Sharing Time
I lived with Heavenly Father before I came to earth.
(January 2009 Sharing Time, Second Week)
Resources: Jeremiah 1:5, D&C 138:56, Preach my Gospel, 48; GP chapter 2
Note: The Gospel Principles reference is particularly helpful in preparing for this lesson.
Music Leader: Review last week’s song.
Sharing Time Leader:
Have the timeline displayed again—the one with the shapes and stages. Quickly review it and then tell the children you’re going to talk today about when they lived in Heaven before they came here. Ask them to tell you how they were different from how they are now.
You may want to use the glove object lesson often used in lesson manuals to discuss resurrection. This is found in enrichment activity 2 in Lesson 45: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Easter),” Primary 1: I Am a Child of God, 148
Adapt it so it shows you had no body there, but now you do. Point out the glove still looks like a glove, even when the hand isn’t inside. Your spirit also looked like you, even though it didn’t have a body yet.
Bring up two children who are good friends or siblings. Ask if they might have known each other in the Premortal Life before coming to earth. Yes, they might have, because everyone who has ever lived on earth lived in Heaven and we were all brothers and sisters, because Heavenly Father made us. Hand one of the two children a picture of the First Vision. Ask the children if they could see Heavenly Father and Jesus there. They could. Here on earth, very few people get to see them, but in Heaven, we could see them all the time and talk to them.
Hand the other child a picture of Jesus. Ask the children to raise their hands if they are the oldest child in their family. Tell the children Jesus was the very first spirit ever made by Heavenly Father, so He is our oldest brother.
Send the two helpers back to their seats.
Show the children some pictures of people doing something that takes talent. Ask the children to raise their hands if that is a talent they might have. Tell them in the premortal world, they already had talents and the talents they have now might be talents they had then. If you’d like, invite a few children to show their talents. (This should be done in advance, and include some things that aren’t showy talents. A child might show something he made, or pictures of himself with friends, or read a poem he wrote.)
Chorister: Sing songs that suggest talents that children might have or that they might be able to have. Suggestions:
Nephi’s Courage (Point out he didn’t know how to do any of those things before God asked him to, but he learned, because God knew he could do it.)
Search, Ponder, and Pray. Spirituality is a talent anyone can have. We can all become scriptorians and pray.
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus (Storytelling is a talent. Encourage them to learn to tell a scripture story to a sibling or friend.)
Fun to Do (You can insert any talents into this song.)
Sharing Time:
Show a picture of premortal life. Tell the children that while we lived there, God called us all to a special meeting, called a council. In this meeting He said he had a plan for us. Refer them to the timeline and ask them if they can guess what the plan was. It was to come to earth.
Place on a table several items related to earth life and select children to choose an item and tell you what it has to do with the plan for us to live on earth. Items might include:
Something that suggests bodies, such as clothing or sports equipment.
Scriptures (learning the gospel)
A missionary tag or picture, to show finding the gospel if you aren’t born into a family that already has it.
A picture of your family.
A veil or something else that can cover things. (this is tricky. It represents that a veil covers our memories of living with Heavenly Father so we have to rely on faith. See the Gospel Principles lesson for more on this.)
Something to represent trials, such as a thermometer.
A picture of the Savior.
After this activity is complete, tell the children that when we heard the plan, we shouted for joy. Make sure they know what joy is. Invite them to cheer very softly because of the wonderful plan Heavenly Father made for them.
Singing Time:
“I Will Follow God’s Plan,” Children’s Songbook, 164–65
Sharing Time: Help the children make the timeline you’ve been using the past two lessons. You can have them glue the pieces onto paper, string together to hang in their rooms, or color in one you’ve put together and photo copied.
Next: Sharing Time 2009 Week 3, My Body is a Temple
Return to Sharing Time List