Opening Song: Kindness begins with me
Opening Prayer:
Lesson:
Heavenly Father has given us many wonderful blessings. We can see and hear and use our hands to work and to help others. One of the special blessings Heavenly Father has given us is our power to speak. We can use words to tell others what we need, to share a funny story or to say prayers. But words are very powerful. What kind of words we choose to use is a very important decision.
Some words we say can make other people feel happy. Some words we say can make other people feel sad. Some words we say can invite the Holy Ghost to be with us and other words can send him away.
I want to tell you a story from the Friend Magazine (January 2010) about a little boy who found out how powerful words can be:
"Robbie wiped the sweat from his face. The sun beat down on him as he played ball with other fourth-grade boys.
Seth threw the ball to Robbie. A boy on the other team lunged for it, but missed. Robbie dove for the ball and caught it before it hit the ground. The other boy called Robbie a mean name.
“Don’t let him get away with saying that, Robbie,” Seth said. Robbie ignored the mean name and took his position. Some of the boys snickered. Robbie couldn’t get the word out of his mind. When his team won the game, he didn’t feel like celebrating with his teammates.
That evening, Robbie told Dad what happened. “Why did he call me that word?” Robbie asked.
“Not everyone believes what we do,” Dad said. “Some people think using words like that makes them seem cool. Words have a lot of power. They can build people up or tear them down.”
“Seth told me not to let the boy get away with saying what he did,” Robbie said.
“What did you do?” Dad asked.
Robbie looked down. “I ignored him and kept playing,” Robbie said.
Dad hugged Robbie. “You did the right thing. I’m proud of you.”
Robbie was happy to hear Dad say that. “I guess you’re right,” Robbie said, smiling. “Words do have a lot of power.”
- When Robbie got called a name how did it make him feel?
- How do we make others feel when we call them names?
- What did Robbie do to the boy who called him a name?
- Was that a good decision or a bad decision?
- What will you do if someone ever calls you a mean name?
- How did Robbie's Dad make him feel better using words?
Families are so important. Heavenly Father wants us to always treat our family with love and kindness.
- How will our home feel if we yell at each other and call each other mean names?
- How can we use words to show love for each other?
Activity:
Get a beanbag or small stuffed animal. Have the family sit on the floor in a circle. Starting with a parent, have them say one "happy word" about another member in the circle. This can be a descriptive word that describes that person like sweet, kind, happy, fun, loving, affectionate, smart, musical, etc. Then toss the beanbag to that person. Then it is their turn to choose someone to say a "Happy Word" about and toss the bag to. Continue until every member of the family has had a turn as the tosser and receiver. You can continue as many times as you would like.
Treat:
Homemade Take 5 Bars
Love this one. I think we will try and use it next week. We really need to work on this.
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