With a new year of Come, Follow Me study already underway, parents may be looking for resources to help teach their children learn about the Old Testament and the Pearl of Great Price. But members won’t have to look far—recently, the Primary General Presidency shared 22 simple resources for 2022 to help kids learn about the gospel. Here are a few of their suggestions, as listed on Church News:
- Sing songs as part of your Come, Follow Me study found in the Come, Follow Me—for Primary manual.
- Add your own photos into the singalong songs on the Gospel for Kids app (Android or iOS).
- Enjoy an art night together using the “Come, Draw with Me” videos on the Gospel For Kids YouTube channel.
- Color in the “I Can Read the Old Testament” reading chart from the January 2022 Friend.
- Read, listen to, or watch a scripture story in the Gospel for Kids app (Android or iOS) and then color the scripture story.
The Church has also refreshed the illustrated Old Testament Stories book for children and youth. According to Newsroom, the project took three years to complete and has more than 350 new illustrations depicting 50 Old Testament stories. Nine new stories feature people such as Hagar, Rahab, Gideon, and Deborah, who were not previously in the Old Testament Stories book that was developed in the 1970s and 1980s.
“Children need the wisdom and impressions from the Holy Ghost that come from learning these stories,” Primary General President Camille N. Johnson told Newsroom. “Whether they are reading them on their own, seeing the images and hearing the stories while nestled next to a parent, or sitting in Primary learning from their teacher, we hope children feel closer to the Savior as they learn from the Old Testament.”
Old Testament Stories has been rewritten and translated into 63 languages and has accompanying animated videos and audio narrations available in 10 languages. It was also shared with youth in its early stages for feedback and notes. For instance, a draft was shown to a group of children near the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple, who were able to retell Old Testament stories to adults just by looking at the pictures.
The stories included in the resource focus on God’s dealings with His people. Writer Hirepan Zarco spoke with Newsroom about his experience with the project.
“We wanted to make it possible for children to fall in love with the scriptures,” he said, “so eventually, when they are older, they will read the Old Testament and already have a love for the people and appreciation for what they experienced.”
Read more about Old Testament Stories at Newsroom. See the Primary General Presidency’s 22 suggestions at Church News.
