“Who Am I, and Who Can I Become?”
Before We Go On: This is a lesson I taught on the first Sunday as a Presidency Member,
but it doubled as our introduction for their Value of the Month and Jar. Normally we do a
colored Personal Progress Night where we do a lesson like this. But the lesson was a good one to teach on a Sunday. You'll see below where we ended the lesson. Then on the Personal Progress Night, everyone still dressed in blue, but they worked on the worksheet. I just kept this post as both of those lessons just in case you want to do it all on a Sunday.
Month: January
Value of the Month: Divine Nature
Color: Blue
Value Experience: Divine Nature #2
"As a young woman you are blessed with divine feminine qualities. Increase your understanding of and appreciation for womanhood. Read Proverbs 31:10–31 and two talks on womanhood from a conference issue of the Church magazines. Review what “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” says about being a wife and a mother. Then ask your mother or another mother you admire what she thinks are important attributes for being a mother. List the attributes in your journal. Then choose one of those attributes and strive to develop it. After two weeks report your success to a parent or leader."
Introduction: “I
wanna ask each of you to tell me who you are…
what's your name, how old are you, what are your interests? That kind of thing."
what's your name, how old are you, what are your interests? That kind of thing."
Explanation: Those things are their Individual qualities
they were born with in this earthly life.
But let’s go back even further than that. Before we were born, we lived with whom?
(Heavenly Father and Mother)
So if we have a Heavenly Father and Mother, then we are
heavenly, divine beings ourselves, right? Thus, just like our earthly father and mother
of whom we have received attributes from, we have received attributes from our
Heavenly Father and Mother. Heavenly
attributes that were born in heaven before we came to this earth.
What was it like in Heaven?
Here is how one woman wrote a poem about what it was like in heaven
before we came.
Give them the poem “I Am A Child of
Royal Birth” and have one girl read out loud.
So, I ask again, who are we? And who can we become??? The Family Proclamation tells us…
Quote 1- Family Proclamation... (Fill in the
blanks on your binder sheet) ALL HUMAN
BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a
beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a
divine nature and destiny.
In your
own words: We all
have a divine destiny, given to us before we came to earth. And we were given special qualities, gifts,
talents and promises if we stay on the right path. This is what we study in Personal Progress
with Divine Nature. We will be learning
what our divine birthright is.
READ Psalms 47:7 (God is King)
In your
own words: This is
your destiny. We are all daughters of a
king. We are all princesses, destined to
be a queen. We will inherit more
treasures than we could ever have here on earth. But just in case you still don’t believe me,
we are going to have a coronation ceremony to dub thee royal eternal
princesses.
Make them each a crown (I just used Burger King crowns and used someone else's clipart glued to the front. Despite the picture below they all thought it was awesome.
Or if you want to make each of them a crown, go here. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/young_explorers/create/paper_crown.aspx
Coronation
Ceremony: As your placing the crown on their head, say “I dub thee,
Princess ____(name)_______.” Then
afterward say to all of them… “I give thee this crown so you may see your
worth, your divine nature, and your royal lineage. You are the daughter of a King. You must act and present yourself like the princess
you are. In your conduct. In your
demeanor. In your actions. You must
stand for what God stands for at all times, and in all things, and in all
places. With or without your crown, you
will always be princesses and should act as such. Always
wear your invisible crown.”
This was really important that I did each girl by name. It was actually really eye opening for the girls.
At this point I gave them each a blank piece of paper and glue sticks to glue their handouts on them to see their binders can be used as scrapbooks. They were made by other people. I'll try to find the links again. But the one I gave out here was the one about wearing your invisible crown. The other ones are further down.
Question
1: Do you think it’s important to know your divine heritage and where
we came from? Would that change your
life or change your future?
Quote
2- (Have someone read from lesson)… By divine design, we have
unique gifts and talents that will help us fulfill our destiny as daughters of
God. Knowing who we are gives our lives purpose and helps us make the right
decisions.
Scriptures Let’s review some of our divine qualities and promises?
Genesis 1:26–27 (We are created in the image of God)
Abraham 3:22–23 (Our divine potential is to inherit eternal life)
1 Peter 5:4 (Crown of glory)
James 1:12 (Crown of life)
D&C 59:2 (Crown in the mansions)
Revelations 2:2
Watch video by
President Uchtdorf video called “Our True Identity” on
the Mormon Channel
Earthly Princess? So, “knowing who we are gives our lives purpose and helps us make the right decisions…” Let me put it this way… if you were an earthly princess, say Princess Kate, or one of the Dutch or Spanish princesses, do you think you would conduct yourself in a special way? What ways? (This was eye opening for the girls. They said things like, "Yes, I'd need to talk differently, walk better, dress better.)
I said, "Well you are! You are real princesses. So, act the part!"
Read this Story
In a speech President Harold B. Lee gave in 1973 as a BYU Devotional, he said, “One of our Latter-day Saint men during World War II was over in England. He had gone to an officer's club where they were holding a riotous kind of celebration. He noticed off to the side a young British officer who didn't seem to be enjoying himself at all. So he walked over to him and said, "You don't seem to be enjoying this kind of a party." And this young British officer straightened himself a few inches taller than he was before and replied, "No, sir, I can't engage in this kind of a party, because, you see, I belong to the royal household of England."
As our Latter-day Saint boy walked away he said to himself, "Neither can I, because I belong to the royal household of the kingdom of God." Do you realize that, you young people? There are things that you cannot and must not do if you remember your heritage.
I am reminded of the old court jester who was supposed to entertain his king with interesting stories and antics. He looked at the king who was lolling on his throne, a drunken, filthy rascal, doffed his cap and bells, and said with a mock gesture of obeisance, "O king, be loyal to the royal within you." And so I say to you young people today, remember your heritage, and be loyal to that royal lineage that you have as members of the church and kingdom of God on the earth.
Hand out "Be Loyal to the Royal in You" (see above)
END--
Personal Progress Party Night
At this point we ran out of time so we saved the worksheet and talk for our Personal Progress Night. Basically to get the jar, they need to read the talk and fill out the worksheet. The talk is pasted below. I cut out a few stories to make it easier for them and bolded the portions that there were questions about. Then at the end they need to interview a mother to find out what divine qualities they have and then choose one of those as a royal princess and work on it for two weeks. When they report back they get a blue jar.
Worksheet-For New Beginnings last year, we made binders for each of the girls with tabs and worksheets to help them work through some of the experiences. Some were a little daunted by it so we thought we would sit with them and show them how easy they were. At this point we gave them the worksheet for Divine Nature #2 with the talk “Your Happily Ever After,”
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Ensign May 2010.
