The Friend
March 2012
[“Child’s Name”]: If you complete all of these activities and questions, I have
a VERYspecial prize for you! I love you! Love, Mom
□ Inside the front cover, read “‘Just One Coin’ Helped Me”.
What is her name? ______How much money did she earn? $______
How much tithing should she pay? $______
[A Step Further: Ask your Mom for the August 2011 issue of The Friend. Read the story that
this girl was talking about here, called “Just One Coin”, which she says helped her understand the importance of paying tithing. You can also read it at
□ Read “Dear Friends” (it looks like lined notebook paper). Think about an experience you have had
that you culd share. Write about it in your journal, then tell it to your Mom or Dad, or share it with your family during Family Home Evening.
□ CTR RING! As you complete these activities, watch for the hidden CTR ring in this issue of The
Friend. What page did you find it on? ______
□ Read the article on page 2, called “Decide Right Now”. Who wrote it? ______
What important character trait or principle does he teach us about in this article?
□ a) Love□ b) Humility □ c) Courage & Obedience □ d) kindness □ e) fairness
In your own words, what does this story teach us?
□ Ask your Mom or Dad to help you make a copy of page 3, and then do the activity at the top.
Help the kids respond in a kind way to the kids asking them a question.
□ Read page 4, “What Scared the Barnyard Roosters?”
How old was the child who wrote this article when it happened? ______
How many roosters were there? _____
What did he do when he felt scared? ______
Write in your journal about an experience you have had when you were scared, and you
prayed for help. Show your Mom or Dad what you wrote about.
□ Page 6: What book, chapter and verse does this picture depict (show)? ______:___
What book of scripture is this found in? C) The Book of Mormon
A) the Old Testament of the BibleD) The New Testament of the Bible
B) Doctrine & CovenantsE) The Pearl of Great Price
□ Page 7: Who is the man in the photo in the upper right hand corner of this page?
______
Who is he? ____A) the ProphetB) a BishopC) a Stake President
D) one of the Twelve ApostlesE) a Counselor
Fill in the blanks:
Box #2: Along with the ______and the ______, the
______make known the ______’s specific concerns
for us and what we ______.
□ Page 7, Box #3:
We have the responsibility to ______and to ______and we have a
______that ______will come as we ______and ______on the prophet’s words.
□ Page 10, Read “Extra! Extra!”
Make plans to interview a grandparent either in person or on the phone. Do Activity #2.
Write down or type up all of these questions and any other questions you would like to ask him or her. Leave space for their answers after each question you write or type; or, if you interview by phone, it’s great to use a voice recorder so you don’t have to write down everything they say. If you interview in person, use a video camera. The video will become a treasure someday when they are no longer here, and you will be able to save the special memories he or she shares.
□ Page 12: Bulletin Board
Make a “Conference Collage” of pictures! Ask your Mom for any old issues of The Friend, New
Era, or Ensign that your family no longer uses. Each child who is allowed to participate will
need one pair of children’s safety scissors, one half of a piece of standard-sized poster board,
and a glue stick. As you listen to General Conference, cut pictures from the Church magazines
to make your own poster of the topics, themes, commandments, etc. that were mentioned. Or, simply choose things for your poster that are important to you, that you want to remember, or things that represent your testimony of the gospel. Share it during Family Home Evening the next night.
[A Step Further: Older children can write the name of the apostle, prophet or general authority on the picture itself to remember who talked about that principle.]
□ Page 13: Journal Junction
Write about your home. Answer the questions at the very bottom of the page in your journal.
□ Ask your Mom or Dad for your family’s illustratedBook of Mormon Reader book.
Read pages 26–29 from the reader. (This will prepare you for the next activity.)
□ Read pages 14-15, “Jacob Learns the Name of the Savior”. Then answer these questions:
[hint: “¶” means ‘paragraph’]
- What 3 things did Jacob learn from his big brother, Nephi? (see page 14, ¶#1).
How to ______, how to be ______, and how to ______the ______.
- ¶ #3: Nephi became the ______and ______of the
Nephites. He was also the ______.
- ¶ #4 At first, the Nephites ______the ______.
- ¶ #5: But then the Nephites were becoming ______.
- ¶ #5: Jacob taught them that the Savior would provide an ______so they could repent and be forgiven. Then He (Jesus) would die and be ______.
- ¶ #7: An angel appeared to Jacob and told him that the Lord’s name would be
______, and He would work great ______.
- ¶ #8: Jacob reminded the Nephites to “…remember that ye are ______to ______
For yourselves,” to ______the ______and to ______the
______.
□ Page 16: Read “The Coat”.
- Who was Heber J. Grant? (Ask your Mom or Dad if you don’t know).
- What did Heber’s Mom work hard to make for Heber?
- What did Heber see in the alley or on the street, near a building?
- What did Heber do?
- What was Heber worried about? [hint: That his Mom might feel ______.]
- What did his Mom do when he told her?
- She was ______of him.
- What character trait, quality, or value does this story teach us?
- Who else do you think was very proud of Heber J. Grant?
□ Page 18: Read “Hands that Talk”.
- [for Cub Scouts]: Review the Wolf Cub Scout Handbook, page 113.
- Practice spelling words you might say when bearing your testimony.
- Have your Mom or Dad (or someone who knows the sign alphabet) to guess the words as you sign them.
□ Page 20: If you want to be a Friend in the News, ask your Mom or Dad’s permission first. Then
write a short paragraph about yourself, your family, and maybe share some of your favorite things about church or Family Home Evening.
□ Page 21: Read the story, “Abu Learns Honesty”.
What did Abu tell his papa that he wants to be “always”? ______
□ Page 22: Read the story, “Choose the Light”.
- Who wrote this story? Elder ______J. ______
- With your parents’ permission, learn more about this man at LDS.org.
-Where is he from? ______
-Where is that country? Find a map online, or have your parents help you find it on a map or globe at home.
- What did Elder Gong do when he felt scared as a little boy? He ______.
- After that, he he’d be ______and ______.
- What did Elder Gong feel in the temple his first time? P ______and J __ __.
- (Near the end of the story): “When we are filled with the ______, we feel ______and ______and ______.”
□ Page 23:Ask a parent to help you make “Mix-In Muffins” (maybe even General Conference weekend!)
□ Page 24-25: Ask your Mom or Dad if you’ll be in Salt Lake City this year. If so, make it a goal to
visit the Church History Museum together. If not, ask if you can teach a Family Home Evening Lesson soon. Prepare to do activities #3 and #4. (Have Mom and Dad share a story for #4).
□ Page 26: Conference Squares
Make copies of this page for each of the kids in your family who will play (You can glue them to cardstock if you
would like to reuse them later.) On the day of General Conference, hand out one board to each person playing, along with one small baggie of cereal or bingo chips/tokens. Each person will cover a square when he hears a speaker mention that topic or principle during conference. One idea to make it fair: little kids can cover a single row in any direction to win, while older kids and adults cover the entire board (‘Blackout’).
□ Page 27: If there are young children in your family (under age 6), make a copy of this page for
them to color during General Conference.
□ Page 28-29: Read “Choosing Conference”. Then answer these questions:
1) What is Jennifer’s friend’s name?
2) Is she a member of our Church?
3) What goal did Jennifer’s family set together?
4) How often is General Conference held?
5) “Although she didn’t understand all of the talks, she liked it when she could recognize her
favorite ______, or when the ______told stories about their own ______.
6) Jennifer especially liked seeing the kind face of the ______and listening to him
speak ______of ______and ______. Just like going to Church, listening to General Conference gave Jennifer a ______, ______feeling inside.
7) What did Jennifer decide to do Saturday afternoon?
A) play with her friendC) go to her room
B) watch conference with her familyD) eat all of Mom’s cinnamon rolls
□ Page 30-31: Trying to Be Like Jesus
1. What did Dallin H. do that was pleasing to our Heavenly Father?
______
2. What is a “widow”? Ask your Mom or Dad if you do not know.
3. What did Olivia G. do for her widowed friend that made her feel happy inside?
______
4. In “Our Perfect Example”, Katie K. learned a valuable lesson by helping her Mom set up
and decorate for an activity at the Church that would be for all of the Moms and
women. Fill in the blanks about what Katie said about it:
I ______why I had been ______and
began to ______about ______.
5. “I was ______for someone other than ______.
6. How did Jaden B. decide to deal with a boy who was always using words that were not
nice, and used God’s name disrespectfully? Jaden asked him to ______.
When the boy did not stop saying those things, Jaden made a decision.
He says, “I am going to look for ______and set a
______by using ______language.”
7. Lizzy P. enjoys using sharing ______- ______.
□ Page 32-33: Write about some experiences you have had when you did the right thing (for
example, maybe you told your school teacher that you wrote the wrong answer, but she did not mark it wrong.) Share these stories during FHE, or at dinnertime.
□ Page 34: Pick one of the boxes on page 34 that you want to work on or improve upon. Write a
detailed goal telling how often you will do it. [Examples: “I will say my morning prayers right when I wake up, kneeling by my bed, for two weeks straight – 14 days.” Or, “I will sing all of the Sacrament Meeting hymns for 4 Sundays in a row.”] Tell your Mom or Dad your goal/s, and they will follow up when you complete it (maybe even with a sticker chart!)
□ Page 35: During General Conference in April, listen to President Monson’s talks. Write down
in your journal things he talks about that you and your family can do to be a little bit better at living the gospel and Jesus’ teachings. You might share your journal entry with your parents.
□ Page 36: What were Sister Barton’s two secrets?
1) If I make a mistake, no one notices and I just ______.
2) When I’m feeling nervous, I always ______before I play.
□ Page 38: In Corrine T.’s drawing, what is the girl in the purple dress saying or reciting?
The ______of ______.
□ Page 40-41: Ask a parent to make enough (color) copies of the photos on pg. 40, and the chairs
and podium on pg. 41 for all of the children in the family who will participate in this activity during General Conference. Use a gluestick to paste the chairs, podium, and apostles onto heavy paper or cardstock. Then cut out the photos and put the men in their correct chairs. Use a tiny piece of temporary / removable double-sided tape so they stick in their places. When someone speaks during conference, move him to the podium.
□ Page 42: Practice playing this song on the piano. Try the Treble Clef (top part, right hand) first.
Then try the Bass Clef (bottom line, left hand). Then do them both at the same time. Ask your parents if you can play it for the family during FHE soon.
□ Page 44: Read “The Best Soccer Player”
1. How many friends in the class did Nan have?
2. Who wanted to sit by Nan?
3. Who wanted to sit by Angie? (she wrote this story)
4. Was Caroline being kind to Nan?
5. When the teacher asked Angie to sit by Nan, did Angie do the right thing?
6. Was anyone nice or friendly to Nan, besides the teacher?
7. What did Nan finally do (where did she go)?
8. It seems like the kids at the new school were nicer, friendlier, and let Nan play soccer with
them. What did they find out about Nan just by getting to know her?
9. Angie realized that Nan only needed a ______and a ______.
10. Do you think Angie missed out on a possibly great friendship?
What do you think Angie would have done differently in that situation if she had
followed her heart?
11. What promise did Angie make to herself?
- Always ______to ______.
- Look for shy people and be their ______.
□ Page 46: Conference Notes
Take “artistic notes” during this upcoming General Conference. [A Step Further: Ask your Mom
to help you mail your best one to The Friend . See page 48 for information.]
□ Page 47: Apostles of Jesus Christ
[Left side of the page]: While Jesus was on the earth, who were 3 of his apostles, who
became the First Presidency? ______, ______, and ______.
Who are in the First Presidency today?
Prophet and President ______. ______
First Counselor: ______B. ______
Second Counselor: ______F. ______
What are two of their special callings?
1)______the ______gospel
2) Stand as ______of ______
□ Page 48: Did you find the hidden CTR ring? On what page? _____
□ You’re done! Which story in this issue of The Friend did you enjoy most?
Go tell your Mom or Dad to earn your prize!
More Ideas(Ask us what kind of bonus you might earn for doing these!)
□ Complete ONE activity from your Faith in God book.
□ Can you recite the first 6 Articles of Faith? Practice those you don’t know very well with a parent or sibling.
□ At Church, get to know someone new. Report to your parents at FHE how it went, and what you
learned about him or her.
□ After your Sunday school or Primary lesson, shake your teacher’s hand and thank him or her for
such a great lesson.
□ Learn a new Primary song or Hymn this week (singing or on the piano).
□ Have a parent help you gather, make, or buy a collection of some kind of simple prize or reward,
and start sharing them with your family and friends for good deeds you catch them doing!
□ Write a letter to The Friend telling why you enjoy the magazine so much. Have a parent help you
send it in.