In this post, we’ll be looking at some activity ideas you could do with your little ones to better learn the principles in Doctrine and Covenants 3-5.
1. Obedience and Consequences (Doctrine and Covenants 3)
Principle: Obedience to God’s commandments brings blessings.
- Practical Life: “Follow the Path” Activity
- Create a simple maze or pathway using tape on the floor or a small board with pebbles and string.
- Have children follow the path with a small figure or their finger, emphasizing that obedience helps us stay on the right path.
- Control of Error: Puzzle of Choices
- Create a two-piece puzzle for choices (e.g., “Listen to parents” vs. “Disobey parents”). When they match the correct choice, the pieces fit together, teaching that good choices bring unity and peace.
- Story Retelling: Martin Harris and the Lost Manuscript
- Use small props (e.g., paper to represent the manuscript, figurines for Joseph Smith and Martin Harris) to reenact the story. Explain how obedience helps us avoid difficult consequences.
2. Repentance and Forgiveness (Doctrine and Covenants 3)
Principle: We can repent and be forgiven when we make mistakes.
- Practical Life: Cleaning Activity
- Provide a chalkboard or a laminated sheet with “mistakes” (drawn or written) on it. Let children erase or wipe it clean, symbolizing repentance and forgiveness.
- Art: “Clean Heart” Craft
- Use heart-shaped cutouts and washable markers. Let children “dirty” the hearts with scribbles, then wash them clean with a wet cloth while discussing repentance.
- Sensory: Forgiveness Jar
- Fill a clear jar with colored water. Drop a dissolvable tablet (like Alka-Seltzer) into the water to show how repentance removes the “mistakes.”
3. Faith in God’s Promises (Doctrine and Covenants 4-5)
Principle: Faith and trust in God are essential for His work.
- Practical Life: Planting Seeds
- Have children plant seeds in small pots and talk about how faith is like planting a seed—it grows when we care for it and trust God’s promises.
- Art: “Faith in Action” Collage
- Provide images of people showing faith (e.g., praying, planting, serving). Let children create a collage representing ways they can act in faith.
- Movement: Trust Walk
- Set up a simple obstacle course. One child guides another (blindfolded or with eyes closed) through the course, teaching trust and faith in guidance.
4. Preparing for the Book of Mormon Translation (Doctrine and Covenants 5)
Principle: God prepared Joseph Smith and others to bring forth the Book of Mormon.
- Sensorial: Golden Plates Exploration
- Provide small wooden boards or cardboard wrapped in gold foil to represent the golden plates. Allow children to explore their size and weight while discussing the sacredness of the plates.
- Practical Life: Scribing Activity
- Provide materials for children to “scribe” by copying simple shapes or letters onto parchment-like paper. Relate this to Joseph dictating the translation of the Book of Mormon.
- Language: Translation Cards
- Create a matching activity with symbols (representing the characters on the plates) and their “translations” (e.g., a heart symbol = love). Teach that Joseph translated with God’s help.
5. Witnesses to God’s Work (Doctrine and Covenants 5)
Principle: God provides witnesses to testify of His truth.
- Group Activity: Testimony Sharing
- Have children draw or share something they love about Jesus or the scriptures, emphasizing how we can witness of God’s truths.
- Art: “Three Witnesses” Drawing
- Provide materials for children to draw three people and golden plates, symbolizing the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
- Movement: Witness Relay
- Create a relay where children “carry” a special object (like a picture of the golden plates) to the next person, symbolizing sharing a testimony.
6. Doing God’s Work (Doctrine and Covenants 4)
Principle: The field is ready to harvest; we should serve God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength.
- Practical Life: Harvesting Activity
- Provide a basket and toy fruits or vegetables for children to “harvest.” Discuss how serving God is like gathering fruit—there is joy in the work.
- Art: “Heart, Might, Mind, and Strength” Poster
- Let children trace or paint their hands and feet on a poster. Label the hands as “might,” the heart as “heart,” and the feet as “strength” to illustrate serving God with everything we have.
- Grace and Courtesy: Helping Others
- Role-play ways to serve others (e.g., setting the table, helping a friend). Relate this to serving God through small, kind actions.
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