Celestial Marriage Cookies

Today I want to share an idea I used when I taught my Young Women the lesson entitled, "Why is temple marriage important?" You can find the lesson outline here. Although the talks I used when I taught the lesson are not on the current Come Follow Me outline, this idea can still be used! I used the following quotes as the basis for my idea:

Celestial marriage is a pivotal part of preparation for eternal life. It requires one to be married to the right person, in the right place, by the right authority, and to obey that sacred covenant faithfully.

- Russell M. Nelson

(you can find his talk, Celestial Marriage, here)

and

There is no substitute for marrying in the temple. It is the only place under the heavens where marriage can be solemnized for eternity. Don't cheat yourself. Don't cheat your companion. Don't shortchange your lives. Marry the right person in the right place at the right time.

-Gordon B. Hinckley

(you can find his message, Life's Obligations, here)

I decided to take the four "Rights" listed in these two quotes and present them to the girls in a fun way- by making Four Ingredient Celestial Marriage Cookies!

As a visual, I displayed the four "Rights" on a "wedding cake". I took four different sized round boxes I found at Hobby Lobby, wrapped them in wedding wrapping paper, and set them up to look like a wedding cake. I even used my daughter's Little People Prince Eric and Princess Ariel as cake toppers!

As we talked about each "Right", we opened one of the boxes. Inside was an ingredient for our cookies. We then spent some time reading quotes about that "Right"/ingredient.

The first ingredient was the right person. I said this was like the chocolate chips for our recipe. Because they add sweetness, they represented our "sweetheart".

The second ingredient for the recipe was the right time. I used an egg to represent this ingredient because the egg reminded me of an egg TIMEr! 

The third ingredient for the recipe was the right place. This was represented by sugar in the recipe and symbolized the whiteness of the temple.

The final ingredient in the recipe was the right authority. This is the priesthood authority that will seal families together. In the recipe I used peanut butter to represent the right authority because it helps everything stick together.

 After we discussed all the ingredients, I gave the girls the baked cookies with a recipe card attached. This is what it said:

Recipe for: Celestial Marriage

Ingredients: Right Person

Right Time

Right Place

Right Authority

Directions: Mix ALL ingredients together with lots of love, faith, and a commitment to the commandments of God. Work out the lumps with communication and selflessness. This is a recipe that gets better with time. "Your companionship will sweeten through the years, your love will strengthen. Your appreciation for one another will grow." ("True to the Faith" pg. 101)

This recipe serves: 1 Eternal Family

You can find the recipe to make the actual cookies here!

I think it turned out to be a successful and sweet way to teach about the importance of temple marriage!

Are you teaching the Youth this month? What ideas are you using to teach about the importance of temple marriage?

Want a PDF of the Celestial Cookies recipe card? Email me at addapinchofsparkle{at}gmail{dot}com !

Object Lesson: Follow the Prophet

Today I want to share a fun object lesson idea I found here. I used it for my recent lesson on following the prophet in Young Women. I think the girls enjoyed it.

I set out two identical boxes on a table. Inside one box I put some candy and I left the other box empty (I added the tissue paper so you couldn't hear the candy rolling around). I left the boxes closed and asked the girls to raise their hands to indicate which box they would choose. About half chose each box. When I asked them why they chose the box they did, they didn't really know. 

I then had one girl come up and look inside both boxes. I had talked to her beforehand, so she knew to choose the box with the candy in it. When I pointed to the empty box and asked the girls to raise their hands if they chose that box, everyone looked at the girl who had seen inside the boxes. Because she didn't raise her hand, no one else did. When I pointed to the candy box, the girl who had seen inside raised her hand and everyone else did too.

When I asked the girls why they had all chosen this particular box, they said it was because they followed the girl who had seen inside the box. I then told them that they had made a good decision and showed them that one box was empty and the other box had candy in it.

As I passed the candy around, I explained to the girls that the Prophet has "seen inside the box". Heavenly Father speaks to him and in turn he tells us what we need to know to stay safe, to have joy, and to return to our Father in Heaven. When we follow the Prophet we receive blessings, just like when they followed the girl who had seen inside the box they got a treat!

I like to use object lessons when I teach to help make the lessons more clear to the girls. I think this object lesson did just that!

Grow in Grace

In Young Women on Sunday we talked about grace. Grace isn't something that we discuss a lot in our Church, but it is really a very important part of the Gospel. Because the girls weren't too familiar with the concept, we spent a lot of time going over what the meaning of the word "grace" is. 

This is a great definition of grace:

Grace is divine help and strength that we receive through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through grace, we are saved from sin and death. In addition, grace is an enabling power that strengthens us from day to day and helps us endure to the end. Effort is required on our part to receive the fulness of the Lord's grace.

(source)

During our lesson we focused primarily on how grace gives us strength to face challenges and trials in our day to day lives. We talked about how this aspect of grace is depicted in the parable of the vine and the branches in John 15:1-10.

As we read and discussed the parable, I used this Easter Egg Tree as a fun visual to help the girls better understand grace. We discussed that the vine is Jesus Christ and that the branches are the members of the Church. We can receive strength and nourishment from the vine. We talked about how the husbandman, our Heavenly Father, must "prune" us through challenges and trials. Although difficult at the time, this helps us to learn and grow and bring forth "much fruit" (good works). It is through this process that we "grow in grace" (2 Peter 3:18) through the help of Jesus.

(You can find a great talk that explains the parable of the vine and the branches and how it relates to grace here.)

I had each girl share how they have "grown in grace" or been given the strength to do something that they could not accomplish on their own.

After each girl shared her experience, I gave her a handout to remind her to "grow in grace":

Peter taught us to "grow in grace . . ." 

- 2 Peter 3:18

If we are "rooted" in Christ, His grace will give us strength to overcome trials and challenges, learn and grow in this life, and bring forth much "good fruit".

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing"

-John 15:5

The girls also got some "good fruit" in the form of Starburst Jelly Beans to remind them of what can be produced through grace.

Did you teach the Youth about grace this month? Did you find that they were not too familiar with the concept? How did you help them to better understand what grace is?

Object Lesson: A Change of Heart

I can't take credit for this really great object lesson idea. I saw the idea here, but I had to share because it goes so well with March's theme of the Atonement.

I froze some small hearts inside ice cubes then sealed the ice cubes inside plastic bags to prevent water from getting everywhere. I gave each girl an ice cube and I told them to use their hands to melt it until they got to what was inside. After some time, the cold of the ice started to cause some pain, but the girls continued on until they found the heart inside.

Once all the girls had melted the ice cube we talked about how repentance requires us to have a change of heart. We need to have a change of heart so that we no longer have the desire to continue to sin. We must align our will with our Heavenly Father's. Like trying to melt the ice cube, this can sometimes be a long and painful process, but the Lord will help us through it and in the end we will have joy because we are doing what our Heavenly Father wants us to do. 

I then shared this scripture with the girls:

And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil. 

-Alma 19:33

I think this was such a great object lesson to teach the girls the process and importance of having a change of heart when we repent.

When we had our lesson on forgiveness, the subject of having a change of heart came up again. This great quote from President Uchtdorf shows how we must have a change of heart when we forgive others:

Forgiving ourselves and others is not easy. In fact, for most of us it requires a major change in our attitude and way of thinking—even a change of heart. But there is good news. This “mighty change” of heart is exactly what the gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to bring into our lives.

How is it done? Through the love of God.

Lay your burden at the Savior’s feet. Let go of judgment. Allow Christ’s Atonement to change and heal your heart. Love one another. Forgive one another.

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

(source)

You could definitely use this object lesson when you teach about repentance OR forgiveness!

Do you use object lessons when you teach? What has been a really good object lesson you have used recently?