Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Short Attention Span Sunday School: Lesson 37 Joseph and Hyrum Smith Are Martyred

PRIMARY 5 LESSON 37 JOSEPH AND HYRUM SMITH ARE MARTYRED



image of the Sacred Grove from lds.org




CLASSROOM PREP


Write on the board:
Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;
Death cannot conquer the hero again.



OPENING ACTIVITY


Have D&C 135:3 printed out in separate sections/separate pieces of paper (see below for how I plan to separate them)
Each section lists a different accomplishment of Joseph Smith.
Tape each section up onto the wall in a grid or however you'd like and have a Nerf type ball to use.
Let them take turns tossing the ball and trying to hit one of the papers.
If they hit the paper, take it down and discuss it.


D&C 135:3
Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.  In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; // has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; // has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; // gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. // He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; // and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. // In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!

Today we are going to talk about not only the life of Joseph Smith, but his death.
I’ve mentioned before that he dies, and today we are going to learn about how it happened.



LESSON
In lieu of illustrations, I will simply get a big image of him from the ward library and have that on display. And use the video mentioned below...

So remember we learned all about Nauvoo and how it was built up to a great city?
And they built a temple there?
And remember how I told you Joseph was actually killed before it was finished, and the new Prophet Brigham Young helped the Saints before they all left...after the temple was finished.


So for this lesson we’re going to go back in time a little to before the temple was done and before Joseph was killed.


So it’s 1844 and the city is doing well.
More and more Church members are moving there.
And remember what happened each time a lot of members moved to a place all at the same time?
Other non-members got nervous that they’d take over!
So when they get afraid, they get mean and they persecuted the Saints.


These mean enemies believed if they killed Joseph or got rid of him somehow, the Church wouldn’t exist anymore and would just fall apart.
They started rumours in a newspaper and told lies about him.
Guess who this made pretty angry? Church members!
Joseph Smith called a meeting of the city council. He was mayor of Nauvoo at the time.
The city council decided the newspaper was a “public nuisance” - what does that mean? Something that doesn’t help the people in a city but hurts them, and should be ended
They decided the printing press where the newspaper was printed should be destroyed!


This made the enemies even more mad.
The governor of Illinois, Thomas Ford, wanted Joseph and other Church members to go to Carthage, Illinois and stand trial for destroying the press!
The governor promised the men would be safe.
Had Joseph been promised by a governor before that they would be safe? Yes, Dunklin and Boggs both seemed to want to help but then didn’t


Joseph didn’t think the trial would be fair and he didn’t think the governor would protect them.


Joseph and his brother Hyrum believed they were the only ones the enemies really wanted.
They decided to go into hiding and planned to move west with their families.
What does “move west” mean? Show a map or draw a map of the US on the board and show where Illinois is, etc.


But a mob came from Carthage to Nauvoo and demanded Hyrum and Joseph! And said they would take over the city if they weren’t found.
Some Saints were afraid of this mob and thought Joseph and Hyrum were cowards for leaving Nauvoo and hiding.


Joseph was sad to hear this and said, “If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to me.”
He asked Hyrum what they should do, and Hyrum said “Let us go back and give ourselves up, and see the thing out.”


Joseph knew if they went back, they would be killed.
He told other Church leaders, “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer’s morning. I have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward all men. If they take my life I shall die an innocent man, and my blood shall cry from the ground for vengeance, and it shall be said of me “He was murdered in cold blood!”


What does that mean? Discuss his statement


So they went to Carthage on June 25th, 1844.
They were falsely accused of rioting and treason (working against the government).
They were put in jail and some of their friends were too.
In Carthage Jail, mobs threatened and cursed them.
They prayed and read the Book of Mormon.
Joseph bore his testimony of the truth of the gospel to the guards.


On the morning of June 27th, 1844 the prison guards hinted that they would be killing Joseph.
Governor Ford was told about this, but didn’t really believe it. He left Carthage, and left some of the worst enemies of the Prophet in charge of the jail.


That day most of the Prophet’s friends were ordered to leave the jail.
Just four men remained there: Joseph and his brother Hyrum, John Taylor, and Willard Richards. They were two Apostles.
The four men had two guns with them that they were given by friends who had visited them.


They knew their lives were in danger.
That morning, Joseph wrote a letter to his family telling them he loved them and was innocent.
He blessed his family and friends in his letter.
That afternoon, John Taylor sang “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief” which comforted them.
The Prophet asked John Taylor to sing it again.

PAUSE TO PLAY THIS HYMN ON YOUR PHONE, LAPTOP, OR JUST SING IT TOGETHER


Around 5:00pm that evening, a mob of 100 men attacked the jail.
Many men had blackened their faces with mud and gunpowder so they wouldn’t be recognized.
The guards at the jail were friends with the mob, so they didn’t help stop the attack.
Some members of the mob shot at the windows of the jail!
Others ran upstairs to shoot into the room.


The Prophet and others tried to keep the door shut and use their two guns to drive off the mob.
Joseph Smith fired a gun and John Taylor used a heavy cane to try to knock down the mob’s guns.
But the mob was too big.


Hyrum was shot by a bullet fired through the door.
As he fell he was hit by three other bullets.
The Prophet cried out, “Oh dear, brother Hyrum!”


John Taylor was shot but didn’t die.

The Prophet moved to the window and was hit by two bullets fired from inside the room and another bullet from outside the jail. He cried out, “Oh Lord, my God!” and fell out of the window.


Willard Richards was not hurt in the attack.
John Taylor lived through it too.


The Prophet’s other brother Samuel was heading to Carthage Jail to help his brothers.
He was chased along the way by mob members, so he was exhausted when he got there.
He found out his brothers had been murdered!
He helped move their bodies to a home in Carthage.
He was so tired and weak from all those happenings that he got really sick and died the next month.


The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were carried back to Nauvoo in wagons.
The next day, 10,000 Saints waited in line to walk past the caskets and pay their respects.
They were all very sad.



VIDEO


We are going to watch scenes from a Church movie that show some of this.



Skip to timestamp: 58:00 to start the Carthage Jail section




DISCUSSION AFTER


What are martyrs? Someone who chooses to die rather than deny or reject what they believe in


Why do you think hearing “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief” would have brought them comfort?

What else did they do to be comforted? Prophet bore his testimony, they prayed and read the Book of Mormon


So remember how the mob thought killing Joseph would end the Church?
But we know that it didn’t. Why not?


Why is it important for us to have a testimony that Joseph was a prophet of God? If we do not believe he was a prophet, we can’t believe the Book of Mormon is true or that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been brought back to the earth


William W Phelps, remember him? He had a printing press for the Doctrine & Covenants, etc.
He spoke at the funeral for Joseph and Hyrum.
And he wrote a beautiful poem called Praise to the Man - that became a hymn!


There’s a lot of beautiful music about the life of Joseph Smith!
We’re going to sing some of them as we sing the story of his life...



SING A STORY


Adapted from the Friend
Use a laptop to show the images or gather them in other ways (perhaps the Gospel Art Book or your ward library)


1/
SHOW:
https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/joseph-searching-scriptures-37717?lang=eng


SAY:
When Joseph was young, he wanted to know which Church to join.He’d already read the Bible, and he was studying in James 1:5 - “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”


THEN SING (portions of):
Seek the Lord Early


2/
SHOW:


SAY:
In the Sacred Grove, he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They told Joseph not to join any of the church.


THEN SING (portions of):
Joseph Smith’s First Prayer or The Sacred Grove


3/
SHOW


SAY:
Moroni visited Joseph when he was 17 years old, and continued to visit and teach him until he was ready to receive the plates.


THEN SING (portions of):
An Angel Came to Joseph Smith


4/
SHOW


SAY:
Finally he was allowed to receive the plates!


THEN SING (portions of):
The Golden Plates


5/
SHOW


SAY:
With the help of Heavenly Father, Joseph translated the plates!

THEN SING (portions of):
Book of Mormon Stories


6/
SHOW


SAY:
As we’ve learned about all the amazing experiences in his life, many of them hard where Church members were persecuted and hurt, where the Prophet himself was killed, where people had to cling to their faith as they struggled to sacrifice to build up cities and temples and to serve mission, I hope that your testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith has grown


THEN SING (portions of):
Praise to the Man



TESTIMONY / TAKE HOME IDEAS

Testify that Joseph was a prophet and saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and that through him the true gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth. Challenge them to gain their own testimonies.

Ideas:
1/Give them a small art card from Deseret Book or Church Distribution of Joseph Smith
2/Give them a small bag of yellow treats, a small juice box of lemonade or something similarly yellow, or something in the shape of a sun. Include lyrics from Joseph Smith's First Prayer and a note about how we want to focus on the wondrous experiences of his life rather than his death:
Suddenly a light descended,
Brighter far than noonday sun,
And a shining, glorious pillar
O’er him fell, around him shone,


Thursday, September 7, 2017

Short Attention Span Sunday School: Primary 5 Lesson 36 Joseph Smith Writes the Articles of Faith

PRIMARY 5 LESSON 36 JOSEPH SMITH WRITES THE ARTICLES OF FAITH

CLASSROOM PREP

Write on the chalkboard:
WE BELIEVE...

Have a print-out of each of the 13 Articles of Faith, and tape them in order around the perimeter of your classroom on the walls.

OPENING ACTIVITY

Bring in a manual for a car (already have found sections in it that you want to refer to).
Hand the manual to a student.
I need help putting gas in my car - can you help me find where the gas tank opening is using this manual? give them time to do so

And I really need to check my oil, can you help me find where that part is? give another child time to do so and help if necessary

Do you think having this manual is helpful? Why?
What if I didn't have this? How would I know how to do those things?
Because I have it and I know a lot about my car, can I feel pretty confident driving my car places?

What do you think is another manual that is in our classroom right now? The scriptures
A lot of people say the scriptures are like a manual for life.

If someone hadn't read the scriptures and they wanted a short quick version, would that be pretty handy to be able to tell them?

Well guess what, we DO have a summary!
Can you guess what it is? motion towards the Articles of Faith on the walls if they haven't already guessed

So to learn and understand the gospel, we must first learn the basic principles of the gospel.

Joseph Smith wrote 13 statements that summarize the basic principles and beliefs of the gospel.
Anyone who is a member or learning about our Church can study these!

Today we’re going to learn about when and how and why these were written!

LESSON
Illustrate as much as possible to hold their attention

In 1842 in New Hampshire, a state near New York, a man named George Barstow was writing a history of his state.
He knew members of the Church were living in New Hampshire, so he wanted to include a chapter about them. But he didn’t know much about the Church, and wanted to find out what they believed.
The headquarters were in Nauvoo, Illinois at this time so he contacted his friend John Wentworth. John was the editor of a newspaper in a big city in Illinois, named Chicago.

John Wentworth asked Joseph Smith about the beliefs and history of the Church.
The Prophet wrote back with a letter that’s been called the “Wentworth Letter.”


In it, he told about the First Vision and the gold plates, how the Church was organized, how their members were persecuted, the mobs, etc.

In the last part of the letter, he listed the basic beliefs of the Church.
That list of 13 basic beliefs came to be known as something...can you guess? Articles of Faith

He meant it for people who aren’t members of the Church to understand how we are different from other churches.
They don’t contain all of our teachings and beliefs, but they explain our most important beliefs.
The Articles of Faith can help build faith, understanding, and a testimony of the gospel, and also can help us share the gospel with others.

That list wasn’t ever published in the history that George Barstow was writing, or in the newspaper that John Wentworth ran. But they were published in a Church newspaper that year.

In 1880, members of the Church in their October general conference raised their hands to agree to accept it as scripture. They’re now in the Pearl of Great Price!





FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS / GAME PREP

Why do you think teachers, leaders, parents, etc. often ask us to memorize the Articles of Faith?
Why would this help us?  

Why would knowing the Articles of Faith help us share the gospel with others?

In order to play the game after this, walk around as a group (depending on your size, perhaps you want to split up) and read each one and talk about it, then move onto the next, and the next. Make sure they know it’s to prepare for a game so you get better attention!

SOCK-O BINGO GAME (AND ANOTHER GAME OPTION)
Adapted from this site

YOU WILL NEED
- masking tape
- slips of paper with a clue for each Article of Faith written on it*
- a sock filled with beans, pennies, something sturdy/heavy

*have another full set prepared if time allows, but keep separate so you for sure go through all the Articles of Faith at least once

Need help with ideas for the clues?
Clues could simply be key words and they have a few seconds to remember which Article of Faith or to find it on the wall

My list:
We claim (11)
Faith, repentance, baptism by immersion, laying on of hands (4)
Subject to kings, presidents…. (12)
Called of God by prophecy (5)
Reveal…. (9)
God the Eternal Father (1)
Benevolent (13)
Adam’s transgression (2)
Pastors, teachers, evangelists (6)
Word of god (8)
All mankind may be saved (3)
Gift of tongues (7)

Christ will reign personally upon the earth (10)

Or use this site:

Another option is to use those bingo boards instead of the Sock-o Bingo game

HOW TO PLAY
- With their help, move all the chairs away and tape a big grid on the floor (4 x 4)
- Pick three random squares and mark and “X” to indicate a free space (16 squares but only 13 AoF)
- Place the papers written-side-down, one in each square
- Have the first person throw the sock-o to a square and read that clue
- See if they can figure out which Article of Faith it’s talking about and if they get it,
- Continue on until everyone gets Bingo (I like to play as a whole class rather than teams)

At this point you could give everyone a little snack, then continue on (leave everything on the board and see if you can get another BINGO).

PRESIDENT MONSON STORY FROM MANUAL

A man was traveling by bus across the United States to California. When the bus stopped in Salt Lake City, a young girl got on and sat next to the man. They started talking, and he asked her if she was a Mormon. When she answered, “Yes, sir,” he asked her what Mormons believe. The girl recited the first article of faith and explained it to the man. She then recited and explained the rest of the Articles of Faith. The man was very impressed with the young girl’s knowledge, and when she got off the bus, he kept thinking about what she had told him. When he arrived in California, he called the local mission president. The mission president sent missionaries to teach the man, and eventually the man’s entire family was baptized, thanks to a young Primary girl who understood and shared the Articles of Faith. (See “Primary Days,” Ensign, Apr. 1994, pp. 67–68.)


FOURTH ARTICLE OF FAITH WITH ASL SIGNS

For fun, we’re going to learn the Fourth Article of Faith using Sign Language!

How to do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2mgRwRxN8g

Follow along with the same person singing it with this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKneON3h8Mo

TESTIMONY / TAKE HOME IDEAS
The Articles of Faith allow us to learn the principles of our restored gospel!
Memorizing them helps us not only share them more easily, but helps us remember our own beliefs.
What about after you've learned how to open the gas on your car, would you always need to go to the manual to look it up?
The Articles of Faith are something we should read, learn, and know, and by knowing them by heart we are then able to share with others! We can drive the car! We can bring others into our car just like we can bring others unto Christ!

Take home ideas could be:
- related to their hands (ASL)
- a printout of the Articles of Faith
- a printout of the bingo game with something to mark the spots