Heavenly Father’s Plan is a Plan of Happiness
Purpose: To help the children realize that God’s Plan is one of happiness
Song: “I Lived in Heaven” (use pictures from Jolly Jenn flipcharts) (I’m going to use this as our rest song before the lesson)
Object Lesson: Present a gift. Tell the children that inside this gift is something that will bring them happiness. Ask, “What do you think it could be?” Have a child open the gift and read the sentence inside of the gift that says, “Heavenly Father’s plan is a plan of happiness.” Put a sign of this up on the board.
Story: (Tell about how Heavenly Father’s plan came about.)
We lived in Heaven with Heavenly Father and Jesus and other people we loved. We learned a lot in Heaven and loved it there. Heavenly Father realized that we had learned as much as we could there with Him. He wanted us to grow more and become more like Him so we could be as happy as He was. So He created a plan for us called The Plan of Salvation.
He gathered us all together in a big meeting, called the Council of Heaven. He told us about this Plan of Happiness. In this Plan of Happiness, Jesus was chosen by our Heavenly Father to be our Savior. Some people didn’t like Heavenly Father’s Plan, but a lot of people did. We got to choose if we would follow Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness. Those that said they would follow Heavenly Father’s Plan got to have bodies and come to earth.
? Who created the Plan of Happiness? (Heavenly Father)
? Who is the Plan of Happiness for? (Us)
? Why did Heavenly Father create the Plan of Happiness for us? (because he wants us to
grow and learn and become like Him, He wants us to be happy because He loves us)
? Where were we told about this Plan of Happiness? (In heaven in the Council of Heaven)
? Did we get to choose if we wanted to follow Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness? (yes)
? Raise your hand if you chose to follow Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness (everyone)
Lesson: (learning about what the Plan of Happiness entails)
Have a “Life” cereal box and write “Eternal” on it, so it says “Eternal Life”. Explain that the Plan of Happiness allows us to have Eternal Life, which means living with God and living a life like He does. The point of the Plan of Happiness is to one day gain Eternal Life. We are going to learn about what is part of the Plan of Happiness, which, if we follow it, will help us have Eternal Life one day. Have pictures of different parts of the Plan of Happiness in the box with scriptures on the back (Creation, the Fall, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Body, Earth Life, Ordinances of the Gospel (Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, Endure to the End), Agency, Families, Death, Resurrection, Judgment, Eternal Life). Have children pull out pictures and read scriptures. Put the pictures on the board under “Heavenly Father’s plan is a plan of happiness” sign and have the children answer, “How does this part of the Plan of Happiness bring you happiness?”
Song: “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me” (use pictures from Jolly Jenn Flipcharts)
Testimony: If we follow Heavenly Father’s Plan, we will be happy. It is the only way we can have the most joy and happiness. It is the only way to achieve Eternal Life. I know Heavenly Father loves me and you. I know that we each have a unique purpose here on earth.