Purpose:
To help each child desire to follow the commandment to forgive others.
Materials:
-Bright red item
-White item
Find a scarlet (bright red) item, such as a piece of cloth or paper and a white one. Make sure the white item is as clean as possible.
Materials:
-Bright red item
-White item
Find a scarlet (bright red) item, such as a piece of cloth or paper and a white one. Make sure the white item is as clean as possible.
Ask the class to briefly tell about Alma the Younger’s conversion as well as they can. They might want to use the cutouts.
Help them bring out the following:
1. At first Alma did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Savior. He talked people into doing many wicked things. He taught that the commandments and the Church of Jesus Christ were not true.
• How do you think Alma’s father and the members of the Church felt?
2. Even though Alma was very wicked and did many things that were wrong, Jesus Christ still loved him.
• How did Jesus show his love for Alma the Younger? (He commanded him to repent; see Mosiah 27:11–16. Jesus also showed his love by atoning for all sins. This made it possible for Alma to repent and be forgiven.)
• How did Alma’s father and the people of the Church show their love for Alma? (They prayed and fasted for his recovery; see Mosiah 27:21–24.)
3. Alma the Younger felt sorry for what he had done and repented.
• What did Jesus Christ do after Alma the Younger repented? (He forgave Alma; see Mosiah 27:28.)
• What did Alma the Younger do after he repented? (He traveled throughout the land and told the people what had happened to him. He taught them the truth about Jesus Christ and the Church; see Mosiah 27:32.)
Explain that just as Jesus Christ loved and forgave Alma the Younger, He always loves us and will forgive us when we repent for what we do wrong.
Ask:
• How do you feel when someone pushes you down or hurts you?
• How do you feel when someone makes fun of you or calls you names?
• How do you feel when other children won’t let you play with them?
• How do you feel when someone breaks something that belongs to you?
Allow responses for each question. Explain that when someone treats us unkindly or hurts us, we usually feel angry or hurt inside.
Discuss with the children how they feel when they are angry. Try to emphasize how unhappy they feel when they are angry with someone.
• What does this angry feeling make you want to do? (Try to emphasize that anger does not make us want to act like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to act.)
Explain that Jesus has told us that we should forgive others just as he forgives us. He knows that it is not always easy to forgive others when we have been hurt, but he wants us to follow his example.
• What does it mean to forgive? (When the Savior forgives us, he cancels any required punishment for a sin that we have committed, if we repent. He helps us to live more righteously. When we forgive others, we love them and do not have bad feelings for them because of any wrong they have done to us.)
Show the children the item that is colored bright red, or scarlet. Then read to them the following from Isaiah 1:18: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
• What do you think this verse means? (Remind the children that white is a color often used to represent purity.)
Replace the red item with a white one. Explain that just as you have replaced a red item with a white one that symbolizes purity, so will the Savior make the person who repents pure and clean.
Have an older child read the following from Doctrine and Covenants 64:9, or read it yourself: “Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another.”
• When others hurt us or are unkind in some way, what must we do to follow the commandment of Jesus Christ to forgive? (Forgive them and love them.)
Explain that to be loving and forgiving, we must—
1. Get rid of the feeling of anger and the desire to take revenge on the other person.
2. Forget the unkindness.
3. Treat the person with kindness and love.
Point out that when we really forgive others, we are willing to forget the wrong that they have done and replace our angry feelings with kind, loving feelings. Forgiving other people includes showing great love for them after forgiving them.
Tell the children the following story about a boy named John. Ask them to try to imagine how they would feel and what they might do if they were in John’s place.
“John was not as big as the other boys. Some of the boys would tease him because he was so short. A big boy named Paul always made fun of him and pushed him around.”
• How do you think John must have felt? (Unhappy and angry.)
“One day John was hiking up a mountainside, looking for unusual rocks. He was [making] a rock collection. … John had some beautiful rocks at home. He was searching for more. …
“Suddenly he heard a familiar voice. It was Paul. He was looking for rocks too. Paul told John to go away because he was there first. He started chasing John down the mountainside. … Soon John heard loud screams coming from higher up the hill. He ran back up and found Paul in terrible pain.” He had badly hurt his foot.
• How do you think John felt when Paul started to chase him and told him to leave?
• How do you think John might have felt when he saw that Paul had hurt his foot?
Have the children listen to the rest of the story and discover what John did:
“John tried to help Paul … , but he was not strong enough. … He made Paul as comfortable as he could and ran to get help.
“John brought his father back and together they were able to [bring] Paul … down from the mountain. [They] took him to their home. John’s mother helped bandage Paul’s foot. John offered to share his rock collection with Paul because Paul’s rocks were lost in the fall.
“Paul apologized to John for the mean things he had done. John grinned, and they became [better] friends” (adapted from Walk in His Ways: Basic Children’s Manual, Part A [1979], pp. 151–52).
• How did John follow the commandment to forgive? (He was forgiving and treated someone nicely who had been mean to him.)
• What did John do to show he was forgiving? (He tried to help Paul. He got his father to come and help Paul. He became Paul’s friend.)
• Do you think it was easy for John to forget the mean things Paul had done to him and help Paul?
Point out that although it must have been very difficult for John to forget the mean things Paul had done, John followed the commandment of Jesus Christ and was forgiving.
Role playing
Have the children role-play one or more of the following situations. Allow all the children in your class to participate. Have them express the feelings they might have in the situation, and have them explain what they must do to follow the commandment to be forgiving. Try to help the children understand that they must replace the feelings of anger with feelings of love and kindness, forget the unkindness, and treat the person kindly. Use the questions after each situation as a guide.
1. Julie and Tammy are playing ball. Susan comes running by and knocks Julie down. The fall hurts her knee. Later that same day, Susan comes over to Julie’s house and asks if she can play ball with Julie and Tammy.
• How would Julie feel when Susan knocked her down?
• What should Julie do to show she forgives Susan when Susan comes and asks to play ball? (Impress upon the children that we are to forgive everyone, even if they do not ask for forgiveness or even feel sorry for their wrongs.)
2. Andy and David are playing a game. Andy is winning the game. David becomes angry, pushes the game quickly from him, and rushes away. The next day David asks Andy to play the game again.
• How do you think Andy feels when David pushes the game over?
• What should Andy do when David wants to play the game again? (Again, stress that we must forgive everyone, whether or not they say “I’m sorry.”)
3. On Alicia’s way home from school, she stops to visit her cousin, Matt. She has a present for her mother in her hand. Matt grabs it away from her. He drops it and it breaks. That evening Matt comes and tells Alicia he is very sorry.
• How would Alicia feel?
• What should she do when Matt comes?
Conclude by reminding the children that when we follow someone, we do the same things that person does. If we follow Jesus Christ, we must follow his commandment to forgive others. If appropriate, you might share with the children an experience you have had when you forgave someone and felt better for having done so. (Do not use the names of persons the children might know personally.) Have the children review what they must do to be forgiving:
1. We must get rid of angry feelings and the desire to be mean to the other person.
2. We must forget the unkindness.
3. We must treat the person with kindness and love.
Game
Forgive and Forget
Needed:
Printout 1 - Printout 14 of these (or cut out 14 circles about the same size out of constructions paper)
Printout 2 - One of these (cut out)
Printout 3 - One of these (cut out)
Printout 4 - One of these (cut out all the cards) these are best on cardstock.
Laminate all the printouts if you are planning to reuse the game.
Layout the game board on the floor. Have the "start" at one end of the room and the "finish" at the other, with the circles in between. Have one person be the moderator (this person won't play.). Have the moderator let the youngest person pick a card. Let them read it. If it is says "forgive and forget" on it. The person needs to share how they would forgive and forget in that situation. If they do, they can move according to the cards. If it isn't a "forgive and forget" card, they just follow the instructions.
The moderator walks to the players to give them cards (youngest to oldest) so they don't have to move off of their spots.
The first one to the finish wins.
Additional rules.
If someone lands on a spot that another player is on, then they both keep one foot on the spot.
If someone gets the "change players with the person of your choice" card and they are in front, they don't have to change places with anyone.
If you watch children at play you will notice that they are so quick to forgive one another. They do not hold grudges with one another. No wonder we are asked to become as a little child. In the Doctrine and Covenants Section 64:9-10 it reads, “Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.” So we are commanded to forgive all. We cannot hold onto any grudge. We have to let go. It truly does feel good when you can forgive others of wrong doing.
Resources
“Lesson 40: I Can Forgive Others,” Primary 2: Choose the Right A, 217
“Lesson 40: I Can Forgive Others,” Primary 2: Choose the Right A, 217
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