POST-AND-PRESENT ACTIVITY. REPENTANCE CAN MAKE US HAPPY Happy Henry or Miserable Mac body-building puzzles. Children can think about choices that make them happy or sad. They can un-mix puzzle pieces depending on the situation/choice they can show happy choices to build Happy Henry and sad choices to build Miserable Mac. Henry is happy as he has the Holy Ghost to guide him, but Mac can repent and feel happy again. Choices help.
Use for Come Follow Me, Primary and Home, and family home evening
POST-AND-PRESENT Activity
REPENTANCE CAN MAKE US HAPPY: Happy Henry or Miserable Mac body-building puzzles
OBJECTIVE: Help children think about choices Happy Henry and Miserable Mack might make that would cause them to be happy or sad. Explain why it makes them happy to repent, e.g., they don’t feel guilty, they know they are choosing the right, the Holy Ghost can be with them to guide them to make choices that will make them happy.
TO MAKE: Using cardstock, print, or copy images. If printing the color version, simply cut out images and laminate them. For the black-and-white version, color, cut out, and laminate.
TO PLAY: Tell children, “Jesus showed us that the way to be happy is to repent and choose the right. Let’s build a happy boy and a sad boy puzzle to learn how to repent. If we want to be like Happy Henry, we will do as Jesus asked us to do. We will repent of things we have done wrong. If we don’t repent, we will be sad like Miserable Mack.”
1. Place Happy Henry sign on the right (indicating he will choose the right—notice how he is smiling), and Miserable Mack sign on the left on the board or poster (notice his frown).
2. Place puzzle pieces mixed up in the center of the board or poster.
3. Ask children to come up one at a time, choose a puzzle piece, and read the situation for Henry or Mack. Ask children to tell the others what Happy Henry would do in order to be happy. Tell what Miserable Mack might do that would make him sad.
4. Place puzzle pieces on the board or poster under the signs to build bodies.
THOUGHT TREAT: Frown and Smile Cookies. Frost a round-sugar cookie for each child. Frost two eyes in the center and a smile on one, side and a frown on the other. Turn the cookie around as you eat it, thinking of the good choices on the smile side that make you smile, and the bad choices on the frown side that make you frown.
GUESS WHO Activity:
Tell children the following: “I want to tell you about a friend of mine.” Place an empty chair in the front and tell children to imagine a special friend sitting in this chair without saying the name “Jesus.” Ask children not to say His name until you are through talking about this person. Tell what He did for us using the following:
#1: He created the earth. He created us. He created the animals.
#2: He is our Savior. Before we were sent to this earth, He volunteered to suffer and die for us to pay the price for our sins.
#3: Because of Him, we can repent when we do wrong, and we will be forgiven.
#4: Because He was resurrected, we can also be resurrected and live after death.
#5: Because of the Atonement (His suffering and dying for us), we can return to live with Him and Heavenly Father, if we follow Him.
#6: We can show our thanks to Him by praying, reading the scriptures, listening to His servants—the prophets, and obeying the commandments.
#7: Because of Him everyone can be resurrected, but not everyone will return to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus unless they repent.
