Trials

Scripture

D&C 121:7-8

7- My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8- And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

Hymn

Nephi’s Courage Children’s Songbook 120 or Be Still My soul – Hymn 124

Nephi’s Courage

1. The Lord commanded Nephi to go and get the plates
From the wicked Laban inside the city gates.
Laman and Lemuel were both afraid to try.
Nephi was courageous. This was his reply:

2. The Lord commanded Nephi to go and build a boat.
Nephi’s older brothers believed it would not float.
Laughing and mocking, they said he should not try.
Nephi was courageous. This was his reply:

3. The Lord gives us commandments and asks us to obey.
Sometimes I am tempted to choose another way.
When I’m discouraged, and think I cannot try,
I will be courageous, and I will reply:

Chorus
“I will go; I will do the thing the Lord commands.
I know the Lord provides a way; he wants me to obey.
I will go; I will do the thing the Lord commands.
I know the Lord provides a way; he wants me to obey.”

Be Still My Soul

1. Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2. Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

3. Be still, my soul: The hour is hast’ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Lesson

*For Children and Adults of All Ages* Use the “Sandpaper” Analogy to demonstrate how trials strengthen and polish us. Watch “David and Goliath: One Smooth Stone”. Discuss how David faced his trials and how the smooth stones he used relate to our experiences. Testify of how trials polish and strengthen us. 

Teach the principle of trials using the “Sandpaper” Analogy

Sandpaper Analogy

• Purpose: This demonstration shows how trials help strenghten and polish us, just as rough sandpaper smooths wood.
• You will need: A piece of sandpaper, Two pieces of wood with rough edges

Hold up the piece of sandpaper. Ask what it is and what it does, and then pass it around so others can feel its rough, scratchy surface. Show the pieces of wood and note the edges, which are raw. This represents us with all of our uneven surfaces.

Explain that the sandpaper represents trials that we encounter in our lives. The trials do not necessarily feel good when they rub against us. Show this by sanding the first block of wood. As you sand the board ask questions about different trials we might have or share some of your own.

When you have sanded the piece of wood and it is smooth, stop talking and pass it around so everyone can see the difference between it and the block that has yet to be sanded. Express your gratefulness for trials in our lives, which can help develop our spirits and strengthen us.

Watch “David and Goliath: One Smooth Stone” – this weeks featured movie on Liken TV! – Click the movie title for the link. **This video will only be available to watch for free until March 11th, so be sure to watch it while you can! If you missed this opportunity, you can purchase a downloadable copy or the DVD.**

After watching the movie, discuss how the the smooth stones used by David to kill Goliath relate to the “Sandpaper Analogy” and ultimately to each of us.

Testify of how trials polish and strengthen us.

Treat

Make it your way Cookie Cups or “Lucky You” Mint Pie

Make it your way Cookie Cups

Ingredients:

Instructions:

PREHEAT oven to 325° F. Grease twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups.

PRESS two squares of dough together. Place in prepared muffin cups.

BAKE for 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack*. Center of cups will indent slightly upon cooling. With tip of butter knife, remove cookie cups from muffin pan.

“Lucky You” Mint Pie

Ingredients:

1 cup (6 oz.) NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ CARNATION Evaporated Milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 prepared 9-inch (6 oz.) chocolate crumb crust
1 package (3.4 oz.) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 to 4 drops green food coloring (optional)
1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
Additional NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels, fresh mint sprigs (optional)

Instructions:

MICROWAVE 1 cup morsels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 45 seconds; stir until smooth. Stir in butter; pour into crust. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until cool to the touch.

MEANWHILE, BEAT remaining evaporated milk, pudding mix, water, peppermint extract and 3 dropsfood coloring in medium bowl until combined. Gently stir in 2 cups whipped topping and additional drop of food coloring, if desired. Spoon over chocolate layer.

REFRIGERATE for 2 hours or until set. Sprinkle with additional morsels. Spoon remaining whipped topping in center of pie. Garnish with fresh mint.

(Recipes taken from verybestbaking.com)

Activity

1- Movie Night! – Enjoy watching “David and Goliath: One Smooth Stone”.  This movie entertaining as well as spiritually uplifting. Everyone of all ages will love it!

2- Word Scramble – Take some words out of the lesson – for example: TRIALS, DAVID, STONE, GOLIATH, etc. Scramble up the letters and put each one on a a piece of paper. Let everyone have a word to unscramble and have them tell how that word fit into the lesson. (Use short words if you can. Long words are pretty tough)