Easter Sunday

Happy Easter. I'm so grateful for the Savior Jesus Christ. Last week and leading up to Easter on my instagram account @iliketocreatestuff, I've been sharing some background and relevant quotes each day. I'd like to share some of them here, as an accompaniment to all of the beautiful scriptures that Come Follow Me recommends for Easter study. I shared too many quotes to put them all into one post so I've chosen the "intro" I used for each day and tried to stick to only one or two quotes for each day I highlighted.

I also want to share my Easter Sunday message that I posted on my Instagram feed:

Happy Easter! These little juncos have become some of my favorite local birds. They have an inquisitive, gentle nature and prefer to look for their food on the ground, unlike some birds that prefer to work their way up the trunk of a tree looking for insects, or nibbling along on tender branches. I thought it would be appropriate to share my recent painting of them today as I have been pondering the week leading up to Easter Sunday.

In Christianity, we believe in the Godhead, Heavenly Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. That's one set of three, but there are also many other references that come in threes. In the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 13:13, it talks about the importance of faith, hope, and charity. Dieter F. Uchtdorf called this the three-legged stool that "stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time." He said, "Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness. ... Hope is the gift of the Spirit. It is hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in in the Savior." ("The Infinite Power of Hope," Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2008).

This Easter Sunday, and every day, I'm grateful for Jesus Christ. He taught, died, and rose again, all for each and every one of us.

My thoughts with some of the accompanying quotes I used to express my thoughts about Easter this week:

The Sunday before Easter

The Monday before Easter

The Tuesday/Wednesday before Easter

The Thursday before Easter

The Friday before Easter

The day before Easter

Easter

Jesus Christ Will Gather His People (Doctrine and Covenants 29)

This week's Come Follow Me Study of the Doctrine and Covenants covers Section 29. This was revelation given through Joseph Smith to the early leaders of the church on September 26, 1830. I think it's important to note this because it was new information for them. I think about how in the Old Testament, followers of God were given the Law of Moses. Then when the Savior came to earth, he gave them a new, and better law. It was hard for many people to make the switch, that there could be a "better" law when the first one was given divinely, too.

This is why it is important to listen closely to the words of our prophets and understand that modern revelation can change something that was right at the time, but there is something better, now.

In Doctrine and Covenants 29:1-8, the Lord reveals:

1 Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins;

2 Who will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, even as many as will hearken to my voice and humble themselves before me, and call upon me in mighty prayer.

3 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that at this time your sins are forgiven you, therefore ye receive these things; but remember to sin no more, lest perils shall come upon you.

4 Verily, I say unto you that ye are chosen out of the world to declare my gospel with the sound of rejoicing, as with the voice of a trump.

5 Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom.

6 And, as it is written—Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being united in prayer according to my command, ye shall receive.

7 And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts;

8 Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.

I love this imagery of a hen gathering her chickens, or a shepherd gathering his sheep, two analogies that have been used to describe the Savior. 

The Come Follow Me for Sunday School manual asks:

1. How have we experienced Christ gathering and protecting us, like a hen gathers and protects her chickens?

2. How do we gather to the Savior?

As I read those questions, I could help but reflect on the tumultuous year of 2020 and into 2021. During a year where the turmoil and despair around us was heard around the world, I also saw the Lord gathering us. How did he gather us?

1. Through the voice of the prophet
President Russell M. Nelson was awakened one night and prompted to gather the world and share a message, a "simple remedy to help us find joy in hard times - gratitude." President Nelson said, 

"As the inspiration came, specific details, including when and how I should share this message, came to my mind and heart. The video message shared today was not one that came by chance; it is one that came from heaven." ("The Story behind my Global Prayer of Gratitude," Russell M. Nelson)

His Give Thanks message, on the power of gratitude, is one that many prophets and leaders of the church have shared before him. But the the Lord gathered us together, like a hen gathering her chicks, to hear this message at this time when so many of us were weighed down by doubt and despair. I think it's important to see this message in its entirety so rather than quoting from it, the previous link goes to his live message, or you can read the full transcript here.

2. Through the leadership of our General Conference 
I look forward to General Conference next week, as it is an incredible blessing to have the Lord inspire so many people and for us to hear those messages. We have also been encouraged to prepare for conference by thinking in advance what our questions are, so we can hear answer to prayer and receive our own personal revelation as we listen to conference. What an incredible thing!   

One of the messages I want to share, that the scripture about a hen gathering her chickens, was from M. Russell Ballard's talk "Watch Ye Therefore, and Pray Always." Elder Ballard said, 

"During the past few months I have had the impression come to me that the best way to help the current world situation is for all people to rely more fully upon God and to turn their hearts to Him through sincere prayer. Humbling ourselves and seeking heaven's inspiration to endure or conquer what is before us will be our safest and surest way to move confidently forward through these troubling times."

3. Through service to each other
So many wonderful things have been shared about our ability to minister to each other.  I had three stories from recent General Conference talks pop into my mind, as well as a fourth, personal one:

• Elder Gary E. Stevenson shared the story of a newly baptized member of the Church who suddenly felt like he no longer fit into his ward. His attendance began to decline, and he began to stray from the flock - or the hen, so to speak. A fellow ward member extended a ministering hand to him, and he returned. That man is Elder Carlos A. Godoy, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. ("Shepherding Souls," Gary E. Stevenson).
  
  
• Elder Carlos A. Godoy shared his story of people that reached out to him and made him feel part of the group. He said, "Brothers and sisters, I believe in angels! We are all here today, a giant army of angels set apart for these latter days, to minister to others as extensions of the hands of a loving Creator." ("I Believe in Angels," Carlos A. Godoy)
  
  
• A woman devastated by divorce was reluctant to attend church alone, where she would be surrounded by whole families. She prayed nobody would speak to her. A young woman looked at her during the meeting, in concern. Still, this woman hoped the young woman would leave her alone. Sister Michelle D. Craig quotes the woman in this story, "During the next hour, I noticed her looking back at me occasionally. As soon as the meeting ended, she made a beeline for me. 'Hi Rozlyn,' I whispered. She wrapped me in her arms and said, 'Sister Smith, I can tell today is a bad day for you. I'm so sorry. I love you.' As predicted, the tears came as she hugged me again. But as I walked away, I thought to myself, 'Maybe I can do this after all.' That sweet 16-year-old young woman ... found me every Sunday for the rest of that year to give me a hug and ask, 'How are you?' ... Someone cared." ("Eyes to See," Michelle D. Craig)
  
  
• When I was a young woman and stopped attending the weekday young women's activity, the young women's leader, Sue, made a special trip to my house, gave me a "return with honor" ring, and told me that she missed seeing me at the activities. Her special trip meant a lot to me (I lived in California, which, unlike Utah, meant that you had to drive to get from one member's house to another.)

How do we gather in unity? 
In General Conference April 2018, Reyna I. Aburto spoke about how we are in a journey together. She quoted Doctrine and Covenants 38:27, "Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine." 

She said,

"Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of unity with His Father. They are one in purpose, in love, and in works, with "the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father." ("With One Accord," Reyna I. Aburto)

She talked about how 

"Miracles happen when the children of God work together guided by the Spirit to reach out to others in need."

I have seen this happen in many places this year, as individuals reach out to help and serve each other. When President Russell M. Nelson was able to get the vaccine for Covid-19 on January 19, he stated on his Instagram account @russellmnelson, 

"We are thankful for the countless doctors, scientists, researchers, manufacturers, government leaders, and others who have performed the grueling work required to make this vaccine available. We have prayed often for this literal godsend. As a former surgeon and medical researcher, I know something of the effort needed to accomplish such a remarkable feat. Producing a safe, effective vaccine in less than a year is nothing short of miraculous."

This is not his full message but he concluded, 

"Receiving the vaccine today was part of our personal efforts to be good global citizens in helping to eliminate Covid-19 from the world."

Wow, what a message! In sharing this message, he came back around to his earlier November message about how gratitude can help with many trials. Look at all the people he recognized and thanked. Then, look at the miracle he recognized, how amazing and incredible it is to have a vaccine available less than a year after the pandemic began to spread. Look at the unity it took among groups for that to happen.

I'm grateful to know that we, as chicks stumbling along the way, doubting when we should have faith, have the Savior that is always willing and wanting to gather us in his arms. He reminds us, in Doctrine and Covenants 29:1-2, "Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins; Who will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, even as many will hearken to my voice and humble themselves before me, and call upon me in mighty prayer."

This Palm Sunday, as we head into Easter week, may we remember the message of hope that has been given to us through the Savior Jesus Christ. 

Easter Sunday: Easter-Themed Song Review Game AAAANDDD a New Mother's Day Song

For Easter Sunday, the Primary Presidency has given me their regular teaching time to use for music in addition to my regular time. You could easily use this in a 20-minute lesson or a 35-minute lesson though.

I have three objectives:

1. Focus on Easter, our Savior, and the resurrection

2. Begin work on one of our Mother's Day songs

3. Review all the program songs to date

Honestly, I feel we know our three songs well now, and I personally need more variety, let alone the primary children. Also, I need more time to teach the children two extra songs for Mother's Day next month so I'm most interested in #2, but I want to do it in a way that very respectfully focuses the children on #1. So with that said:

Attention activity: A jar full of eggs

Children will reach into a jar for a plastic egg. The egg will either have a song/activity or a very specific Easter scripture, quote, or story.

What's in the eggs: (either a song + activity OR a quote/scripture/question about Easter)

What	Activity
Sing "If the Savior Stood Beside Me"	I have two versions here because I didn't have a chance to do version #1 the previous Sunday. I made a second suggestion in case you want to follow this plan but already did #1 last week or the week before. 1. Stand in a big circle around the room and have each person say or sing (depending on their comfort level) the next word of the song. If they can’t do it, then you go around and tell them the word they have to remember. This is a nice way to reinforce lyrics in every child’s mind in a subtle, fun way because they will be paying attention to each other’s words, even if they are not thinking about it. I expect my primary children to have little difficulty with this activity by now but it will be a nice way to test them out, make them think, and help to reinforce. - or - 2. Sing this song with crescendo and decrescendo, waving your arms "big" make them go louder and more softly to make them sing more "softly." It's fun to hear their volume go up and down especially when you do this in places where it would naturally sound good in the song to add more emphasis. Or sing the song in staccato.
Sing "My Heavenly Father Loves Me"	Pass out Popsicle stick images for the song and have children hold them up when they hear their line of the song. This is from a previous activity (scroll down to #5 here).
Sing "I Am a Child of God"	Sign Language – roll a dice to see which class will come up to sign a verse of the song. If your class doesn't know the song in sing language then have them sing the song in a different, interesting way. This is a very reverent song so I might even turn off the lights, tell them to close their eyes, and think about what it means to be a child of Heavenly Father while they sing the song.
Sing "He Sent His Son" (Great Easter song. The children know this one since I taught it last year for the Christmas program. If they don't, you can use a flip chart ... which I have but I haven't uploaded it anywhere yet so for now, if you want it, send me your email address. I mentioned it in this post.)	Sing by color – take turns either standing and singing or everyone sings but people have to stand when their color goes up.  This was from another activity I didn't end up doing that Sunday. If I had, I would switch to using a boy drawing and a girl drawing and just having them alternate between singing as boys, girls, or everyone.
Start Learning "I Think the World is Glorious"	I am teaching this song for Mother's Day so the first time I'll: Sing the song and ask the children to raise their hand if they recognize, and also to listen carefully to what word is sung the most. See post
Start Learning "I Think the World is Glorious"	The second time I'll: (if there's time) Put up pictures that show: the world, birds, bees, blossoms, a child singing, and other fun objects. Ask the children to watch the picture carefully and look for the ones that are illustrated in the song. See post
Start Learning "I Think the World is Glorious"	The third time I'll: Sing the song one time through first, and ask the children to get up and spin one time every time they hear the word “sing.” I was going to have them get up one row at a time and say "I Sing" but our guest teacher did the exact thing I was planning last Sunday so I am considering having them spin one row at a time instead of singing louder and louder just so they don't feel like they are doing the same thing too soon. OR, I might ask them if they remember what they did with "Shine On," getting louder, and louder, and tell them we are going to do the same thing, except they stand instead of making big arcs with their hands. See post
Haircut activity	I decided not to do this part this time but it's cute enough to share. I was originally going to have the child that picked this egg come up and give a grass egg a haircut, based on this inspiring post from iheartprimarymusic.blogspot.com. Then, I decided to make dolls out of yarn and toilet paper rolls, to have the children give the yarn dolls haircuts instead. I thought this was an original idea but of course, when I Googled it, someone else had already made one, and it was perfect. So Google it if you need help making this from household items :) Then, I decided this was such a fun activity that I didn't want the children who didn't get to do it to feel bad, plus I didn't want the Sunbeams to go home and give themselves ugly haircuts as a result of their primary activity. SO ... I think it's a fabulous idea and I might do it another year but I decided to go with something a little less stressful. The fabulous idea from the iheartmusic blogger ends with this scripture that I am almost certainly going to incorporate into the lesson on Sunday. Alma 40:23  The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame."	Green

Easter egg scripture	Everyone look up this scripture:  Alma 40:23. Person who chose the egg can pick someone that has their hand raised to read it. Then ask what the scripture means.
Easter egg scripture	Person who chose the egg can pick someone that has their hand raised to read it. Then ask what the scripture means.  Everyone look up this scripture: Luke 24:5-7 5And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
Easter egg quote	I thought this one was especially appropriate because of the themes I have been touching around “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” about how nature shows us how God loves us: "Contemplating the wonder of the Atonement wrought in behalf of all mankind, the Prophet Joseph Smith declared in words descriptive and beautiful: “Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers!” (D&C 128:23)." - This Glorious Easter Morn, April 1996
Easter egg quote	This is Easter morning. This is the Lord’s day, when we celebrate the greatest victory of all time, the victory over death. Those who hated Jesus thought they had put an end to Him forever when the cruel spikes pierced His quivering flesh and the cross was raised on Calvary. But this was the Son of God, with whose power they did not reckon. Through His death came the Resurrection and the assurance of eternal life. ... He is our King, our Lord, our Master, the living Christ, who stands on the right hand of His Father. ... He lives ... the living Son of the living God. Of this we bear solemn testimony this day of rejoicing, this Easter morning, when we commemorate the miracle of the empty tomb, in the name of Him who rose from the dead, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. President Gordon B. Hinckley, - This Glorious Easter Morn, April 1996 (This was a deep cut as there were many paragraphs between the first part of the quote and the second - you should read the whole thing before primary! It's a great way to get in the right frame of mind to teach through music on Easter Sunday.
Easter fact	In Russia people often greet one another on Easter by saying, “Jesus is risen.” The other person replies, “Truly, He is risen.” In Albania the tradition is similar; they click red egg rocks together and say, “Christ is risen.” Ensign, March 2013
Easter egg question	Q: What does the Easter egg represent? A: The egg has become an almost universal symbol of Easter to represent the Savior’s breaking the bands of death through His Resurrection. Thus coloring and hiding eggs for an Easter egg hunt and giving Easter baskets are common traditions around the world. Creating Christ-Centered Easter Traditions, Ensign, March 2013

I decided to save this one for a future year:

Make each child this book as an Easter Present – Plan of Salvation from Friend 2005.

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=c2b79f161371c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=21bc9fbee98db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

... since last Easter, I gave each child this book that I had made: I Think When I Hear that Sweet Story flip book.

I may still do this one:

Pass out these "Children of God" that I made last year and never gave out.

I could put them in Easter eggs and talk about the atonement and how we are all Children of God. I haven't used these yet because there are so many ways to incorporate them into an activity that I keep holding back on just giving them as a gift, when I can use them as part of the activity. I may still do that for an upcoming song.

I want to end with my testimony of the power of the atonement.

I am so grateful for a Father in Heaven who loves me so much that he sent his only Begotten Son to earth to die for us, that we might live with him again. I know that no matter what happens to us while we are on earth, our Heavenly Father loves us and is watching over us, and has provided a way for us to return to him and to our perfect bodies.

Song Review - Rhythm and Beat Robot/Machinery with Egg Chute

** Post-singing time review about the post further below :)
I had so much fun in primary today. I made some modifications to my original plans. In Junior Primary, I didn't think we would have enough time so I just worked with them on the third first of "If the Savior Stood Beside Me," but I brought out all the percussion eggs I had made (see bottom of post) and told them that I would pass them out once the children could show me by volume that they knew all three verses. Great incentive, and a lot of fun! I had different types of beans in different eggs and let them hear how they made different sounds. This was a great way to grab their attention, practice rhythm, beat, and lyrics.

In senior primary, I had five volunteers come up to do the human machine together. Then, after the song ended, I had the last person flap their wings or make a bird sound, and dropped an egg through my "chute," before I had the classes get together and plan their own machines. I told them that the machines were operated by reverent voices to encourage everyone to sing. It was a lot of fun, and a nice break to make sure we don't unintentionally fall into bad patterns when teaching. The key to keep it reverent was to have the fun bird/egg part AFTER they were done singing, but to relax and let them giggle a little.


++++++++++++++++++



I ended up slicing up a bunch of my Singing Time plans this month and only have had two weeks to work on  "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" so I want to work on it again this week. This plan could easily be adapted as an overall song review to sing a lot of different songs, which is how it was originally designed, but I am focusing it on mostly to review this one song.

First, some background on this idea: I have two good friends, Rob and Chris(tine) Davis that are married to each other and very creative. They have several children, and both parents have or do teach children in various church jobs and professionally over the years. The children love them. They taught primary music for a while, and in a conversation with them when I was first given this calling, they mentioned this as one of their all-time favorite singing time activities. This is their original idea.

This is an interesting way to engage the children and focus on repetition without feeling like it's repetition!

Explain to the children that they are going to be singing robots/machinery today. Then, have the primary presidency work together to give an example of how you can work together to move like a robot/machine.

It will work like this, for example:

Person #1 pretends to be a human hammer and  repeatedly (gently) pound their fist on the head of the person in front of them to the rhythm of the song.

Person #2 pretends to be a spinner. Every time the "hammer" hits them, they spin but with one hand out that gently smacks the person next to them - again to the beat of the song.

Person #3 has one hand sticking out. Every time the "spinner's" hand hits their hand, they jump up and down once, or kick their foot out, etc.

You basically have a chain of actions, to the rhythm of the music, and when it gets to the end of the song, the person at the end clucks and waves their arms like a chicken. The chicken lays an egg, which happens when the teacher drops the plastic egg down a chute, which is a wrapping paper roll that comes out from the stool that is sticking out from under the chair that the "chicken" is sitting on. The egg is a plastic Easter egg that when opened will have some direction or message in it, like what song to sing next. I'm going to have the message be which class goes up next, and if all goes well, have the children sing the same song each time. If they get bored, we'll change it up.

After giving the children this example, have each class get together for a few minutes to discuss and plan out how they can pretend to be one giant human robot. You can even give them general suggestions to help them with their planning.

Then, take turns with one class in the front being a giant robot together. When the song is over, drop a plastic egg down the robot chute. When it gets to the end, open the egg to reveal what it says inside the egg.

Back-up

I made egg rattles that I will use to help the children practice rhythm and beat. I will probably save these for the following week but I like having a back-up activity.