Nephi's Courage

This song will stick to children throughout life!  It's a favorite to sing, also. Using visuals helps children and adults remember the words as well as the meaning of the song.

You will need the following:

• word strips of: Commands, Commandments, Commanded, Reply
• a picture of "the plates"
• cutouts of Laban, Laman, Lemuel and Nephi (use an outlined picture of any biblical man and color the clothes differently and label each one with one of the names.)
• picture or cutout of a boat

Verse 1 and 2

• Sing one line at a time using the pictures, then have the children sing it with you.
• Hold up the word strips as you sing the word or tape them to the board and point to them as you sing the word. 
• Point our that there are rhyming words at the end of the lines (phrases).  Ask the children to see if they can hear them.

Verse 3

• 1st phrase - sing this phrase and ask, "What commandments does Heavenly Father give us?  How do we obey them?  Sing the phrase with the children.
• 2nd phrase - sing this phrase and ask, "How are we tempted to make wrong choices?"
• Sing the next 2 phrases about being discouraged and courageous.  Ask the children if they have ever been discouraged and then had the courage to do what's right.  Sing the two phrases with the children.

Chorus

• Sing the chorus and ask how many times you sang  "commands?"  Sing it again if necessary.
• Ask the children if any of the phrases in the chorus are repeated.  You may need to sing the chorus again.
• Ask how the Lord provides a way for to keep his commandments.
• Why does Heavenly Father want us to obey?
• Sing the whole chorus - with exuberance.

Sing the entire song and ask the children to tally how many times they sing "command, commandments and commanded."

The Lord Gave Me a Temple 2nd verse

The second verse to this song tells about the blessings we will receive if we take care of our bodies.  You will need the following to help teach this verse:

• picture of a boy and girl dressed in Sunday clothes
• picture of a temple
• picture of the resurrected Christ word strip of "celestial glory" (perhaps sitting on top of a puffy cloud)

1. Sing the 1st line and show the picture of the boy and girl.  Have the children sing it with you a few times.

2. Sing the 2nd line showing a picture of a temple.  Sing it with the children a few times then sing it from the beginning.

3. Sing the 3rd line sowing the resurrected Christ.  Tell the children that we will all be resurrected like Christ was.  Sing it with the children a few times then sing it from the beginning.

4. Show the word strip on the cloud and explain that we all want to live with our Heavenly Father.  We need to care for our bodies so we can meet Him with our clean, perfect bodies.  Sing the last line with the children a few times then sing it from the beginning.]

Be sure to review all the songs that you are preparing for the Sacrament Program.

Article of Faith #3

The third Article of Faith teaches the theme for this month (April 2016).   Teaching the song (p. 123) can be simple.  Use a picture of Christ in Gethsemane, on the cross and resurrected.  Tell the children that the atonement of Christ is a gift that Christ gave all of us - the gift to return to our Heavenly Father.  In return for this gift, we must be obedient to His laws and ordinances.

• Sing the first phrase - have the children sing it with you 2 or three times.
• Sing the second phrase ('all mankind may be saved') - repeat with the children 2 or 3 times.
• Add the first phrase and sing both phrases a few times.
• Sing the last phrase.  Note that "gospel" has 3 notes.  Sing that word with the children twice, then sing the whole phrase with them.
• Sing the entire Article of Faith

When you are repeating phrases, change things up a bit by having the children stand and sing, face the back and sing, boys sing, girls, sing, different classes sing.  This adds variety as they repeat and learn the song.