COME FOLLOW ME Doctrine and Covenants – MAY (week 4) Lesson 21 “A Faithful, a Just, and a Wise Steward” D&C 51-57 (May 17-23, 2021) – Activities and Song Visuals for Primary and Home, family home evening (individual families), Sunday School, Seminary

• Read to the children from Doctrine and Covenants 51:9: “Let every man deal honestly” (see also Articles of Faith 1:13). Ask the children if they know what it means to be honest. To help them better understand, give them examples of actions that are honest.

• Share some simple stories of children who face decisions about being honest, such as the decision to admit when they did something wrong. Use pictures, sock puppets, or paper dolls to make the stories more interesting. Ask the children if these people are being honest or dishonest.

• Sing a song about honesty, such as “Stand for the Right” (Children’s Songbook, 159). Bear your testimony about why it is important, to be honest.
  DOWNLOAD Stand For the Right song visuals (HERE or below)

• Show a picture of a child being confirmed (see Gospel Art Book, no. 105). Invite the children to describe what is happening in the picture. Ask them to clap their hands when they hear “laying on of the hands” or “laying on of hands” while you read one or more of the following verses: Doctrine and Covenants 52:10; 53:3; 55:1.

• Tell the children about when you received the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands after you were baptized. Help the children look forward to receiving this gift themselves. Discuss with them ways we can invite the Spirit in our lives.
  DOWNLOAD Invite the Holy Ghost Invitations Brainstorm (HERE or below)

• Sing “The Holy Ghost” (Children’s Songbook, 105) or a similar song. Point out words and phrases that teach about the gift of the Holy Ghost.
  • DOWNLOAD The Holy Ghost song visuals (HERE or below) 
  • DOWNLOAD The Still Small Voice song visuals (HERE or below)
  

  TEENS
  Doctrine and Covenants 52:10; 53:3; 55:1–3

  • Multiple verses in these revelations mention receiving the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. If a discussion on this topic would be valuable to your class, you could ask class members what they learn from Doctrine and Covenants 52:10; 53:3; 55:1–3 about the gift of the Holy Ghost. For more on this topic, see Acts 8:14–17; 19:1–6. Perhaps class members could talk about their experience receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost or what they can do to continue to receive His influence in their lives.
    • DOWNLOAD The Holy Ghost is my greatest gift! gift box (HERE or below) 
    • DOWNLOAD Baptism Promises two-sided puzzle (HERE or below)
    

• Share with the children what happened to the Saints who came to live on Leman Copley’s land (see the section heading for Doctrine and Covenants 54; see also “Chapter 21: A Revelation to Settle in Missouri,” Doctrine and Covenants Stories, 81–83). Help them consider how the Saints might have felt when Leman broke his promise.

• Cut a paper heart in half, and give each half to two different children. Ask them to hold up their halves together to make a whole heart. Let other children take turns holding up part of the heart. Help the children compare this to the promises or covenants we make with God. God will always hold up His side of the covenant if we hold up ours.
  DOWNLOAD I Promise & Heavenly Father Promises two-sided puzzle (HERE or below)

• Remind the children that when they are baptized, they will covenant, or promise, to obey God’s commandments. Read to them from Doctrine and Covenants 54:6 how the Lord blesses people who keep their covenants.
  DOWNLOAD 1 Nephi 3:7 “I will go and do” scripture poster/card set (HERE or below)

  Doctrine and Covenants 54

  Even though our covenants are personal, our faithfulness in keeping them can affect the lives of others. The story of Leman Copley and the Saints from Colesville, New York, illustrates this truth.

  • Share with the children what happened when Saints from Colesville, New York, settled on Leman Copley’s land (see the section heading for Doctrine and Covenants 54; see also “Chapter 21: A Revelation to Settle in Missouri,” Doctrine and Covenants Stories, 81–82). How would it feel to be one of those Saints and find out that Leman broke his covenant to share his land? What does this story teach us about keeping our covenants? Read together Doctrine and Covenants 54:6 to learn about a blessing the Lord gives to those who keep their covenants.
    DOWNLOAD Showered with Blessings! Follow the Prophet guessing game (HERE or below)

  • Remind the children of the covenants they made when they were baptized (see Mosiah 18:8–10). Help them think of ways they are keeping these covenants, and help them see how this will prepare them to make additional covenants in the future.
    DOWNLOAD Follow in His Steps – Baptism and Covenant Walkabout (HERE or below)

• Hide the words “faithful,” “just,” and “wise” around the room. Invite the children to find the words in the room and then find them in Doctrine and Covenants 51:19. Read the verse together, and talk about what it means to be a steward. If necessary, read together: the first paragraph of “Steward, Stewardship” in the Guide to the Scriptures (scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

• Tell the children about William W. Phelps, who was a newspaper publisher before hearing the gospel and moving to Kirtland. Ask the children to read Doctrine and Covenants 55:1–4 and list what God wanted William to do. Which of these things can apply to all of us, and which are specific to William because of his talents? Ask the children to identify talents they see in each other and discuss how they can use those talents to serve God and His children. SEE TALENT IDEAS BELOW

  
  Doctrine and Covenants 51

  The Lord wants me to be a faithful, just, and wise steward.

  If you were a member of the Church in 1831, you might have been invited to live the law of consecration by signing over your property to the Church through the bishop. He would then return to you, in most cases, what you donated, sometimes with a surplus. But it was no longer just your possession—it was your stewardship.

  Today the procedures are different, but the principles of consecration and stewardship are still vital to the Lord’s work. Consider these words from Elder Quentin L. Cook: “We live in perilous times when many believe we are not accountable to God and that we do not have personal responsibility or stewardship for ourselves or others. Many in the world are focused on self-gratification … [and] do not believe they are their brother’s keeper. In the Church, however, we believe that these stewardships are a sacred trust” (“Stewardship—a Sacred Trust,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 91).

  As you read section 51, think about what God has entrusted to you. What do the words “steward” (verse 19) and “consecrated” (verse 5) mean, and what do they imply about God’s expectations of you? What principles do you find in section 51 and in Elder Cook’s words that teach you what it means to be a steward? (see especially verses 9, 15–20).

  See also Matthew 25:14–30; “The Law of Consecration,” video, ChurchofJesusChrist.org. SEE IDEAS BELOW

In these verses, the Lord gave a pattern so “that [we] may not be deceived” (Doctrine and Covenants 52:14) by false teachers and messages.
DOWNLOAD Tune Into the Holy Ghost: Inspiration Station concentration game (HERE or below)

TEENS:
To introduce the pattern the Lord revealed in Doctrine and Covenants 52:14–19, you could share examples of other patterns that might be familiar to class members, such as patterns for building things or patterns of behavior. Class members may have their own examples to share. Why are patterns valuable? How can we apply the pattern in verses 14–19 to avoid the deception we find in the world today?

ALSO READ: 
• Viewpoint: Be Not Deceived (Church News): Adversary and his lies; Keep the Spirit alive; Bring light and truth (all great quotes)
• Book of Mormon as protection from deception (“Safety for the Soul” Jeffrey R. Holland HERE)
• Discover the safest path that leads us back to God (“Point of Safe Return” Dieter F. Uchtdorf HERE)