EASTER Teaching Ideas/Resources and a CFM Activity Sheet (Apr 20)

 This blogpost features some resources, teaching ideas, and an original half-sheet activity page to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for  April 14-20, which is EASTER themed.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

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 EASTER RESOURCES AND TEACHING IDEAS
Here is a collection of some of the best ideas I've found for teaching about the true meaning of Easter with your families or classes.  Most of these are tried and true  (with the Redheaded Hostess kit being the only exception).   Let me know if you use any of them or if you have any resources you'd add to the list!  I'd love to hear how your lessons go. 

1.  This takes a good deal of prep work and effort, but having an Easter Seder with your family or class would be a unique and powerful way to talk about the Atonement.  We did this as part of an adult Sunday School class a few years ago and loved how visual and hands-on it was. 

 https://powerofmoms.com/easter-seder-a-new-spin-on-an-old-tradition/

2.  This Easter Walk with Jesus requires much less prep than the aforementioned Easter Seder and it was something my kids loved when they were young.

3.   A Special Easter Message for 2025

4. Lessons on the Atonement (#1 {better for kids}, #2 {good for older kids/teens})

5.  a fun Symbols of Easter lesson, an Easter coloring book

6.  Easter Tree Activity:   I found this activity in a 2004 Friend Magazine and thought it would make for a great hands-on activity for either a family or a church class. 


7.  Red-Headed Hostess Easter Kit (for purchase):  If you're just looking for an all-inclusive printable pack that includes study guides, activities, visual aides, teaching ideas...this is a great resource.  It costs $5.50, but it could potentially save a lot of work if you are looking for something ready to go.  

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PRINTABLE CFM ACTIVITY SHEET
These activity sheets are designed to print double-sided and cut in half.  They're perfect for reviewing or introducing the content found in the Come, Follow Me reading each week and would be great used in a classroom or home setting.   I have no children at home, nor do I have a calling working with youth, so I copy these to be handed out with the sacrament programs each week. 

 HERE IS THE LINK FOR THE ACTIVITY SHEET IN CASE IT'S NOT SHOWING BELOW:


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Be sure to bookmark and come back each week for new teaching ideas and activity sheets to go along with the CFM reading.  

Enjoy learning the gospel together! 

Come Follow Me: Thoughts on Christ's Atonement and a Printable Activity Sheet for D&C 19 (Mar 9)

 This blogpost features some of my thoughts on Christ's atonement, including some scriptures and quotes you can add to your studies this week.   Below all that you'll find a half-sheet activity page to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for  March 3-9, which includes Doctrine and Covenants section 19.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

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THE PERFECT LIE:  Thoughts on Christ's Atonement

Several years ago I watched a video on the church website by Tiffany Webster called “The Perfect Lie”. Sister Webster identifies what she calls Satan’s “Perfect Lie” as a formula that if I take me as I am, flawed, imperfect and all and just add more, more humility, more service, more righteousness, more [fill in the blank], then I will be Christlike. Chasing perfection in that way is a human hamster wheel – we’ll never reach the finish line and we'll never stack up. We absolutely cannot become as Christ is through our own efforts.

However, if we can change the formula, to take me as I am, flawed, imperfect and all and add Christ, then I become more--More powerful, more lovable, more fit for service, more [fill in the blank].

It's interesting how someone can share their thoughts on a Gospel topic that isn't necessarily all that new or original, but there's something about the way they share it that resonates with you.  That's how this video (which used to be an online article as well) was for me.   My personality is such that I am prone to chasing perfection in my life and there was something about the way Sister Webster expressed her experiences and thoughts that was transformational for me.   I shared this video with everyone I knew, taught lessons using some of her ideas, and really tried to change my focus from striving for perfection to striving to simply add more time to connect with Christ each day in my life.   As with most things in life, it's a complicated and ongoing effort that I sometimes fail at, but I do believe that it's something I'm getting better at over the years.    
 
Since then, I've started to be more cognizant of this same idea popping up in General Conference talks and in the scriptures.  Here are a few that I've found:  

In a 2015 General Conference talk, Elder Uchtdorf shared:

“Grace opens windows of heaven… through which God pours out blessings of power and strength enabling us to achieve things that would otherwise be far out of our reach…Throughout our lives God’s grace bestows temporal blessings and spiritual gifts that magnify our abilities and enriches our lives. His grace refines us and helps us become our best selves.”

 Paul said “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Ammon said it this way, “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things…”

As the Lord said to Moroni: “…my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

In one of my favorite new hymns,  "Amazing Grace," we sing, "Amazing grace—how sweet the sound— That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found,  Was blind, but now I see. The Lord has promised good to me; His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be. As long as life endures. Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come. His grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home."

I add my voice to these great prophets that though I often feel weak, though I often feel I am not good enough temporally or spiritually, that when I strive to walk more deliberately with Christ, by his grace, I am my best self.

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ACTIVITY SHEET

These activity sheets are designed to print double-sided and cut in half.  They're perfect for reviewing or introducing the content found in the Come, Follow Me reading each week and would be great used in a classroom or home setting.   I have no children at home, nor do I have a calling working with youth, so I copy these to be handed out with the sacrament programs each week.  Kids, teens, and adults enjoy them.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITY SHEET (in case it's not showing below)




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Enjoy learning the Gospel together!  💗

NEW TESTAMENT: CFM Teaching Ideas for July 3-9, 2023 {Acts 1-5}

 This blogpost features some  resources and ideas to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for July 3-9, 2023.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEET:  These activity sheets are designed to print 2 to a page.  They're perfect for kids ages 8-14, though the coloring pages are for all ages and  many adults like the activities as well.  We hand them out with the sacrament programs in our ward; many others use them as  a review or discussion starter in their families and classrooms. 
   


TEACHING IDEA ABOUT THE HOLY GHOST:   
Plastic Plate Demonstration (need scriptures, plates/pans, post-it notes or small pieces of paper,  and spoons):

Have one person (a good reader) wearing a sign saying "Holy Ghost" and being prepared to read Moroni 10:5 very softly several times over.  

Have one person stand up next to the "Holy Ghost" while the reader very softly reads Moroni 10:5.  
Ask the other person if they were able to hear the promptings of the Spirit.   Of course they should have been able to, since the room was quiet and they were standing next to each other. 

Next, have another person come forward and stand in between the first two people. Give the person a  plastic plate/pan with a spoon and discuss what some things in our lives that can make it harder to hear the Holy Ghost.   {Some possible examples:   spending too much time on video games, being too tied to your phone, sinning, listening to bad music, being so busy that you never have time to read your scriptures, whatever you think could be distracting your class/family, etc}  Have them pick one, write it on the post-it note and attach it to the plate/pan.  

Then have them repeatedly bang the plate while the "Holy Ghost" softly reads the scripture again. Was it harder to hear the promptings this time?   Repeat this process, each time discussing and labeling a plate/pan with another distraction, and having the new person bang the plate while the "Holy Ghost" continues softly reading the scripture  until all the people in your family/class are a part of the demonstration. The first person and the person representing the Holy Ghost should be far apart by the end, with plate banging people in between them. It should be almost impossible to hear the scripture being read. Explain that distractions (bad things and daily distractions that pull us away from Christ) can make it hard to hear the still, small voice. Even though the Spirit is trying to communicate with us, we cannot hear him.

Discuss what you can do to minimize the distractions and to be more in tune to hearing the still small voice of the Spirit.  


QUOTE(S):  

"Too many of us are like those whom the Lord said “[came] with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, … [and] at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.”

Imagine that: “And they knew it not.” It is not unusual for one to have received the gift and not really know it.

I fear this supernal gift is being obscured by programs and activities and schedules and so many meetings. There are so many places to go, so many things to do in this noisy world. We can be too busy to pay attention to the promptings of the Spirit.

The voice of the Spirit is a still, small voice—a voice that is felt rather than heard. It is a spiritual voice that comes into the mind as a thought put into your heart.

All over the world ordinary men, women, and children, not completely aware that they have the gift, bless their families, teach, preach, and minister by the Spirit within them."   Boyd K. Packer, "The Cloven Tongues of Fire," May 2000


"The comforting Spirit of the Holy Ghost can abide with us twenty-four hours a day: when we work, when we play, when we rest. Its strengthening influence can be with us year in and year out. That sustaining influence can be with us in joy and sorrow, when we rejoice as well as when we grieve.

I believe the Spirit of the Holy Ghost is the greatest guarantor of inward peace in our unstable world. It can be more mind-expanding and can make us have a better sense of well-being than any chemical or other earthly substance. It will calm nerves; it will breathe peace to our souls. This Comforter can be with us as we seek to improve. It can function as a source of revelation to warn us of impending danger and also help keep us from making mistakes. It can enhance our natural senses so that we can see more clearly, hear more keenly, and remember what we should remember. It is a way of maximizing our happiness."  James E Faust, "The Gift of the Holy Ghost--A Sure Compass," April 1989

VIDEOS:  

Acts 3:  Peter Preaches and Is Arrested  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU3Hqpc8AYE


Acts 3: Peter and John Heal a Crippled Man     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT7cnOkGcBQ


Acts 5:  Peter and John Continue Teaching the Gospel   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrOmq3otiBo




HAVE FUN LEARNING THE GOSPEL TOGETHER!!!!

NEW TESTAMENT: CFM Teaching Ideas and Resources for June 26 - July 2, 2023 {Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21}

 Below you will find teaching ideas and resources to go along with the Come, Follow Me reading for June 26-July 2, 2023!   Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEET:

These 1/2 page activity sheets are perfect for handing out with the sacrament programs, to use an attention activity for a class, or to spark a discussion in your family.  They're geared for kids ages 8+, but the coloring sheets are for all ages and  teens/adults often enjoy the activities as well.   

    


TEACHING IDEA:   

I love using this simple scientific/spiritual analogy when talking about the atonement.   

OBJECT LESSON:  
This link contains a powerful object lesson for illustrating the power of the atonement. 

QUOTE(S):   

"I suspect that many Church members are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement than they are with the strengthening and enabling power. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us—that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us...

The gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it also is essentially about doing and becoming good. And the Atonement provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do and become good. Help from the Savior is available for the entire journey of mortality—from bad to good to better and to change our very nature." Elder David A Bednar

“It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.” Bible Dictionary


VIDEOS:  
 

What Happens When I Die?     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwg3GTGnmIE 



John 20:  Jesus is Resurrected https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlKetn7ZiNU


John 20: He Is Risen  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAuaSpJ7zGs&t=14s


HAVE FUN LEARNING THE GOSPEL TOGETHER!!!! 

Come Follow Me Word Search and Coloring Page for 2 Nephi 6-10 (2/16/2020)

Here is a half-sheet, double-sided activity page, including a  word search and coloring sheet, to go along with 2 Nephi 6-10.    These sheets make for great introductions or reviews to the Come, Follow Me reading for the week or as a quiet activity during sacrament meeting.  Our previous ward used to hand them out to the kids along with the sacrament programs. 

If you end up using them, I'd love to hear how your families/classes like them. 
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If you're looking for other resources to teach about the atonement, try these other links below:

Quotes on the atonement
Atonement and the tree of life lesson
Jesus Christ's Atonement

7 Quotes on the Atonement

Quote #1 “For some reason, we think the Atonement of Christ applies only at the end of mortal life to redemption from the Fall, from spiritual death. It is much more than that. It is an ever-present power to call upon in everyday life. When we are racked or harrowed up or tormented by guilt or burdened with grief, He can heal us. While we do not fully understand how the Atonement of Christ was made, we can experience “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.”    Elder Boyd K. Packer  

Quote #2   “Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully.” Elder David A. Bednar

Quote #3  “It is my testimony that many of the deepest regrets of tomorrow can be prevented by following the Savior today. If we have sinned or made mistakes—if we have made choices that we now regret—there is the precious gift of Christ’s Atonement, through which we can be forgiven. We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent.”   Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Quote #4 “Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely… He Loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.”   Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Quote #5 “The Atonement has practical, personal, everyday value; apply it in your life. It can be activated with so simple a beginning as prayer. You will not thereafter be free from trouble and mistakes but can erase the guilt through repentance and be at peace.”  Elder Boyd K. Packer

Quote #6 "The gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it also is essentially about doing and becoming good. And the Atonement provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do and become good. Help from the Savior is available for the entire journey of mortality—from bad to good to better and to change our very nature."  Elder David A. Bednar

Quote #7 "The Savior has suffered not just for our iniquities but also for the inequality, the unfairness, the pain, the anguish, and the emotional distresses that so frequently beset us. There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, “No one understands. No one knows.” No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did."  Elder David A. Bednar 

The Atonement and the Tree of Life

The Atonement and the Tree of Life

SONGS:
"Christ the Lord is Risen Today,"  Hymns, page 200
"He is Risen," Hymns, page 199
"He Sent His Son,"  Children's Songbook, page 34

ATONEMENT SCRIPTURES: 
Alma 34:9--the atonement is necessary or we will perish
Alma 34:14-16--mercy can satisfy the demands of justice
2 Nephi 9:26--atonement saves us from hell
Doctrine and Covenants 88:6--Christ can comprehend all things
Mosiah 13:27-32--why we cannot be saved by just keeping the law of Moses
John 3:16-17--God sent Christ to atone for us because He loves us

EASTER FHE LESSON IDEAS:
Christ's Atonement--with the Parable of the Ketchup
Easter Walk with Jesus--go on a family walk and find objects that symbolize Christ's atonement
Symbols of Easter--a fun lesson to help tie the Easter Bunny into the true meaning of Easter
Easter Coloring Book--a simple coloring book about the life of Jesus and His sacrifice for us

OBJECT LESSON IDEA:
Drops of Awesome

QUOTES: 
"No mortal can cry out, "He does not understand my plight, for my trials are unique."  There is nothing outside the scope of the Savior's experience.  As Elder Maxwell observed, "None of us can tell Chrsit anything about depression."  As a result of his mortal experience, culminating in the Atonement, the Savior knows, understands, and feels every human condition, every human woe, and every human loss.  He can comfort as no other.  He can life burdens as no other.  He can listen as no other.  There is no hurt he cannot soothe, rejection he cannot assuage, loneliness he cannot console.  Whatever affliction the world casts at us, he has a remedy of superior healing power."  Tad R Callister, Infinite Atonement


"Each of us will taste the bitter ashes of life, from sin and neglect to sorrow and disappointment. But the atonement of Christ can lift us up in beauty from our ashes on the wings of a sure promise of immortality and eternal life. He will thus lift us up, not only at the end of life, but in each day of our lives."  Bruce Hafen

"I suspect that many Church members are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement than they are with the strengthening and enabling power. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us—that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us...

The gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it also is essentially about doing and becoming good. And the Atonement provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do and become good. Help from the Savior is available for the entire journey of mortality—from bad to good to better and to change our very nature."  Elder David A Bednar

“It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.”  Bible Dictionary

"There is one who understands, who sympathizes. He was misunderstood, rejected, knew supreme loneliness, was poor and had not a place to lay his head, suffered anguish and conflict of mind.  He understands.  He can give pardon and bring peace."  Marion D. Hanks

VIDEOS ABOUT EASTER AND CHRIST'S ATONEMENT

 

Take an Easter Walk with Jesus

“Take an Easter Walk with Jesus”—walk outside, and find and place the following items in a bag while you talk more about Jesus’ atonement.  We do this early in the day as a prelude to an Easter  family home evening.  

A BRANCH—a week before his crucifixion, as Christ entered the city, the people waved branches from palm trees

SOMETHING PRICKLY—his “crown” was made of thorns

A PIECE OF WOOD—for it was out of wood his cross was made

SOMETHING NO LONGER ALIVE—for the Savior truly died

WHITE LINEN (may need to find this at home) —Christ was wrapped in white linen before being placed in the tomb

A STONE –it was a huge stone at the opening of the tomb that the angel removed

SOMETHING LIVING—to remind us that Christ surely lives.  He died and was resurrected. 

 Some of the beautiful sights we saw along the way that gave us the opportunity about the beauty of God's creations. 

Here is one of my kids' collections from the walk. 

My kids really wanted our dog, Rocky, to be the living thing they found as part of the walk. 

Easter Coloring Book: with Scenes from Jesus' Earthly Life

NOTE:  If you're looking for our family blog, go here.  This blog is now 100% FHE lessons and parenting topics.  :)

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This is a printable Easter coloring book featuring scenes of Jesus Christ's life on earth. The story of Easter is told simply at a young child's level, with a coloring page to accompany the text.

Click here to see my FHE LESSON INDEX and come back often to look for new lessons and ideas for teaching your family the gospel!

EASTER COLORING BOOK WITH SCENES FROM CHRIST'S LIFE: 



This is just a random visual aid that I had, that could be used for retelling the Easter story or for a quiet activity to keep in a church bag. 

EASTER TOMB VISUAL AID




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