SCRIPTURE ACTIVITY. JESUS VOLUNTEERED TO BE MY SAVIOR John 15:13 bite-size memorize. Remind youth that in premortal life Jesus volunteered to be our Savior as they memorize: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
USE FOR: COME FOLLOW ME, Primary and Home (family home evening), Activity Days, Sunday School, Seminary, Bible Study
Little LESSON LIFESAVER Activity
Bite-size Memorize Poster – John 15:13
OBJECTIVE: Help youth memorize John 15:13 with this poster. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Tell them that in the premortal life Jesus volunteered to be our Savior. Learning this scripture will help them feel a greater love for Jesus Christ.
TO MAKE Print and color the poster.
THOUGHT TREAT: Life preserver-shaped treats. Share with children a doughnut or Lifesaver’s candy and tell them that Jesus is our “Life Savior.”
SCRIPTURE CARDS: Help children Search and Ponder this scripture card by filling in the blanks. PRINT this 5 x 7 scripture card from the pdf included with the above activity. You can punch the two holes on the left and tie a ribbon to attach cards or use two metal rings to connect cards.
Moses 4:1-4
“Wherefore, because that aSatan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive.”
LESSON IDEAS:
Why Did Jesus Volunteer to Be Our Savior?
Jesus volunteered to be our Savior before He came to earth. He is the only one who could save us as He is God’s only begotten, Son. He is PERFECT having no sin. This way He could take upon the sins of the world. Why did He come? Read below about the War in Heaven, but first, let’s tell the story of how He saved us.
Jesus came to earth, getting instruction from the Father to organize His Church, choose His apostles, and teach the people how to live.
Jesus SAVED US FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH.
He first had the Last Supper where He gathered His 12 Apostles and broke the bread to represent His body He would sacrifice. He gave them wine/water (we do now) to represent His blood He would shed for us.
When it was time, He asked a few of His disciples to wait for Him in the Garden of Gethsemane while He prayed to the Father. As He prayed for every man in the world, He knew they would be tempted to sin. He prayed that they would repent and be forgiven if they repent and follow Him.
If we/all men were to be forgiven He must be the one to save them. So, in this Garden, at this time His suffering was so great that He bled from every pour. He suffered so that every man would not have to suffer if they repent.
Taking a long time to pray, His disciples fell asleep which made Him feel alone in His suffering. Because He loves each of us He was willing to continue His pleading prayer for our salvation. This is called the ATONEMENT; this is why He is our Savior, saving us from spiritual death. This way we can make it back into God’s presence.
Jesus also SAVED US FROM PHYSICAL DEATH.
After His Garden prayers, He was betrayed by one of His disciples who sold Him for 30 pieces of silver. His enemies paid Judas to betray our Lord.
They beat Jesus and put a crown of thorns on His head and made Him carry his heavy wooden cross. There they nailed His hands and feet to the cross where He suffered greatly and died. Before His death, He again tried to save those who were crucifying Him by praying to the Father, “Forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Then, Jesus was resurrected three days later, coming out of the tomb, He showed His disciples the nail prints on His hands and feet. Before leaving them to continue His mission, He told them of His love for them and promised to send the Holy Ghost to guide them.
We can thank Jesus Christ, our Savior for these two things, saving us from sin and death. Now we can live His plan of happiness and be resurrected.
It All Started in Heaven
We learn in Hebrews 12:9 (“we had fathers of our flesh which corrected us”) that we had a premortal life where we were spirit children and lived with our heavenly parents.
DOWNLOAD “I Lived in Heaven” song visuals to sing with children (HERE or below). See the Lyrics for this song below (also)
There was a “war in heaven” Revelation 12: 7-9 that tells about the Devil/Satan who wanted to “deceive the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
It is there that Jesus volunteered to be our Savior. He knew that Satan would be upon the earth to tempt us to sin or make wrong choices. This is why we needed Jesus to come down and suffer for our sins, so we can repent and one day live in heaven again. Jesus is our friend and Savior.
War in Heaven
In Revelations, 12:7 tells us there was a war in heaven where Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. There was a conflict in our premortal existence where we were spirit children of God. The decision of what to do with God’s children once they come to earth and how would they one day return once they have had the agency choices tested on earth.
We were given choices there to follow Satan who would force all to choose good or Jesus who wanted us to make our own choices (called agency). One-third (1/3) chose to follow Satan and they were cast out of heaven without a body to the earth where they tempt God’s children to make wrong choices.
Because we chose to follow Jesus, we were sent to earth to gain a body. Were have this agency to choose and we will make mistakes, but as we learn about Jesus and how He wants us to live, we can repent and learn to be like Him. This way we can return someday to live with God again.
So what is happening today? Lucifer and his followers wanted in the beginning to give every man salvation. In Revelation 12:4-13 John sees the “apostasy of the Church. He also sees the War in Heaven at the beginning when Satan was cast out–He sees the continuation of the war on earth.” (verse 12 “The devil . . . having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time”).
Rebellious spirits (the 1/3rd) who were cast out of heaven, came to earth without mortal bodies (Revelation 12:9).
The conflict between right and wrong between the gospel of Jesus Christ and false principles is still doing battle and our salvation is at stake. Jesus said (Matthew 12:30) “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”
Let’s hope we can all return to that Savior who loves us and is always there for us.
MORE ACTIVITIES:
• Help children learn about Jesus and how He came to earth to be our Savior.
DOWNLOAD “I Am Loved From Up Above” Hearts-on-a-string Post-and-Present activity (HERE or below)
• Help children memorize the books of the New Testament.
DOWNLOAD the “I will be valiant and follow Jesus!” bookmark (HERE) or below.
MORE ACTIVITIES ON THE ATONEMENT – SEE “ATONEMENT” INDEX – Here are just a few:
LESSON 2
Jesus Christ Volunteered to Be Our Savior
“Lesson 2: Jesus Christ Volunteered to Be Our Savior,” Primary 7: New Testament (1997), 5–8
Purpose
To help the children feel greater love for Jesus Christ by teaching them that in the premortal life Jesus volunteered to be their Savior.
Preparation
-
Prayerfully study John 15:13 SEE THE ABOVE ACTIVITY (that illustrates this scripture), Hebrews 12:9, Revelation 12:7–9, Doctrine and Covenants 93:21, and Moses 4:1–4. See also chapters 2 and 3 of Gospel Principles. Then study the lesson and decide how you want to teach the children the scripture account (see “Preparing Your Lessons,” p. vi, and “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii).
-
Select the discussion questions and enrichment activities that will involve the children and best help them achieve the purpose of the lesson.
-
Arrange to have some of the children in your class sing “I Lived in Heaven” (Children’s Songbook, p. 4) or prepare to sing or read the words with the children during the lesson.
-
Materials needed:
-
A Bible or a New Testament and a Pearl of Great Price for each child.
-
Picture 7-1, Jesus the Christ (Gospel Art Picture Kit 240; 62572), and a picture of a newborn baby, preferably of a class member or you.
-
Suggested Lesson Development
Invite a child to give the opening prayer.
Attention Activity
Show the picture of a newborn baby, and have the class guess who it is.
-
Why was this not the beginning of this person’s life?
Testify to the children that before we were born on earth we all lived with Heavenly Father as spirit children. Explain that our spirit bodies look like our physical bodies, with arms, legs, eyes, and so on, but are not flesh and blood. Also explain that this life as spirit children is called premortal life. During this premortal life our heavenly parents taught us the gospel and the plan of life.
You might share this quotation from Brigham Young: “You are well acquainted with God our Heavenly Father. … There is not a soul of you but what has lived in his house and dwelt with him. … There is not a person here to-day but what is a son or a daughter of that Being” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 50).
Scripture Account
Ask questions like the following ones, and give the children an opportunity to discuss their feelings:
-
Who loves you?
-
How can you tell that someone loves you?
-
Whom do you love?
Tell a story about someone who loved another person so much that he or she did something important for the loved one, such as a mother staying up at night to care for a sick child or an older brother or sister helping a younger brother or sister with a project for school.
Explain that this lesson is about what Jesus did in the premortal life that shows his great love for each of us.
Display the picture of Jesus Christ and tell the story of Jesus’ volunteering to be our Savior. (For suggested ways to teach the scripture account, see “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii.) Help the children understand the following ideas:
-
In the premortal life we were spirit children and lived with our heavenly parents (Hebrews 12:9).
-
Jesus was the firstborn spirit child of Heavenly Father (D&C 93:21) and is the older brother of our spirits.
-
Lucifer, who became Satan, was also a spirit child of Heavenly Father.
-
Heavenly Father called a meeting for all his spirit children. At this meeting he explained his plan for us to become like him. He told us that he wanted us to go to earth to get a physical body. He explained that on earth we would be tested to see if we would keep his commandments.
-
At this meeting Heavenly Father also explained that on earth we would all sin and we would all die. Heavenly Father needed someone to be the Savior, to suffer for our sins, and to die for us so that we could be resurrected.
-
Lucifer wanted Heavenly Father to change his plan. Lucifer said he would save everyone by taking away their freedom to choose, which would have made it impossible for us to make mistakes or be righteous. Lucifer also wanted all the honor (Moses 4:1).
-
Because he loved us (John 15:13), Jesus volunteered to be our Savior. He wanted to follow Heavenly Father’s plan and give the glory to Heavenly Father (Moses 4:2).
-
Heavenly Father chose Jesus to be our Savior. Lucifer was angry and rebelled against Heavenly Father (Revelation 12:7–9; Moses 4:3–4).
-
Heavenly Father’s spirit children had to decide whether to follow Jesus or Lucifer.
-
One-third of Heavenly Father’s spirit children chose to follow Lucifer, and they were all cast out of heaven. Lucifer became Satan, and the spirits who followed him became evil spirits, who try to get us to do wrong things. These spirits who followed Satan did not receive physical bodies.
-
All the spirits who chose Heavenly Father’s plan and followed Jesus in the premortal life have been or will be born on earth with physical bodies of flesh and blood.
-
All the children in this classroom chose to follow Heavenly Father’s plan and have been born on earth with mortal bodies.
Discussion and Application Questions
Study the following questions and the scripture references as you prepare your lesson. Use the questions you feel will best help the children understand the scriptures and apply the principles in their lives. Reading the references with the children in class will help them gain insights into the scriptures.
-
What do you think it was like to live in heaven with Heavenly Father?
-
How does it make you feel to know that Heavenly Father is the Father of your spirit?
-
What does it mean that Jesus is the older brother of our spirits?
-
How did Lucifer want to change Heavenly Father’s plan?
-
How does it make you feel to know that Jesus volunteered to suffer and die for you?
-
How do you know that you chose to follow Jesus in the premortal life? Why are you glad you made that choice?
-
What does the fact that you chose to follow Jesus in the premortal life tell you about yourself?
-
Now that we have been born in mortality, why is it important that we still choose to follow Jesus?
Show the children the Bible, and explain that the New Testament in the Bible tells about the things Jesus and his Apostles did while they lived on the earth. Explain that this year’s lessons are based on the life and teachings of Jesus and his Apostles. Encourage the children to bring their Bibles to class each Sunday.
Have some of the children sing “I Lived in Heaven” (Children’s Songbook, p. 4), or sing or read the words with the class.
Enrichment Activities
You may use one or more of the following activities any time during the lesson or as a review, summary, or challenge.
-
As a review, write the following words on the chalkboard:
One-third
Firstborn
Older brother
Father of our spirits
Meeting in Heaven
Lucifer
Divide the class into smaller groups. Ask each group to discuss one or more of these concepts and prepare to tell the class what they remember about them. After a few minutes ask each group to report to the class.
-
Have the children open their Bibles to the list of books in the New Testament. Review lesson 1 by asking some of the following questions: How are the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John similar? How are they different? What is the book of Acts about? Why are most of the rest of the books called epistles? Help the children become better acquainted with the books of the New Testament by writing references on the chalkboard and having them locate the references in their copies of the Bible.
-
HOVER OVER or ZOOM IN (to view) Help the children memorize John 15:13. THE ABOVE ACTIVITY illustrates this scripture.
-
Help the children memorize the books of the New Testament (see “The Books of the New Testament,” Children’s Songbook, p. 116).
Conclusion
Testimony
Bear testimony that you and the children in your class are spirit children of Heavenly Father and that Jesus loves us so much that in the premortal life he volunteered to be our Savior. We loved Heavenly Father so much that we chose to follow his plan. Emphasize how important it is that the children continue to follow Heavenly Father’s plan here on earth. Testify that following Jesus and obeying his commandments are the only ways to be truly happy.
Suggested Home Reading
Suggest that the children study Moses 4:1–4 at home as a review of this lesson.
