January I am a child of God, and He has a plan for me.

SUPPLIES: scissors, cardstock, glue, crayons, scriptures

ADVANCED PREPARATION: Prepare the questions ahead of time on strips of paper. Make enough copies of the activities as needed.

OPENING SONG: “I Am a Child of God” (CS, 2; Hymns, 301) This is one of this year’s Primary Program songs.

OPENING PRAYER:

SCRIPTURE: “All human beings -- male and female – are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny” (“Proclamation,” paragraph 2).

OBJECTIVE OR THEME: To help each family member realize their divine nature and that Heavenly Father wants them to return to live with Him.

LESSON/STORY: (from Judy Edwards, “Sharing Time: The Plan of Salvation Offers Me Peace,” Friend , Mar 1994, 14 and Pat Graham, “I Can Live with My Father in Heaven Again,” Friend , Feb 2006, 24–25) Hand out these questions or display them: Where did you come from? Why are you here on earth? Where will you go when your life on earth is over?

Explain -- Heavenly Father answered these questions when He gave us the plan of salvation—His plan for His children:

Where did you come from? You came from heaven, where you lived with your Heavenly Parents as a spirit child. Before we were born on this earth, we lived with our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. We learned many things.

Why are you here on earth? You came to earth to gain a body and to show that you can keep Heavenly Father’s commandments and learn to live like Jesus. Heavenly Father told us that in order to become like Him, we had to leave heaven for a while. When He presented the plan of happiness to us, we shouted with joy (Job 38:7). We knew that being part of a family and making choices would be an important part of our life on earth. We liked the plan and agreed to come and live on the earth.

Some children came to live in Africa, and some children came to live in South America. Others came to many different parts of earth. No matter where they live, what color their skin, or the language they speak, all children are children of God. All children can learn how to return to our Father in Heaven again

Where will you go when your life on earth is over? You will go to a spirit world, where you will be loved. You will wait there until the time of resurrection and judgment. Jesus is the Savior and has paid for all our sins. If you have turned eight years old and become accountable, have faith, and have repented and been baptized, you will be forgiven for your sins. In heaven are three separate kingdoms, or places of glory—the telestial (lowest), the terrestrial (middle), and the celestial (highest) kingdoms. If you have kept the commandments in a valiant way, you will go to the celestial kingdom to enjoy eternal life with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Because we’re here on earth, we know that we followed the first part of Heavenly Father’s plan. And we can continue to follow His plan by keeping the commandments. In this way, with the help of the Savior, we can return home to Heavenly Father and Jesus someday.

ACTIVITY/GAME: Choose one or both of the following activities or one of your own. 1. Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation a. Color the plan of salvation stickers, and cut them out. b. Cut out the plan of salvation chart and mount it on cardstock. c. Read the scripture references, and then paste the stickers where they belong on the chart.

2. I Am a Child of God a. Color the house the same color as your house. Cut it out, and glue it to cardstock. b. Cut slits along the broken lines on each side of the door. c. Color the two pictures strips. Cut hem out, and glue tab 1 to the other picture strip to make one long strip. d. Slide one end of the picture strip through the slits on each side of the door. Clue tab 2 to the other end of the picture strip (see illustration).

e. Position the picture strip so you start with the picture of the door. f. Read the two sentences printed on the door. g. Show the next picture, sing the words printed from the song “I Am a Child of God,” and then read the sentence. Continue until you have shown all the pictures, sung the song, and read all the sentences. Does your home on earth look like this? I wonder who lives in this house. Sing: “I am a child of God,” Read: These children live in Mexico. Sing: “And he has sent me here,” Read: Some of God’s children live in Tonga. Sing: “Has given me an earthly home,” Read: Here is a child who lives in Japan. Sing: “With parents kind and dear.” Read: God wants all parents to be kind. Sing: “Lead me, guide me,” Read: My mother can guide me. Sing: “Walk beside me,” Read: My brothers and sisters can walk beside me. Sing: “Help me find the way.” Read: My father can help me. Sing: “Teach me all that I must do” Read: The scriptures tell me how to act like a child of God. Sing: “To live with him someday.” Read: I want to return to live with Heavenly Father. CLOSING SONG: “I Lived in Heaven” (CS, 4) OR other song of choice

CLOSING PRAYER:

REFRESHMENTS: Pizza “Me”Ah – make a self portrait pizza! Ingredients per person: ½ English muffin 1 Tbsp pizza sauce or tomato sauce Mozzarella cheese Your choice of toppings; olives, pepperoni, peppers, pineapple, etc.

Step 1 -- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If you’d like a crispier crust, toast the English muffins. Step 2 – Spread the pizza sauce on the English muffin. Top with cheese and create your face. If you are using sliced cheese you can cut out eye and mouth holes. Step 3 – Bake pizzas on a cookie sheet 8 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Compiled by Kristal Coles