Book of Mormon [2 NEPHI 31-33] Creative Object Lessons with Maria Eckersley

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Welcome back, you guys.

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It's time to get into the fun, creative side of week 12, and I

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have some good things in store.

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So I'm going to take you through the supplies list first and walk you through

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each one in a quick summary, and then I'll take you through them in more detail so

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that you can figure out how to apply them.

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No matter where you're teaching, if you're teaching at home, in your living room,

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or in a Sunday school class, or maybe even in a big seminary class, I think all

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three of these can be used in any of those settings and help you find ways to connect

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the dots of these awesome scriptures for the kids that you're teaching.

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Okay, here's your supplies list.

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First, we're going to do something around mini golf.

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And I'll explain why in just a minute, but I love thinking about

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the straight and narrow path.

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when it comes to mini golf.

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And it's one of those things that all kids love to do.

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So I've created a printable to help you pull this off.

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So for this one, the printable is a little bit elaborate, mostly

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because I wanted to create something that you could do in your house.

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And also like as a giant youth activity, or maybe as an activity days activity,

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that this is something you could do.

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expand if you needed to.

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So in the printable you're going to see things like these little holes.

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This is basically a putting hole.

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It's got a cup inside it and there's five of these to walk

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you through the covenant path.

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There's also going to be these little tunnels that help take you

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through the interim steps between these big saving ordinances.

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What are some of the things we do in the middle?

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And then also it'll have things like scorecards so that you can

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have bragging rights if you win.

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I even created an option for you to make your own Putters because I know it would

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be hard to find enough putters for a whole class So I created a way that you can do

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it in less than a dollar and I'll walk you through all of that in just A second.

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Okay, second one.

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This one is just a fun game to help you understand the doctrine of Christ.

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President Nelson spoke In fact, you can read this in the preach my gospel manual

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But this is something he wants inscribed on our hearts because it's pivotal to

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understanding the plan of salvation this is iterative process of going through the

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doctrine of Christ during our lifetime.

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So I just want to help my kids know it solid, and my favorite

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way to do that is to play a game.

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So I created a new game this time around, and it is to

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teach you these core doctrines.

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For this, you just need the printable, and then you also need some kind

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of stackable candy, ideally one that's wrapped, because that'll make

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the game a little cleaner to play.

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For us, we used Starburst.

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That was cheap and easy, but Rolos might work, or anything kind of

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around that size should be fine.

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help you out.

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You also, if you're playing in a small group, like at home or in a small

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primary class, you can use the cute printable dice I created for you.

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But if you're in a big class, like a seminary class, you just want to

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have a single die for every player.

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The numbers will match up whether you use the printable version or

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the, you know, versions you have in a box of Monopoly at home.

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So grab either one of those and you'll be good to go.

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Okay, third one.

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This is talking about how the spirit carries messages unto us, but not out.

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into us.

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And there's a really cool, simple way to teach that for this one.

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You don't need any printables.

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You just need a measuring tape, a salad plate, and then some kind of round treat.

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You technically could use any kind of ball and let your

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kids catch it to earn a prize.

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But I also think it's kind of fun if you can find something that they can

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actually, that will roll that is edible.

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So for us, something like a gumball works great.

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But again, if you don't have something like that on hand.

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Grab a ping pong ball or anything that can roll and you'll be all set.

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Okay, that's your supplies list.

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Let's get into the details.

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The doctrine of Christ that Nephi teaches about so often this week, and

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the covenant path, are interwoven.

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Baptism is our first step on this covenant path.

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Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost is that second step, like, this is

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getting our kids onto the covenant path.

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In fact, so often I feel like we've heard about the covenant path, and

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that we've encouraged, we've been encouraged to teach our kids well.

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what those promises really are, what the ordinances are that match up with them,

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and how we can help prepare them for it.

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And in my mind, the way Nephi describes this first gate baptism being this,

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you know, gate that gets you in on this straight and narrow course, my

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brain immediately goes to Minigol.

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Because I just feel like that's kind of the idea, right?

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I'm going to be talking about how to hone your skills and that you have to

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aim for this very small place to get to.

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In fact, one of the things I love about playing any kind of mini golf is that

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oftentimes they have this multi stop hole, you know, like where you have to

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get your ball to go into like a windmill tunnel, and then it shoots from that

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tunnel out to where the actual hole is.

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But it might be 20, 30 feet away.

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Sometimes I think, The gate of baptism is like that for us.

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It's this, shoot, it's this narrow opening so that it actually gives us

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the momentum that we need in order to advance on the covenant path.

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The humility that we feel and the, the choices that we make to be

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obedient to God and to be baptized kind of get us in the posture to

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succeed on the rest of the path.

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And that's kind of how I see the covenants working out.

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So I've created a covenant.

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a mini golf course.

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The reason I created this is so that you could walk your kids

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through those saving ordinances.

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There are five big saving ordinances.

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Elder Renlund just gave a beautiful BYU devotional all about these.

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If you want to go look that up, I think it was March 2024, you can find

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it, but it's in the notes as well.

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And he walks through those saving ordinances and talks about why we

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need to make multiple covenants with God and how it connects us to him.

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So I'm hoping that this object lesson actually helps you walk through both.

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The Doctrine of Christ and the Covenant Path.

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So when you play the game, you're going to set up basically a mini

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golf course in your house, in the church hallways, wherever you want.

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We did find it was easier to golf on a carpeted surface rather than,

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like, a gym floor, just because the ball rolls forever on a gym floor.

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So find a carpeted or a place with a rug and that's a little easier for you.

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But I would create a course.

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So I would start with baptism as your first hole.

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On the printable you're going to find five of these holes.

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They have the words of Nephi written on them teaching you about this

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straight gate and this process that you go through and pressing forward.

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All those things are written on the actual holes.

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Inside each hole you're going to find The cup is there so that the ball can't

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roll all the way through the printable.

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I thought it was more fun if it actually felt the same way golf

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feels, that you actually hit an end point and then you take your

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ball out and go to the next hole.

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So that's why there is a cup inside.

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I just created these cups with a really lazy strategy.

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I took a solo cup, basically, I trimmed it down to the length of the printable.

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All these instructions are on the printable itself.

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And then I created basically this shape and.

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inserted it into that tunnel shape.

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That way, when I tape this last bottom portion down, when the ball rolls

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in, it stops and it's easy to get the ball out and go on to the next hole.

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So the idea is really simple.

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You just help your kids go through the covenant path.

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As they go through each hole, they'll learn the names of all those They'll

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be able to write down their score.

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I mean, on the cute little score sheets, you're going to see all those

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saving ordinances listed out in order.

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They're going to play each hole, write down their strokes, and

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then move on to the next hole.

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The thing that I thought was really helpful, especially for my kids, is for

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them to see What happens in the middle?

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Sometimes we focus on these five saving ordinances and we forget

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all the steps in the middle.

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What I love is there is this beautiful article.

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I first found it last year in the New Testament.

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It's in the appendix area of the Come Follow Me manual, but

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it offered some middle steps between these saving ordinances.

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So between when you have baptism and confirmation, There's a kind of a

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long gap before you get to that next one of priesthood, but there are

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other things like learning about the priesthood that could fit in there.

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Before a woman goes from, you know, baptism confirmation all the way over

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to endowment, there's some middle steps.

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She also can learn about the priesthood.

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She can receive her patriarchal blessings.

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She can go through the temple and perform proxy baptisms.

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Those are these middle places.

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So in the printable you're also going to find these cute little tunnels.

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They don't have an end.

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These are just ways to help project you forward.

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So the way I set this up in our house, we played this all around the

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upstairs of our house, and I would put these in line with the whole.

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So if this one is, it's, you can see that on the little flag, it has a number three,

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this is learning about the priesthood.

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So this will help you get to number three.

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So I would put this tunnel in a way that if I shot straight through learning

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about the priesthood, I actually land in.

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The whole, the goal here is that it tunnels you.

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That's what I think all these middle steps offer.

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Serving a mission allows me to prepare myself for that next phase when I

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am sealed in the temple to a spouse.

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It's something that directs my efforts.

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So you can go in the notes.

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I give you some links to the gospel library articles where I got all

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these ideas and information, but you can also go in the printable and

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kind of walk through the process.

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I think by the time your kids play a round of golf, They'll get it.

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Like it will, they'll understand the covenant path.

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They'll understand these five saving ordinances and all the steps in the

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middle that help guide them through.

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Like I mentioned, I give you a few supplies.

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I, I, it was one of those printables that once I started making things, I

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couldn't really stop making things.

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So in addition to the score cards and the tunnels and the holes, you

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also have these cute little markers.

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This, this will direct people on like where to tee off.

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So you'll find those in the printables.

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And then these, these, Cute little putters, because we only had three

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in our house total, and we needed more, so I thought it would be fun

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if I found a cool way to make one.

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Basically, to create this, you're just going to glue the printable

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onto a sturdy card cardboard.

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If you're working with teenagers who might hit the ball hard, or you're

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working with actual golf balls, you might want to do a, you know, second layer of

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cardboard behind them and make it nice.

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and sturdy.

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For my kids, the one ply seemed to work just fine.

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But you're going to attach it to a wrapping paper tube.

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For me, I got these at the dollar store.

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You want to be sure to squeeze them and make sure that they've

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got like a solid core inside.

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Some of the ones at the dollar store are just paper and those don't work as well.

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So find something that's a little bit solid.

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Attach your little putter to it, and you can make, you know, 20 of

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these to take care of your whole seminary class, or whatever youth

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activity you're planning, and walk your kids through the covenant path.

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I promise, by the end of playing the front five and the back five, they'll be solid.

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They'll know these saving ordinances.

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They'll know the steps that help them proceed on this covenant path, and they'll

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understand why things begin at baptism.

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My Nephi taught that so clearly, why our prophet still teaches it today.

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They'll get it.

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And they'll get it in a way that is fun.

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Trust me, they're gonna love it.

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The second object lesson is really easy, but also really fun.

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And that's one of my favorite ways to teach you guys something as crystal

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clear as the doctrine of Christ.

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I mean, it's, if they've memorized their articles of faith, these

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will be really familiar to them.

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But President Nelson asks us to have these like in the marrow of our bones.

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So I feel like we can't teach this too well.

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This is going to be a really simple game to help your kids remember those

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core elements of the doctrine of Christ, and remember them in order.

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And the game is free.

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It's played really quickly.

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Basically, you're going to give everybody that is playing one of these game boards.

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Just a simple little printable.

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There's a color version and a black and white version, and they're

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going to put this in front of them.

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In the middle of all the players, you're going to have a big bowl of candy.

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We used Starburst because they stack really well, but they're also not

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perfectly flat, which is maddening and fantastic at the same time.

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So basically it's a really simple game.

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You're going to roll the die.

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Everybody rolls at the same time.

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You set a two minute timer.

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We tested a few different times, but we felt like two minutes was the best.

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The best option.

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Set a two minute timer, and then you say go, and everybody

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starts to roll and stack.

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Basically, I roll the die, whichever of those elements of the doctrine of Christ

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I land on, if I land on number five, and it says enduring to the end, then I

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can stack a starburst on my number five.

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If I roll again, and I get a three, then I can stack my

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starburst on the number three.

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Where, where's that one?

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Which is baptism.

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Baptism or partaking of the sacrament if you've already been baptized.

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Renewing those covenants.

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So you can find those on the printable die.

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What's tricky about this game is you have two minutes.

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The person who has the most starbursts stacked by the end of

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the two minutes will be the winner.

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So your kids are motivated to roll the die fast.

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And to stack as quickly and carefully as they can.

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What gets tricky about that is the more you stack, the more

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your towers start to topple.

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In fact, if you'll notice on the die, there are only five

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elements of the doctrine of Christ, but the die has six sides.

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So there is a number six side, which is the wild side.

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When you roll a wild, you can grab a starburst from the center and you

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can place it on any of your stacks.

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So usually at the beginning of the two minutes, you're stacking these

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on, you know, whichever one of yours is low and doesn't have many on it.

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By the end of the two minutes, you start to get strategic because the

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other option is to stack one of your Starbursts on someone else's tower.

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You don't get to touch their tower because that invites too much toppling by others.

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All you do is you hand that Starburst to that person and tell them which

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stack they have to put it on.

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So for example, when Will was winning in our round, pretty much everybody on the

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last 30 seconds, whenever we would roll a wild, we would hand it to Will and say, we

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want you to put this on stack number four.

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So really quickly, Will's stack number four got to the tower.

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dangerously tall and eventually would topple.

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The rule basically is if a tower topples in the two minutes, you have to take all

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those candies off that particular number.

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And then you just start again.

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If Will rolls a four, he can start replacing those fours.

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But if his tower topples and knocks over the three and the two towers,

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he has to take all of those off.

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So when the timer goes off at two minutes, you tally up the winners

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and you see who has the most stacked starbursts, but they can't

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officially win unless they can recite.

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The key elements of the doctrine of Christ.

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They should be able to do it pretty fast, especially after seeing

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it on the die a hundred times.

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But it's a really fast and easy way to help your kids get

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those critical components down.

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They will know them, they will see them over and over again,

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and they will understand them.

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And then my hope is after they've become so familiar with those words,

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you can talk them through each one.

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If you go into the notes, you can find some links to conference talks and

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lessons that will help you understand each of those elements of the doctrine

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of Christ so that you can break them down and help your kids understand.

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Why they matter so much.

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Why they mattered so much to Nephi that he would share them with us in his last

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testimony and why they still matter today.

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So much that our prophet still speaks of them.

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Apostles, leaders teach these same core elements all the time.

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So hopefully if they play this game they'll start to recognize it even as they

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listen in conference coming up in April.

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The third object lesson is probably the simplest of all of them.

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It could be done in any setting and it helps you understand it.

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a critical thing about Revelation.

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What I loved about Nephi's writings is he taught us that the Holy Ghost

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can carry things unto us, but it can't put things into our hearts.

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That's something that we have to choose.

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And I loved, there's a talk in the notes from Elder Lund,

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I loved his thoughts of this.

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He said, the heart is a tender place.

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It is sensitive to many influences, both positive and negative.

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It can be hurt by others, it can be deadened by sin, and

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it can be softened by love.

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So why just unto the heart?

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Individual agency is so sacred that Heavenly Father will never force the human

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heart, even with all his infinite power.

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Man may try to do so, but God does not.

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To put it another way, God allows us to be the guardians or the

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gatekeepers of our own hearts.

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We must, of our own free will, open our hearts to the Spirit, for he

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will not force himself upon us.

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So this is where the object lesson comes in.

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To help your kids understand the value of having a soft heart,

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you're going to role play this out.

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Basically, you're going to take a measuring tape.

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The measuring tape is something that's going to represent what

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the The blessings that Heavenly Father intends for us, unto us.

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So, on the measuring tape, since it's naturally kind of concave already,

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and you can roll something on it, you're going to stretch it out.

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In fact, if you want to turn this into a game, since you already have

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dice in the room from the last game, I would let your kids roll the die,

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and let that be the distance of tape that they have to try to catch from.

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So if I roll a six or maybe I use two dice and I have to roll, you know, I

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get eight, then I am going to stretch this measuring tape out eight feet.

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And they have to stand that far away to try and catch what I'm

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going to roll down on their end.

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What they have is something hard.

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So that's why I would grab something like a salad plate, a handbook,

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whatever you have on hand and say, you can't use your hands.

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You've got to use this tool that I'm giving you and let them try to catch it.

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A gumball or a ping pong ball or whatever you roll down that measuring

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tape with that hard small object and it'll be virtually impossible.

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A gumball will bounce off that plate every single time.

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So they'll notice really quickly that this is not a fair fight and

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you're going to say, I know this is why I want you to troubleshoot.

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So this is when you ask them to come up with a solution.

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If they really wanted to catch that gumball or that ping pong ball.

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What should they do?

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And that's when they're going to set down the plate and the handbook and

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they're going to find something soft.

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If you're in a classroom, maybe in primary or in young women's, they

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might grab a jacket or, you know, they might use cupped hands to try and

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catch that ball that's rolling at them.

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They'll come up with something soft.

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They'll also probably come up with something bigger

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than what the plate offers.

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Because it's hard to catch something on something small.

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So they'll create a bigger surface area for that gumball to land on.

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If you're working with older kids, teenagers, I would increase the distance,

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you know, use two dice to determine how many feet they can possibly get.

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And then also back away from them a little bit and let that ball roll

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off the end and project out to them.

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Cause you really want them to have to strategize about how

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they could possibly catch it.

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And once they figure out a good solution, Then you stop, and you

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talk about the object lesson.

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You help them understand that the same thing applies to us spiritually.

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Heavenly Father is constantly sending goodness our way.

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He wants to give us blessings.

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He wants to make our life more peaceful and more productive.

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He's sending messages towards us, but The state of our heart

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will determine how we receive it.

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Whether we can take it into ourselves at all is determined

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by how our heart looks and feels.

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And to have a heart that is soft, to have a heart that is big and open and

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ready, to have a posture of someone who is ready to catch no matter where that

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ball comes, that changes everything.

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how much you can receive.

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He sends messages unto us, but it's up to us to take them into our hearts.

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So as your kids consume whatever treat that you had for them, you can

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talk to them about that principle.

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You get to choose to take this in, and as you do, it changes you.

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It gives you the power you need to move on in this, you know,

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Doctrine of Christ ascent.

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One more day, one more effort, one more trial.

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It gives you the power you need to endure.

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Thanks for being here, you guys.

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Remember, if you're finding me on YouTube or in podcast form, you're welcome to

Maria: 00:18:56

come join the conversation over at gather.

Maria: 00:18:59

mcmom.

Maria: 00:18:59

com.

Maria: 00:19:00

That's where you can find the subscription if you're interested in

Maria: 00:19:02

the notes and the printables every week.

Maria: 00:19:04

But even if you just want to come as a free member and be part of the

Maria: 00:19:07

conversation, if you have ideas about how to answer these questions or insights

Maria: 00:19:11

that I didn't mention here that you would love to share, then I hope you come share

Maria: 00:19:15

them on these lessons over at gather.

Maria: 00:19:17

macmom.

Maria: 00:19:17

com.

Maria: 00:19:18

If you aren't interested in subscriptions, but you still want

Maria: 00:19:21

access to the printables so that you can do mini golf with your family,

Maria: 00:19:24

or you can try the Starburst game with your class, you can always find

Maria: 00:19:27

them over on my Etsy shop as well.

Maria: 00:19:29

You can find that link in the YouTube description below.

Maria: 00:19:31

Every week, but otherwise, I just hope you find ways to teach creatively

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whether you use my ideas or come up with your own This is a rich seedbed.

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You have plenty to work with this week So get into your scriptures and find

Maria: 00:19:44

ways to help others love them just as much as you do I promise it'll be worth

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your time All right You guys enjoy this last week of Nephi and then come back for

Maria: 00:19:52

week 13 next week when we head into Jacob