Welcome

back, you guys.

It's time for the creative side of week six.

I'm going to walk you through these three different ideas that you can choose

from or just create your own thing.

I'm just trying to give you a creative kickstart so that you can teach

these beautiful doctrinal principles to your kids and hopefully this

will get you off on the right foot.

So I'm going to walk you through the supplies list first and

then I'll break down each one and tell you how to teach it.

But the first thing we're going to talk about is Book of Mormon geography.

And the reason why is because this is the beginning of Our adventures

in the promised land, you know, this is where you start to hear about city

names and places among these, you know, Nevite lands, and it sometimes

can get hard to get your bearings.

I think because we don't have a certain spot on the globe that

we can for sure point to and say, this is where it occurred.

It can get hard to.

visualize how far apart these lands are, what they might look like.

So I thought we should put some tools to use.

So do you guys remember how in the New Testament I created maps for you based on

the Bible map so that you can have a big map of the journeys of Paul or a big map

of the Savior's ministry in Jerusalem?

Like that, that's kind of what we're doing, but So I pulled from the church

website this concept map, meaning this is not a specific place on the planet.

In fact, they have a big asterisk here to tell you, like, don't

assume that that's what this is.

This is just a way for you to visualize what Nephi is describing when he talks

about that land of first inheritance, what it could look like, where it

could be in, in relation to other big things that you're going to study.

So I'm going to walk you through how to use these in just a second.

Okay, second one.

You have to love the visual that Lehigh gives us with the chains of hell.

I just think it's such a, like every kid knows what that would feel like.

They can almost picture that feeling of cold iron on their skin and no one

wants to be bound and chained, right?

So I thought it would be cool if we had some very visual way

for your kids to imagine this.

So we're going to make chains, you guys.

This is a simple craft.

In fact, It'll end up looking like this.

We created a ball and chain just because I thought it was funnier.

But the idea is that your kids can craft this chain and as you're crafting

it and they create this cool toy to play with, you're actually gonna walk

them through the different kinds of chains that Satan can trap us in.

It's not just to entertain your kids, it's also to help them understand

these small things that Satan can kind of Hook you in with and how

those become heavy chains over time.

I also really want to put a spotlight on the fact that you

can shake these things off.

Satan's powers are not as strong as he wants you to think they are.

Lehi says that clearly, so we're gonna show that with this foam as well.

Supplies wise, you really don't need much other than something that looks like this.

This is not a pool noodle.

This is a pipe insulation.

So if you go to your local hardware store, you're gonna find pipe insulation.

They have a wider diameter inside than a standard pool noodle does.

They also have a pre cut line down the center and that, that's what will make

it easy for you to make your chain links.

So for us, we, I bought two different sizes.

I preferred the one inch, the bigger size, but you really could go with

this or the three quarter inch.

And honestly, I bought.

I bought one of the one inch and one of the three quarter

inch and I had plenty to make.

I think we made five different chains and I still have some to go.

So, go to the hardware store, buy one or two of these.

They cost, if you get the ones that are pre glued, they're

about four dollars each.

If you get the ones that aren't pre glued, they're two dollars each.

I promise they're cheap and they make such a cool visual.

Okay, that's your second one.

Third one.

This is talking about Understanding moral agency.

There's several conference talks and BYU devotions that talk about urging

us to stop using the term free agency and instead focus on moral agency.

That we, that his agency is a gift that he gave us so that

we could make good choices.

And so I'm directing you to a lot of those good sources.

But I wanted some way to walk through What has to be in place

in order for agency to work.

I think that's what Lehi was trying to help his kids understand by teaching

them about the creation story.

So I'm hoping we can do the same thing.

So in the printables this week, you're going to see these cute little cubes.

These are designed to help you teach about moral agency.

What things have to be in place in order for agency to function.

And the cubes will give you a chance to Demonstrate that.

I'll explain it in just a second.

So you really don't need anything other than cardstock and a little

bit of glue, but you also want to have something inside it.

So for us, I stocked these with Starburst.

You could use whatever can you have on hand.

I would recommend using one that has a wrapper on it so that the cubes don't

get all gross, but you're going to talk about earning that prize and they do

that by kind of Acting out this storyline that you're going to walk them through.

This comes in a big size like this.

I also made a smaller mini size so that if you wanted to make a set for each of the

kids in your class and let them take them home, I would make the miniature ones.

If you're trying to demonstrate in front of a whole class, like a seminary class,

I would probably use the big ones.

So, that printable you can find on the downloads area of the site and otherwise,

once you have all these supplies in place, you're ready to get started.

You guys, there are a lot of rumors and theories and ideas out there

about Book of Mormon geography.

And it's not that those things are bad.

I think we're always encouraged to seek out truth wherever we can find it.

But I do think it can create confusion in our kids.

So I thought before we head into the Promised Land stories, we should Study

it out and find out what the church actually has published and written

about Book of Mormon geography.

So in addition to the cool map that I, we talked to you about

in the introduction, my goal here is to guide you to good sources.

So in the notes, if you open them up, my hope is that you can take a little bit

of time in your object lesson to talk about the promises of the Promised Land.

There are a bunch of them.

I listed several of them.

They're not just in Lehi's words, they're in other places

of the Book of Mormon as well.

But this idea of it being a place of freedom that's preserved, that

there won't be bondage, that there will be ample supply for people

to live and prosper in the land.

So my hope is you'll focus there first and help your kids appreciate that

gift and then talk to them about what we know about where this place is.

You can go in the notes, so I link you to the Gospel Topics essay all

about Book of Mormon geography that emphasizes very clearly that we

don't know where these places are.

It's not that we don't have ideas.

There's certainly great ideas and there's cool archaeological

evidence out there too.

Show you that there's lots of ideas, but I think the church makes it clear

that that's not where you're going to gain a witness of the Book of Mormon.

So if you go in the notes, you can see that message clearly that the idea

is as we started the Book of Mormon, we should focus on what it teaches

us rather than where it occurred.

And so I think the map will help you.

Illustrate that.

Basically, between the maps, I've created a few different sizes.

The first one you're going to make with two separate pieces of paper, and it'll

be a little bigger, so that you could put this, you know, you might put this on a

cork board, or maybe use that frame that we did in the New Testament, so that as

you come across a city, you can pin it.

You know, you can find it on the map, and you can add a pin to it to

demonstrate to your kids where this is, and how it relates to places

like Zarahemla, or the land of Nephi.

They'll get a better understanding of the Book of Mormon

locations if they can map it.

So I give you a big one.

I also give you one that's a little bit smaller, looks like this.

This is so that you could fit it inside your Come Follow Me manual.

So that way, as you're going through the different verses and

the different chapters, you could reference back to where these lands

are and what they might look like.

Then I give you a really tiny one.

The small one is designed to just fit right inside your scriptures.

So that as your kids are searching for words, or if they come across

a city name, they can seek it out and see if they can find it.

The goal of all this is not to confuse your kids.

My hope is it actually opens up understanding that these places were

real, that the people who are spoken of in these stories really did exist.

We just don't exactly know where they are.

And by focusing too much attention on the where of Book of Mormon geography,

we sometimes can lose sight of the why, that there is purpose behind these

stories and they're to bring us to Christ.

As long as our emphasis stays on that, then I think we're on safe ground.

This week's chapters are all about agency.

This idea of using our God given agency to choose good and that when we don't

choose good we end up Playing for the other team we end up getting trapped and

chained up and losing our freedom as we fall into Satan's traps So I wanted some

way to demonstrate that for my kids.

So the idea of the chains kept coming to mind I'm like, what if I just make chains?

Especially if we could find a way to make chains that look heavy But

actually aren't heavy because I like the way Lehi says you can shake them

off he's almost trying to help his sons understand like stop thinking that

this repentance process is monumental.

Just take it one day at a time and shake this off.

So I thought it'd be cool if we made chains and talk through

the chains that tend to bind us.

This is a chance for you to just craft together as a family and then walk

through some of the chains that your kids might encounter in their everyday life.

What are some of the chains that hit us?

So as you're crafting your little Chain links.

I would talk through each of those.

You don't have to do it in a very rote way.

It's not like I have to have one for each link.

But I would, as your craft, start talking about some of them.

Like, addictions that limit your freedom.

They seem like they will be giving you greater happiness, but really

they limit and restrict your freedom.

There's other things like gossip and getting in the habit of

lying and seeking popularity.

All those things can become Chains as we seek them instead of the good

things that God has directed us to so this is all you do guys you craft you

can either make a chain link that has cuffs so that it could go on either

arm or Tie two friends together like we did you could even make cuffs on the

end of your chains so that you could hook them on To a chair or something.

You just want to give them the feeling of being bound The way

you do that is really simple.

You're gonna take your I keep calling it a noodle, but really it's a pipe insulation.

And you're just going to use a bread knife to slice it into small chunks.

Ideally, you're going to get those slices to be about the same width.

I found the ideal width was about a half an inch.

So if I cut half an inch slices, it's going to seem kind of skinny,

but that gives them a lot of room to maneuver around each other.

So you want to cut them pretty small.

Then you're gonna want to hook them together.

I mean, this isn't rocket science, you guys.

You just break them apart on that line that they have already built into them,

and then you attach them back together.

So you make your little chain links.

We did find it was a little faster if I divided my pile into full circles

that I hadn't pulled apart, and then some circles that I had pulled apart.

Because I could take one of those full circles and attach two of

the split ones onto it and then combine a bunch of those together.

It was a way to kind of speed up the process.

If you don't have the kind of insulating foam that has the glue

built into it like this one does, then you just want to use glue dots.

You could try other things, but honestly everything else we tried failed.

Glue dots were amazing.

They held everything together.

So if you don't have the option of adhesive on your insulation, grab some

glue dots and use those to attach those.

The last step, the one that you maybe wouldn't expect is

to create the actual cuff.

We did this so that my kids could wear these.

I thought it might even be funny if we created these, the ball and chain look,

so that you could play that game where you like try and stomp each other's balloon.

You probably played it at a family reunion or an elementary school party, but to do

that, you just need one section of your.

pipe insulation that's a little wider than your standard link.

So for us, we used a two and a half inch piece to make the cuff and then

attach the rest of the pipe to it with just a little bit of black duct tape.

It's lazy and easy, but so memorable.

And I kept picturing like little primary classes walking out of primary with

their own gene links in their hands.

You know, I just think there's something cool about helping your kids see How light

these actually are how easy to manipulate they actually are because I just think

that's the trick of the adversary He wants you to believe repentance is hard

that is you'll never get where you used to be You'll never be what you could

be And so he just keeps wrapping you up in these chains and what Lehi tries to

teach us and what our prophet teaches us today is Those chains are not as heavy

as Satan wants you to think they are.

You can shake them off.

If you choose to live in God's way, you'll have the power to shake off those chains.

And I'm hoping you can come up with lots of creative ways to

pull that off in your classes.

This last one isn't so much an object lesson as it is a teaching tool

because frankly, I think Agency, especially moral agency is just

hard to teach the Grecian story.

It gets hard to teach So I wanted some way that you could sort of

walk your kids through What needs to be present for agency to work

for them to appreciate that?

This is a great gift of God They need to see What life would be like without it?

And that's where this lesson comes into play.

So like I told you, you're going to make these cubes.

There's four in each set.

So you could either make a big set to demonstrate or you could make

a little set for each kid to have.

And in the cube you want to put some kind of reward.

A Hershey Kiss, a Starburst, whatever.

Put something like that in the box and then you're going

to show your kids this video.

There's a great one from Elder Bednar.

He's the one that talks a lot about moral agency that we need to stop

using the term free agency and focus on moral agency because that's our

ability to choose, but also that those choices have consequences and that

we're accountable for those choices.

That's, that's the moral agency angle.

And then I want you to walk through the story.

So after you've watched the video from Elder Bednar, it's about three minutes.

Then you're going to walk through what life would be like

without This gift of agency.

And you're going to demonstrate it with the cubes.

So you'll notice on the cubes, there's always one side that has

this part of the rules, right?

This, this thing that makes agency work.

And then on the other sides are different kinds of foods.

So you're going to start with the number one cube.

You're going to place it in front of your kids.

Remember, there's a prize inside and you're basically going to say

to them, okay, I want you to pick whatever food you think is best.

And they can flip the die around and choose.

Donuts or popcorn or pizza and they're going to set it down in

front of them with the type of food that they think is best at the top.

Then once they've chosen, you're going to say to them, Oh, that's too bad.

I really wanted you to choose the grapes.

Grapes are healthier for you.

And what I meant by best is not just what you like the best, but like

what would be best for your body.

And they will of course be like, Well, that's not fair.

You didn't tell me that ahead of time.

You said what I think is best.

So of course I picked the donut and you want to talk to them about agency.

In order for agency to be fully functional, there has to be law.

They have to be laws that are spoken and communicated clearly.

There has to be law for agency to work.

So when I say things like, OK, choose the one that's healthiest for your body,

then you can make the right choice.

That's the first step in the agency process.

The second piece of moral agency is that there must be choices.

So now they're going to take what they've learned so far, that you

like fruit and you think fruit is the best for their bodies, and you're

going to give them cube number two.

Cube number two is this blue one, and you'll notice on cube number two that

all the choices are exactly the same.

The whole thing is covered in watermelons.

And so you'll put it in front of them the same way, and you'll say, Okay,

choose the one you think is best.

And they will, of course, Choose watermelon, but they won't feel

like they actually made a choice.

So they'll get the prize this time, but you wanna ask them how did it feel?

Did you feel like this was your choice?

And they'll talk to you about how it felt in comparison to the first one,

that there was nothing to evaluate.

There was nothing for them to.

Have an opinion on so it didn't feel like choice.

For agency to fully function, there must be choices.

Lehigh calls this opposition in all things.

It doesn't just mean opposites.

It also means having different choices available to you.

So that's rule number two.

The third one is this purple cube and it's about knowledge.

So for this one, you're going to sit in front of them, ask the very same

question, pick the food you think is best.

Now they'll flip it around and they'll look.

And now they've learned a little bit from the first two examples

that fruit is probably better for me than pizza or hot dogs.

So chances are, they're going to pick this orange because it's a fruit.

It's the only fruit that's available here.

And then you're going to say things like, Oh, I really wish I could give you

the prize inside, but actually the one that's best for you is this smoothie.

And they'll be like, what are you talking about?

It's right next to fries.

And this is when you point out, Oh, sorry, this smoothie is actually.

Fruits and vegetables and those fries, they're apple fries and

they'll feel ripped off, right?

Because they didn't know these were apple fries and they

didn't know this was a smoothie.

They probably thought it was a slushie.

So to them, it looks like junk, but to you who knows, it's good.

And this is when you want to talk about this next step of agency.

To understand agency, you have to have knowledge.

In order for it to be fair, You have to be taught.

You have to be taught the consequences of your choices.

You have to be given all the options so that you know exactly

what all your choices are, and then you can make a choice.

So in order for agency to be fully operational, there needs to be knowledge.

The last thing they're going to pick up is this fourth one, the green one.

So you're going to set it in front of them, just like you have every other time.

And you're going to say, okay, I want you to choose what you think is best.

Now they've learned from the three previous that that smoothie with the

apple fries is their best option.

This dice is covered with some things that are good and some

things that are terrible for them.

The only stipulation you're going to give them is you can't use your hands.

In fact, the only thing you can use to turn the block is your breath.

So you're going to invite them to blow on the cube and try to get it to Move

so that they can choose their favorite.

If they can get it to move the right way and choose the right thing, then

they get the prize that's inside.

What your kids will find really fast is because there are candies

inside, you can't move that cube.

They'll blow and blow and it just doesn't move.

So then you want to talk about that fourth principle of agency, that you

have to have power to make a choice.

It wouldn't be agency if I tell you here's all these options and then I

don't allow you to make any of them.

I limit you somehow.

So those four things always have to be.

in place.

This is something that we're going to build on later.

My hope is that you guys can get a solid understanding of what you need in order

for Agency to fully function this week.

And then as we go into Jacob's writing, we'll understand how to apply this better.

I actually think understanding these core fundamentals makes the creation

story so much more understandable.

It makes God's teachings and his instructions to Adam and Eve less

confusing and more Clear you start to see him creating this beautiful fabulous

plan rather than one that is Conflicting and confusing but you kind of need a

foundation in moral agency first So go through this object lesson if you get

a chance, I would encourage you to go into the notes There's some beautiful

writings from Elder Christofferson and Elder Bednar that will help you

understand Agency on a whole new level so you can find those in the notes as

well But this is a stepping stone to us understanding even more but it's a

really good foundation to begin with Okay, you guys that's it for week six.

There's a lot to digest.

This is a really doctrinally deep week of study So you can go in

a lot of different directions.

You could focus on just a few verses and you can get a lot

out So I hope you enjoy it.

If you need extra help, just remember you can always come find me on

the live So if you go to gather.

macmom.

com Monday morning at 10 a.

m We'll have a live to kind of chat through these verses and then also

give you some tips and tricks on the object lessons if you Need them.

The other thing I would direct your attention to is Later in the week

on Wednesday, we're also doing a live with my friend Mindy Brown.

So she's the one that wrote Eve and Adam and she has some beautiful insights

about how Eve's choices were divine.

How she was guided, how we can tie that to our temple experiences.

I just think you're gonna love it.

So if you want to come join us for that conversation, just jump on gather.

macmom.

com and you can find the link to RSVP for the live and then come

be a part of the conversation.

Otherwise, I hope you enjoy your week you guys.

Remember, if you need anything, you're welcome to leave me

questions over on the site, gather.

macmom.

com, or here in the comments.

I can't wait to hear from you.

I hope you enjoy this week of study and then come back when we start week seven.