The Fourth Article of Faith: Week One

Click here to view and download my flip chart for The Fourth Article of Faith.

To introduce this song I am going to show the second page in my flip chart, the picture of Joseph Smith:

Then I'll begin a discussion that will go something like this:

The Articles of Faith were written by Joseph Smith, after he was asked by a man named John Wentworth, an editor of a newspaper called the Chicago Democrat,  to tell about ‘the rise, progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-Day Saints'. (Articles of Faith, L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, General Conference, April 1998)  Now the Articles of Faith are part of our scriptures in the Pearl of Great Price. When we want to share the Gospel with others, we can always rely on the Articles of Faith to clearly relate our beliefs. The Fourth Article of Faith teaches us about the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel.

Show the first two pages of the flip chart and sing the first phrase to the children: "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are"

Tell the children you want to play "I Sing, You Sing". When you point to yourself, only you sing. When you point to the children, they echo what you just sang. They have to sing it exactly the pitch, tempo, and style that you did. 

You (normal voice): We believe

Children: We believe 

You (loudly): We believe 

Children: We believe

You (softly): We believe that the first

Children: We believe that the first

You (slowly): We believe that the first

Children: We believe that the first

You (normal): principles and ordinances 

Children: principles and ordinances

You (western): principles and ordinances 

Children: principles and ordinances

You (one octave higher): principles and ordinances of the Gospel

Children: principles and ordinances of the Gospel

You: (normal): We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are

Children: We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are

You: (very fast): We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are

Children: We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are

You: (normal): We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are

Children: We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are

Wonderful! Now you know the first part of the song! But what does it mean?

(Point to the word principle on the flip chart.) What is a principle? Is it the person in charge at school? Well, yes and no. That would be 'principal'. It sounds exactly the same, but it means something different. A principle is a truth that serves as the foundation of the Gospel. A foundation is the bottom or the base of something. Without a foundation, your house would fall down! The Gospel has to have a foundation too, or it would fall apart. 

What is an ordinance? It is a sacred formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood. Some ordinances are required to live with our Heavenly Father in the Celestial Kingdom. They are called saving ordinances. They include baptism, confirmation, temple endowments, and temple marriage. With each of these ordinances we make covenants with the Lord. (Reference at lds.org)

So, in The Fourth Article of Faith, there are two principles, and two ordinances that are the foundation of the Gospel:

Listen as I sing about the two pricnciples, and you tell me what they are:

(Point to the correlating pages in the flip chart)

You sing: First Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second, Repentance.

Who can tell me the first two principles? 

Does a testimony begin with faith in Jesus Christ?

I want you to notice that there is a difference between "faith" and "faith in Jesus Christ". It doesn't say, "First faith" and then stop. It says "First Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." 

Does a testimony increase through repentance?

Now listen for the two ordinances: 

You sing: Third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. Fourth, laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Who can tell me what the two ordinances are?

What comes first: Baptism? Or laying on of hands?

What is another word we use for "Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost? (Confirmed)

Play "You Sing, I Sing" to reinforce the phrases of the song, then sing the entire song through once or twice before ending.

Have fun!