Testimony of Scriptures ST

Sharing Time- I Can Know the Scriptures are True, Credit: Sugardoodle.net

Show feel box and explain that Heavenly Father has given our bodies five special gifts to enjoy this beautiful world. Have several children feel inside the box and 'discover a gift' and then have them display the illustration to others of a sense that we have been given.

Asking: What is it you have? What is the gift? What do you and I do with it? It is an orange. We can see the orange(show eye), we feel that it is bumpy and round(show hand), we hear the orange bounce inside the box or on a table(show ear), we can smell the orange(show nose) and can even taste it(show mouth). All our senses can help us know that it is an orange.

 Just as we use our fives sense to explore and enjoy our world we can also use them when exploring our scriptures.

Ask them to use their senses to describe their scriptures they brought to church.

Ask, “What do they look like?” “Are they heavy?” “How would you describe the pages?” “How can we listen to them?”

            Now, although, we can touch our scriptures and see and even hear them, we need to gain a testimony of them. Testimony?! That is a big word, do you know what one means? (testimony wordstrip)

Who knows what an orange tastes like? It has a sweet-sour citric taste, juicy with bumpy texture, soft. Sweet and fruity, with a little tang from the acid. Not as harsh as a lemon or lime. That was my testimony of what an orange tastes like. Explain that bearing your testimony is simply telling something you know to be true. It would be hard to be able to tell your testimony of what an orange tastes like without actually ever had one.

But what about with the scriptures, how do we come to know the truth for ourselves, so we can bear testimony?

 With the gospel we have a special sense, not taste or sight or hearing, but it's feeling the spirit of the Holy Ghost. To gain a testimony of the scriptures we need to receive a witness through the spirit.

We can do this if we SEARCH the scriptures, PONDER the scriptures and PRAY about the scriptures. POINT TO WORDSTRIPS ON BOARD!

I have a cup labeled testimony(SHOW CUP) and we are going to see if our testimony can grow by searching the scriptures(SHOW BOTTLE labeled SEARCH SCRIPTURES) and pondering and praying about them(SHOW CUP LABELED “PRAYER” AND SPOON LABELED “PONDER”) (Put the vinegar in bottle labeled “search scriptures”, put the baking soda in the cup labeled “Ponder”.) I have some scriptures that we will search and they can help us gain a testimony of an important gospel truth if we ponder them. We will pour some “search” every time we choose a scripture. We will then match the picture of what the scripture helps us strengthen our testimonies. For every match we get and if you are reverent, we will see if our testimony cup grows any during the game? When the children get a match, put a spoonful of the baking soda(Ponder and Prayer) into the testimony cup and let it grow with each match.

PICTURES

BAPTISM (Picture of Boy being Baptized)

ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST(Christ in Gethsemane)

JOSEPH SMITH (picture portrait of Joseph Smith)

PROPHETS (President Monson)

RESTORATION (First Vision picture)

BOOK OF MORMON- (girl reading Book of Mormon)

SCRIPTURES

Joseph Smith- 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…”

Baptism- 2 Nephi 9:23- “And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.”

Atonement of Jesus Christ- Helaman 5:9- “O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.

Prophets- Amos 3:7- “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets”

Book of Mormon- Moroni 10:4-“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Restoration- Joseph Smith History 1:17- “It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!