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I will follow Heavenly
Father's plan for me in faith I learn about Jesus Christ as I read the scriptures. My faith growa as I learn about Him. by Kimberly Roeder |
Discuss why it is hard to have faith in someone we don't know.
Explain that faith comes from knowing and trusting
someone.
To have Faith in Jesus, we have to know him.
Ask the children to tell you some of the things they know about Jesus.
For example:
Tell the children that they can come to know Jesus
Christ, and their faith in Him will grow when they read the scriptures.
Tell them that there are many examples of faith in the scriptures.
Scripture Stories and Pictures:
Display one picture at a time. Ask the children if they know the story
about each picture, then relate the scripture story using the summary.
GAK 313 Two Thousand Young Warriors
Alma 53:10-21; Alma 56:44-56; Alma 58:39
Summary
The book of Alma in the Book of Mormon tells of Heleman and his two thousand
young warriors. These young warriors made a covenant and promise to fight
for the liberty of the Nephites and the Anti-Nephi Lehies.
They were strong and brave, but most important, they were trustworthy and
obeyed God's commandments; "They were men of truth" (Alma 53:20-21).
These brave young men were not afraid to die. They cared more about the
freedom of their people. They told Heleman they had been taught by their
mothers to trust in God, and they knew their mother's words were true.
Heleman led his young warriors into battle with the Lamanites. They fought
with great courage and faith, trusting in the Lord. With the help of
Helaman's two thousand warriors, the Nephites won the battle. Helaman
counted his troops, fearing that many of them had been killed. To his great
joy, Helaman found that not one of them had been killed. They had fought as
if with the strength of God. The Lord had protected them because of their
faith and righteousness.
GAK 318 The Brother of Jared Sees the Finger of the Lord
Genesis 11:3-8; Ether 1:33--43; Ether 2-3; Ether 6:2-3
Summary
Jared and his brother were righteous men who lived at the time of the tower
of Babel. The Lord said He would lead them and their family and friends to a
promised land. The group traveled until they came to the seashore, where the
Lord instructed the brother of Jared to build barges to take them across the
sea. The eight barges had no light, so the brother of Jared prayed. The Lord
told him to think of what to do. The brother of Jared prepared 16 clear
stones and asked the Lord to touch them so they would shine. When the Lord
touched the stones, the brother of Jared saw the Lord's finger. The Lord
told the brother of Jared that because of his great faith he had seen that
someday the Lord would receive a body of flesh and blood. He said no other
man had come to him with such great faith. Jesus showed him His spirit body
and explained that man was created in His image. Afterward, the brother of
Jared placed the stones in the barges to give the Jaredites light as they
traveled to the promised land.
GAK 215 Jesus Blessing Jairus's Daughter
Matthew 9:18-19, Matthew 9:23-25; Mark 5:22-24, Mark 5:35-43; Luke 8:41-42,
Luke 8:49-56
Summary
While Jesus was teaching the people, a ruler named Jairus came and knelt
before him. Jairus asked Jesus to come to his home and heal his dying
daughter. Jairus had faith that she could be healed if Jesus would lay his
hands upon her. On the way they learned it was too late: the little girl
had died. However, Jesus told Jairus not to fear but to believe in Him. When
Jesus entered the house He told the mourners not to cry. He told them the
girl was not dead but asleep. They laughed because they knew she was dead.
Jesus took the girl by the hand and told her to arise. She returned to life
and rose from her bed.
GAK 317 Jesus Healing the Nephites
3 Nephi 17:1-10
Summary
At the end of His first day with the Nephites, Jesus could see that the
people wanted Him to stay. Feeling compassion for them and knowing they had
great faith, He asked them to bring their sick or suffering and He would
heal them. The people came forward with all who were sick, lame, blind, deaf,
or afflicted in some other manner. Jesus lovingly healed each one. All who
were healed, and those who were well, bowed down together to worship the
Savior. As many as could reach Him, bathed His feet with their tears.
GAK 320 Moroni Hides the Plates in the Hill Cumorah
Mormon 6:6; Mormon8:1, Mormon 8:3-4; Moroni 1:1; Moroni 10:2, Moroni
10:4-5
Summary
After Mormon hid most of the sacred Nephite records in the Hill Cumorah, he
gave his son, Moroni, the rest of the plates. Moroni finished the record of
his father and told of the destruction of the Nephites. He also included a
shortened history of the Jaredite people. Near the end of his record, Moroni
described how a person who prays with real intent can know through the Holy
Ghost that the record is true. He wrote:
"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would
ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not
true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having
faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of
the Holy Ghost. "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of
all things" Moroni then sealed the plates and hid them in the Hill
Cumorah.
GAK 403 The First Vision
Joseph Smith-History 1:14-20
Summary
In the spring of 1820, when Joseph Smith was 14 years old, He worried a
great deal about which church to join. He visited the different church
meetings and studied the Bible. One day when he was reading in the book of
James he noticed especially these words:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask
in faith, nothing wavering." Joseph pondered the words of this scripture,
and finally decided to ask God which church to join. He went into the woods
near his home, and in a grove of trees he knelt in prayer. As Joseph knelt
down and began to pray, he was overcome by an evil power that seemed about
to destroy him. He used all his strength to ask God for help. Then Joseph
saw a pillar of light over his head and was released from the evil power
that held him. When the light rested upon Joseph, he saw two personages
standing in the air above him. Heavenly Father spoke to Joseph, calling him
by name, and introduced His Son, Jesus Christ. When Joseph asked which
church to join, Jesus told him not to join any, for they were all wrong.
Joseph was told many other things before the vision ended.
Conclusion:
How to Help Our Faith Grow
Our Faith in Jesus Christ Can Grow
*Discuss each step as you read it, using the
following ideas:
1. Prayer is important in making our faith grow because the feeling of
sureness or testimony of Jesus Christ can come only from Heavenly Father. It
comes by revelation through the Holy Ghost. We need help from our Heavenly
Father to know Jesus and to understand and have faith in the things we learn
about him.
2. We must continue to learn all we can about our Savior. We have the
scriptures to teach us about his life and teachings. We have our Church
classes and sacrament meetings. We have primary, family home evening, and
the Church magazines to teach us about him and what he wants us to do.
3. The best way we can develop faith in Jesus is to live his teachings.
This is how we learn that they bring good results and joy to us. In fact,
faith is believing and trusting him enough to do what he wants us to do even
when it is difficult. By using our faith in this way, it will grow. We will
also find that we know and understand the Savior better.
*Hand out slips of paper to the children with the phrase:
"I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
__________________________________________________________."
(Master copy included)
Encourage them to go home and write down one way that they can increase
their faith in the following week, and to do their best to follow their goal.
Share your testimony with the children of your faith in Jesus. Tell them
how you help your faith grow. Encourage them to have a desire to strengthen
their faith in Him as well, and to pray, and learn, and follow our Savior's
example. Remind them how much our Heavenly Father and Jesus love them, and
that he wants all of his children to return to live with him someday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice: Faith Lights the Way
By President Gordon B. Hinckley
From an April 2002 general conference address.
Gordon B. Hinckley, "Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice: Faith Lights the Way,"
Friend, Aug. 2003, 2
As a young man, President Gordon B. Hinckley rode trains that hurtled
through narrow mountain passes at night. It helped him understand how the
light of faith can guide us through dark times of discouragement.
As each man or woman walks the way of life there may come dark seasons of
doubt, of discouragement, of disillusionment. A few see ahead by the light
of faith, but many stumble along in the darkness and even become lost.
My call to you is a call to faith, that faith which "is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1), as Paul
described it.
Long ago I worked for one of the railroads whose
tracks threaded the passes through these western mountains. I frequently
rode the trains. It was in the days when there were steam locomotives. Those
great monsters of the rails were huge and fast and dangerous. I often
wondered how the engineer dared the long journey through the night. Then I
came to realize that it was not one long journey, but rather a constant
continuation of a short journey. The engine had a powerful headlight that
made bright the way for a distance of 400 or 500 yards (350 to 450 m). The
engineer saw only that distance, and that was enough, because it was
constantly before him all through the night into the dawn of the new day.
The Lord has spoken of this process. He said: "That which doth not edify
[teach] is not of God, and is darkness.
"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continuethin
God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter
until the perfect day" (D&C50:23-24).
And so it is with our eternal journey. We take one step at a time. In doing
so we reach toward the unknown, but faith lights the way. If we will
cultivate that faith, we shall never walk in darkness.
Faith in Jesus Christ
By Sydney S. Reynolds
If ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true (Alma
32:2).
Sydney S. Reynolds, "Sharing Time: Faith in Jesus Christ," Friend, Jan.
1999, 14
What does it mean to have faith? Alma says that "if
ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true" (Alma
32:21). We have faith when we believe and trust in something that is real
and true even though we have not seen it for ourselves.
Joseph Smith wanted to know which church he should join. One evening when he
was reading the Bible, he read in James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth [scold or
criticize] not; and it shall be given him."
Joseph believed this scripture and planted its truth in his heart. He
trusted that the Lord would answer his prayer, even though he had never
prayed out loud before. Joseph prayed in faith, and he received a wonderful
answer.
What does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ? To have faith in Jesus
Christ means that although we have not seen Him, we believe that He lives
and loves us and that we trust Him. When we read the scriptures, we can
learn about Him. When we listen to the prophets, we can understand what we
can do to follow Him. When we pray in faith for help to choose the right, we
can know that our prayers will be answered. When we listen to the
whisperings of the Holy Ghost, we can feel Him close to us and know that He
loves us.
How does our faith in Jesus Christ grow? Alma tells us that the word of God
is like a seed. We show our faith when we plant a seed in the earth. We then
nurture it by keeping the weeds away, by giving it water and plant food, and
by making sure that it has sunshine. If it is a good seed, it will begin to
well and grow.
When we believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ, we plant true words of God
in our hearts. We nurture this kind of seed by praying, by listening to the
prophets, by keeping the commandments, and by responding to the promptings
of the Holy Ghost. As we do this, the seed of truth will grow within our
hearts. Then we will know that Jesus Christ is happy with our efforts.
Alma says that if we continue to nourish the word of God by our faith, it
will grow as large as a tree and bring forth fruit. This means that our
faith in Jesus Christ will grow strong and bring blessings for us and for
others. What joy that brings! We have faith in Jesus Christ when we believe
Him, trust Him, obey Him, and follow Him.
"I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
______________________________________________."
"I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
______________________________________________."
I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
______________________________________________."
"I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
______________________________________________."
"I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
______________________________________________."
"I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
______________________________________________."
I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
______________________________________________."
"I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
______________________________________________."
"I will increase my faith in Jesus this week by
______________________________________________."