Plan of Salvation

Yesterday our ward was in mourning for the loss of sweet 10-year-old boy. After much prayer, speaking with many people, and searching the internet, I planned sharing time for Primary. I thought that this might help someone else, so I am posting it.

Ship at Sea: I drew stick figures, a shoreline, and waves on the left side of the chalkboard. I asked the children, “Who has gone to the beach this week?” Since we live a beach community, most of them raised their hands. I asked, “When you looked at the ocean, what are of some of the things you have seen?” Their answers included seaweed, seals, dolphins, and boats. Boat was the answer I was looking for. I thanked them for their contributions, and then talked about the ship at sea going over the horizon. I told them the people on the shore are sad to their friend leave. On the right side of the chalkboard I drew another shoreline and stick figures. I asked, “Since the people on the left shore are sad to see their friend go, how do you think the people on the right shore feel to see their friend coming toward them?” The children told me they would be happy to see their friend. I compared this to death. When a person dies, we are sad because we won’t see them. At the same time, someone else rejoices to receive that person on the other side of life.

Plan of Salvation: I gave a mini lesson on the plan of salvation. I found good visuals online, and I asked questions to prompt the children to tell me about the pre-mortal life, receiving a body, death, the spirit world, and resurrection. We did not go into the judgment or three degrees of glory. The visuals can be found at the link below.

Visuals for Plan of Salvation

Cards: The children colored a picture for the family. Some of the older children wrote messages to the family. It was an opportunity for the children to express their love and concern for the family. I prepared the pictures on cardstock. Each page had four pictures. Then I cut the pages into fourths. I used white cardstock and black and white clipart.

Result: The children were all engaged in the activity and did their best on the cards. There was a sweet spirit in our Primary during this sharing time activity.