For children and youth, Come Follow Me lessons for Primary and home, family home evening, Sunday School, Seminary, Book of Mormon study
POST-AND-PRESENT Activity
Choosing the Right
NO WORMS IN MY APPLES
(happy tree with “apple”ing choices)
OBJECTIVE: Help children think the right choices that bring a smile and the wrong choices that bring a frown. The goal is to think ahead so you won’t have “worms in your apples” (things you need to repent of or take out later).
ACTIVITY: Talk about choosing the right, how Heavenly Father wants us to make good choices, to keep the commandments so that we can be happy and live with Him again someday.
We were placed on this earth to choose between good and bad choices. The good choices will make us happy and bad choices make us sad. Let’s think of ourselves as a happy tree where we want “no worms in our apples.”
Have children take turns choosing an apple and without looking at the apple, have a leader or older child read the apple. The child who drew the apple places it on the tree if it is a good choice that will make us happy.
If the apple is a bad choice the child can place it under the tree.
REPENTANCE. Talk about the Atonement where Jesus suffered for our sins or bad choices and wants us to choose the right. If the child (who chose the wormy apple) tells how that wrong choice can be changed – naming a better choice they can fold the worm back on the apple and place it on the tree.
Tell children that any bad choice they make can be changed through repentance and choosing the right. If we think ahead about our choices we will not need to repent and dig the worms out of our apples.
FORGIVENESS. Our life can be made SWEET again. We are here on earth to learn how to make the right choices. If we take the steps to repent we can be free of sin (see ideas below*). We also need to forgive others who make the wrong choices so they can choose the right and be happy too.
TO MAKE Print apples in color or black-and-white, and then color. Cut out the images and laminate the tree. Place the tree on a poster or board. Place the apples in a container to draw from (don’t laminate the apples).
THOUGHT TREAT: Apples (without worms). Cut up apples and squirt cheese from the can on the apples or dip in nut butter and/or whipped cream.
*STEPS TO REPENTANCE Lesson Ideas:
Read D&C 58:42-43 “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.”
DOWNLOAD and the Eraser Promises (Steps-to-Repentance Pencil and bookmark (HERE).
*STEPS TO REPENTANCE Lesson Ideas:
Read D&C 58:42-43 “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.”
DOWNLOAD and the Eraser Promises (Steps-to-Repentance Pencil and bookmark (HERE).
