I have felt so inspired by the Primary's October Sharing Time Outline.

I love the principles being taught, because I feel like they are so important and applicable to EVERYONE! 

I decided to create a fun little sharing time idea based on the outline 

"I CAN SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY".

There are two parts (discussion points and an activity) that you might possibly use during your sharing time lesson!

My thought is to begin the lesson by teaching the children that "Every Member is a Missionary".

Explain to them that that statement includes THEM!

From there you could discuss some ways the children can share the gospel with their friends and families now!

 (see some possible discussion points and references below).

Following, you could involve the children in a missionary activity. 

You could discuss how they children could start by being missionaries within their own primary classes!

Help the children understand that there are a lot of other children who belong to the primary who they don't normally see. 

Explain that we want those children to know that we are their friends and want to see them come to primary with us. 

You could have the children sit in their classes and pick someone together they would like to make cards for.

Each child could write a message or draw a picture for that specific child. 

Below I have created a larger card with a pocket that you could put together all the notes from the children to drop off. 

(you could do this as a primary presidency or have class teachers drop off the cards).

I hope you and your primary have fun learning and participating in missionary work together! 

You can download a PDF copy of the images by clicking on the links below.

Keep in mind that  if you attempt to change the sizing, you may run the risk of slightly blurring the image!

Keep in mind that  if you are interested in any alterations to the designs 

or any adding an personal details, I am more than happy to help!

You can find more information and details here

You might take some time to talk about the many things children can do to share the gospel.

I chose to highlight 4 simple things children can do now to be missionaries towards their friends and family.

If you decide to use some of the same talking points, 

you could post the pictures above as you discuss the topics.

I have also included some coordinating stories, scriptures, 

and songs that you might mention / sing as you teach and share with the kids in primary.

From my experience, children have such a sense of kindness and love about them.

They are often being the greatest missionaries when they are being friends to other children, 

because they show such pure love. 

I decided to focus on how being a good friend can help children share the gospel.

8.5 x 11 "Smile and Say Hello" Print Download

CLICK HERE

You might take some time to help the children understand that as they are being kind and friendly to others,

they are following the example of the Savior. 

There are many ways to share the gospel by being a friend. 

For instance, when we see someone new (outside, at home, or at church), 

we can say hi and introduce ourselves.

Below are some example stories, scriptures and songs 

that coordinate to this topic that you could share with the children

STORIES

"Just by Being Friends"

"A Fearless Missionary"

"The New Boy"

CHILDREN'S SONGS

"Hello Friends"

SCRIPTURES

Matthew 4:16

Alma 37: 6-7

8.5 x 11 "Love & Serve Others" Print Download

CLICK HERE

You might take some time to explain to the children that as we are

serving others and showing love, we are sharing the gospel.

The Savior demonstrated great love as He shared and preached the gospel.

Below are some example stories, scriptures and songs 

that coordinate to this topic that you could share with the children

STORIES

"Sharing the Gospel Through Service"

"Being a Friend"

SCRIPTURES

Mosiah 2:17

Matthew 22:39

Matthew 25:37-40

CHILDREN'S SONGS

"Jesus Said Love Everyone"

"I'm Trying to be Like Jesus"

"Love One Another"

8.5 x 11 "Listen & Show Interest" Print Download

CLICK HERE

You might take some time to explain to the children that we can 

better share the gospel as we listen carefully to others.

We should listen to them like their Heavenly Father.

As we listen to them, our friends will feel confident that their thoughts and feelings 

are important to us and our friends will be more likely to be receptive to the gospel.

Below are some example stories, scriptures and songs 

that coordinate to this topic that you could share with the children

STORIES

"Witnesses Unto Me"

CHILDREN'S SONGS

"Kindness Begins with Me"

"I'll Walk with You"

SCRIPTURES

D&C 18:10

8.5 x 11 "Wave & Invite Others" Print Download

CLICK HERE

You might take the time to help the children understand how they can

share the gospel by making others feel loved.

For instance, when we see people alone, we can invite them to join us.

We can smile, wave, and be kind.

We can invite them to do things with us, including go to church.

Below are some example stories, scriptures and songs 

that coordinate to this topic that you could share with the children

STORIES

"Missionary Friend"

"I Can Share the Gospel Now"

CHILDREN'S SONGS

"The Things I Do"

"I Want to Be a Missionary Now"

You can create a larger card by piecing together two regular sheets of cardstock (8.5 x 11)

I created a simple 8.5 x 11 cover for the card that you could glue on the front for decoration.

I have also created a pocket for the inside of the card 

to hold each of the notes and drawings from the children.

You can create the pocket in the card by cutting out the pocket image and glueing it on the inside of the card

(only glue three sides - left, right, and bottom).

8.5 x 11 Card Cover

CLICK HERE

8.5 x 5.5 Card Pocket

CLICK HERE

Here are just a few more handouts to add to October's Come Follow Me outlines!

The overall focus of the month is "Becoming more like the Savior".

For this particular lesson outline...

"WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE GRATEFUL?"

...I decided to create a couple of different options for possible handouts.

One thing that my husband and I did last year was started something called our "Gratitude Journals"

(YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE)

Honestly, I have seen so many blessings in my life as I have taken a moment to recognize all that I have. 

You start to see how significant the Lord's hand is in your life and how blessed you truly are.

Pretty awesome.

If you have some extra time on your hands (ha yeah right, right?)

you could possibly make a gratitude journal for each young woman as a handout.

I have created a simple cover logo, a bookmark, and some simple monthly tabs that you could print out and put together for each girl!

(If you are lacking on time, you could also just print off the bookmark!)

If you don't have time to make these gratitude journals now, 

I would still suggest doing it in the future!

Like I said, it is amazing the things you will begin to notice in your life as blessings!

A great idea for an YW, Relief Society, or FHE activity! 

You can download a PDF copy of the images by clicking on the links below.

Keep in mind that  if you attempt to change the sizing, you may run the risk of slightly blurring the image!

GRATITUDE JOURNAL COVER LOGO DOWNLOAD

For a PDF download of the handout (two on one sheet) CLICK HERE

GRATITUDE JOURNAL BOOKMARK DOWNLOADS

For a PDF download of the handout (four on one sheet) CLICK HERE

GRATITUDE JOURNAL TABS DOWNLOAD

For a PDF download of the handout (one set on one sheet) CLICK HERE

YOUNG WOMEN CORNER: CATCH THE WAVE CATCH PHRASE

One of our young women's FAVORITE mutual activities was always game nights.

They had so much fun bringing their favorite board games and playing together while socializing and munching down on treats.

During one of my last planning sessions with the girls they decided that they wanted to plan another game night, 

but rather than playing the standard board games, they wanted to create their own original game.

As they brainstormed ideas for their game, they decided they wanted it's content to be more "church related".

Even though I have switched wards since, 

I loved their idea of creating an original game and decided to create a quick and fun activity based on their idea.

One of the girls all time favorite games to play together was Catch Phrase.

(I don't know what it was about that game, but they seriously could have played it for hours!)

I decided to create a play on words of the title Catch Phrase, and came up with

 "Catch the Wave Catch Phrase" 

The title and content comes from Elder Nielson's talk in General Conference titled, "Catch the Wave" (see here) . 

His talk focused on the importance of missionary work. 

The game I created is played almost exactly like the original Catch Phrase, but the words are focused on missionary work.

Below are a few downloads including the rules, a simple game board, and 120 different words and phrases to guess!

Even though I am posting this as a young women activity I think

this could also be a fun game to play in a family home evening type setting.

Again the rules are almost the same as the original catch phrase, however, 

instead of passing around a disk with words, I created words to cut out and draw from a pile. 

The team not holding a word in their hand at the end of the timer, scores a point. 

You can download a copy of the rules by clicking here 

Above is a simple board that you could print off to keep track of points. 

Honestly you could probably make due without it, I just like things to coordinate :)

You can download a copy of the board tracker by clicking here

I created 120 different missionary oriented words that you can print and cut out to play with!

You can download page 1 of the Catch the Wave Catch Phrases by clicking here

You can download page 2 of the Catch the Wave Catch Phrases by clicking here

You can download page 3 of the Catch the Wave Catch Phrases by clicking here

Mutual Activity Idea::Called to Serve

THE PURPOSE

Recently, our youth decided to plan a mutual activity based on missionary work.

With the missionary age change, we have had a lot of youth talking about going on missions.

The purpose of the activity was to help the youth feel the spirit 

and prepare them to share the gospel in the future & NOW.

Honestly, it was such an awesome activity --- one I think the youth will remember for a long time.

Thank you Sisters in Zion for the original idea (see here)

I wanted to show some pictures from the night and highlight some of the sweet moments from the night.

I would suggest this activity a hundred times over, 

especially if you have youth who are considering serving a mission. 

(I think it could also be fun for a family home evening!)

INVITATION 

Prior to the activity the young men dropped off invitations to every youth member.

The invitations where very simple (see above on right), and reminded the youth to dress up for the activity.

Having the youth dress up really set the tone for the night.

THE MTC

We began the evening by singing as a group, "Called to Serve".

After a prayer, there was a brief thought on the importance of missionary work 

and then the youth were introduced to the activity...

Each youth member would receive a mission call, missionary tag, companion, and mission schedule.

There would be four rotations throughout the night that each youth missionary would get to experience.

We challenged the young men and young women to think about 

how they could prepare to be missionaries throughout the activity.

After explaining the activity the youth received envelopes with their mission calls.

MISSION CALLS

Prior the activity we had prepared mission calls to various countries within three countinents...

United States, Europe, and South America.

We used these three continents to split the youth into districts.

Once a young men or young women had opened their call, they would go to a designated spot for their district.

 (We hung flags up on the walls with all the different missions so they could easily locate their district).

Once they had found their district, they found the person who had a matching "call".

The person who had the same call became their "companion" for the evening.

(we matched up only sisters with sisters and brothers with brothers)

 The youth decided that they wanted to be able to open up their mission calls as a group.

It was most certainly an exciting experience.

Even though the mission calls were pretend, 

it was fun to see their faces light up as they read where they were going to serve for the evening. 

THE DISTRICT OF EUROPE

THE DISTRICT OF THE UNITED STATES

THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH AMERICA

MISSIONARY ROTATIONS

Each district had a different missionary schedule with rotations at various times.

There were 4 total rotations, each one provided the youth with opportunities 

to learn about different aspects of a mission work.

1. P-DAY: LETTERS & REFERRALS

In the P-Day rotation we talked with the youth about how one of the things 

the missionaries get to do on their Preparation Day is write letters/emails. 

We talked about the importance of writing missionaries and providing support from home.

We have several missionaries serving in our ward and created folders for each one.

We had small note cards for the the young men and young women to write notes to them.

It was great for the youth to be able to share their testimonies with the missionaries 

and express their gratitude for their faithful service.

In the P-Day rotation, we also had a table where the youth missionaries could fill out referral cards.

We have seen a lot of miracles in our ward with missionary work, especially among the youth.

It was another great way for them to the youth to participate in the missionary work going on. 

2. RETURNED SISTER MISSIONARY:

The Importance of the Spirit

We had decided that we wanted to have 2 returned missionaries come 

and speak to the youth about their missionary experiences. 

We wanted to invite a sister and an elder.

The youth (especially the young women) loved hearing from a returned sister missionary 

The sister was a returned missionary from the Tucson, Arizona mission where she taught in Spanish.

 She talked about the importance of always having the spirit. 

She explained how the spirit guides missionaries but also how having the spirit NOW could bless the lives of the youth.

 The young men and young women loved hearing her testimony and were captured by her experiences and faith. It was a great way for the youth to recognize how they could prepare for their missions now.

3. RETURNED ELDER MISSIONARY:

Bearing Testimony

The youth also loved hearing from a returned elder who served in the Paris, France mission.

He talked about having the courage to always bear testimony. It was awesome the way he related to the youth. He talked about how often we feel scared to share our testimonies with others.

 He shared a few experiences of how he overcame those feelings on his mission and

 was able to share his testimony and change the lives of others.

 He encouraged the youth to prepare NOW 

by sharing their testimonies with others.

4. MISSIONARY LESSONS:

How to Share the Gospel Now

In the last rotation we gave the youth the opportunity to actually practice missionary work. 

The young men and young women came up with questions as a group that their friends asked them about the church. 

The youth were separated into two companionships where they role-played and practiced answering questions.

 It was a great experience and the youth took it very seriously. 

Sometimes, the questions asked couldn’t always be answered,

 but we explained to the youth the power of their testimony in these situations.

 It was definitely a great experience.

ZONE CONFERENCE

After the rotations, we came together for a quick “Zone Conference”. 

We wrapped up the activity by having a few of the youth share their testimonies.

 They all mentioned how they could not wait to serve missions. 

It was such a powerful experience, and overall the activity turned out to be a real hit.

Come Follow Me Journals

We had an activity this past week that our girls loved! Thought I would share!!!
Our Laurels had decided that they wanted more ways of getting involved in the new YW curriculum.
Their idea was to have every young women make a 
"Come Follow Me" journal...
...a notebook they could bring to class to write down their thoughts or
 use during the week as they studied the lesson outlines.

I found a bunch of journals at the dollar store and bought one for each girl.

For the activity, we brought a bunch of old ensigns where the girls could cut out 

some of their favorite pictures and/or quotes & sayings.

They created collages on the front of their journals with the pictures 

and topped them off with the circle "Come Follow Me" title above. 

To organize their journals, I created the tabs below that each girl cut out to create sections in their notebooks.

The tabs coordinate with the YW Come Follow Me lesson curriculum. 

The idea is that the young women will be able to write down notes in class, glue in handouts, and capture inspirational thoughts & revelation as they study up for the lessons during the week.

The girls were really cute as they put thought and creativity into their journals.

You could tell that they were something they were all very excited to use.

I am so mad at myself for not taking pictures of the final projects,

 but trust me when I say they were darling....

all very special and unique to each young women.

I think this is a great activity that could be used in any YW organization.

Feel free to use and share!

I am having some problems sharing the tabs and title, so if you would like to download,

feel free to right click the images above and "save image as".

You can then insert the image to a word document (etc.) and print off as needed!