Engraving Testimonies

April 9, 2012

Yesterday in Sunday School the lesson was about all the plates that were abridged by Mormon and Moroni in the Book of Mormon.  So we briefly talked about Enos, Jarom, Omni, Chemish, Abinadom, and Amaleki and what they wrote on their plates.  Then I told them that they needed to experience what engraving on plates was like.  I got the silliest looks from the kids!

So I handed them each a sheet of copper and a big nail (which I found out in Guy's stash in the garage).  I told them that I wanted them to use the nail to engrave their personal testimony on the plate of copper.  I told them they could write it any way they wished, but it had to be able to be read, and I wanted them to put it in their "plates of...." journals I had given them at the beginning of the year.  I gave them 10 minutes.

Those kids soon discovered that engraving on a thin sheet of copper wasn't as easy as they thought.  My point exactly.  Most of them finished in the 10 minutes, but some wanted to take their nails home to finish there.

Then we talked about how long it must have taken Mormon and Moroni to abridge the plates.  They didn't use a nail...they had to chisel it out.  Their plates were much thicker.  So then why is it important to think about why they included the things that they did on the plates?  What should we learn from it today in the world that we live in?

We also talked about the prayer of Enos....how he prayed all day and night.  We wondered if we could actually pray for 15-30 minutes without getting distracted....let alone all day and night.  Would we get to the point of praying for others, let alone our enemies?  Would we be concerned that our enemies be given the chance to come unto God?

I told them I wouldn't be able to kneel for all those hours, and that I probably at some point would fall asleep.....given my age and all....just saying.  Guess that says something about my faith compared to Enos.....however, I am not the prophet of the time.

We talked about the wars and contentions that were in the land at this point.  The cycle of pride....and I mentioned that teenage boys really like to drive fancy trucks, but in reality those trucks are just things that get them from one point to another just like the beat up VW bug some kids have to drive.  That kind of hit home with some of the boys in the class.

We talked about contention and what some of the things that cause contention for the kids today....dressing modestly, using drugs, cheating, not getting along with others, use of computers to the point that we forget to interact with people.  And we related all this to what we are being taught in the scriptures about centering our lives on the Savior.

Then I told them that the things that were engraved and abridged on the plates were the things that the Savior intended for us to have in our day.  Remember the Book of Mormon was actually written by ancient prophets for our day.  So, those men spent countless hours writing to a people they wouldn't even know, and all for the benefit of those people.  It is amazing to me that we can learn so many lessons in how to deal with things that we live with in our world that the ancient people would have no idea about, and all from a bunch of war stories, and righteous people versus unrighteous people.

Then I told them that next week we would have a special visitor.  King Benjamin is coming!  I wish I could get the real King Benjamin, but just like getting the real sword of Laban or liahona, that doesn't seem like a real possibility.  So I am having a man in the ward that the kids like come and dress up like a king and give the sermon from the scriptures.  I have chosen the parts for him to use, so it should be fun.  At least it isn't just sitting there answering a bunch of questions by looking up scriptures.....always something I try to avoid doing for an entire lesson.

And so, on to another lesson....it's a continuous cycle that begins every Monday morning!  And, if I am really lucky it is ready by Saturday night in time to go to bed.  But frequently, I am led to change things in the middle of Saturday night....funny how the Spirit works! Guess he knows I'm not sleeping anyway....just saying..