Labor Day

Scripture

Moses 5:1

1- And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him.

Hymn

When We’re Helping- Primary Song 198 or I Have Work Enough to Do Hymn 224

When We’re Helping

1.When we’re helping, we’re happy,
And we sing as we go;
And we like to help mother,
For we all love her so.

2. Tra la la la la la la,
Tra la la la la la,
Tra la la la la la la,
Tra la la la la la.

I Have Work Enough to Do

1. I have work enough to do,
Ere the sun goes down,
For myself and kindred too,
Ere the sun goes down:
Ev’ry idle whisper stilling
With a purpose firm and willing,
All my daily tasks fulfilling,
Ere the sun goes down.

2. I must speak the loving word,
Ere the sun goes down.
I must let my voice be heard,
Ere the sun goes down:
Ev’ry cry of pity heeding,
For the injured interceding,
To the light the lost ones leading,
Ere the sun goes down.

3. As I journey on my way,
Ere the sun goes down,
God’s commands I must obey,
Ere the sun goes down.
There are sins that need confessing;
There are wrongs that need redressing
If I would obtain the blessing,
Ere the sun goes down.

Lesson

*For Younger Children* Give a brief history of Labor Day and testify of the importance of children going to school.

Children used to work. They were paid less than grownups. Children would start working at young ages. Many did not even know their ABCs but were sent to work. Laws were later established so that children could not work. The laws were made to protect children and put them back in school. It is important for children to go to school and for adults to work.

Discuss the following questions as a family:

1- Why is it important for children to go to school?
2- What do you learn in school?
3- Why is it important for grownups to go to work?

Testify of the importance of children gaining an education instead of going into the work force.

*For Teenagers or Adults* Discuss the history of Labor Day. Testify of the importance of work and the blessings we receive from working.

Labor Day is usually known as the last holiday of the summer, a signal of back to school and fall weather. However, this was not the original meaning of Labor Day. It was created during the labor movements in the late 1800s. It is a holiday to pay tribute to American workers.

Testify of the importance of work and the blessings we can receive from working.

Treat

Pass & Punt Cookies or Pencil Cake

Pass & Punt Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 egg yolks (from large eggs)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Small package of butterscotch chips and white sprinkles for football cookies, or Confectioner’s Sugar
Icing and black decorator’s gel for soccer ball cookies

Instructions:

1- Put both the butter and shortening in a mixing bowl and cream them with an electric mixer on medium speed.

2- Gradually beat in the white sugar, followed by the brown sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3- Beat in the egg yolks. Then blend in the vanilla extract.

4- Place a sifter in a large mixing bowl and have your child measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into it in that order.

5- Sift the ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir the dry mixture into the creamed ingredients in batches, about one third at a time, until evenly blended.

6- If the dough is still sticky after the last addition, have your child stir in 2 to 3 more tablespoons of flour.

7- Transfer the dough to the center of a large sheet of plastic wrap and have your child pat it into a disk about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap the dough in the plastic and refrigerate it for 2 to 3 hours, until it is firm enough to roll out.

8- Heat the oven to 350 degrees while your child lightly greases a baking sheet. Next, prepare your football and soccer ball cookie cutter cans.

9- Place the chilled dough on a flour-dusted surface. Dust your rolling pin with flour too, to keep the dough from sticking to it. Now your child can roll out the dough so that it’s a bit more than 1/8 inch thick.

10- Cut out as many cookies as possible, then transfer the cutouts to the baking sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch between them. Gather any scraps of dough into a ball so she can reroll it and cut out the last of the cookies.

11- Bake the cookies on the center oven rack for about 12 minutes, until the edges just start to brown. If you’re making football cookies, they’ll need to be frosted right after they come out of the oven. Soccer ball cookies, on the other hand, should be left on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes before being transferred to a wire rack to cool completely. While they cool, your child can prepare a batch of Confectioner’s Sugar Icing.

12- Carefully sprinkle 10 to 15 butterscotch chips on each football while the cookies are warm, right out of the oven. In a minute or two, when the chips have begun to soften and melt, spread them like icing over the cookie surface. Before the butterscotch cools, add a row of 8 or so white sprinkles to the center of each football to resemble lacing.

13- To decorate the cooled soccer ball cookies, spread each one with a coating of Confectioner’s Sugar Icing. Then use the tip of a toothpick to etch five-sided soccer ball panels in the icing. Finish up by topping the etched lines and a few of the pentagons with black decorator’s gel. Makes 12 to 18 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter can.

Pencil Cake

Ingredients:

8-inch square pan of brownies, uncut
1 3/4 cups white frosting
Yellow and pink food coloring
1/4 cup chocolate frosting
Sandwich bag

Instructions:

1- Turn the cooled pan of brownies upside down and tap on the bottom to remove the brownie square. Cut it as shown (A) and arrange the two largest pieces into a pencil shape (B).

2- Cover the pointed end with white frosting. Tint 1 cup of frosting yellow, then spread it over the middle of the cake.

3- Next, tint 1/2 cup pink for the eraser. Pipe on a chocolate frosting zigzag and pencil point using a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off.

4- For an added effect, set the pencil on a piece of foam core decorated to look like lined paper and pipe on a chocolate frosting message.

(Recipes taken from Familyfun.go.com)