I Have Faith in Jesus Christ

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."

-The Family: A Proclamation To The World 

Scripture

Alma 32:21

21- And now as I said concerning faith--faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."

Hymn

Faith - Primary Song # 96
1. Faith is knowing the sun will rise, lighting each new day.
Faith is knowing the Lord will hear my prayers each time I pray.
Faith is like a little seed;
If planted it will grow.
Faith is a swelling within my heart.
When I do right, I know.

2. Faith is knowing I lived with God before my mortal birth.
Faith is knowing I can return when my life ends on earth.
Faith is trust in God above;
In Christ, who showed the way.
Faith is strengthened; I feel it grow
Whenever I obey.

Lesson

 This lesson is to help family members learn what faith is and how they can strengthen and nurture it.
You are going to need: 
Scriptures, an interesting object ( like a picture of the Savior or scriptures, etc.), blanket or cloth to cover object.

1.  Show the children an object (a picture of the Savior, or scriptures) covered by a piece of cloth.

Ask: Do you believe there is something under here? Why?

2.  Let the children guess what they think the object might be. Then uncover the object. Point out that even though they could not see the object, they believed it was there.

3. Explain that even though we have not seen Jesus Christ, we believe he is there. We see evidence of his existence everywhere as we look at the world that he created, as we see the stars in the heavens, and especially as we read our scriptures. We also have prophets who have told us that they have seen him. Tell the children that today they will learn of someone from the Book of Mormon who had such great faith that he actually saw Jesus Christ.

4.  Using the visuals below, tell the story of:

The Brother of Jared and the Finger of the Lord

by Peggy A. Moffat

The Brother of Jared (1) was a leader of the Jaredites. The Jaredites were a group of people who lived on the earth 200 years before Christ. They were at the tower of Bable (2) when it was built. Some wicked people thought they could get to heaven if only they could build a tower tall enough to climb there. But the Lord was not pleased and in his anger He gave the wicked people different languages. People were scattered all about the land.

Jared and his brother, who were righteous men, wanted their families and friends to live together and be able to understand each other. The brother of Jared was a large man and was loved by the Lord. He prayed (3) (take down 1), asking the Lord to spare his family and friends, that they might speak the same language and be able to understand each other. He also asked the Lord where his people should go to live. The Lord in his love and compassion granted the brother of Jared's request. He did not confound their speech. He also directed them to gather tow of every available animal and seeds of every kind along with their families and friends that He might direct them to a choice new land. (take down 2 and 3).

The Brother of Jared (1) and his people obeyed the Lord's words. They gathered the flocks and seed (4) and people and provisions that had been commanded. They also carried with them desert (5), another name for honeybees. They traveled north to the valley of Nimrod. The Lord spoke to the brother of Jared in a cloud. He heard the voice of the Lord, but did not see him. The Lord told the brother of Jared to travel in the wilderness in a direction where no man had ever gone.

The Jaredites were guided in their travels to a great sea (6) (take down 4 & 5), where they camped for four years. Jared's brother had forgotten to pray fro some time. The Lord came to him in a cloud again and chastised him for not praying. He reminded the brother of Jared that it is necessary to pray in order to have the spirit of the Lord with us. He then commanded that the brother of Jared should build boats to travel on the water. He called them barges (7), and told Jared's brother how they were to be built. They were to be small and light on the water and tight like a dish, with ends that were peaked. They were to have a door that when shut would make the barges air-tight.

The brother of Jared directed the building of the barges as he was told. He prepared eight barges. He worried about the air-tight design of the vessels and with great faith, asked the Lord how they could breathe in the boats. The Lord responded, giving the brother of Jared a plan to get air, by adding a door to the top and bottom of each barge.

When the other problems had been solved, Jared's brother prayed (3)sixteen small, white, clear stones (8). He carried these stones to the top of the mountain and again called on the Lord in prayer. This time, he expressed his feelings of weakness and showed the Lord the stones he had made. He humbly told the Lord that he knew if He would touch the stones with his finger they would shine and be a source of light for their travel on the sea.

The brother of Jared had just finished his prayer when the Lord stretched out His hand (9) and touched each stone, one at a time until they were each glowing (10) with light (replace 8 with 10). Jared's brother (11) was astonished because he actually saw the finger of the Lord and out of surprise and fear, fell to the earth. The Lord asked why he had fallen and the brother of Jared explained that he didn't know the Lord was made of flesh and blood. The Lord lovingly explained that because of the brother of Jared's exceptional faith, he was able to see the finger of the Lord, then the Lord asked if he had seen more than just His finger. The brother of Jared answered that he had not, but asked the Lord to show Himself. The Lord asked the brother of Jared, "Believest thou to words which I shall speak?" Then he answered, "Yea, Lord. I know Thou art a God of Truth..." and with these words the Lord showed Himself to the brother of Jared in the body of His spirit, which is in the exact image of His physical body. (Hint: If you have a picture of Christ, show it to your children) The Lord explained that he had never before appeared to man, because never had a man showed so much Faith in the Lord as the brother of Jared showed that day.

5.  Relate a story from your life when you've either had your faith strengthened or when you've had to show a lot of faith. Telling a personal story will help it to be more meaningful to your family. 

Bear your testimony about the importance of nurturing our faith. 


 Brother of Jared Visuals: Cut, Laminate (if desired), then mount them with magnets, flannel or popsicle sticks.

Activity

1- Get a little pot for each member of your family and plant a real seed. Help your children over the next several weeks, as the plant grows, and take the time to remind them of their lesson on faith and mention how we can "water" our faith by praying, etc.

2- Play Digital Hot Potato.

Treat

Chocolate Crinkles

When you're looking for holiday treats to send to far-flung relatives, here's a cookie that fits the bill.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 6-oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter, cocoa powder and sugar; beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
   
2. In a medium-sized bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix in the wet ingredients, then stir in the chips. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in confectioners' sugar. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 12 minutes. Makes 25 to 35 cookies.