LESSON ACTIVITY. WISE MAN AND A FOOLISH MAN flip-flag. Children and youth can use this flip flag as a reminder to build their testimony of Jesus Christ through study and prayer; not depending on others to whom they may follow. A true testimony must be built upon a rock-solid foundation built through study and prayer.
USE FOR: COME FOLLOW ME, Primary and Home (family home evening), Activity Days, Sunday School, Bible Study
Little LESSON LIFESAVER Activity
Wise Man and Foolish Man flip-flag
OBJECTIVE: The lesson helps children understand that we are wise when we obey the teachings of Jesus Christ. Flip-Flag helps you to flip from Wise Man to Foolish Man motivating them to make good choices.
ACTIVITY: Wise Man, Foolish Man Flip-Flag
1. Sing “The Wise Man and Foolish Man,” p. 281 in the Children’s Songbook. DOWNLOAD song visuals for this song (below).
2. Create a wise man and a foolish man flag that children can flip back and forth to remind them to follow the prophet. When they have two choices to make, they should slow down and pray (show flag moving slowly). Then when they have made the right decision they can flip quickly to the wise man side. Talk about specific blessings that came to the wise man (or can come to us) as we follow the prophet.
3. Give children the cookie recipe and house pattern to take home to make their own cookies.
TO MAKE FLAG AND COOKIES Print, color, and cut out the flip-flag for each child. Mount a wooden craft stick in the bottom center, fold, and glue back-to-back.
OPTION: Print the recipe card and house cookie pattern for each child to take home and make with their families. Or, you could share them with them at Primary (if appropriate) or at home for a family home evening.
These will remind them to be like the Wise Man who built his “house upon a rock” (Matthew 7:24-27), as the above activity illustrates.
Source: Sunday Savers CTRA Lesson 36 “Follow Jesus”
Elder David A. Bednar explained: “If all you or I know about Jesus Christ and His restored gospel is what other people teach or tell us, then the foundation of our testimony of Him and His glorious latter-day work is built upon sand. We cannot rely exclusively upon or borrow gospel light and knowledge from other people—even those whom we love and trust” (“Prepared to Obtain Every Needful Thing,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 102).
*THOUGHT TREAT: Smiling House Sugar Cookies. Use the cookie recipe and the house pattern (found in the book or CD-ROM as shown) to cut out sugar cookie dough. Decorate each house with a smile to remind children of the wise man’s house and how choosing the right can put a smile on everyone’s face.
ORANGE FROSTING RECIPE images (show right).
• Cream together: 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1 teaspoon orange extract, 1 pinch salt, 1 tablespoon evaporated milk. Then mix in the food coloring of your choice.
• Recipe for Orange Food Coloring: 10 drops yellow and 11 drops red food coloring.
• TO MAKE AND FROST COOKIES: See the slideshow below illustrating how to do the following. (1) When rolling out cookies, place dough between waxed paper or gallon opened paper bags. Then you don’t need to add flour to roll out. When 1/2-inch thick place cookie pattern to cut out the house, or a large round Mason jar lid to cut out smiley face. Place on oiled or waxed paper lined cookie sheets 1-inch apart. Bake and cool. (2) Mix frosting and place in a small zip-close plastic bag. Place masking tape on one edge and cut a small slit large enough for the frosting to come through. (3) Pipe frosting onto cookies as shown. (4) If packing cookies to go, line a shoe box with paper towels and place cookies inside the box, layering paper towels between layers.
Ideas From COME FOLLOW ME Lesson Ideas (Book of Mormon Lesson 38):
The Savior wants me to hear and do what He teaches.
Just hearing the Savior’s words is not enough. Only those who live His teachings can withstand life’s storms.
Read 3 Nephi 14:24–27. Help the children substitute their names for “the wise man” as they sing. Why did the wise man’s house stay standing during the storm? Review verse 24 to emphasize that he both heard and did what the Savior said.
Show the children a rock and some sand. Ask them to point to the rock when you describe a choice to follow the Savior and point to the sand when you describe a choice not to follow Him. Testify that when we do what the Savior says, we are strong like a house built on a rock.
Spiritual safety comes from hearing and doing what the Savior teaches.
“Rain” and “floods” come to all of us in life, but we can survive trials if we both hear and do what Jesus teaches.
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As a class, read 3 Nephi 14:21–27 and 15:1, and ask the children to stand up every time you read the word “doeth.” Why does the Savior emphasize doing His sayings, not just hearing or remembering? Invite the children to draw a picture of verses 24–25 and write on the rock “Jesus” and something Jesus taught us to do. Sing together “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man” (Children’s Songbook, 281).
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Invite the children to stand up, and ask them to imagine that one leg represents hearing the Savior’s words and the other represents doing them. Invite them to raise the “doing” leg and balance on the “hearing” leg. What would happen if a strong wind blew through the room? Use this example to illustrate why it is safer to do what the Savior says and not just hear His words.
Being wise means trusting in God’s wisdom.
The children you teach will find—if they haven’t already—that some people teach things that contradict God’s wisdom. Studying 1 Corinthians 1:23–25 can help the children understand that we can trust God’s wisdom because it is greater than ours.
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Ask the children to read 1 Corinthians 1:23–25 and find the words wisdom and foolishness. Explain that many people thought Paul’s teachings were foolish, but Paul explained that believing Christ’s gospel is true wisdom. Why is it wise to believe what God teaches?
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Help the children role-play how they could respond to people who think God’s commandments are “foolish”—such as the commandment to have faith in the Savior, keep the Word of Wisdom, or obey the law of tithing. For example, they could testify of the blessings that come from living these teachings.
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Share an experience when others thought that your beliefs were foolish, or share an example from the scriptures. Let the children share similar experiences. How can 1 Corinthians 1:25 help us remain faithful when others call our beliefs foolish?
