Lesson Plan: “Be a Loyal Servant”

Powerfully TeachingYour Children

Gospel Principles

Each lesson contains 5 timed activities:(Choose the activities that fit your familyʼs schedule.

Additional resources are provided as extra time may be available.)

Reverence Time: Song, prayer, scripture and video clip Lesson Time: Lesson summary and points to ponder Story Time: Story Activity Time: Object lesson or activity Treat Time: Prayer, theme related recipe & music video

Objectives:

www.ldsfamilyfun.com ©2006 Living Scriptures, Inc. All rights reserved. May be used freely for personal, non-commercial purposes.

Reinforces Principles of: Emphasize the importance of being loyal. Talk about what we can do to loyally serve our Heavenly Father.

Loyalty Service

Lesson Plan: “Be a Loyal Servant”


Sing Together:

Prayer:

Scripture Time:

Video Clip:

Approximate Time: 5 minutes

Childrenʼs Song Book #74 “I Feel My Saviorʼs Love” verse 4. If you wish to print sheet music or have an online music file to accompany you visit: http://www.lds.org/churchmusic(Note: Navigate to the Interactive Church Music Player where you can listen to and print Church hymns and children s̓ songs.)

Ruth 1:16–17 & Ruth 2:2, 17–18

16. And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:17. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

2. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

17. So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.18. And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.

Watch chapter 6 from the Animated Complete Learning System, Ruth DVD.(Video clip is also provided for viewing online.)


(For younger children, it may be helpful to summarize the following ideas):Lesson Summary:

Points to Ponder:

Loyalty is being faithful and true.“I think of loyalty in terms of being true to ourselves. I think of it in terms of being absolutely loyal to the Church and its many facets of activity. I think of it in terms of being unequivocally true to the God of heaven, our Eternal Father, and His Beloved Son, our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ...Be loyal to the best that is in you.” Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, May 2003, © 2006 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Loyalty means standing up for that which is right.“We show our loyalty to the Lord by being obedient to parents, being respectful of our brothers and sisters, following Church leaders, and fulfilling our church callings and priesthood responsibilities. Loyalty includes being obedient to the laws of the land and the commandments of God. Loyalty to employer and employee, demonstrated by an honest dayʼs work and an honest dayʼs pay, is part of our loyalty to the Lord, for what we do unto each other we do unto Him. It means standing up for that which is right when our associates would persuade us to do wrong.” Rex D. Pinegar, New Era, July 1976, © 2006 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

“When Naomi sensed the true depth of Ruthʼs love and loyalty, she consented and the two made their way back to Bethlehem. There, through the mediating role of Naomi, Ruth met Boaz, ʻa mighty man of wealth ̓(Ruth 2:1), and they married. From this union came a son named Obed, who fathered a son named Jesse, who fathered a son named David, the greatest king in Israelʼs history. Thus Ruthʼs love for and loyalty to Naomi not only brought gospel blessings to Ruth, but ultimately blessed the entire Israelite nation.” Jeffrey R. Holland, New Era, June 1998, © 2006 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.How can being a loyal servant bless our family?

“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” Mosiah 2:17What can our family do to loyally serve Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?




John wiggled in his primary chair. “Not this lesson, again!” he thought to himself. “How many times do we have to be taught about the Word of Wisdom? Donʼt smoke, donʼt drink coffee or tea, and donʼt do drugs. I know all this!” After class John raced to the parking lot. “Hey Mom, can I walk home with Greg and Dan? “Okay Son, but be careful and donʼt go anywhere else. Remember, itʼs the Sabbath.”

As they walked home, John brought up the lesson, “Boy, can you guys believe we had to listen to that same boring lesson again? Donʼt smoke, donʼt drink, blah, blah, blah.”

Greg knew he shouldnʼt talk bad about his church leaders, but he agreed with John anyway. “Yeah, what do they think we are? Stupid?” added Greg.

Dan didnʼt say anything. His dad smoked. Dan had been praying forever that he could quit. “Maybe if Dad had gone to church and listened to lessons on the Word of Wisdom when he was a kid, he wouldnʼt have started smoking in the first place and he wouldnʼt be addicted to tobacco.” thought Dan.

When John arrived home he ran into the house. “Mom, Iʼm home!” he shouted.

Mother came into the kitchen, “Iʼll have dinner ready in half an hour. Will you set the table?”

“All right, if I have to,” groaned John. “What are we having?”

“Vegetarian lasagna, salad, and homemade whole wheat bread.”

“Yuck! I hate that stuff.”

“John weʼre trying to live the Word of Wisdom more fully,” explained Mother.

“Iʼm sick of hearing about the Word of Wisdom. We had that same lesson again today and itʼs so boring. I know all that stuff! Donʼt smoke or drink, blah, blah, blah. What does dinner have to do with it anyway?”

“John, I donʼt want you talking that way about the Church,” rebuked Mother. “There is always something you can learn if you listen with the right spirit. Letʼs talk about it with the rest of the family during dinner.


At the dinner table Johnʼs family talked about the promise of health that comes from not only abstaining from alcohal, tobacco, coffee, tea and drugs, but also from eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables and eating less meat.

On Monday evening, for family night, they continued their discussion on the Word of Wisdom. Father read a quote by Brigham Young, “The Spirit whispers to me to call upon the Latter-day Saints to observe the Word of Wisdom, to let tea, coffee, and tobacco alone, and to abstain from drinking spirituous drinks. This is what the Spirit signifies through me. If the Spirit of God whispers this to his people through their leader, and they will not listen nor obey, what will be the consequences of their disobedience? Darkness and blindness of mind with regard to the things of God will be their lot; they will cease to have the spirit of prayer, and the spirit of the world will increase in them in proportion to their disobedience until they apostatize entirely from God and his ways….” (DBY, 183).

“There is always going to be controversy on the subject of the Word of Wisdom.” Father continued, “Science has proven that smoking is bad for us. But scientific studies conflict about drinking a little wine, coffee or tea. The bottom line is: When the Proiphet gives us a commandment from God we obey. There are real blessings in obedience. The lessons taught in Church help us to be obedient by keeping the commandments and gospel principles fresh in our minds and hearts.”

Latter that evening Mother found John sitting on his bed playing a computer game. “John, I need to talk to you about something.” After sitting next to him she asked, “Do you know what loyalty is?”

John put the game down and, and looking up at his mother, said “Sure. It means youʼre not a traitor.”

“Did you know that complaining about your Primary lesson is being disloyal to Heavenly Father?”

John felt sad. He didnʼt want to be disloyal. Looking down he quietly answered, “No.”

Mother opened the March 2006 Ensign “Listen to what President Hinckley said about loyalty.ʻBe loyal to this Church, my brothers and sisters...I want to give you my testimony that the General Authorities of this Church will never lead you in paths that will take you down. They will lead you in a trail that leads upward if you will follow in faith and faithfulness. ̓Son, Primary lessons are approved by President Hinckley and the General Authorities. When we listen to the lessons with the right spirit, our testimony of the principles they teach will be strengthened. We can then serve Heavenly Father by shar-ing our testimony with others.” As Mother scanned the page, she added, “President Hinckley also said at a meeting in Jamaica in May 2002: ʻNever do anything which would speak of disloyalty in any sense. Uphold [the Church], sustain her, pray for her, work for her, move her forward.... We need loyal and faithful Latter-day Saints... Be loyal to the Church of Jesus Christ, and in so doing, you will be loyal to yourselves. ̓Do you understand Son?”

“I think so. Mom, Iʼm sorry I was disloyal,” confessed John. “Can I be alone now? I need to tell Heavenly Father Iʼm sorry and then Iʼm going to call Greg and Dan and tell them Iʼm sorry. Hey Mom! Iʼve got an idea. Iʼm going to serve Heavenly Father by sharing my testimony of the Word of Wisdom with Danʼs dad.”

Mother gave John a big hug. “I think thatʼs a great idea! Mr. Evans is a good man. Your testimony just might touch his heart and help give him the strength he needs to be even a better man.”

by Margie Nauta Lee, © 2006 Living Scriptures, Inc.


What you need: A copy of the of the “Gleaning Ears of Corn” game (art work included with this lesson) and scissors and 2 baskets (or shoeboxes). Preparation 1. Print out the “Gleaning Ears of Corn” game.

2. Fold along dotted line.3. Cut out the ears of corn. (Be careful not to cut along dotted line.)4. Place ears of corn, question side down on the floor.5. Divide into 2 teams.6. Read Leviticus 23:22

“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.”

Explain: To reap means to cut and gather the crops. In the Bible the Lord instructed theland owners to leave some of their crops for the poor. These are called the gleanings. The poor would then go to the fields and glean (gather) what was left in the fields. Today the Lord instructs us to give a generous fast offering to help the poor.

Activity: (Younger children will need help from an older sibling or parent.)

Pick a number or draw straws to determine which team goes first.Each team takes a turn “gleaning” (picking) an ear of corn and answering the question. Team members are not allowed to help (except in the case of younger children).If you answer your question correctly, place your ear of corn in your teamʼs basket. If you answer your question incorrectly, place the ear of corn back on ground (face down). There are two empty corn husks. If you pick an empty husk your team looses a turn. There is one corn husk that has a bonus question. If you answer the bonus question correctly your team receives an extra point (team members can help answer the bonus question). After all the corn is gleaned the team with the most ears of corn in their basket wins. Do not count the empty husks, but remember to count the extra point for the bonus question.

Approximate Time: 15 minutes (not including prep time)


Whe

n ye

are

in t

he s

ervi

ce

Of

your

fel

low

bei

ngs

ye a

re

only

in t

he s

ervi

ce o

f w

hom

?

Wha

t di

d R

uth

gain

by

goin

gwit

h N

aom

i to

Bet

hleh

em?

Who

is R

uth

and

Boaz

’s gr

eat

gran

dson

? B

onus

poi

ntW

ho e

lse

is a

des

cend

ant

of R

uth

and

Boaz

?

To r

eap

mea

ns t

o cu

t an

d ga

ther

the

_ _

_ _

_.


Nao

mi w

as R

uth’

s:A

. mot

her

B.

mot

her-

in-l

awC.

dau

ghte

r D.

aun

t

Loya

lty

is b

eing

:A

. Fai

thfu

lB.

Obe

dien

tC.

Tru

eD.

All

of t

he a

bove

How

did

Rut

h pr

ovid

e fo

od

for

her

and

Nao

mi?

The

Lor

d in

stru

cted

the

land

ow

ners

to

leav

e th

e gl

eani

ngs

in t

he f

ield

for

the

poo

r?H

ow c

an w

e pr

ovid

e fo

r th

e po

or?


Rut

h to

ld N

aom

i “th

y pe

ople

shal

l be

my

peop

le, a

nd t

hy_

_ _

my

_ _

_.

One

way

of

show

ing

loya

lty

to G

od is

by

bein

g ob

edie

nt

to o

ur _

_ _

_ _

_ _

.

Wha

t ca

n ou

r fa

mily

do

to

loya

lly s

erve

Hea

venl

y Fa

ther

and

Jesu

s Ch

rist

?

I‘ll s

hare

my

Savi

or’s

love

by

_ _

_ _

_ _

_

othe

rs f

reel

y.


Nam

e on

e th

ing

that

Rut

h ga

ined

by

goin

g w

ith

Nao

mi.

to B

ethl

ehem

.

I alw

ays

give

an

hone

st d

ay’s

wor

k fo

r an

hon

est

days

pay

. Is

thi

s be

ing

loya

l?

We

show

our

loya

lty

to t

he L

ord

by b

eing

_ _

_ _

_ _

_ _

_ _

of o

ur b

roth

ers

and

sist

ers.

Loya

lty

to c

ount

ry m

eans

th

at w

e w

ill o

bey

the

law

s of

the

land

. Tru

e or

fal

se?


Pres

iden

t H

inck

ley

said

tha

tby

bei

ng lo

yal t

o G

od, J

esus

Chr

ist,

and

the

chur

ch, y

ou w

ill

be lo

yal t

o w

hom

?

In t

he s

tory

, how

did

Ben

serv

e ot

hers

by

play

ing

the

viol

in ?

King

Ben

jam

in t

augh

t hi

s pe

ople

abou

t th

e m

any

gift

s H

eave

nly

Fath

er h

as g

iven

us.

N

ame

one

of t

hese

gif

ts.

Who

sai

d “B

e lo

yal t

o th

ebe

st t

hat

is in

you

.” ?


In t

he s

tory

, Ben

lear

ned

the

wor

k ha

s to

be

done

so

you

mig

htas

wel

l be

_ _

_ _

_ _

_ _

in d

oing

it.

The

Gen

eral

Aut

hori

ties

will

nev

erle

ad u

s in

pat

hs t

hat

will

tak

e us

dow

n.Tr

ue o

r fa

lse?

Lose

a t

urn

Lose

a t

urn


Approximate Time: 10 minutes (not including prep time)

CORN PONES

Prep Time: 45 minutes

2 Cups cornmeal

1 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Cup sugar

1/3 Cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 Cups BOILING water

Makes 20 to 25 corn pones

Pre-heat Oven to 425 degrees. Combine corn meal, salt, sugar & oil in a bowl. Add BOILING water and mix to make a thick cornmeal mush. WAIT 3 to 5 minutes while the boiling water cooks the mix and thickens it to a point that you can spoon up heaping tablespoonfuls to form in the shape of an ear of corn with your hands. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and put in pre-heated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Tip: Form into a football shape in your hand and then place on baking sheet then press with fingers into the shape of an ear of corn. (This can be a fun way for children to help.)

Treat Time: Serve warm with honey, butter, or jam.

Closing Prayer and blessing on the food:

Music Video: Watch The Animated Stories from the Bible Music Video, Ruth s̓ Song (also available online), while you eat your corn pones.

Documents

Lesson Plan: “Be a Loyal Servant”