An "Egg-stra" Special Gift

Last year I taught the Young Women during the month of March. March is already just around the corner again, so I thought I would share some of the ideas I used last year over the next little while. I hope someone who is teaching the Youth in March this year will find some of these ideas helpful!

Our first lesson last March was entitled, "What is the Atonement of Jesus Christ?" At the beginning of the lesson I gave each girl a “gift” just for coming to class. I put the gift in a plastic egg. The egg represented a new beginning. 

When Jesus Christ gave his life for us He gave everyone a new beginning, immortality. Everyone who has ever lived on Earth gets the gift of immortality from Jesus Christ just for coming to Earth because of His Atonement on our behalf. Jesus also gave everyone a chance to earn an “egg-stra” special gift, the gift of Eternal Life. Eternal Life doesn’t come without hard work and perseverance while here on Earth. We need to keep the commandments, repent, and endure to the end to gain Celestial Glory. This part of the Atonement is conditional on what we do in our lifetime. Those who are baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and go the “egg-stra” mile by living the commandments and receiving the ordinances of the Temple can live with Heavenly Father and Jesus again in the Celestial Kingdom. 

I told the girls that at the end of the lesson I had something much better than this egg, but to receive it they must work hard during the lesson. Everyone who wanted to receive this “egg-stra” special gift must participate at least once and they would then receive it.

Because it was Fast Sunday, I wasn't able to use food for the gifts so I had to be a little more creative. The first gift that all the girls received at the beginning of class was a flower with their birthstone on it to put in their Sunday journals. I thought this went well with the gift of immortality because it is something everyone who is born receives (hence the birthstone). I had the girls go around the room and share what month they were born in and something special about themselves. Because I was new to Young Women at the time, this helped me get to know the girls better.

The second gift was a charm to put on a necklace they received at New Beginnings. The charm was heart shaped and went with the talk by Sister Linda K. Burton about having the principles of the Atonement written on our hearts. We discussed this talk during the lesson. You can find it here.

When I gave the girls the "egg-stra" special gift I gave them a little handout (pictured above) which said,

"Eternal Life is an 'egg-stra' special gift made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In order to receive this gift, however, we must go the 'egg-stra' mile by obeying the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

I hope this lesson helped the girls better understand the Atonement, immortality, and Eternal Life. I know it helped me understand it better as I studied and taught it.

Will you be teaching the Youth during the month of March? Have you started planning your lessons already?