Mosiah 5:5-9, 6:1-10 Covenants

Activity: What is a covenant? Have each person explain what a covenant is. Then have one of the kids look up covenant in the dictionary and read the definition to everyone. Were you close?

Have you ever made a covenant? When? Will you make a covenant sometime in the future? How is the covenant King Benjamin's people made similar to the covenant we make at baptism?

What does it mean to take upon you the name of Christ?

Mosiah 4:16-27 Are We not All Beggars?

Discussion: If someone on the street asks you for money, should you give it to them? If you don't, do you have great cause to repent? Do you have enough money to give to every person that is begging for it? Do you know that your $5 is not going to be wasted on alcohol or cigarettes or some other frivolous item? If you donated that same $5 to a reputable charitable organization, how likely is it that your $5 will be wasted? We shouldn't judge that guy holding the "Need money" sign on the street will use it for booze. But we can't judge him that he won't, either. Is your $5 not better used with a reputable charitable organization? I doubt that King Benjamin had The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Humanitarian Department, or the United Way, or the American Red Cross, or the American Kidney Foundation, or any of hundreds of other reputable charities where you know your $5 will not be wasted. If you still feel guilty passing the beggar on the street, try this: Offer to meet him at the nearest restaurant or store and buy him lunch. If he refuses, without judging you know that it was not food that he wanted to use the money for. If he accepts, you know your money is not being wasted.

Mosiah 4:11-15 Live Peaceably

Activity: Family Fued. Play Family Fued with the things that King Benjamin says that we should do.

Mosiah 4:9-10 Believe in God

Memorize: We learn much about the nature of God and his plan for us from these 2 verses. Commit them to memory.

Mosiah 4:1-3 Remission of Sins

Discuss these questions:

• In your own words, what was it the Nephites said after hearing King Benjamin?
• If you hurt someone when you do something wrong, what should you do for that person?
• Some things you can't pay back, restore, or fix. But many things you can. What things can you do to fix what you've done wrong (give a toy back, clean up the crayon on the wall, help the other person to feel happy again, etc) ?
• What can you do so that you won't make the wrong choice again (each day pray for help not to do it, write it down and look at it each morning, do lots of good things so that I won't have time to do bad things, etc) ?
  

Have each person think about these questions as you ask them. Don't answer out loud:

• Why was what I did wrong?
• If I hurt someone, did I tell them I was sorry?
  
• Did I repay or restore what was lost? If not, how will I do that?
• Have I done something to help me remember not to do it again?
• Did I ask Heavenly Father for forgiveness?

If the answer to any of these was no, do it now. Help your kids to learn the process of repentance by actually doing it. Take a few minutes of quiet personal time for each family member to ask forgiveness, pray, make restitution,etc.

Mosiah 4:30 Watch Your Thoughts, Words, Deeds

Memorize: Commit this scripture mastery verse to memory. Focus first on the main point of the verse: Watch your thoughts, words, and deeds. Then work on remembering the rest of the verse. Use different techniques that work for your family: repeat the verse over and over, quiz each other on the verse, write the words down, etc. As you learn the verse, make sure that your kids understand what it means by asking questions such as:
Why is it important to watch our deeds? Words? Thoughts?
Who is speaking? Where is he speaking?
King Benjamin tells us to "remember and perish not." What do we need to remember?
What does perish mean? Will we actually die if we don't remember?

Mosiah 3:20-22

Activity: Get out a globe or a map of the world. Ask the kids to point out some of the countries they know. Is the Gospel in these countries yet? There are nations which are not open to proselyting. But are there nations that do not have members of the church?

Ask the kids about what they know about any wars currently being fought. Have these wars made it easier or harder for the Gospel to go to those nations where the wars are going? Why do you think so?

Has this prophecy been fulfilled already?

If you don't have a globe or world map, this one ahould work.

Mosiah 3:19 Natural Man

Memorize: Commit to memory this scripture mastery verse. It will probably take several days to do so.

What is a natural man? Why is he an enemy to God? What can we do to protect ourselves from giving in to the natural man?

Mosiah 3:5-11

Activity: Pictionary. Let each person take turns drawing these miracles of the Savior, while everyone else guesses. You can divide into teams and keep score, or just work together.

• healing the sick
• raising the dead
• causing the lame to walk
• the blind to receive their sight
• the deaf to hear
• curing all manner of diseases
• he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits
• they..shall scourge him
• they..shall crucify him
• And he shall rise the third day from the dead

Mosiah 1:2

Family Fued: 3 sons of King Benjamin.

Mosiah 1:4

Discussion: How did King Benjamin know about Lehi?
Research: Why did the Nephites write in reformed Egyptian rather than Hebrew?

Mosiah 1:5-7

Role Play: What if your friend told you that Joseph Smith made up the B o M? What would you say to her?

Mosiah 1:10-14

Make a crown from paper and have someone wear it with a robe and read the words of King Benjamin (Mos 1:10-14). Or have the kids make the paper crowns while you read if they are too young to read themselves.

Mosiah 1:16-18

Activity, Scavenger hunt: Have the family gather a toy sword or something similar, a compass, and a copy of the Book of Mormon for each person before reading these verses. Give everyone 5 minutes max to find these items.

Mosiah 2 Introduction

As you read King Benjamin’s address, have everyone wear the crowns that they made previously (if you haven’t made crowns, make them from paper).

Mosiah 2:1-3

Activity: Let the kids build a tower out of blocks or furniture or something else. Have them try to imagine what King Benjamin's tower actually looked like.
Activity: Have the little ones bring their favorite stuffed animal with them as they listen to the scriptures.

Mosiah 2:4

Activity: Set up a small tent and have the person reading read from outside the tent door, and have everyone else listen from the inside. The little ones will enjoy it even more if you can do this outside. Allow them to bring a favorite doll while they listen.

Mosiah 2:5-7

Allow the kids to take 5 minutes to build a "tower" with the furniture. Make the "tower" is safe. Then have the reader stand on the "tower" while reading these verses.

Mosiah 2:8-9

Ask the older ones to take notes of King Benjamin’s address. You could have them take notes for the entire length of his address, comprising Mosiah 2 all the way through Mosiah 6.

What do you think they wrote with? What do you think they wrote on?

Mosiah 2:10

Discussion: Was King Benjamin humble? What did he say that makes you think so?

Activity: Write down a list of King Benjamin’s attributes (humble, grateful, etc). Have everyone contribute at least one. Discuss each one: What did he say that indicates he had that attribute? How would each attribute help him to be a great king?