick or elderly people go when there is no better way to care for them] … , I witnessed the presentation of a beautiful gift as a young girl shared her musical talent with those lonely and elderly men and women. …
“A hush fell over the wheelchair-confined audience as the girl took bow in hand and played on her violin a beautiful melody. At the conclusion, one patient [said], ‘My dear, that was lovely.’ Then she began to clap her hands to express approval. A second patient joined in clapping, then a third, a fourth, and soon everyone applauded.
“Together the young girl and I walked out of the nursing home. She said to me, ‘I have never played better. I have never felt better’” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1991, p. 81; or Ensign, May 1991, p. 62).
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Help the children memorize Doctrine and Covenants 42:38. Discuss with the children what this scripture means.
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Sing or say the words to “Love One Another” (Children’s Songbook, p. 136), “Where Love Is” (Children’s Songbook, p. 138), or “I’m Trying to Be like Jesus” (Children’s Songbook, p. 78).
Conclusion
Invite a child to give the closing prayer.