I am created in the image of God. My body is a temple
(2009 Sharing Time, January, Week 3)
Resources: Genesis 1:27; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, D&C 89; David A. Bednar, “Ye are the Temple of God,” Ensign, Sept. 2001, 14-21
This sharing time is based on a small piece in the Friend by David A. Bednar: David A. Bednar, “Special Witness: Our Bodies Are Temples, and the Spirit of the Lord Should Dwell There and Shine Through.,” Friend, Jun 2008, 31. This small piece is based on a full talk which can be found in David A. Bednar, “‘Ye Are the Temple of God’,” Ensign, Sep 2001, 14. Study the longer talk to understand the topic better. Pull from it what will be helpful to the children.
Make four wordstrips representing the dark headings in this talk. Place them in various places around the room. You may want a picture on each one representing something related to the point. You’ll also need a picture of a temple and one of a child or children, and a way to display them. You’ll be adding pictures related to each of the wordstrips.
Sharing time teacher: Introduce the topic by showing children a picture of the temple and asking them to tell you what they know about it. Add your own information to what they say. Then tell them they also have their very own personal temple. Can they guess what it is? It’s their bodies. Heavenly Father said their bodies are just like temples. Today they’re going to learn what that means.
Music Leader: Teach first verse: The Lord Gave Me a Temple (153, children’s song book.)
Pictures: First sentence, Picture of modestly dressed children. (many available in packets.) Explain to children that God says our body is like a temple. They’ll learn what that means in sharing time today. This line tells them that God gave them their bodies to use on earth.
Second sentence: Picture of spirit world used last month and picture of baby. Remind them that last month they learned they used to be a spirit without a body.
Third sentence: Make sure they understand this. Don’t use a picture that will confuse them, such as a light bulb or lamp that will make them think it means physical brightness just yet. Instead, use a picture of a happy child, or one reading the scriptures or praying. Explain that it means that our bodies will be free if we take care of them and our temples will be brighter when we live the gospel so the spirit can stay with us. The spirit will shine through us as we live the gospel.
Fourth sentence: Show happy children, or if you have a picture of a child standing outside a temple, use that.
Sharing Time Lesson:
Display a picture of a temple and a picture of a child or children. You’ll use these to help children learn how their bodies are like temples. Display them to one side of the chalkboard, high enough to put things under each one. On the other side of the board, you’ll put the posters or wordstrips from President Bednar’s talk.
Place the first wordstrip on the right side of the chalkboard (your right) just below where the pictures of the temple and children are. This says, “What We Take into Our Temple”
Place under the picture of the temple the words “Temple Recommend.” Tell children that before they can go into the temple, they will be interviewed by a member of the bishopric and then by a member of the stake presidency. In this interview, they talk about how they live the gospel. You can only go into the temple if you’re working hard to keep the commandments. You have to go to church, pay your tithing, and take good care of your family, for instance. (Don’t go through the questions.) Why do they think this is important? How would they feel if they went to the temple and wanted to feel the spirit, but people were in there arguing or doing bad things? The temple can only be filled with good things and good people.
Under the picture of the children, put a picture of good foods. Tell the children their bodies are temples so they should only put into their bodies things that are good. Heavenly Father taught us what we can put into our bodies and what is bad. This is called the Word of Wisdom. Tell them what the Word of Wisdom says. Explain also the things we can’t put into our bodies—coffee, tea, alcohol, cigarettes, and illegal drugs, for instance. Mention things we should only eat a little of, such as candy or cookies.
Activity: Have pictures of various items people put into their bodies. You can also use word strips instead, and may wish to for things they can’t have. Bring a waste basket to the front of the room, and a small basket or bowl. If the item is good, have them put it in the bowl. If it’s bad, have them throw it in the trash. If it’s okay as a treat, but not all the time, have them put it in something that might represent a treat, such as a holiday bowl. Let children take turns doing this. At the end, review the good items only. Don't use real food, because this will be a distraction and we're not supposed to feed the children--but they'll want to eat it.
Music Leader: Teach second verse of song. Make sure they understand what this verse means. Choose spiritual ways to teach the verse, since this is a spiritual song and use visuals that focus their attention on the actual meaning of the words.
Sharing Time Leader: Send a child to find the second word strip. Place it lower than the visuals added in the last segment, so the wordstrips will always line up with the visuals. Let a child read it: What We Put on Our Temple. This can be a touchy subject, since you may have children in the room who are not modestly dressed. Be respectful, but do teach the standards. If a child comments on someone else’s clothing, remind them to be polite and tell them the purpose of Primary is to learn the gospel. If we already knew all of it, we wouldn’t need to be here. If a child expresses concern over his own clothing, suggest he talk to his parents about his concerns.
Begin by inviting some children to come up and hold pictures of temples. Ask the children what they think of the temples and take some answers. Then guide them to notice how beautiful they are—ask about the color, the landscaping, the cleanliness. Are the temples beautiful? Why do they think the temples should be beautiful? (They are God’s house and we want to honor Him. People sometimes judge the church by how our temples look.)
Place a temple picture on the left side under the temple column. Now invite a few children who are nicely dressed to come to the front of the room. Turning children loose to comment on these children could be dangerous, so ask specific questions: Are their clothes appropriate for church? Are they clean? Are they modest? You may need to explain the word modest. Tell the children it means it covers their body properly.
In senior Primary, lead a brief discussion on how people judge you according to your appearance. They may not like that idea, but it happens. What do people think when they see a girl in a pretty modest dress or a boy in a nice shirt, dress pants, and tie? What do they think when they see a child whose clothes have bad words or mean sayings on them? People who see them will be deciding what Mormons are all about. What kinds of clothing should they wear all the time, not just in church, to set a good example? Does clothing have to be expensive or in style to be appropriate? Can you be modest and still in style? (You can’t wear all fashionable clothes and be modest, but with imagination, you can find something that is modern and still modest.) You may want to plan ahead and take pictures of some of the children in your Primary wearing everyday clothes they consider fashionable that are also modest. Show these to the children. You could also use ads or pictures from the Friend.
With younger children, remind them Heavenly Father gave them their bodies and ask them how they think Heavenly Father wants them to dress those bodies. Draw two simple t-shirts. On one, write, “I am a Child of God.” On the other, write, “Hitting my brother is fun.” Ask them to read the shirts and tell you which one Heavenly Father would like best. Is it okay to have a shirt like the second one if you’re just joking?
Place a picture of a modestly dressed child in the column under the child.
Singing Time: Sing both verses of the song to learn it well. Other songs you might choose for this segment:
The Things I do (170)—setting example to non-members
I Love to See the Temple (95)
I Will Be Valiant (162)
Sharing Time: Put up the third statement, “What We Do to Our Temple.” You probably don’t need to spend much time on this one.
Show a picture of the temple and ask how they would feel if somebody put graffiti on it or carved words and pictures into it one day without permission. Why can’t we hurt the outside of the temple?
Show a picture of a child. Remind them that the child’s body is a temple. Should we put graffiti on our temples? What are some of the ways people graffiti their temples? (tattoos, piercings…) Tell the children Heavenly Father made their bodies beautiful and they don’t need to add more things to it.
Post the fourth wordstrip: What We Do with Our Temple
Tell the children we use our temples to do God’s work and prepare to live with Him someday. We also use our bodies to do God’s work and we use it wisely. Let the children learn ways to use their bodies wisely. Put word strips in a box and let children take turns choosing one out. If the choice is a good way to use our bodies, have the children stand. If it’s a bad way, have them sit down. (Or choose another way to demonstrate.) For Junior Primary, use simple choices such as, “Use our hands to hit someone we’re mad at,” or “Use my hands to make a gift for my grandmother.” For older children, you might include more difficult choices, such as, “Use my ears to listen to popular music, even though sometimes the words aren’t very nice—but everyone does it and I need to fit in.” With older children, take time to discuss the choices.
Use the remaining time for singing time.
(Terrie's note: Some reviewers at Amazon said it was dishonest and you shouldn't lie to your children. Do you need to lie? Do you normally hand out a menu with an ingredients list when you feed your children? Didn't think so. Just fix the food and serve it. If you don't normally explain all the ingredients, don't start now. There aren't any laws saying you have to reveal that it's healthy.)
Next: Week 4 The Family is Ordained of God (Class Presentation)
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