Following the Prophets

There are several songs about following prophets and one the children especially love to sing is "Follow the Prophet" p.110.  Challenge the children to learn ALL the verses and be able to tell a story about each one.

There are great helps in the "Outline for Sharing Time" p. 11, for teaching "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" # 19 in the Hymn Book.  This is a good one to introduce the children to the Hymn Book.

A few other songs are:
"Latter-Day Prophets" p. 134
"Seek the Lord Early" p. 108
"Stand for the Right" p. 159

It's always fun to review songs the children already know.  Add a few of these to their repertoire.

Follow the Prophet - Words and Pictures

The Friend magazine is a great resource for teachers and music directors.  Follow the Prophet was one of the program songs in 2010 and The Friend was a great help.  Check out the ideas on page 24 and 25.  Also, a verse about Pres. Monson is a perfect ending verse.  Children will like singing about our living prophet - especially with General Conference coming up!  The last verse in the Primary Songbook is fun to sing as well.

Follow the Prophet - Samuel

Chances are that many promary children know this song - or at least a few verses.  The middle verses seem to be often over looked.  Verse number 6 is the least known.  Samuel chosen to be a prophet when he was only a boy is a great story.  Use a picture (from the ward library) to share the story.  Sing the first two lines and then have the children sing it with you.  Ask the boys to sing it then the girls.  Ask the teachers to sing it then everyone.  Now sing the last two lines then have everyone sing it twice.  Challenge them to sing the whole verse followed by the chorus.  Have one side of the room sing the verse and the other side sing the chorus then change sides and sing it. 

When you do different things as you are repeating and learning songs, the children (and teachers) are more engaged and learn the song without realizing that they have sung it several times.

Heart Attack Review

This activity is perfect for Valentine's Day or a friendship singing time.

Cut out 8 to 10 large hearts out of red, pink, purple and/or white paper.
Write one of the following words or phrases. 

• love and tenderness
• pathway
• sacrifice
• faith, hope
• live like His son
• Adam
• Enoch
• Noah
• Abraham
• Moses
• Samuel
• Jonah
• Daniel

Tape the hearts on the board so the words do not show.
Have a child choose a heart.  Sing the song the word or phrase comes from. This will be a fun way to review "Follow the Prophet" and "He Sent His Son."

Follow the Prophet Matching

Children love to sing "Follow the Prophet," p. 110.  This is one of the songs for 2015 Sacrament Program.  Many children already know at least the chorus without prompts, however, they may need some help on the 9 verses.  You can get pictures of all the prophets in the song from the library or you can try this activity.

Write the names of all the prophets in the song on the board (or make strips of paper with their names and tape them on the board).  On the other side of the board, mix up the phrases and ask the children to match the prophet with the correct phrase from the song.  Sing the verse.  You may need to sing the verse first to help them remember.  If time permits, sing the chorus after each verse.

• Adam              first one
• Enoch             so righteous
• Noah              when they saw the rain
• Abraham        12 tribes
• Moses            wilderness for 40 years
• Samuel           "Here I am."
• Jonah             Whale
• Daniel            Lion's den
• People are confused            Heed the prophet

Follow the Prophet Quiz

We have just spent several months teaching new music to children now lets see what they know. This game is called “Primary Genius: Follow the Prophet” We have chosen to sing 5 verses of “Follow the Prophet.” Prior to singing each verse ask a question that can be answered in the verse. Sometimes the children can answer before (if they know the song well) other times they need to sing the song to find the answer. The following are easy questions:

• Who was Adam? A prophet, first one that we know
• Where did he live? In Eden

Sing the verse
Harder questions:

• What was Adam's occupation? He helped things to grow. He served the Lord.
• What is our relationship to Adam? We are his descendants in the later days.

Remind the children that the answers are in the song.

• What was Noah called to do? Preach the word
• Who listened? No body

Sing the verse
Harder questions:

• What did Noah try to preach? Repentance
• What made the people begin to worry? When they saw the rain

Last verse:

• Now we have a world where ______________, people are confused
• Who should we follow? The prophet

Sing the verse
Harder questions:

• Where do find out about the problems in the world? The news
• Where can we get direction? Heed the prophet follow what he says.

You can have the questions written on pieces of paper and have the children draw them from a bag or basket. Color-code them so you can tell if they are hard or easy questions. When they are mixed up, you may sing the verse several times – which is great for review! Remember to sing the chorus once in a while. I sing the chorus after the first verse and after the last verse mostly in the interest of time.