{Sharing Time} Dressing modestly shows respect for Heavenly Father and myself

This week is going to a tough one and I wish you the best of luck dear sisters! I think that this week is so hard to teach because you really just don't want to call out kids that you deem immodest. So what I wanted to do for this week it to share the WHY behind modesty.


I love what Elder Hales has said and I believe (doctrine according to me) that this is the reason we strive to be modest:
"Modesty is at the center of being pure and chaste, both in thought and deed. Thus, because it guides and influences our thoughts, behavior, and decisions, modesty is at the core of our character. Our clothing is more than just covering our bodies; it reflects who we are and what we want to be."

As I was studying for this lesson, I ran across this talk by Elder Hales and here's a part that he said:
"The next time you approach the temple, pause to look at the temple grounds. Have you ever considered why the temple is surrounded by beautiful plates, reflecting pools, and architecture? They give an outward presence and feeling that prepares the patron for the sacred ordinances that await inside the temple...Our clothing is equally important. It is the "landscaping" for presenting our bodies as temples. Just as the temple grounds portray the sacredness and reverence for what takes place inside the temple, our clothing portrays the beauty and purity of our inner selves."

I really just want to print Elder Hales talk and just blow it up and put it up everywhere so that we cam always remember why it's so important to be modest. Now when he said 'landscaping' it got me thinking that maybe just maybe we can use that to help these precious children WHY we dress modestly.

Now due to copyrights and me not wanting to me sued, you will need to do a Google search for two pictures. A house with a messy, unkempt yard and another of a clean, manicured yard. Below are  links to a couple pictures I think would be just perfect comparisons for the lesson.

Print these out onto full sheets and at the beginning of your lesson ask "which looks more inviting?" "which would you rather spend time playing in?" "Why is it more inviting/do you want to play there?

Write the children's responses and add your own if you like.

 ~ it's clean/ it's dirty 

~ it's taken care of and loved by the owner

~ there's garbage everywhere

~it wouldn't be easy/fun to play in the grass

~ it's relaxing

~ pretty plants

Messy Yard

Manicured Yard

By just looking at this picture -hold up the manicured lawn- we know that this owner loves their home and wants to take care of it.

Just like this lawn, we can show Heavenly Father that we love and are grateful for our bodies by taking care of it. One way we can take care of our bodies is by dressing modestly. As we dress modestly we invite the Spirit to be with us. When we choose to dress modestly we send a message to those around us that we know who we are, sons and daughters of God.

I also found this article in the Friend that I think talks about modesty beautifully without getting into the clothing too terribly much.

To add a bit more to your lesson you can bring in items to represent each point and have the kids pick the items then discuss.
(I will not go further into this topic as I believe that it is you dear sisters that knows exactly what your Primary needs to hear about why we are modest)

For your reference and study:

Modesty: Reverence for the Lord (Elder Hales talk from above)

Courage to Choose Modesty - this talk is AMAZING and clearly goes over the doctrine, many of this is more for parents than children but I think you can add and incorporate it's teachings.

{Sharing Time} My Body is a Temple

2016 Sharing Time Outline: August

Introduce the doctrine: Before Primary, write the phrase “Ye are the temple of God” (1 Corinthians 3:16) on the board. Show the children pictures of temples, and ask them what makes a temple so special (it is a house of the Lord, clean, well cared for, and a place where the Holy Ghost can come). Write their responses on the board. Explain that our bodies, like temples, are sacred and need to be treated with respect by ourself and others.

Encourage understanding and application: Copy the picture on page 47 of the nursery manual, Behold Your Little Ones. Cut out the circles in the picture, and put them in a container. Ask a child to choose one of the circles. Ask the children how the picture reminds them to treat their bodies like temples. Give each child a copy of the picture, and invite them to color it. Invite older children to write one thing under each circle that they will do this week to treat their bodies like temples. Invite the children to take their pictures home to teach their family how they can treat their bodies like temples.

Encourage application: Display a copy of “My Gospel Standards.” Ask the children to identify which gospel standards teach them how to treat their bodies like temples. Invite the children to turn to someone sitting nearby and share one way they are treating their body like a temple. Then ask them to think about one way they can improve. Invite a few of the children to share their thoughts with everyone.

I have based my ideas off of this article in the Friend.
(included in the download is this to print out on LEGAL paper-8.5x14)

In this article, the author poses 5 questions and they are just so good and perfect for what we need to get across that I didn't want to change them. They are:
What's great about having a body?
Why do we have bodies?
What if there are things I don't like about my body? (I love this one!)
Why doesn't everyone look alike?
How should I treat my body?


I have created board size printouts with these questions and an "answer" box for each that are all color coded. You can play different variations with these.

1) Bring in some sticky darts and see if the kids can "dart" the pairs then discuss. Bean bags are also great for this (with the ground rules of no throwing)
These sticky darts are the ones I always have on hand but you can typically find them at party supply stores.

2) Create key words for each of the answer boxes and  have the kids try to match the key word (write or print on the back of the answer boxes) to the question.

3) Have all the questions up on the board, scatter the answer boxes around the room on walls, under chairs, etc. Have the kids find the answer box that goes with the question, then discuss.




I have also included some illustrations from different Friend magazines about some things we can do with our bodies. You can put these up with the temple pictures from the "Introduce the doctrine" and ask the kids how are our bodies the same as temples?
There are 5 in all for the illustrations.





I wanted you to be able to send the kids home with something to summarize the lesson and I just loved this illustration from Susan Fitch and knew that it'd be perfect for this handout.
(download includes 8x10 and sheet of 4x6)

Here's a Sharing Time from a few years ago!

Primary 3, Lesson 43

LDS.org  Primary 3, Lesson 43: Honoring the Names of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

Read this story about a brave girl who stood up for the right and asked her friends to not use bad language.

DOWNLOAD TRACING PAGE HERE

GO HERE TO PURCHASE

Primary 7, Lesson 39: Stephen, the Martyr

Primary 7, Lesson 39: Stephen, the Martyr

After Jesus died, many of the Jewish leaders thought that the miracles and the Church of Jesus would go away, but they didn't because the Apostles could perform miracles and continued teaching the gospel. This angered the leaders and they put two of the apostles in prison and James was killed.
Stephen was a righteous man and one of seven that the Apostles called to help them manage and run the Church. He was accused of going against Jewish law, he was arrested and taken to trial by the Jewish Council.
At the trial, Stephen told them that they were wicked and that they had killed Jesus Christ.
Stephen then looked up and there saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He told the leaders what he saw but they didn't believe him and were angry. They took Stephen and stoned him to death. As he was dying, Stephen asked for God to take his spirit.


Learn more about the Godhead with this cut and paste activity. Cut out the characteristics of each of the members of the Godhead and glue them onto the chart under the right member. Activity includes 12 characteristics to cut out.

DOWNLOAD HERE

January Sharing Time WK 1

God is the Father of my spirit

Download this picture to print

Long ago before we came to Earth we lived in a place that when we came to Earth we forgot about where we lived and what we had learned..It was here that we lived in the presence of God, we didn't have a body but our spirits were taught, we had our talents and our weaknesses. We looked just as we do but without a body. Heavenly Father is the Father of our spirits, we look like Him and He loves each of us and knows our names. He gave us agency to choose for ourselves. Heavenly Father presented to us the choice to choose a side or a plan, no one couldn't make a choice, everyone who has or will be on Earth chose to follow Heavenly Father. (What do you choose? Did you choose to follow Heavenly Father's Plan or Satan's Plan? How do you know?) Heavenly Father presented a plan for each of us to come to Earth and gain a body. It was coming to Earth that was essential in becoming more like Heavenly Father and to return to Him.

Bring out the Plan of Salvation (just use a simple version-- Premortal, Earth, Death, Kingdoms)

use coupon code: HEAVENLYFATHERPLAN FOR 30% OFF

Challenge a child to come up and put it in order. Make a point that we came to Earth in a family to be able to learn and grow.

DOWNLOAD COLORING PAGE 

(FOUND IN NURSERY MANUAL)

Helpful Resources:

Doctrines of the Gospel, Chapter 6: Our Premortal Life

The Grandeur of God (amazing talk, I have learned so much!)

Thank you so much for stopping by, for the pins and repins, for the comments, for the purchasing on Etsy. This blog has helped me find who I am, my family and my talents. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me latterdaychatter@hotmail.com