Welcome back, you guys.

It's time to get into the fun, creative side of week 12, and I

have some good things in store.

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

each one in a quick summary, and then I'll take you through them in more detail so

that you can figure out how to apply them.

No matter where you're teaching, if you're teaching at home, in your living room,

or in a Sunday school class, or maybe even in a big seminary class, I think all

three of these can be used in any of those settings and help you find ways to connect

the dots of these awesome scriptures for the kids that you're teaching.

Okay, here's your supplies list.

First, we're going to do something around mini golf.

And I'll explain why in just a minute, but I love thinking about

the straight and narrow path.

when it comes to mini golf.

And it's one of those things that all kids love to do.

So I've created a printable to help you pull this off.

So for this one, the printable is a little bit elaborate, mostly

because I wanted to create something that you could do in your house.

And also like as a giant youth activity, or maybe as an activity days activity,

that this is something you could do.

expand if you needed to.

So in the printable you're going to see things like these little holes.

This is basically a putting hole.

It's got a cup inside it and there's five of these to walk

you through the covenant path.

There's also going to be these little tunnels that help take you

through the interim steps between these big saving ordinances.

What are some of the things we do in the middle?

And then also it'll have things like scorecards so that you can

have bragging rights if you win.

I even created an option for you to make your own Putters because I know it would

be hard to find enough putters for a whole class So I created a way that you can do

it in less than a dollar and I'll walk you through all of that in just A second.

Okay, second one.

This one is just a fun game to help you understand the doctrine of Christ.

President Nelson spoke In fact, you can read this in the preach my gospel manual

But this is something he wants inscribed on our hearts because it's pivotal to

understanding the plan of salvation this is iterative process of going through the

doctrine of Christ during our lifetime.

So I just want to help my kids know it solid, and my favorite

way to do that is to play a game.

So I created a new game this time around, and it is to

teach you these core doctrines.

For this, you just need the printable, and then you also need some kind

of stackable candy, ideally one that's wrapped, because that'll make

the game a little cleaner to play.

For us, we used Starburst.

That was cheap and easy, but Rolos might work, or anything kind of

around that size should be fine.

help you out.

You also, if you're playing in a small group, like at home or in a small

primary class, you can use the cute printable dice I created for you.

But if you're in a big class, like a seminary class, you just want to

have a single die for every player.

The numbers will match up whether you use the printable version or

the, you know, versions you have in a box of Monopoly at home.

So grab either one of those and you'll be good to go.

Okay, third one.

This is talking about how the spirit carries messages unto us, but not out.

into us.

And there's a really cool, simple way to teach that for this one.

You don't need any printables.

You just need a measuring tape, a salad plate, and then some kind of round treat.

You technically could use any kind of ball and let your

kids catch it to earn a prize.

But I also think it's kind of fun if you can find something that they can

actually, that will roll that is edible.

So for us, something like a gumball works great.

But again, if you don't have something like that on hand.

Grab a ping pong ball or anything that can roll and you'll be all set.

Okay, that's your supplies list.

Let's get into the details.

The doctrine of Christ that Nephi teaches about so often this week, and

the covenant path, are interwoven.

Baptism is our first step on this covenant path.

Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost is that second step, like, this is

getting our kids onto the covenant path.

In fact, so often I feel like we've heard about the covenant path, and

that we've encouraged, we've been encouraged to teach our kids well.

what those promises really are, what the ordinances are that match up with them,

and how we can help prepare them for it.

And in my mind, the way Nephi describes this first gate baptism being this,

you know, gate that gets you in on this straight and narrow course, my

brain immediately goes to Minigol.

Because I just feel like that's kind of the idea, right?

I'm going to be talking about how to hone your skills and that you have to

aim for this very small place to get to.

In fact, one of the things I love about playing any kind of mini golf is that

oftentimes they have this multi stop hole, you know, like where you have to

get your ball to go into like a windmill tunnel, and then it shoots from that

tunnel out to where the actual hole is.

But it might be 20, 30 feet away.

Sometimes I think, The gate of baptism is like that for us.

It's this, shoot, it's this narrow opening so that it actually gives us

the momentum that we need in order to advance on the covenant path.

The humility that we feel and the, the choices that we make to be

obedient to God and to be baptized kind of get us in the posture to

succeed on the rest of the path.

And that's kind of how I see the covenants working out.

So I've created a covenant.

a mini golf course.

The reason I created this is so that you could walk your kids

through those saving ordinances.

There are five big saving ordinances.

Elder Renlund just gave a beautiful BYU devotional all about these.

If you want to go look that up, I think it was March 2024, you can find

it, but it's in the notes as well.

And he walks through those saving ordinances and talks about why we

need to make multiple covenants with God and how it connects us to him.

So I'm hoping that this object lesson actually helps you walk through both.

The Doctrine of Christ and the Covenant Path.

So when you play the game, you're going to set up basically a mini

golf course in your house, in the church hallways, wherever you want.

We did find it was easier to golf on a carpeted surface rather than,

like, a gym floor, just because the ball rolls forever on a gym floor.

So find a carpeted or a place with a rug and that's a little easier for you.

But I would create a course.

So I would start with baptism as your first hole.

On the printable you're going to find five of these holes.

They have the words of Nephi written on them teaching you about this

straight gate and this process that you go through and pressing forward.

All those things are written on the actual holes.

Inside each hole you're going to find The cup is there so that the ball can't

roll all the way through the printable.

I thought it was more fun if it actually felt the same way golf

feels, that you actually hit an end point and then you take your

ball out and go to the next hole.

So that's why there is a cup inside.

I just created these cups with a really lazy strategy.

I took a solo cup, basically, I trimmed it down to the length of the printable.

All these instructions are on the printable itself.

And then I created basically this shape and.

inserted it into that tunnel shape.

That way, when I tape this last bottom portion down, when the ball rolls

in, it stops and it's easy to get the ball out and go on to the next hole.

So the idea is really simple.

You just help your kids go through the covenant path.

As they go through each hole, they'll learn the names of all those They'll

be able to write down their score.

I mean, on the cute little score sheets, you're going to see all those

saving ordinances listed out in order.

They're going to play each hole, write down their strokes, and

then move on to the next hole.

The thing that I thought was really helpful, especially for my kids, is for

them to see What happens in the middle?

Sometimes we focus on these five saving ordinances and we forget

all the steps in the middle.

What I love is there is this beautiful article.

I first found it last year in the New Testament.

It's in the appendix area of the Come Follow Me manual, but

it offered some middle steps between these saving ordinances.

So between when you have baptism and confirmation, There's a kind of a

long gap before you get to that next one of priesthood, but there are

other things like learning about the priesthood that could fit in there.

Before a woman goes from, you know, baptism confirmation all the way over

to endowment, there's some middle steps.

She also can learn about the priesthood.

She can receive her patriarchal blessings.

She can go through the temple and perform proxy baptisms.

Those are these middle places.

So in the printable you're also going to find these cute little tunnels.

They don't have an end.

These are just ways to help project you forward.

So the way I set this up in our house, we played this all around the

upstairs of our house, and I would put these in line with the whole.

So if this one is, it's, you can see that on the little flag, it has a number three,

this is learning about the priesthood.

So this will help you get to number three.

So I would put this tunnel in a way that if I shot straight through learning

about the priesthood, I actually land in.

The whole, the goal here is that it tunnels you.

That's what I think all these middle steps offer.

Serving a mission allows me to prepare myself for that next phase when I

am sealed in the temple to a spouse.

It's something that directs my efforts.

So you can go in the notes.

I give you some links to the gospel library articles where I got all

these ideas and information, but you can also go in the printable and

kind of walk through the process.

I think by the time your kids play a round of golf, They'll get it.

Like it will, they'll understand the covenant path.

They'll understand these five saving ordinances and all the steps in the

middle that help guide them through.

Like I mentioned, I give you a few supplies.

I, I, it was one of those printables that once I started making things, I

couldn't really stop making things.

So in addition to the score cards and the tunnels and the holes, you

also have these cute little markers.

This, this will direct people on like where to tee off.

So you'll find those in the printables.

And then these, these, Cute little putters, because we only had three

in our house total, and we needed more, so I thought it would be fun

if I found a cool way to make one.

Basically, to create this, you're just going to glue the printable

onto a sturdy card cardboard.

If you're working with teenagers who might hit the ball hard, or you're

working with actual golf balls, you might want to do a, you know, second layer of

cardboard behind them and make it nice.

and sturdy.

For my kids, the one ply seemed to work just fine.

But you're going to attach it to a wrapping paper tube.

For me, I got these at the dollar store.

You want to be sure to squeeze them and make sure that they've

got like a solid core inside.

Some of the ones at the dollar store are just paper and those don't work as well.

So find something that's a little bit solid.

Attach your little putter to it, and you can make, you know, 20 of

these to take care of your whole seminary class, or whatever youth

activity you're planning, and walk your kids through the covenant path.

I promise, by the end of playing the front five and the back five, they'll be solid.

They'll know these saving ordinances.

They'll know the steps that help them proceed on this covenant path, and they'll

understand why things begin at baptism.

My Nephi taught that so clearly, why our prophet still teaches it today.

They'll get it.

And they'll get it in a way that is fun.

Trust me, they're gonna love it.

The second object lesson is really easy, but also really fun.

And that's one of my favorite ways to teach you guys something as crystal

clear as the doctrine of Christ.

I mean, it's, if they've memorized their articles of faith, these

will be really familiar to them.

But President Nelson asks us to have these like in the marrow of our bones.

So I feel like we can't teach this too well.

This is going to be a really simple game to help your kids remember those

core elements of the doctrine of Christ, and remember them in order.

And the game is free.

It's played really quickly.

Basically, you're going to give everybody that is playing one of these game boards.

Just a simple little printable.

There's a color version and a black and white version, and they're

going to put this in front of them.

In the middle of all the players, you're going to have a big bowl of candy.

We used Starburst because they stack really well, but they're also not

perfectly flat, which is maddening and fantastic at the same time.

So basically it's a really simple game.

You're going to roll the die.

Everybody rolls at the same time.

You set a two minute timer.

We tested a few different times, but we felt like two minutes was the best.

The best option.

Set a two minute timer, and then you say go, and everybody

starts to roll and stack.

Basically, I roll the die, whichever of those elements of the doctrine of Christ

I land on, if I land on number five, and it says enduring to the end, then I

can stack a starburst on my number five.

If I roll again, and I get a three, then I can stack my

starburst on the number three.

Where, where's that one?

Which is baptism.

Baptism or partaking of the sacrament if you've already been baptized.

Renewing those covenants.

So you can find those on the printable die.

What's tricky about this game is you have two minutes.

The person who has the most starbursts stacked by the end of

the two minutes will be the winner.

So your kids are motivated to roll the die fast.

And to stack as quickly and carefully as they can.

What gets tricky about that is the more you stack, the more

your towers start to topple.

In fact, if you'll notice on the die, there are only five

elements of the doctrine of Christ, but the die has six sides.

So there is a number six side, which is the wild side.

When you roll a wild, you can grab a starburst from the center and you

can place it on any of your stacks.

So usually at the beginning of the two minutes, you're stacking these

on, you know, whichever one of yours is low and doesn't have many on it.

By the end of the two minutes, you start to get strategic because the

other option is to stack one of your Starbursts on someone else's tower.

You don't get to touch their tower because that invites too much toppling by others.

All you do is you hand that Starburst to that person and tell them which

stack they have to put it on.

So for example, when Will was winning in our round, pretty much everybody on the

last 30 seconds, whenever we would roll a wild, we would hand it to Will and say, we

want you to put this on stack number four.

So really quickly, Will's stack number four got to the tower.

dangerously tall and eventually would topple.

The rule basically is if a tower topples in the two minutes, you have to take all

those candies off that particular number.

And then you just start again.

If Will rolls a four, he can start replacing those fours.

But if his tower topples and knocks over the three and the two towers,

he has to take all of those off.

So when the timer goes off at two minutes, you tally up the winners

and you see who has the most stacked starbursts, but they can't

officially win unless they can recite.

The key elements of the doctrine of Christ.

They should be able to do it pretty fast, especially after seeing

it on the die a hundred times.

But it's a really fast and easy way to help your kids get

those critical components down.

They will know them, they will see them over and over again,

and they will understand them.

And then my hope is after they've become so familiar with those words,

you can talk them through each one.

If you go into the notes, you can find some links to conference talks and

lessons that will help you understand each of those elements of the doctrine

of Christ so that you can break them down and help your kids understand.

Why they matter so much.

Why they mattered so much to Nephi that he would share them with us in his last

testimony and why they still matter today.

So much that our prophet still speaks of them.

Apostles, leaders teach these same core elements all the time.

So hopefully if they play this game they'll start to recognize it even as they

listen in conference coming up in April.

The third object lesson is probably the simplest of all of them.

It could be done in any setting and it helps you understand it.

a critical thing about Revelation.

What I loved about Nephi's writings is he taught us that the Holy Ghost

can carry things unto us, but it can't put things into our hearts.

That's something that we have to choose.

And I loved, there's a talk in the notes from Elder Lund,

I loved his thoughts of this.

He said, the heart is a tender place.

It is sensitive to many influences, both positive and negative.

It can be hurt by others, it can be deadened by sin, and

it can be softened by love.

So why just unto the heart?

Individual agency is so sacred that Heavenly Father will never force the human

heart, even with all his infinite power.

Man may try to do so, but God does not.

To put it another way, God allows us to be the guardians or the

gatekeepers of our own hearts.

We must, of our own free will, open our hearts to the Spirit, for he

will not force himself upon us.

So this is where the object lesson comes in.

To help your kids understand the value of having a soft heart,

you're going to role play this out.

Basically, you're going to take a measuring tape.

The measuring tape is something that's going to represent what

the The blessings that Heavenly Father intends for us, unto us.

So, on the measuring tape, since it's naturally kind of concave already,

and you can roll something on it, you're going to stretch it out.

In fact, if you want to turn this into a game, since you already have

dice in the room from the last game, I would let your kids roll the die,

and let that be the distance of tape that they have to try to catch from.

So if I roll a six or maybe I use two dice and I have to roll, you know, I

get eight, then I am going to stretch this measuring tape out eight feet.

And they have to stand that far away to try and catch what I'm

going to roll down on their end.

What they have is something hard.

So that's why I would grab something like a salad plate, a handbook,

whatever you have on hand and say, you can't use your hands.

You've got to use this tool that I'm giving you and let them try to catch it.

A gumball or a ping pong ball or whatever you roll down that measuring

tape with that hard small object and it'll be virtually impossible.

A gumball will bounce off that plate every single time.

So they'll notice really quickly that this is not a fair fight and

you're going to say, I know this is why I want you to troubleshoot.

So this is when you ask them to come up with a solution.

If they really wanted to catch that gumball or that ping pong ball.

What should they do?

And that's when they're going to set down the plate and the handbook and

they're going to find something soft.

If you're in a classroom, maybe in primary or in young women's, they

might grab a jacket or, you know, they might use cupped hands to try and

catch that ball that's rolling at them.

They'll come up with something soft.

They'll also probably come up with something bigger

than what the plate offers.

Because it's hard to catch something on something small.

So they'll create a bigger surface area for that gumball to land on.

If you're working with older kids, teenagers, I would increase the distance,

you know, use two dice to determine how many feet they can possibly get.

And then also back away from them a little bit and let that ball roll

off the end and project out to them.

Cause you really want them to have to strategize about how

they could possibly catch it.

And once they figure out a good solution, Then you stop, and you

talk about the object lesson.

You help them understand that the same thing applies to us spiritually.

Heavenly Father is constantly sending goodness our way.

He wants to give us blessings.

He wants to make our life more peaceful and more productive.

He's sending messages towards us, but The state of our heart

will determine how we receive it.

Whether we can take it into ourselves at all is determined

by how our heart looks and feels.

And to have a heart that is soft, to have a heart that is big and open and

ready, to have a posture of someone who is ready to catch no matter where that

ball comes, that changes everything.

how much you can receive.

He sends messages unto us, but it's up to us to take them into our hearts.

So as your kids consume whatever treat that you had for them, you can

talk to them about that principle.

You get to choose to take this in, and as you do, it changes you.

It gives you the power you need to move on in this, you know,

Doctrine of Christ ascent.

One more day, one more effort, one more trial.

It gives you the power you need to endure.

Thanks for being here, you guys.

Remember, if you're finding me on YouTube or in podcast form, you're welcome to

come join the conversation over at gather.

mcmom.

com.

That's where you can find the subscription if you're interested in

the notes and the printables every week.

But even if you just want to come as a free member and be part of the

conversation, if you have ideas about how to answer these questions or insights

that I didn't mention here that you would love to share, then I hope you come share

them on these lessons over at gather.

macmom.

com.

If you aren't interested in subscriptions, but you still want

access to the printables so that you can do mini golf with your family,

or you can try the Starburst game with your class, you can always find

them over on my Etsy shop as well.

You can find that link in the YouTube description below.

Every week, but otherwise, I just hope you find ways to teach creatively

whether you use my ideas or come up with your own This is a rich seedbed.

You have plenty to work with this week So get into your scriptures and find

ways to help others love them just as much as you do I promise it'll be worth

your time All right You guys enjoy this last week of Nephi and then come back for

week 13 next week when we head into Jacob