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Thursday, June 2, 2011

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!

5 comments :

  1. Hi my name is Whitney and im a 20 year old, single YSA and my lovely bishopric have me doing junior singing time. i'm not too shy but i don't have ideas. your site is amazing and gives me tons of ideas that i can shape specifically to my juniors.

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  2. How did it go for you? My senior primary totally knew the song inside and out . There is no way I will be able to do this song for the whole month like I did with praise to the man. The senior primary asked to do more article of faith songs, so now i need to come up with a game or something where they get to sing all the other article of faith songs. Junior primary needs another week on article of faith 4.

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  3. Hi Whitney, thanks for the kind comment. I am sure you are a fabulous chorister!

    Hey Jennifer May, great job! My primary was the same. Going to do a little more next week with Jr's, but Sr's have got it made. Yay! Makes for a fun month!

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  4. Such a fun way to teach a long song! Thank you so much for your tips!!

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome, Eric! Thanks for your kind compliment!

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