August

I Can Invite Others to Come unto Christ and Feel His Love

When you find something you love, it’s natural to share it with people you love, and children do that as naturally as anyone. Consider how you might help the children nurture that habit into a lifelong pattern of sharing the Savior’s love and His gospel. Help them see that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have something valuable to share. And we can share it in simple ways. It might be a conversation with a friend, an invitation to worship with us at church, or an effort to include someone in a Primary activity. Whatever it is, let it always be an expression of love—for God and for His children.

Jesus invited others to come unto Him, and so can I.

• John 1 tells a simple story in which Jesus invited people to “come and see,” or learn more about Him, and His disciples followed His example. Consider reading verses 37–49 together (see also “Come and See,” in New Testament Stories). Invite the children to repeat with you the phrases “come and see” (in verses 39 and 46) and “we have found [Christ]” (in verses 41 and 45). What are the good things we have found in Jesus’s Church? Who can we invite to come and see them? (See also the video “Simple Ways to Love, Share, and Invite for Youth” in Gospel Library.)

  Come and See

  Youth: Simple Ways to Love, Share, and Invite

I can share what I love about Jesus Christ and His Church with others.

• You might ask the children about a time when they shared something they love with someone else (like a favorite food or game). Ask them about how they felt when they shared it and how it made the other person feel. This could lead to a conversation about things the children love about Jesus Christ and His Church. You might give the children some paper hearts where they could write or draw some of those things (see this week’s activity page). Share with each other experiences you’ve had telling someone about Jesus or His Church.

• The children might enjoy counting how many times the Lord tells us to “open [our] mouth” in Doctrine and Covenants 30:11; 33:8–10; 71:1. Each time they find the phrase, invite them to open their mouths wide and say something they would like to tell people about Jesus Christ. They could also draw a large mouth on the board or a on piece of paper and write inside it something they can say about Jesus.

I can prepare to be a missionary when I’m older by being a missionary now.

• You might talk to the children about people they know who have served missions. Where did they serve? What kinds of experiences did they have? If possible, invite missionaries (or returned missionaries) to share their experiences teaching the gospel. Ask them to share how they felt joy in sharing the gospel with others. The children could ask them questions about how they can share the gospel with others, even while they are young. President Russell M. Nelson shared ideas in his article “How You Can Be a Missionary” (Friend, July 2023, 2–3).

• The children could also write their names on the name tag on this week’s activity page. Help them put the name tag on and role-play doing what missionaries do (see “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission,” Children’s Songbook, 169).