Teaching "Love is Spoken Here" for Father's Day

I am going to start teaching one of the Father's Day songs this Sunday, before returning to the regularly scheduled program songs since I'm more stressed about a program in June than one in October! Fortunately, the June song will be quick and easy to teach since it is an easy song, and more importantly, the primary children learned this song (When I Am Baptized) last year ... and the year before ... for the program .

I am excited to have the children sing one of my personal favorites, "Love is Spoken Here," for Father's Day.

This song is beloved by many, but often avoided because it is trickier than it seems: it has voices come in a beat before the notes in at least one spot, and it's hard to lead when the boys and girls are singing different lines at the same time. I will just make sure the children know the lyrics though, then I plan to have someone in the ward lead the boys part of this song while I lead the girls part. Problem solved! I specifically want the other person leading the boy's part to be a man in the ward because I think it will be fun for the boys to look to a man they admire to lead them in their part.

I debated about how I wanted to teach this song since it is such a beloved song that many of the children know it, just from their parents. I found this lesson plan on LDS.org and LOVE it!

You will need:

1. Heart drawings to supplement the lesson. I drew the heart pics below that you are welcome to use! Just right-click to save to your desktop and then print. Or, send me your email address if you want me to email these images directly to you.
2. Chalk to draw a house on the board.

P.S. Although these visuals were specifically meant to supplement the below lesson, I also intentionally drew them to match a poster I made for this song previously, which I guess I never shared. I can't find a post about it. So, I"ll post those pics later, but they were the "real" art from which these doodles are made. Therefore if the drawing looks vaguely familiar to you, there's a reason for that ...

From the February 2004 Friend:

5. Song Presentation: Draw a simple outline of a house on the board (large enough to fit the six pictures—from the GAK or the Church magazines—used in the second part of the presentation below). Pass out some paper hearts to the children. Tell the children that love can be spoken in their homes. As the pianist plays the melody to the first verse of “Love Is Spoken Here” (p. 190–91), have the children pass the hearts around and be thinking of some kind words they say in their homes. When the music stops, have those who are holding hearts share their responses. Write their responses on the board inside the house. Fill the house with “spoken words” until both verses of the song have been played through once.

Tell the children there are other ways that love is spoken in our homes. Place the pictures on the board around the outside of the house in random order. 

Pictures: 

Verse 1—family prayer, paper with word “whispers,” heart paper, and the Savior. 

Verse 2—father blessing a sick child, parents teaching in family home evening, heart paper, and Jesus Christ (all heart papers should be the size of the pictures, with a red heart in the center of each).

Verse 1: 

Have the children listen as you sing the first line of the verse. Ask them to repeat it for you. 

As you sing the second line, have them listen for something that tells them there is love in our home (mother praying). Ask for a response, and then have them repeat that line. 

Sing the two lines together. 

Have the children listen for which word you sing on the highest note as you sing the last two lines of the verse.  Ask for a response (“plea”). Tell them that a plea is a prayer. Have the children repeat those two lines for you. 

Have the children listen to how you sing the last line of the song (softly and gently). Ask them to repeat and sing the same way.

Verse 2: 

As you sing the first two lines, have the children listen for what my home is blessed with (priesthood power). Ask for responses. Have them repeat that line.

As you finish the verse, have them listen for what is crystal clear (the things our parents teach). Ask for responses and have them repeat the line. 

Sing the last line, and have them repeat it, singing softly. 

Review the second verse.

Remind the children that you have just sung about other ways that we can know that love is spoken in our homes. Choose someone who thinks he or she will be able to put the pictures in order inside our home while you sing the whole song. 

You may need to sing it a second time, having the girls sing the first verse and the boys sing the second, to give the child an opportunity to put the pictures in order. 

Bear testimony that we can feel our Savior near when love is spoken and expressed in our homes. 

Song Review -- Prophet Bingo

**Update 5/16/13 - This was a great activity. The kids were engaged and it was easy activity. Junior and Senior both barely won "Bingo" as class by the end of our time. (I *might* have gone through the cards towards the end of Junior primary and tried to put a few of the potential Bingo pieces toward the top to up their chance of "Bingo."  I had the cards fan out for them to select but in a way that a few were sticking out a tiny bit further than the others. Senior Primary just lucked out.)

Prophets Bingo is the perfect song review game to support this month's theme, "Prophets Teach Us to Live the Restored Gospel."

Also, you can teach this as a singing time activity, or you can easily coordinate with whomever is teaching for the day and combine the singing time lesson and sharing time lesson, which the church encourages anyway.


Set up: Put pictures of prophets on the board in a random order, in a grid pattern, 4 x 4, making 16 pictures total. Make a matching deck of cards by printing up a smaller version of the prophets picture.

How to play: The class takes turn drawing cards from a deck, and looking for the corresponding picture on the board. Which they will then highlight. I am going to put these on a chalkboard so they can actually just use chalk and draw a circle around the piece. Each time a child draws a prophet from the deck, they will also find a song associated with that card. We will then sing whatever song is attached to that card. To combine with the teacher, or even if you have enough time, place a quote from the prophet on the back of the card as well, or briefly share one fact or one ask question about the prophet that is selected from the deck. Or, you could even have the quotes or stories listed on a separate board and have the teacher talk about them with the children, as they are selected. In Senior Primary, consider having the children look up scriptures for each Bingo piece.

Object of the game: To form a consecutive line of prophets. This is not a competition between sides of the class - the entire class as a group is encouraged to work together to form a consecutive line (a Bingo!) before class ends. I don't think you'd have time to form a Bingo if you tried to make the classes compete but I think it's more fun when they work in unison anyway.

Where to get prophet images:

Sorry, I didn't make these into a doc this time but it's really easy to just go to the LDS.org image library, and download the images to your computer to print. 


You can find images of ancient prophets by looking at the books for each category:
http://www.lds.org/media-library/images/categories/gospel-art

You can find images of latter-day prophets in the same area but here's a specific link:
http://www.lds.org/media-library/images/gospel-art/latter-day-prophets?lang=eng

Just download everything into one folder, then print it all out. Then, hit print again, but this time, choose to put more pics on a page ("wallet," circled below), to get the smaller size for your corresponding set of cards. Your printer might have a slightly different dialog box but it will be the same general idea:

Quotes for prophets: These are the prophets that I will be highlighting (there are more than 16 here so I am still narrowing down), with some corresponding quotes/facts. I may or may not add more details, as I find time to do additional research. Also, I'll see what the teacher wants to do for the facts portion.

Prophet	Song	Scripture	Question / Other
Lehi	Nephi’s  Courage, verse 2	1 Nephi 1:1  1 I, Nephi, having been aborn of bgoodly cparents, therefore I wasdtaught somewhat in all the learning of my father;  1Nephi:1:5 "Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people."	Can anyone tell me how the first verse of the Book of Mormon starts? Who is that describing? Lehi and Sariah were a good father and good mother. They were good examples. Lehi prayed always.
Samuel the Lamanite	Samuel Tells the Story of Baby Jesus	Helaman 13:3 But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart.	Samuel showed faith in the Lord when he stood on the wall and preached, knowing that if not for the Lord’s protection, he could be hurt by the angry crowd.
Moses	If the Savior Stood Beside Me	Exodus 3:15  15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Noah	When I Am Baptized	Genesis 9: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 7:1  1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.	The Lord made a promise after Noah and his family left the boat,  that he would never flood the earth again. Noah showed obedience by trusting the Lord and building a boat.
Jonah	I am a Child of God	Jonah 2:1  1 Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly	Jonah disobeyed the Lord initially when he was scared, but he showed his faith and prayed.
Alma	No song (because we don’t want to sing every song we turn over)	In the Book of Mormon we read about 2,000 exemplary young men who were exceedingly valiant, courageous, and strong. “Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:21). These faithful young men paid tribute to their mothers. They said, “Our mothers knew it” (Alma 56:48). I would suspect that the mothers of Captain Moroni, Mosiah, Mormon, and other great leaders also knew. http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/mothers-who-know?lang=eng	(Mother’s Day –focused quote.)
Nephi	Nephi’s Courage, vs.1	1 Nephi 3:7 … I will go and do the things which the lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandment s unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way ofr them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
Joseph Smith, Jr.	An Angel Came to Joseph Smith	http://tinyurl.com/josephquote “Baptism is a sign to God, to angels, and to heaven that we do the will of God, and there is no other way beneath the heavens whereby God hath ordained for man to come to Him to be saved, and enter into the kingdom of God, except faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and any other course is in vain; then you have the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost.” ( History of the Church, 4:553–557. )  “We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man. . . . All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.” ( Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 181.)  Joseph Smith Jr., Served 1830–1844 QUOTES “Surely I have contemplated the things of God.” ( History of the Church 5:554 )  “Great blessings await us at this time, and will soon be poured out upon us, if we are faithful in all things, for we are even entitled to greater spiritual blessings than they [the faithful at the time of Christ] were, because they had Christ in person with them, to instruct them in the great plan of salvation. His personal presence we have not, therefore we have need of greater faith.” ( Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 90.)  “When you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.” ( Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 151.)
Ezra Taft  Benson	I am a Child of God	http://tinyurl.com/taftquote “The time is long overdue for a massive flooding of the earth with the Book of Mormon for the many reasons which the Lord has given. In this age of electronic media and mass distribution of the printed word, God will hold us accountable if we do not now move the Book of Mormon in a monumental way.” ( “Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon, ” Ensign, November 1988, 4–5.)  “The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it.” ( “The Great Commandment-Love the Lord, ” Ensign, May 1988, 4.)  “I have a vision of the whole Church getting nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon.” ( Conference Report, Oct. 1988, 5.)
Brigham Young	My Heavenly Father Loves Me, vs.2	http://tinyurl.com/brighamquote “I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self security. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not. ( Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 135.)  “How shall we know that we obey [God]? There is but one method by which we can know it, and that is by the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord witnessing unto our spirit that we are His, that we love Him, and that He loves us. It is by the spirit of revelation we know this. ( Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 224.)
Howard W. Hunter	No song (because we don’t want to sing every song we turn over)	Quotes: http://tinyurl.com/hunterquote “You should express regularly to your wife and children your reverence and respect for her. Indeed, one of the greatest things a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” ( “Being a Righteous Husband and Father, ” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 50.)  “Let us be a temple-attending people. Attend the temple as frequently as personal circumstances allow. Keep a picture of a temple in your home that your children may see it. Teach them about the purposes of the House of the Lord. Have them plan from their earliest years to go there and to remain worthy of that blessing.” ( “Exceeding Great and Precious Promises, ” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 8.)
Daniel	Follow the Prophet - Daniel	Daniel 6:26-27  26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.  27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.	Daniel refused to worship the king as a god and was always true to God, praying to his true God. In turn he was blessed for his faith and protected from a den of lions.
Adam	My Heavenly Father Loves Me, vs.1	Luke 1:70 - Zacharias prophesizes: "As he aspake by the mouth of his holy bprophets, which have been since the world began." Moses 5: 10-11  10 And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have enjoy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.  11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had a seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.
Moroni	No song (because we don’t want to sing every song we turn over)
Abraham	I am a Child of God
Abinadi	No song (because we don’t want to sing every song we turn over)
President Hinckley	No song (because we don’t want to sing every song we turn over)	http://tinyurl.com/hinckleyquote “Under the plan of heaven, the husband and the wife walk side by side as companions, neither one ahead of the other, but a daughter of God and a son of God walking side by side. Let your families be families of love and peace and happiness. Gather your children around you and have your family home evenings, teach your children the ways of the Lord, read to them from the scriptures, and let them come to know the great truths of the eternal gospel as set forth in these words of the Almighty.” ( “Selections from Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign, Mar. 2001, 64.)  “Believe in Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer, the Son of God, who came to earth and walked the dusty roads of Palestine-the Son of God-to teach us the way of truth and light and salvation, and who, in one great and glorious act offered an atonement for each of us. He opened the way of salvation and exaltation for each of us, under which we may go forward in the Church and kingdom of God. Be not faithless, but believe in the great and wonderful and marvelous blessings of the Atonement.” ( “Selections from Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign, Mar. 2001, 64.)
President Monson	Give Said the Little Stream (one of his favorite songs)	Danny and I learned several difficult but important lessons that day—not the least of which was the importance of obedience. … Obedience is a hallmark of prophets; it has provided strength and knowledge to them throughout the ages. It is essential for us to realize that we, as well, are entitled to this source of strength and knowledge. It is readily available to each of us today as we obey God’s commandments. … The knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, and the strength which we desire today to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours when we willingly obey the Lord’s commandments -- President Monson, “Obedience Brings Blessings,” April 2013 General Conference

Inspiration for this activity: A year ago, a friend of mine (Vikki) cleaned out a bunch of activity books that she used to inspire her for various callings she has had over the years, working with children and youth. I took a couple of these books but never used them. There are just so many fun things to do every Sunday! However, I felt inspired to peruse the books recently and found one I wanted to incorporate into a Singing Time activity this Sunday because it fit so well with this month's Prophets theme.

The activity book is from 1994 and is both out of print and updated, but the general idea is good. It is called the "Articles of Faith Idea and Activity Book Vol.2," by Karen Finch. The book included hand drawings of sixteen prophets, with a matching deck of smaller cards, for Bingo. I elaborated on the idea and updated it with new images of prophets that we have now that were called after 1994, but I thank Karen for the lovely starting point of making a Bingo board with prophets!

Mother's Day Song Review

Last chance to practice for Mother's Day next week!

We have been learning two songs: "I Think the World is Glorious" and "Mother Dear." We have not had much time to learn these songs so the children know them, but not confidently and well. You can apply this activity to your Mother' Day songs that you need to review, but of course, I've tailored my lesson to these two songs.

Junior Primary

Learning "Mother Dear" (Practicing Lyrics)
In Junior Primary, we actually need to finish re-learning "Mother Dear" so I'm going to put all the fun pictures on the wall (deliberately big, bright colors), and just have the children take the pictures down one by one to learn the lines just as I have taught this song in the past, but skipping any extras I had added on before.

Update after church: The Junior Primary LOVED "Shy Samuel." I have a CTR 4 that struggles with primary in general, and even he was entranced. The children sang loudly and with enthusiasm when I introduced Shy Samuel. (In this pic, my arm is going through the bottom of the box into the puppet.)

Pop up Puppet (Practicing Volume)

If we have any time left, I'll have the Junior Primary practice each song for volume. I'll tell them I have a shy friend who wants to hear us sing but he'll only come out if we're nice and loud. And then I'll have head start to poke up out of a box until his whole body is out if they sing loud enough. I can even wave his arms around and make him dance for joy :) I saw a primary chorister in my ward do this years ago.

For mine, I found a puppet (one I owned already), then a box that it fit inside. I then wrapped the box so it had a nice home. I am going to introduce him as Shy Samuel. Shy Samuel is very ... well, shy! But ... he loves music, and the louder you sing, the more he wants to come out and hear all of your beautiful voices. If you sing loud enough, he might even come out and dance. (As the primary sings, he'll slowly start to come out of the box and begin dancing. If the children don't sing loudly enough, then he'll just stay in his box.)

Echo Chamber (More on Lyrics)

If we still have some time left, I will have them sing in Echo Chamber style, which is that I divide the class into four sections. I sing a line, then each corner takes turns echoing the line back to me. The repetition helps ingrain the song in their head.

Senior Primary

Echo Chamber (Lyrics)

We're going to start with Echo Chamber as above. I will tell them to listen carefully and pay attention to the words because they are going to need it for Tic Tac Toe!

Tic Tac Toe (Lyrics)

Senior Primary has had time to learn and re-learn both songs, but they are a little bit fuzzy on the "Mother Dear" song because they had about five minutes to-relearn it. 

For them, I will play Singing Time Tic Tac Toe, which is what I consider to be a traditional Singing Time Song Review Game for all the songs, but I am modifying to be for just the two Mother's Day songs that we will be singing next week. So, rather than having them identify the name of the song for which the line is from, or answer trivia questions about the song, I'm going to have them identify the next line of the song.

Basically, it goes like this:

Choose a reverent child or choose a child from the name jar, making sure they are from the correct side of the room because you are playing one side of the room against the other. They get to choose where they want to put a circle or a square. There is a line of a song behind each square. They can ask kids in their class only - no other kids on their side of the room - and then they have to tell me correctly the next line of the song. But they only have 15 seconds to answer. If they are right, they get to put their circle or x in the square. If they are wrong, the other side gets a chance to "steal" that space. 

Or, have them play against you! If the person in the class can't answer the question correctly in 30 seconds, you get to put up an X against their Os. I like this version because then we could sing the song in between turns, and even if I win the first time, they should eventually catch up and win, too!

My questions:

In the first line of the song, fill in the blank, "Mother Dear, I love you so, your (happy, smiling face) is such a joy to look at,"

In the first line of the song, finish the sentence, "Mother Dear, I love you so, your happy, smiling face, is such a joy to look at; it (makes homes a lovely place).

What is the second line of the song, "Mother Dear." Hint, it starts: "Mother Dear, I love you so. Your (lovely, shining eyes)" and make a comparison to stars.

In the second line of the song, "Mother Dear," complete the sentence, "Mother Dear, I love you so. Your lovely shining eyes, are just (like stars that twinkle. way up in the bright blue skies).

In the third line of the song, "Mother Dear," complete this sentence, "Mother Dear, I love you so. I'll try the whole day through (To please our Heav'nly Father. I'm so glad he gave me you.")

In "I think the World is Glorious," the second verse of the song only has one line different from the first verse of the song. Fill in the sentence that is different, "For I have t(eachers kind and true and parents who love me."

etc. ...

If There is Any Time Remaining in Senior ...

Helmet Hero

I will bring out Helmet Hero, which I have planned as a back-up activity several times and still not done in quite some time. This is one of my most popular activities so if you don't want to do Tic Tac Toe, do Helmet Hero. My most stubborn boys will play this game!

Balloon (Volume)
I'll have a teacher blow up a balloon while they are singing. Then, we'll let it go and watch it zip around the room, maybe with a goal to hit something ... or something ... okay still trying to think of a fun Volume game for Senior that I haven't already done, that takes 10 seconds to prepare :)

An Angel Came to Joseph Smith, week 2

I attended our annual stake primary conference earlier this week and left feeling renewed and inspired. It makes me sad that so few choristers attend. They are really missing out on a great opportunity to exchange ideas. There is always room to improve and grow.

I exchanged ideas with the only other woman that attended and with our stake primary leader. I loved seeing how we had different versions of the same basic concept, and I want to try every version.

I also had a nice reminder of some wonderful things to remember when you are teaching music in primary:

1. Pray always
2. You are the best visual aid, not your props
3. Get down on their level, especially in Junior Primary
4. Don't try to do sharing time. Do singing time!

So some of my idea exchanges that I am thinking about for Sunday:

To practice the lyrics in Junior Primary, one chorister will let children raise their hands to have a ball thrown to them, and then say the next line of the song. She says they love it, although it's funny how many of them will raise their hand because they want the ball, even if they don't remember the next line. I might try that in primary Sunday to review the first two verses that we learned last week.

This reminded me of how I like to play pass the [insert object here] and have the pianist stop playing. Whomever is holding the object has to tell the next line of the song, or get help from the person on either side of them.

Mainly, though, since I enjoy making creative visuals, it was nice to be reminded that WE are our best visual - moving our bodies, interacting with the children, etc. So, with that in mind, this Sunday, I am going to go back to an old standby that I have done with two other songs (last year). I am going to have the children help me make up motions to remember each verse of the song.

Make Your Own Song Motions
Last year, I had people show motions from their chairs and just picked someone's motion and showed it to everyone. Another time, I had children raised hands and selected them. This time, I think I'll ask some questions, and if they answer correctly, have them show us a motion related to the song. Sometimes the motions are too random though, so I'll be prepared to influence them if necessary.

An Angel Came to Joseph Smith - maybe point upward or hold my arms out
And from the ground he took - lean forward and scoop something off the ground
A sacred record hidden there - pretend to hold a book, closed
A precious, holy book - pretend to open a book
It tells of people long ago - Look far away and move your hands karate boy style "wax on, wax off"
Led by the Lord's own hand - hold one hand in the other
Who left their homes and crossed the sea - form waves, like in "book of mormon stories song"
To reach a favored land - Hold one arm out like showing a land ...

I have done this in Junior and Senior, but it is hard to keep track of two different sets of motions for each class, so this time, I think I'll have Junior make up the motions for verses 1 and 2. Then, I'll show those motions to Senior. Then, I'll have Senior add 3 and 4. Then, I'll show those motions to Junior. I'll just go with the flow but I like back-up plans to help me flow better :)

One other thought I had - was simply assigning each class to discuss the motion they wanted to do for each line. Then I could have them come up and demonstrate their line of the song. Then, while they are up, I will ask them a question about their line of the song, to help everyone remember and learn what they are singing about.

So, if I go that route, the questions I would ask are:


An Angel Came to Joseph Smith - What was the name of the Angel (Moroni)
And from the ground he took - What did he take from the ground (the Gold Plates)
A sacred record hidden there - What do we know the sacred record as (The Book of Mormon)
A precious, holy book - Where is the book now? (Hidden away.)
It tells of people long ago - What people did it tell of?
Led by the Lord's own hand - Name an object that the Lord used to lead people, that was like a compass (Liahona)
Who left their homes and crossed the sea - Where did Lehi's family go (The promised land)
To reach a favored land - What is the name of the land today?

Had peace when they obeyed the Lord - What does this picture represent? (The Anti-Nephite-Lehis, a name given to the Lamanites who were converted by the sons of Mosiah, as they buried their weapons. Learn more here.)

Introducing "An Angel Came to Joseph Smith"

This has been a crazy, busy week, so I have not had much time to prepare introducing "An Angel Came to Joseph Smith."

I saved this song to start teaching this week because this is the week that the presidency member starts teaching the Joseph Smith lesson as well!

I thought about simply teaching from the wonderful images I found in the LDS Gospel Art Kit and put into a flip chart. I could have the children help me to tell the stories. However, I have done similar things recently, and I always want to give the children a lot of variety so they look forward to singing time.

My inspiration came from the 2007 Friend, from a talk by Elder Mark E. Petersen that was quoted in the 2007 Friend, From the Pearl of Great Price, and from the Book of Mormon. I've put all the specific source credit at the bottom of this post but first, what I have planned:

1. I'll place the "Gold Plates" in a box under a blanket so it is partially buried. I made my own gold plates that are fairly true to size using cardboard and gold spray paint but if I didn't have this, I would have just used one of the books on my shelf that was about the same in dimensions (7 inches x 8 inches, and about 6 inches tall).

 

Gold Plates - I just used spray gold spray paint ($3.50) to spray paint some cardboard.

2. I'll display the picture of Joseph Smith being visited by two personages (which is in my flipchart that I made last week) and talk about how this is one of the most recognized pictures of Joseph Smith, and just touch on this part of the story lightly and quickly. While I did re-read Joseph Smith's history to teach this lesson, there is a great summary that can help you touch on this lightly in a more concise manner, in the 2001 Friend. I might just ask children to raise their hands and help summarize the story, depending on what feels right at the time. We did not have much time to teach this during the regular lesson time because of General Conference and the following week's testimony meeting going long, which is why I want to be sure to touch on this now.

I'll tell them we're going to learn a new song today that is about some important work that Joseph Smith did, and how that work blessed us.

I'll tell them that this song is unique in that the rhythm changes several times throughout the song, and ask them to listen very closely. I will have the pianist play the entire song. I will then ask them to listen again and try to clap and follow the unique rhythm. I will do it one more time if they aren't following very well and clapping together very well.


This is where Senior and Junior go in two directions.

a. In Junior Primary I'll tell them:

After Joseph Smith was first visited by Heavenly Father and his Beloved Son, life went back to normal in some ways. He went on with helping his family farm, and he told people about the visit, but most people either didn't believe him or were angry with him, or both. Then, one night, an angel visited him.

Q: Does anyone know the name of the angel that visited him?
A: Moroni

Q: Can anyone tell me what the angel told him?
A: The angel told Joseph Smith that there was a book hidden in the ground that told about people that had lived here on earth before him. He told Joseph Smith about the book, and that they could not be shown to anyone.

The angel Moroni came and told Joseph this three times that night. The next day, Joseph visited the place where Moroni had shown in a vision that the plates were located but  Joseph had to wait for four years until the angel would let him take the plates out of the ground. He was about 21 when Moroni told him he could take the gold plates out of the ground.

I'll then have a boy come up to the class "dig" the box out of a blanket, open the box, and take the plates out. I'll explain that these "plates" are about true to size, and show them how the pages were thin, like tinfoil, which I will hold up as an example:

I"ll read to them this quote from Elder Mark E. Petersen:

The book was of metal having the appearance of gold. It consisted of metallic pages as thin as common tin. Each page measured about seven by eight inches [18 by 20 cm], and all were bound together at the back with metal rings which allowed the pages to be turned over easily. The book was about six inches [15 cm] thick. Each page was covered on both sides with ancient writing in small but beautifully engraved characters. The book lay in a stone box which had protected it from the elements for centuries. …

I will show them a stone box as an example and explain that in ancient times, they were not uncommon:

I'll then show them page 1 of the flip chart and sing that line of the song for them once, reminding them to listen carefully to the unique rhythm of the song. Then, I'll have them sing it with me twice.

I will then introduce to them the second verse of the song and have them sing that with me as well. If there is time, I'll talk about that verse as well.

b. In Senior Primary, I'll ask them if they can identify the song by the tune.

I will let them guess and identify it if they can.

Then, I will put up some word in random order: Moroni, Hill Cumorah, Nephites, and Book of Mormon.

The next part of this lesson is word per word from the 2007 Friend:

Tell the children that this song is about these four things, but none of these words is mentioned in the
song. Ask them to help you put the wordstrips in the same order that the song is in. Sing the song for them and then ask which wordstrip comes first. Because the first phrase is “an angel came to Joseph Smith,” the correct wordstrip is “Moroni.” Have the children sing that phrase with you. Sing the song three more times, putting one wordstrip in place each time. Explain that Joseph Smith took the gold plates from Hill Cumorah, that the plates are a record of the Nephites, and that the precious, holy book is the Book of Mormon. Because the song is short, sing the entire song each time that you ask a question.

Once we have gone through all the word strips, I'll put the flip chart up for them to see.

Then, time pending, I'll go back and review some specific details of the song with them, regarding the Book of Mormon.

From Joseph Smith History, I'll have them look up 1:30, 34. I'll also have someone help read the quote from Elder Petersen that I mentioned in the Junior Primary lesson.

If there is more time, I'll look up other scriptures that describe other lines of the song with them, and that go with the flip chart:

• 1 Nephi 18: 22-23 - about going to the promised land (vs. 2 of the song)
• 4 Nephi 1: 15-17 - about how there was no contention in the land (vs.3 of the song)

We will end by singing the song again.

I will bear my testimony. I know that Joseph Smith was lead to the Gold Plates, and that the Gold Plates tell the stories in the Book of Mormon, that it is a second witness of our Savior. 

Additional Source Information/instruction:

From the 2007 Friend:
"1. ... Using questions and answers as well as pictures from the Gospel Art Picture
Kit, present the story of the Restoration of the gospel. Use Elder Mark E.
Petersen’s talk “More than a Farm Boy” (New Era, Dec. 2004, 33) to add
details to the story. For example, ask the children how big they think
the gold plates were. To illustrate the size of the gold plates, simulate
them by using paper that has the same dimensions. (Approximately 7 x
8 inches [18 x 20 cm] and 6 inches [15 cm] thick.) Ask what kind of box
would protect the plates from the weather for hundreds of years (a stone
box). Ask what we call the record that Moroni gave to Joseph Smith (the
Book of Mormon). Consider teaching “An Angel Came to Joseph Smith” (p. 86). You can
use the song to either present the story of the Restoration or to review
the story."

"5. Song presentation: “An Angel Came to Joseph Smith” (p. 86).
Before teaching this song, practice conducting the unique rhythm. Post
the following wordstrips in random order—“Moroni,” “Hill Cumorah,”
“Nephites,” and “Book of Mormon.” Tell the children that this song is
about these four things, but none of these words is mentioned in the
song. Ask them to help you put the wordstrips in the same order that
the song is in. Sing the song for them and then ask which wordstrip
comes first. Because the first phrase is “an angel came to Joseph Smith,”
the correct wordstrip is “Moroni.” Have the children sing that phrase with
you. Sing the song three more times, putting one wordstrip in place each
time. Explain that Joseph Smith took the gold plates from Hill Cumorah,
that the plates are a record of the Nephites, and that the precious, holy
book is the Book of Mormon. Because the song is short, sing the entire
song each time that you ask a question. Bear testimony that the story
told in the song is true."

An Angel Came to Joseph Smith flip chart

I am teaching Mother's Day songs this week but next Sunday I will start teaching "An Angel Came to Joseph Smith."

In preparation I made this flip chart, which took me a very long time to make, I should add ... they don't always take me this long but I had very specific images in mind for each line, and some of them were tough to find.

I love all the stories behind each image, and plan to discuss some of them with the children as appropriate. For example, I love the image of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies burying their weapons to honor peace and how I can talk about the cycle that we see in the scriptures of how the people were blessed when they sought peace and listened to the Lord's commandments.

Let me know if you have difficulty downloading the flip chart. If you do, and send me your contact info, I can email it to you.

Download the flip chart.

Preparing for Mother's Day (I'll teach it now, then only need to lightly touch on it for upcoming weeks.)

I will spend this Sunday working on Mother's Day song, before moving back into my regular monthly song plans for the remainder of the month.

As I mentioned before, I chose:

• I Think the World is Glorious - This song is not only appropriate to honor our Fathers and Mothers but it fits in very well with the message from "My Heavenly Father Loves Me," and Spring in general.

• Mother Dear  - I wanted to sing one blatantly obvious Mother's Day song, and this is among my top three favorites.

We already started learning the first song the last few weeks, and the second song is more of a review. So, this Sunday's focus is:

1. Review verse 1 of "I Think the World is Glorious."
2. Learn verse 2 of "I Think the World is Glorious."
3. Review "Mother Dear."

I Think the World is Glorious

1. Put up my poster from last week and sing the song one time through - no fancy tricks. Just sing it one time through. It's a short verse. Review any problem areas briefly.

2. Introduce second verse. I'll play "What's different with this poster?" and have added the additional items that represent the new line in the second verse. There is only ONE new line in the second verse so that will be the very simple addition to learn verse 2. Once the children identify the pictures, I'll tell them the line - or I'll sing the line and then have them identify the pictures.

3. To review the entire song a few times I will put objects in a bag that represent objects in the song. Whatever a child draws out of the bag is how we have to sing the song:

Blossoms - sing like a blossom blowing in the wind. Discuss how that would sound - smooth. Have them move their bodies like bodies in the wind.

Bees - sing in a silly buzzing voice

Birds - have them sing back and forth like birds chattering to one another

Teachers - sing with their arms folded, very reverently

Parents - pat each other on the back as you sing

Mother Dear
I will review Mother Day with the big, colorful cut-outs I made for a previous Mother's Day and attached to magnets. I usually go for something more elaborate but the kids loved the big, bright colors, especially junior primary of course.

I will take advantage of the magnets on the back and just put these all over the room and maybe even underneath chairs. The children will be asked to look for the parts of the song and put them up as we sing them a few times.




Up next: I just finished a flip chart for "An Angel Came to Joseph Smith" and will be posting it in the next few days.