A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

This will be my first time posting these ideas, since being called into my ward's Young Women Presidency. I am so excited for this opportunity to serve the amazing YOUTH!! For December the topic for "Come Follow Me" is, Building the Kingdom of God in the Latter Days Here are the links to each organizations page for the month: Young Women, Aaronic Priesthood, Sunday School Since, each organization has their own outlines and each lesson will need to be specified to the individual class members and there are already amazing outlines that can be used for guidance, I am only going to share some general ideas that can just be used as supplements. The great thing about this program is to allow the spirit to guide you to the needs of the youth in your class. Prepare before hand, Pray for guidance, Listen to the Promptings of the Spirit and invite the youth to do the same. Here is the Scripture for the month: “May the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come” (D&C 65:6). Lesson Ideas: There are so many topics to choose from this month. I am just giving supplemental ideas to a few of them. Please refer to the church's website for the wonderful outlines they have for all of the topics, see links below. A great idea to begin each lesson is to invite each class member to come with a scripture or spiritual thought to share with the rest of the class. (When I was a youth we did this in one of my classes, it is a class I loved to attend and had the most participation in it.) Young Women: How can I invite others to come unto Christ? Begin by showing the class something that is very important to you (it could be a special gift someone has given you, something that you really like because it works really good, like a your favorite lip stick or such). Tell them why it is important to you or why you love the thing you brought. Explain that there is something that is even more important then those things and that you love even more. Show the class a Book of Mormon. Have the class members think for a minute about how blessed they are to have the Gospel in their lives. Explain that just like when we get something we think is really neat and important and we want to share it with others, this is also how it should be with the gospel. Invite a young women to read the two paragraph's from Elder Ballard's talk, “Put Your Trust in the Lord” (see printable below). Share an experience you have had with listening to the inspiration Heavenly Father has given you in regards to sharing the gospel. Invite the young women to share their experiences and to think of ways they can seek inspiration and share the gospel. Give each of the young women a copy of the printable of Elder Ballard's talk. How does Heavenly Father want me to use my spiritual gifts? Begin by showing the class a wrapped gift that you have brought. Invite one of the young women to open the box and read, "Spiritual gifts are blessings or abilities that are given by the power of the Holy Ghost. As children of Heavenly Father, we all have spiritual gifts. God gives us these gifts so that we can serve others and help build His kingdom. He has commanded us to diligently seek out and develop our spiritual gifts." Write the following questions on the board, "What are spiritual gifts?", "Who receives Spiritual Gifts?", and "What are we to do with these spiritual gifts?". Invite the YW to ponder these questions throughout the lesson. Ask the YW to recognize a spiritual gift that they have. Have them think about how they can further develop their gift and how they can share their gift with others. Discuss these things. Invite the YW to help answer the question on the board. How can I prepare to establish a Christ-centered home? Show the movie, "A House of Order, A House of God" Draw a big house on the chalk board. Read the following quote to the class, "Building the kingdom of God begins with building a righteous home and family. The family is the most important unit of the Church. As members of the Church, we should establish a home where the Spirit is present. A Christ-centered home offers us a place of defense against sin, refuge from the world, and committed, genuine love. Whether our home is large or small, it can be a “house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (D&C 88:119)." Invite the class to think about what kind of things they can do to help their home be a Christ-centered home. Invite one YW at a time to come up and write inside of the chalkboard house, something she could do. Discuss each one as a group. Share any experiences you have and would like to share on building a Christ-centered home. What can I do to help new members of the Church? Play the video, "Missionary Work and Retention: Georgia Elias" Invite members of the class to discuss what the members of Georgia's ward did to help support her. Share an experience where you have helped a new member. Invite the members of the class to share ways they can help new members in their ward. How can I help my less-active friends return to church? Set up enough chairs for everyone who is on the role for your class plus a couple extra. After discussing past week's experiences. Ask class members to look around and see if all of the seats are filled. Then read the parable of the silver pieces found in Luke 15, "8 ¶Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Invite the youth to share what they feel is meant by the scripture. Invite the youth to discuss ways they can fill the chairs in their class. Give each you the handout with a silver piece (dime or quarter) on it. What is Zion? Write the word, "ZION" on the board. Draw three lines coming off of the word Zion. Invite a class member to read this quote, "Zion refers to the Lord’s people who are of one heart and one mind and dwell together in righteousness. We can establish Zion by building unity and spiritual strength in our homes, wards or branches, and communities." (Come Follow Me: What is Zion). Ask the class what Zion is? Write at the end of each line one of the following phrases: One Heart; One Mind; Dwell together in Righteousness. Divide the youth into three groups and give each group a quote from President Eyring's General Conference address, Our Hearts Knit as One. See printable below. Invite the youth to read the quote to themselves and ponder it for a moment and discuss it as a group. Then invite the youth one group at a time to read their quote and share their thoughts about it. As the youth read their quote draw a line connecting each of the strait lines together (like a web). On each of those lines write one of the following phrases from the quotes: "Pray and work for it in the Lord's ways"; "The reason...joy comes when we are blessed with unity."; "We must seek it and qualify for it with others." Invite the youth to share ways they can "Build Zion" in their homes and in YW. Ask each class member to ponder over who in their family they could strengthen their relationship with, pray for help from Heavenly Father and work at building unity. How can I participate in the hastening of the Lord’s work? Give your youth the link to the Hastening the Work of Salvation webpage the week before this lesson. Invite the youth to explore the page throughout the week and come prepared to share something they found in-regards to hastening the work. Write the phrase, "Hastening the Lord's Work" on the board. Invite the young women to come up and write what that means to them on the board. Discuss what they have wrote. Invite the young women to choose one of the videos on the Hastening the Work of Salvation webpage. Watch this video. Discuss the video. Discuss ways social media can be used hasten the Lord's Work. Aaronic Priesthood: (See ideas above under Young Women) Sunday School: Christmas: How can I share my testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Play the video: "What Shall We Give?" Invite the youth to take a minute to think about two questions. Question 1: "What shall I give?"; Question 2: "How can I share my testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?" Invite the class to discuss their answers to those two questions. How can I learn to serve more effectively in the Church? I love the idea on lds.org about the magnifying glass!! Just follow the link for this lesson and scroll down. How can I become a better leader? Write the word Leader on the board. Invite the youth to take a minute to think about someone they think is a good leader. Have them further ponder about what qualities the person has that makes them a good leader. Invite the class to share their thoughts. Place a picture of the Savior on the board. Invite the class to share some qualities the Savior had. Write those qualities on the board. Place a picture of President Monson on the board. Invite the youth to share what qualities President Monson has. Point out that many of the qualities that President Monson has are the same as the Savior. Invite a youth to read the account in Matthew 20:20-28. Invite the youth to share how the Savior invites us to lead. How can I become a better teacher? Write the following three phrases on the board: "Teach as the Savior Taught"; "Teach by the Spirit"; "Methods of Teaching". Invite a youth to read what it says in the "True to the Faith" booklet under "Teaching the Gospel". Discuss how the Savior taught and how we can pattern our teaching after his. Next invite a youth to read what is says under "Teaching by the Spirit". Discuss how we can teach by the Spirit. Last, invite a youth to read what it says under "Methods of Teaching". Discuss with the you what methods are the most interesting to them. How do they like to learn? What are some methods they could use to teach others. What are effective ways to share the gospel with others? Write the question on the board, "Why should I share the Gospel". As members of the class walk in give them a piece of paper and a marker. Invite them to write their answer to this question. Invite them to place their papers on the board. Discuss with the class why we should "want" to share the gospel. Share an experience you have had with sharing the gospel. Play the video, "Sharing Your Beliefs" Invite the youth to discuss the different ways in the video by which the Gospel was being shared. Discuss what other ways they can share the gospel. How can I understand the symbols used to teach about the Second Coming? I like the teaching idea about the two servants found under the link for this lesson. The parable can be found in Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:49–54 What can I learn from the scriptures to help me prepare for the Second Coming? Give each youth a piece of paper, invite each youth to write down some questions they have about the second coming. Invite the youth to listen and search for answers of their questions throughout the lesson. Then follow the rest of the lesson idea found at the lesson link above. The one I like is reading, "Second Coming of Christ" in the True to the Faith booklet. Idea's for Mutual: Here is a link to the Youth Activities Planning Site. *** This site is amazing! We recently had a short little training on this site at one of our Round Tables. It is a great resource for planning activities. It will only continue to grow as wards submit more ideas. One really need thing about it is it can link the activities right into your stake or ward calendars. *** Printing tip: Click on the image and save to your computer. You will then be able to print the image from your computer. Elder Ballard's Talk, "Put Your Trust in The Lord" Luke 15:8-10 printable "Our Hearts Knit as One"

A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

This will be my first time posting these ideas, since being called into my ward's Young Women Presidency. I am so excited for this opportunity to serve the amazing YOUTH!! For December the topic for "Come Follow Me" is, Building the Kingdom of God in the Latter Days Here are the links to each organizations page for the month: Young Women, Aaronic Priesthood, Sunday School Since, each organization has their own outlines and each lesson will need to be specified to the individual class members and there are already amazing outlines that can be used for guidance, I am only going to share some general ideas that can just be used as supplements. The great thing about this program is to allow the spirit to guide you to the needs of the youth in your class. Prepare before hand, Pray for guidance, Listen to the Promptings of the Spirit and invite the youth to do the same. Here is the Scripture for the month: “May the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come” (D&C 65:6). Lesson Ideas: There are so many topics to choose from this month. I am just giving supplemental ideas to a few of them. Please refer to the church's website for the wonderful outlines they have for all of the topics, see links below. A great idea to begin each lesson is to invite each class member to come with a scripture or spiritual thought to share with the rest of the class. (When I was a youth we did this in one of my classes, it is a class I loved to attend and had the most participation in it.) Young Women: How can I invite others to come unto Christ? Begin by showing the class something that is very important to you (it could be a special gift someone has given you, something that you really like because it works really good, like a your favorite lip stick or such). Tell them why it is important to you or why you love the thing you brought. Explain that there is something that is even more important then those things and that you love even more. Show the class a Book of Mormon. Have the class members think for a minute about how blessed they are to have the Gospel in their lives. Explain that just like when we get something we think is really neat and important and we want to share it with others, this is also how it should be with the gospel. Invite a young women to read the two paragraph's from Elder Ballard's talk, “Put Your Trust in the Lord” (see printable below). Share an experience you have had with listening to the inspiration Heavenly Father has given you in regards to sharing the gospel. Invite the young women to share their experiences and to think of ways they can seek inspiration and share the gospel. Give each of the young women a copy of the printable of Elder Ballard's talk. How does Heavenly Father want me to use my spiritual gifts? Begin by showing the class a wrapped gift that you have brought. Invite one of the young women to open the box and read, "Spiritual gifts are blessings or abilities that are given by the power of the Holy Ghost. As children of Heavenly Father, we all have spiritual gifts. God gives us these gifts so that we can serve others and help build His kingdom. He has commanded us to diligently seek out and develop our spiritual gifts." Write the following questions on the board, "What are spiritual gifts?", "Who receives Spiritual Gifts?", and "What are we to do with these spiritual gifts?". Invite the YW to ponder these questions throughout the lesson. Ask the YW to recognize a spiritual gift that they have. Have them think about how they can further develop their gift and how they can share their gift with others. Discuss these things. Invite the YW to help answer the question on the board. How can I prepare to establish a Christ-centered home? Show the movie, "A House of Order, A House of God" Draw a big house on the chalk board. Read the following quote to the class, "Building the kingdom of God begins with building a righteous home and family. The family is the most important unit of the Church. As members of the Church, we should establish a home where the Spirit is present. A Christ-centered home offers us a place of defense against sin, refuge from the world, and committed, genuine love. Whether our home is large or small, it can be a “house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (D&C 88:119)." Invite the class to think about what kind of things they can do to help their home be a Christ-centered home. Invite one YW at a time to come up and write inside of the chalkboard house, something she could do. Discuss each one as a group. Share any experiences you have and would like to share on building a Christ-centered home. What can I do to help new members of the Church? Play the video, "Missionary Work and Retention: Georgia Elias" Invite members of the class to discuss what the members of Georgia's ward did to help support her. Share an experience where you have helped a new member. Invite the members of the class to share ways they can help new members in their ward. How can I help my less-active friends return to church? Set up enough chairs for everyone who is on the role for your class plus a couple extra. After discussing past week's experiences. Ask class members to look around and see if all of the seats are filled. Then read the parable of the silver pieces found in Luke 15, "8 ¶Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Invite the youth to share what they feel is meant by the scripture. Invite the youth to discuss ways they can fill the chairs in their class. Give each you the handout with a silver piece (dime or quarter) on it. What is Zion? Write the word, "ZION" on the board. Draw three lines coming off of the word Zion. Invite a class member to read this quote, "Zion refers to the Lord’s people who are of one heart and one mind and dwell together in righteousness. We can establish Zion by building unity and spiritual strength in our homes, wards or branches, and communities." (Come Follow Me: What is Zion). Ask the class what Zion is? Write at the end of each line one of the following phrases: One Heart; One Mind; Dwell together in Righteousness. Divide the youth into three groups and give each group a quote from President Eyring's General Conference address, Our Hearts Knit as One. See printable below. Invite the youth to read the quote to themselves and ponder it for a moment and discuss it as a group. Then invite the youth one group at a time to read their quote and share their thoughts about it. As the youth read their quote draw a line connecting each of the strait lines together (like a web). On each of those lines write one of the following phrases from the quotes: "Pray and work for it in the Lord's ways"; "The reason...joy comes when we are blessed with unity."; "We must seek it and qualify for it with others." Invite the youth to share ways they can "Build Zion" in their homes and in YW. Ask each class member to ponder over who in their family they could strengthen their relationship with, pray for help from Heavenly Father and work at building unity. How can I participate in the hastening of the Lord’s work? Give your youth the link to the Hastening the Work of Salvation webpage the week before this lesson. Invite the youth to explore the page throughout the week and come prepared to share something they found in-regards to hastening the work. Write the phrase, "Hastening the Lord's Work" on the board. Invite the young women to come up and write what that means to them on the board. Discuss what they have wrote. Invite the young women to choose one of the videos on the Hastening the Work of Salvation webpage. Watch this video. Discuss the video. Discuss ways social media can be used hasten the Lord's Work. Aaronic Priesthood: (See ideas above under Young Women) Sunday School: Christmas: How can I share my testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Play the video: "What Shall We Give?" Invite the youth to take a minute to think about two questions. Question 1: "What shall I give?"; Question 2: "How can I share my testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?" Invite the class to discuss their answers to those two questions. How can I learn to serve more effectively in the Church? I love the idea on lds.org about the magnifying glass!! Just follow the link for this lesson and scroll down. How can I become a better leader? Write the word Leader on the board. Invite the youth to take a minute to think about someone they think is a good leader. Have them further ponder about what qualities the person has that makes them a good leader. Invite the class to share their thoughts. Place a picture of the Savior on the board. Invite the class to share some qualities the Savior had. Write those qualities on the board. Place a picture of President Monson on the board. Invite the youth to share what qualities President Monson has. Point out that many of the qualities that President Monson has are the same as the Savior. Invite a youth to read the account in Matthew 20:20-28. Invite the youth to share how the Savior invites us to lead. How can I become a better teacher? Write the following three phrases on the board: "Teach as the Savior Taught"; "Teach by the Spirit"; "Methods of Teaching". Invite a youth to read what it says in the "True to the Faith" booklet under "Teaching the Gospel". Discuss how the Savior taught and how we can pattern our teaching after his. Next invite a youth to read what is says under "Teaching by the Spirit". Discuss how we can teach by the Spirit. Last, invite a youth to read what it says under "Methods of Teaching". Discuss with the you what methods are the most interesting to them. How do they like to learn? What are some methods they could use to teach others. What are effective ways to share the gospel with others? Write the question on the board, "Why should I share the Gospel". As members of the class walk in give them a piece of paper and a marker. Invite them to write their answer to this question. Invite them to place their papers on the board. Discuss with the class why we should "want" to share the gospel. Share an experience you have had with sharing the gospel. Play the video, "Sharing Your Beliefs" Invite the youth to discuss the different ways in the video by which the Gospel was being shared. Discuss what other ways they can share the gospel. How can I understand the symbols used to teach about the Second Coming? I like the teaching idea about the two servants found under the link for this lesson. The parable can be found in Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:49–54 What can I learn from the scriptures to help me prepare for the Second Coming? Give each youth a piece of paper, invite each youth to write down some questions they have about the second coming. Invite the youth to listen and search for answers of their questions throughout the lesson. Then follow the rest of the lesson idea found at the lesson link above. The one I like is reading, "Second Coming of Christ" in the True to the Faith booklet. Idea's for Mutual: Here is a link to the Youth Activities Planning Site. *** This site is amazing! We recently had a short little training on this site at one of our Round Tables. It is a great resource for planning activities. It will only continue to grow as wards submit more ideas. One really need thing about it is it can link the activities right into your stake or ward calendars. *** Printing tip: Click on the image and save to your computer. You will then be able to print the image from your computer. Elder Ballard's Talk, "Put Your Trust in The Lord" Luke 15:8-10 printable "Our Hearts Knit as One"

A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

Click here for details & to download the December Theme Card – Building the Kingdom of God in the Latter Days

A blog with ideas to aid us on our life's journey to perfecting ourselves and our families. Crafts, Printable Pages, LDS lesson helps and more.

December Young Women Lessons. Printable packages to help you study and teach about Building the Kingdom of God in the Latter Days.

A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

A blog with ideas to aid us on our life's journey to perfecting ourselves and our families. Crafts, Printable Pages, LDS lesson helps and more.

A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

Here are the Handouts for December Young Women / Young Men Come, Follow Me lessons. I hope you enjoy them. I will have more up next weeks. Follow me on Facebook if you want to know when my handouts are up! I hope you have a great month teaching these amazing youth! What does it mean to “stand as...Read More »

A blog for sharing LDS "Come Follow Me" youth yesson Ideas

Here are the Handouts for December Young Women / Young Men Come, Follow Me lessons. I hope you enjoy them. I will have more up next weeks. Follow me on Facebook if you want to know when my handouts are up! I hope you have a great month teaching these amazing youth! What does it mean to “stand as...Read More »

Here are the Handouts for December Young Women / Young Men Come, Follow Me lessons. I hope you enjoy them. I will have more up next weeks. Follow me on Facebook if you want to know when my handouts are up! I hope you have a great month teaching these amazing youth! What does it mean to “stand as...Read More »

Description of Lesson Activity: Help youth understand the importance of sacrifice in their lives using this Goal Planner. Here they can write goals and sacrifices necessary to succeed.. PDF Includes:1-page introduction WITH LESSON IDEAS (plus 4 mid-week activity ideas)2 pages to print (1 in color, 1 in black and white)

Provide a copy of a Book of Mormon for each youth to give away. First have them pray for a testimony and write their testimony on the Come Unto Christ page to paste in the front of the book. They can also glue the scripture list on the inside front and underline the selected scriptures in the book kin red pencil so an investigator can turn right to the scriptures. Then give book to missionaries or an interested friend.

HOW CAN I PREPARE TO ESTABLISH A CHRIST-CENTERED HOME? PICTIONARY/PYRAMID GAME Play a combination of two old TV game shows: Pictionary and The $10,000 Pyramid. Write up the words below on slips of paper. Have one student choose a paper, then draw it on the board while the others guess what it is. This is the Pictionary part of the game. After each word is guessed, tape it onto a poster so that it can. For the $10,000 Pyramid part of the game, the students try to guess the category that all these words describe. Once the category is guessed, “things in a Christ-centered home,” write it on the top of the poster. Read together some of the scriptures in the lesson on the church website. Encourage the students to name more items that could be added to the list, and share experiences in which they have seen these things in a home and the effect that it had upon them. Challenge the students to incorporate one additional item into their home this week to make it more focused on Christ’s teachings. Family prayer Scripture study Marriage Laughter Family home evening Reading Books Uplifting Art Healthy food Exercise Games Helping others Cleaning Doing dishes Friends Forgiveness Love Happiness Smiles Work Hugging Eating together Teaching Support Sharing Sympathy HOW CAN I LEARN TO SERVE MORE EFFECTIVELY IN THE CHURCH? WHAT ARE EFFECTIVE WAYS TO SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH OTHERS? (Display a Nativity Set) (Paraphrase the story of The Other Wise Man, by Henry Van Dyke, or read a children's picture book version, my favorite is by Pamela Kennedy.) I want to read to you a scripture about Christmas: "Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (1 Tim. 4:12) You thought it was a scripture about missionary work! Actually this scripture is about every situation, every holiday, every time and season, every school day, work day, and vacation day in every age of our lives. (List on the board: Word, Conversation, Charity, Spirit, Faith, Purity. Aren't Word and Conversation the same thing? In the Bible, "conversation" means "conduct or behavior." [See the footnote to the scripture.] Change Conversation to Conduct on the board.) Discuss how the fictitious "other wise man" showed these attributes. Ponder how the following wise men show them. (Ask them each to write down what they notice for discussion afterwards. If you have a younger class, you may want to tell them these men are in a hurry to get home on Christmas Eve before you show the video so they get what's going on.) (Show either "What Shall We Give?" or "Wise Men Still Seek Him" which each depict three modern-day wise men having correct priorities at Christmastime. Download them first!) We must remember that Christmas is about service, and we should not let our comfortable family traditions become more important than our charity and service. It is when we are stressed (as these men were, being late to the Christmas party) that we show who we really are, and what we really believe. (You may want to discuss individual acts from the video and how they relate to the scripture.) President Monson from "The Savior's Call to Serve:" "May we ever remember that the mantle of membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a cloak of comfort but rather a robe of responsibility...I pause when I think of the words of President John Taylor: 'If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your duty." President Monson from "Examples of Righteousness:" "Every one of us has been foreordained for some work as [God's] chosen servant on whom he has seen fit to confer the priesthood and power to act in his name." This includes sisters, who function within the priesthood, as does everything and everyone in the Church. HERE IS ANOTHER LESSON PLAN ON THIS SAME TOPIC I want to read to you a scripture about Christmas: "Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (1 Tim. 4:12) You thought it was a scripture about missionary work! Actually this scripture is about every situation, every holiday, every time and season, every school day, work day, and vacation day in every age of our lives. (List on the board: Word, Conversation, Charity, Spirit, Faith, Purity. Aren't Word and Conversation the same thing? In the Bible, "conversation" means "conduct or behavior." [See the footnote to the scripture.] Change Conversation to Conduct on the board.) President Monson from "Examples of Righteousness:" "Every one of us has been foreordained for some work as [God's] chosen servant on whom he has seen fit to confer the priesthood and power to act in his name." This includes sisters, who function within the priesthood, as does everything and everyone in the Church. (Pick up Mary from the Nativity set.) Mary, the mother of Jesus, is possibly the greatest example of foreordination among women. Luke 1:30-34 tells of Mary's calling, and verse 38 tells of her acceptance. (Ask each class member to come up, one at a time, choose a figure from the Nativity set, and tell how that person exemplifies one of the characteristics on the board. Read Luke chapter 2 as the class listens for ideas. You could also read Matthew 2 which tells about the wise men, whose visit came later. After each sharing, ask how we can be show that attribute in our lives, and in our Christmas.) Some possibilities: WORD Mary: Answered positively to accept a very difficult burden from the Lord. Angels: Told the shepherds about the Baby. Shepherds: Spread the gospel. Wise Men: Studied the gospel and the signs of Christ's coming. Jesus: Was THE WORD, and brought the Gospel to all. Us: Study the scriptures, speak only uplifting things, give up foul language, share the gospel, give compliments, write Christmas cards, share our testimonies, tell family members we love them, give good home teaching messages. CONDUCT Mary & Joseph: Took care of the Baby and raised Him to be holy. Shepherds: Went immediately to see the Son of God. Wise Men: Traveled far to find and worship the Child. Jesus: "Went about doing good" throughout his life. Us: Act like Christians every moment of the week, don't change with the situation, fulfill our callings, be kind to our families, serve others, do extra around the house, obey our parents, be honest, don't put off doing what is right. CHARITY Mary & Joseph: Gave up their dream wedding and their social standing in order to bring Jesus into the world. Were loving and caring parents. Wise Men: Sacrificed a great deal to show their love for the Savior. They brought expensive and highly symbolic gifts for Him. Jesus: His condescension from the Great Creator to a helpless baby born into poverty shows his great love. His later suffering in Gethsemane and Golgatha to make repentance, sanctification, resurrection and eternal life possible for us is the greatest example of love ever shown. Us: Show love for everyone, even other drivers, even other shoppers, even our own siblings, even bullies at school, even homeless beggars. (The greatest outpouring of love from heaven I ever felt in my life was when the Spirit pushed me to hug an obnoxious, screaming, frantic beggar on Temple Square. I physically could not walk past her: the Spirit forced me to comfort her and hug her and tell her God loved her. The powerful feeling flowed through me to her and she immediately calmed down and felt peaceful. I felt amazed and overwhelmed by this experience for months, and could hardly speak of it without losing control, and rarely did because it was so incredibly sacred. She was clearly a drug addict in withdrawal, and clearly lying about what she intended to do with any money she got. That's probably why God made sure I forgot my money that day, but He wanted her to feel His love. He knew that's what she needed, and I got to be the hugger. It was an amazing privilege I will always treasure. I hope I can always be God's hugger.) SPIRIT All of them through the Holy Ghost received a testimony of the Messiah. Shepherds: Would likely have been spiritual men, as the sheep outside of Jerusalem would have been temple sheep, kept for the sacrifices. Wise Men: May have been Jews scattered from Israel, or may have been foreigners, but they followed the guidance of the Spirit to find him. Us: If we lose the Spirit, we have lost everything! With the Spirit, we have everything. The Spirit will tell us how to find Jesus in our own lives, how to worship Him, how to serve His children, what paths to take to fulfill our missions, and how to lead others to Him. FAITH Shepherds and Wise Men: Had to have great faith to behold the angels, and to recognize the star, things others did not see. Followed through with that faith to journey to see the Child. Mary & Joseph: Had faith in God's calling for them as parents of the Christ Child. Mary: "Pondered" the things of the Spirit. This is one attribute of a great mother. Jesus: By faith He created the earth. By faith He fulfilled his awful calling. By faith He still powers the universe. Us: Through faith, we can accept God's will for our life, be obedient, be partners with Jesus, and always accomplish whatever He needs us to. Through faith, we can do things that are way too hard for us. Through faith, we can lose fear. From President Benson: "[The Lord] will not permit us to fail if we do our part. He will magnify us even beyond our own talents and abilities...It is one of the sweetest experiences that can come to a human being." (In Teaching No Greater Call, p. 20) PURITY Mary is the most obvious example here, but they all must have kept themselves pure to have been instantly ready to meet their Savior. Jesus, of course, is the greatest and only complete example of purity that ever lived--a purity that never needed repentance. Us: We each, by partaking of His gift of the Atonement, can also be pure. From President Monson: "There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience, your own moral cleanliness..." If we are to be like those first believers at the birth of Jesus, it will show. From Elder Nelson, "Be Thou An Example of the Believers:" "Your good works will be evident to others. The light of the Lord can beam from your eyes. With that radiance, you had better prepare for questions. The Apostle Peter so counseled, '...Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you...' (1 Peter 3:15) Let your response be warm and joyful. And let your response be relevant to that individual. Remember, he or she is also a child of God, that very God who dearly wants that person to qualify for eternal life and return to Him one day." HOW CAN I BECOME A BETTER LEADER? WHAT ARE EFFECTIVE WAYS TO SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH OTHERS? Both of these questions are most easily answered in one word: Love. An excellent example of loving service was shown by Gail "Hal" Halvorsen, the "Candy Bomber" of Post World War II Germany. His story was featured in the 2012 Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, "Home For the Holidays," which is available on DVD from Deseret Book. It is feature #11 on the DVD, "Christmas From Heaven," and lasts just under 10 minutes. I plan to show this segment to my class, and give them each a chocolate bar on a handkerchief parachute. Brother Halvorsen was an American pilot who dropped candy and with it, hope and goodwill, to German children during the Berlin airlift. If you don't have access to that DVD, no worries: his remarkable story is available in the December 1977 New Era, and there are several YouTube videos online that he narrated himself with his own video footage from his experiences in Germany, and many other still pictures of him and his experiences available online through Google Images, if you want to show more pictures and hear his own voice. He also tells his own story on http://www.mormonchannel.org/why-i-believe/42. This is an hour-long audio episode, but you may find some snippets that you could share with your class. (Be sure to download it, rather than trusting in WiFi reception.) Tom Brokaw's narration from the Tabernacle Choir Concert has also been illustrated and published as a children's book by Deseret Book, called Christmas From Heaven. Andrei Cherny, author of the biographical book The Candy Bombers, claims that Hal Halvorsen by his simple act of dropping candy, changed the tide of international relations between Germany and the U.S. In fact, he credits Hal with changing the world. An interesting sidelight to this story, and another way that the Lord's hand can be seen in the world-changing event, is that Brother Halvorsen had a terrible cold when he shipped off to Europe. Of course, Kleenexes were not available at that time, so he bought all the handkerchiefs he could find. Going by my memory, I believe he bought 100, but I could be wrong, except it was a large number. Those were the first handkerchiefs used for dropping candy. HOW CAN I LEARN TO SERVE MORE EFFECTIVELY IN THE CHURCH? A BREAD-MAKING PARABLE By Nancy Wyatt Jensen (Copyrighted; permission granted to copy for gospel teaching purposes) Once there was a baker who wanted to bake a loaf of bread. He called all the ingredients together and asked them to help. They all agreed that it would be great to make bread, but you will see how well it worked. The first time the baker tried to bake bread, the yeast felt inadequate. She thought of herself as just a coarse, grainy substance, with no spectacular qualifications. Even when the baker told her that with his mixing and kneading and the help of the sugar and warm milk, she would rise to the occasion, she didn't believe it and wouldn't get in the mixing bowl. The end result was a flat loaf of bread. [Post wordstrip: Felt Inadequate for the Calling] The second time the baker tried to bake bread, the oil had been thrilled to be asked to participate, but got so busy frying donuts and French fries late the night before, that she slept in and forgot all about getting in the mixing bowl. The end result was a very tough loaf of bread. [Post wordstrip: The Calling was a Low Priority] The third time the baker tried to bake bread, the sugar didn't show up. She knew that her role was only to support the yeast, and she felt the yeast could easily handle the job of rising by herself. The end result was a thick and heavy loaf of bread. [Post wordstrip: The Calling Seemed Insignificant] The fourth time the baker tried to bake bread, the salt felt annoyed with her job. It was a lot of work to spread herself so thin to flavor the entire loaf. If she had had a better job--or at least one that was more prestigious, like the flour's--she would have happily climbed in the mixing bowl. The end result was a bitter loaf of bread. [Post wordstrip: Didn't Like That Particular Calling] The fifth time the baker tried to bake bread, the milk was frustrated. Although she poured herself into her work, no one seemed to notice in the end. So she stayed in the fridge rather than waste her time and effort. The end result was a hard, cracked loaf of bread. [Post wordstrip: Felt Unappreciated] The sixth time the baker tried to bake bread, the flour had already been asked to be in the gravy, the biscuits, the pretzels, and two batches of cookies. She was sick and tired of doing more than her fair share, so she just plain turned down the request to get in the mixing bowl. The end result was a glob of goo that didn't remotely resemble bread. [Post wordstrip: Resented Being Overworked] The seventh time the baker tried to bake bread, the flour, the sugar, the oil, the yeast, the salt, and the milk realized that each of them was essential to the baking of bread. They each realized that, working together, they were much more than they had been alone. They each realized their jobs were equally important, although different. Each finally offered her services in the mixing bowl with a joyful heart and a trust in the baker and his recipe. The end result was a light and beautiful loaf of bread, much more nourishing, delicious and fulfilling than any of them had imagined. [Display a loaf of bread.] (Note: If you have the time and means to "teach through tastebuds," you can make tiny loaves of bread using frozen Rhodes Texas Roll Dough. Thaw and roll into 4-inch loaves and place them either in 2 x 4 inch mini loaf pans, or an inch apart from each other in a rectangular pan. Follow the instructions for rising and baking printed on the package.) In Christ's call and instruction to the twelve apostles in Matt. 10, we find these familiar phrases: "Freely ye have received, freely give" (v. 8), and "He who seeketh to save his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (v. 39 JST). These commands apply to our own service in the Kingdom as well. We are not often in jeopardy of dying for the gospel cause, but this scripture applies to the way we live for the gospel cause as well. We sometimes seek to "save" our lives by hoarding our time and talents and everything with which we have been blessed, or by holding back just a little corner of them from the Lord. Anytime we do so, we are abandoning the Law of Consecration. We don't have to be called as Apostles to be expected to give our all. At the time of President Hinckley's call as the prophet, he said: "Now, my brethren and sisters...I wish to leave with you one thought which I hope you will never forget. This church does not belong to its President. Its head is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose name each of us has taken upon ourselves. We are all in this great endeavor together. We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere. No calling in this church is small or of little consequence. All of us in the pursuit of our duty touch the lives of others. To each of us in our respective responsibilities the Lord has said: "'Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees' (D&C 81:5). "'And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord' (D&C 81:4). "Further, 'And if thou art faithful unto the end thou shalt have a crown of immortality, and eternal life in the mansions which I have prepared in the house of my Father' (D&C 81:6). "All of us in this great cause are of one mind, of one belief, of one faith. You have as great an opportunity for satisfaction in the performance of your duty as I do in mine. The progress of this work will be determined by our joint efforts. Whatever your calling, it is as fraught with the same kind of opportunity to accomplish good as is mine. What is really important is that this is the work of the Master. Our work is to go about doing good as did He... "Unitedly, working hand in hand, we shall move forward as servants of the living God, doing the work of His Beloved Son, our Master, whom we serve and whose name we seek to glorify."(President Gordon B. Hinckley, "This is the Work of the Master,", April 1995 General Conference)

Sunday School (Ages 12-18) for December: Building the Kingdom of God in the Latter Days How can I understand the symbols used to teach about the Second Coming? What can I learn from the scriptures to help me prepare for the Second Coming? HANDOUT/LESSON OUTLINE: When Christ comes, we must be doing His work, and we must be living His teachings. He must recognize us quickly and easily as truly being His disciples. (Elder Holland) The Second Coming of Jesus Christ *No man knows the hour and day when the Lord will come (D&C 49:7; Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:40) *Part of our responsibility as Latter-day Saints is to prepare ourselves and help prepare the world for the Second Coming. *How can we prepare ourselves? We should watch and pray to remain worthy to stand before the Lord (Luke 21:34–36). We should look for and prepare for the coming of the Savior (2 Peter 3:10–13; Joseph Smith Translation, 2 Peter 3:10–13, Bible appendix) * The righteous need not fear. (1 Nephi 22:17, D&C 35:45, D&C 38:30) * His Second Coming will mark the beginning of the Millennium. Among the prophesied events and signs are: -Apostasy from gospel truth (see Matthew 24:9–12; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3). -The restoration of the gospel, including the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ (see Acts 3:19–21; Revelation 14:6–7; D&C 45:28; 133:36). -The restoration of priesthood keys, the coming of Elijah (see Malachi 4:5–6; D&C 2; D&C 110:11–16). -The coming forth of the Book of Mormon (see Isaiah 29:4–18; 3 Nephi 21:1–11). -The preaching of the gospel throughout the world (see Matthew 24:14). -A time of wickedness, war, and turmoil (see Matthew 24:6–7; 2 Timothy 3:1–7; D&C 29:17; 45:26–33; 88:91). -Signs in heaven and on the earth (see Joel 2:30–31; Matthew 24:29–30; D&C 29:14–16; 45:26-44; 45:39–42; 49:23&24; 88:87–90; Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:21–36). -Building of the New Jerusalem (3 Nephi 21:23-26; Moses 7:62-64; Articles of Faith 1:10; D&C 84:2-3) “Preparation for the Second Coming” Elder Oaks *An event eagerly awaited by the righteous and dreaded or denied by the wicked. *Four matters are indisputable to Latter-day Saints: (1) The Savior will return to the earth in power and great glory to reign personally during a millennium of righteousness and peace. (2) At the time of His coming there will be a destruction of the wicked and a resurrection of the righteous. (3) No one knows the time of His coming, (4) but the faithful are taught to study the signs of it and to be prepared for it. * Elder Oaks asks: “What if the day of His coming were tomorrow? … What would we do today? What confessions would we make? What practices would we discontinue? What accounts would we settle? What forgivenesses would we extend? What testimonies would we bear?” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 9). When the Savior and His servants taught about the Second Coming, they frequently used symbols and parables. *Matthew 13:24–30; D&C 86:1–7 (The parable of the wheat and the tares) *1 Thess 5:2–8; 2 Peter 3:10–14; D&C 106:4–5; JSM 1:46–48 (Second Coming will come as a thief in the night) *Matthew 25:1–13; D&C 45:56–59; 63:54 (The parable of the ten virgins) *D&C 45:34–39; Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:38–39 (The parable of the fig tree) *Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:49–54 (The Second Coming is compared to a lord visiting faithful and evil servants) PICTURES USED FOR THIS LESSON: LESSON NOTES FOR TEACHERS: from different online resources Parable of the Ten Virgins…. -----The most important thing to remember about this parable is that it is the Parable of the Ten Virgins, not the Parable of the Five Virgins and the Five Harlots! All ten were members of the Church, members of the "wedding party." All ten had lamps of testimony. But five had let their lamps get low on oil, and while waiting for the "bridegroom" (the Second Coming), they were extinguished altogether. They were drifting off to sleep and didn't even realize it was happening until it was gone! President Benson said, "This is the last and great dispensation in which the great consummation of God's purposes will be made, the only dispensation in which the Lord has promised that sin will not prevail. The Church will not be taken from the earth again. It is here to stay. The Lord has promised it and you are a part of that Church and kingdom--the nucleus around which will be builded the great kingdom of God on the earth. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God on the earth will be combined together at Christ's coming--and that time is not far distant. How I wish we could get the vision of this work, the genius of it, and realize the nearness of that great event. I am sure it would have a sobering effect upon us if we realized what is before us." EVERYTHING BASICALLY IN THESE RESOURCES: True to the Faith : Millennium http://www.lds.org/manual/true-to-the-faith/millennium?lang=eng Gospel Principles - Chapter 43 - GOES OVER THE SIGNS OF THE SECOND COMING https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-43-signs-of-the-second-coming?lang=eng

Here are the Handouts for December Sunday School Come, Follow Me lessons. I hope you enjoy them. I will have more up next weeks. Follow me on Facebook if you want to know when my handouts are up! I hope you have a great month teaching these amazing youth! How can I learn to serve...Read More »

Here are the Handouts for December Sunday School Come, Follow Me lessons. I hope you enjoy them. I will have more up next weeks. Follow me on Facebook if you want to know when my handouts are up! I hope you have a great month teaching these amazing youth! How can I learn to serve...Read More »

A collection of free handouts for Young Women, Relief Society, holidays and more!

Right-click on the picture to save to your computer or use the 4Shared links. Credit: "Documented" kit by Wendy Tunison Title: 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 Outline question with handouts: 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 Other handouts you might find useful:

Right-click on the picture to save to your computer or use the 4Shared links. Credit: "Documented" kit by Wendy Tunison Title: 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 Outline questions with handouts: 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 Other handouts you might find useful:

Right-click on the picture to save to your computer or use the 4Shared links. Credit: "Documented" kit by Wendy Tunison Title: 4shared: 4x6 8x10 Outline question with handouts: 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 4Shared: 4x6 8x10 Other handouts you might find useful:

Here are the first three Sunday school lessons all in one package for you. We have woven in a Christmas theme to help embrace the season.

Here are the Handouts for December Sunday School Come, Follow Me lessons. I hope you enjoy them. I will have more up next weeks. Follow me on Facebook if you want to know when my handouts are up! I hope you have a great month teaching these amazing youth! How can I learn to serve...Read More »