PRIMARY & Home Come Follow Me Activities – NOVEMBER (week 3) New Testament TOPIC: “Be Ye Doers of the Word, and Not Hearers Only” with Scripture Scholars bookmarks & pop-ups – James

• Help the children repeat the phrase “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” (James 1:5). How do we ask God questions? How does He answer us?

• Show a picture of the First Vision (Gospel Art Book, no. 90), or show the video “Joseph Smith’s First Vision” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Explain how reading James 1:5 prompted Joseph Smith to ask Heavenly Father to help him with a question (see Joseph Smith—History 1:1–20). Share your testimony that God answers prayers, and testify that the children can pray to Him when they have questions. Let the children draw their own pictures of Joseph Smith reading James 1:5 and praying to Heavenly Father.

OLDER CHILDREN

The children you teach are only a few years younger than Joseph Smith was when he read James 1:5 and was inspired to approach Heavenly Father in prayer. Consider how you can help the children you teach build their faith that God will help them when they lack wisdom.

• Show pictures of something sweet and something sour. Help the children understand that Heavenly Father asks us to use our tongues to say sweet (or kind) things and not sour (or unkind) things (see James 3:10). Help them think of examples of nice things we can say to others.

• Give each child a simple drawing of a person speaking. Invite the children to hold it up when you say something nice that we can do with our words (such as telling the truth, giving compliments, and offering to help someone) and put it down when you say something that we shouldn’t do with our tongues (such as telling lies, calling other people names, and refusing to obey a parent).

• Reinforce the message of James 3:1–13 by singing together a song about being kind, such as “Kindness Begins with Me” (Children’s Songbook, 145).
  DOWNLOAD Kindness Begins with Me song visuals (HERE or below)
  

OLDER CHILDREN

The words we say to each other may seem unimportant, but as James testified, they can have a powerful influence, for good or bad.

• Show the children a flashlight without batteries, a pencil without lead, or something else that is useless or “dead.” Ask the children to read James 2:14–17. How do these objects illustrate the truth in these verses?

• Invite some of the children to quietly read James 1:22–27 and others to read 2:14–18. Then invite them to share what they could do to show that they are doers of the word. For instance, how are they keeping their baptismal covenant? Do they know someone who is sick or lonely who they might visit? How could they serve their families more? You could also remind them of words they might have heard in sacrament meeting today. How can we be doers of these words?