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 !
