April 2009 Sharing Time
Week 2: I have a testimony that Jesus Christ is my Savior.
References: John 3:16; Alma 34:8-10
Singing Time: Review last week’s song and others from the year so far.
Sharing Time: Use this article as a basis for this segment:
Marcus B. Nash, “Growing a Testimony,” Friend, Dec 2008, 8–9
Turn the first part of the story in this talk into a three-person script. Keep it very simple and end it with the boys separating and going home. The Holy Ghost is not supposed to be portrayed, so you don’t want to continue beyond that point. Give the script to three older children the week before or even at the start of Primary to look over. They don’t need to rehearse. They can read the script.
Have the boys read the small play and then return to their seats. Read or tell the rest of the story, ending with the boy going off to Primary.
Ask the children if they can tell you what a testimony is. Help them 
understand that a testimony is what our heart knows about Heavenly Father and Jesus.
Make a version of the testimony glove found in Testimony Glove,” Friend, Oct 2008, 24–25. At first, just show the glove. Tell the children a testimony has five parts to it. Prepare word strips with each of the five elements. Place the glove on a child’s hand. Invite one child up at a time to read and then hold a wordstrip. Invite a third child to select the correct picture and place it on the glove. (Use tape or another sticky substance that can be removed.)
As each one is put up, send the helpers back to their seats, except for the child with the glove. You may want to provide a chair for that child.
Ask children to tell you what they know about that picture and statement. Share your testimony of each statement.
Singing Time: I Know My Father Lives
Tell the children this song is a testimony. Many Primary songs are testimonies that you sing. Ask them to sing it like a testimony in a reverent voice and to think about what each part means.
Select other songs that could also be considered testimonies, such as:
Did Jesus Really Live Again? and I Am a Child of God.
Sharing Time: You may want to display a poster representing the five testimony points. Place a picture under each statement.
Return to the talk you used at the beginning of this lesson. The next part of the talk involves the size or strength of a testimony. The speaker talks about redwood trees and saplings, and you can use pictures of these or you can use real items you have available in both a large and a small size.
Example:
“Sammy and Maria, would you come up here please? Sammy, how old are you? You’re three! Maria, how old are you? You’re eleven. (Turn to the other children.) Who is the real child here, Sammy or Maria? They’re both children? But Maria is bigger than Sammy. Doesn’t that make her more real? It doesn’t? Oh, I must be confused. You two can go sit down now.
“Well, I guess size doesn’t matter for children. But I have some flowers here. This one is red, and this one is blue. Which is the real flower? They’re both flowers? But the red one is much bigger! So I guess size doesn’t matter for flowers, either. What do you know!”
If you’re doing this for junior Primary, do several more. With Senior Primary, a single example is probably plenty.
Follow up with the explanation Elder Nash gave, that some testimonies are big, like the redwood, and some are small like the sapling (adapt to the examples you used), but both big testimonies and little testimonies are real testimonies.
Point to the poster of the five testimony points. Tell the children to think in their hearts if they believe the things you’re about to read off. (Don’t ask them to raise their hands.) Read the testimony items, pointing to the pictures. Tell the children if they can say yes to even one of these things, they have a testimony. It may be small, but it will grow bigger and bigger, just like trees, flowers, children, and other living things, because testimonies are living.
Tell the children the most important testimony they need to grow is one of Jesus Christ. Place some pictures of Jesus on a board or taped to a wall. Invite children to come up and choose one. Ask them to tell you what they know about that picture. If they don’t know what to say, they can ask another child for help. After each one, suggest a way that could become part of their testimony. “Yes, this is a picture of Jesus feeding the people who are hungry. It helps build my testimony that Jesus loves us and takes care of us.”
Singing Time: Sing “This is My Beloved Son.” Use the song to teach children the importance of listening to the Holy Ghost. You might have children draw word strips from a box that contain things the Holy Ghost might whisper. Have the child whisper what it says. If no one hears, say it a tiny bit louder, and then a little louder until the children can hear. After they’ve done this with all the strips, point out they must be very quiet to hear whispers. The Holy Ghost doesn’t usually yell. They need to be trying to do the right thing and they must live worthy of His help by always showing Heavenly Father how much they love Him.
Sharing Time: Help the children draw a five finger testimony chart. You can find coloring pictures of each of the five points in the new Nursery manual. You’ll need to copy and paste them onto a word processing program or an art program. (They are copyrighted, so I can’t do that here.) Shrink them to size and give each child a sheet of paper with the pictures. (You may want to have a few cut out for younger children.)
Give each child a sheet of colored paper and tell him to trace his own hand. Then he can glue the pictures onto his fingers. Hand out a small square of paper with the five testimony items on it they can put at the top or the bottom. If you don’t have time, you can send the materials home to be done as a Sabbath activity.
Picture Sources:
1. I know that God is our Heavenly Father and He loves us.
Lesson 9: I Have a Body like Heavenly Father’s,” Behold Your Little Ones: Nursery Manual, (2008),40–43
2. I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior and Redeemer.
Lesson 25: I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Behold Your Little Ones: Nursery Manual, (2008),104–7
3. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. He restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth and translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God.
4.. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s Church on the earth today.
“Lesson 13: My Family Can Be Together Forever,” Behold Your Little Ones: Nursery Manual, (2008),56–59
5. I know that this Church is led by a living prophet who receives revelation.
Friend Magazine coloring picture of President Monson
What Do You Want to Do Next?