Plan of Salvation Sharing Time
Materials: Preparation:
Cut out and color traffic signs.  You will need a variety in addition to about 5 ONE WAY signs. Place tape on the back of each sign.  For the beginning of Sharing Time, tape up your 5 ONE WAY signs in different areas around the room.  Make sure they are all pointing in the same direction.

Lesson:
Have one or two children pretend they are cars trying to reach a certain destination in the room.  They can only get there by following the signs in the room. On the way there, they need to stop by the Bishop’s office to get some supplies for their trip.  Again, they have to follow the signs.  None of the children will be able to get to the Bishop’s office because the signs are keeping them from going where they need to go.

Put up the other signs you have brought.  With the other signs you have (STOP, RIGHT TURN, LEFT TURN, GO, etc.) up, ask the children if they think they could get to the Bishop’s office.  Ask them why (because they have more freedom to go where they want).

Before we were born, we lived with Heavenly Father.  Before He created the earth, He needed a plan. He created a plan that needed a Savior for us.  Jesus Christ was chosen to be the Savior, and Lucifer had other ideas.

Just like the ONE WAY signs, Lucifer presented a plan to Heavenly Father that would keep us from making decisions for ourselves.  Lucifer wanted all of us to have no choice in what we were going to do here on Earth, and he wanted all of the credit for what we did do here.

Heavenly Father's plan with Jesus Christ gave us the freedom to choose right from wrong, and the way we would go in our lives.  His plan provided us with “road signs” (you can write these on the back of  some of the signs, if you want, and turn them around as you talk about these things) to help us find our way back to Heavenly Father.

Some of the things we have been given are:

Jesus Christ wanted Heavenly Father to have all of the glory and credit for His plan.  The Plan of Salvation.  We could all come to Earth to learn what the difference between good and evil is, how to be good friends, how to love each other and other valuable things.  The plan also provided a Savior for us that would take all of our sins on himself.  All we need to do is repent for our sins, and we can be forgiven! When we repent, and all of our sins are forgiven, we can live with Heavenly Father again!

We all chose to have Jesus as our Savior.  Do you know how I know that?  We are all here!  The spirits that chose Satan’s plan will never receive a body like we have. They were thrown out of Heaven.

Answer any questions from the children.  Bear your testimony of the Plan of Salvation, and challenge the children to follow the road signs that we have been given so we can all be with Heavenly Father again.

Handouts:
Reduce down one of the road signs and copy onto colored paper.  For the younger children, have them color in the signs, and the older children can write this month’s scripture reference on it and hang it in their room.  You can also type in the center of the sign the theme: “Heavenly Father has a plan for me (Plan of Salvation).”


Other ways to present the freedom of choice we have:

Have 3 empty jars on a table.  Tell a child they can choose to have anything in one of the jars.

Have 3 jars on a table -- one of them empty.  Fill two of the jars with "desirables" (i.e.: candy, bookmarks, etc.).  Label them #1, #2, #3.  (Have #1 be the empty one.)  Tell a child they can choose anything from jar #1 that they want.  As long as it is jar #1.

Make a matching game.  Actually, make 2.  :)  The first one should be copies of the same thing.  All of the cards should be numbered "1" and all of the pictures on the backs should be the same. (Try the shadowy figure in the art for "I Lived in Heaven".) Not much of a challenge, is it? Can't feel good about a win, Can't lose -- CAN'T CHOOSE! This represents Satan's plan for us.  Turn the poster over, or a portable blackboard around.  Now play a REAL matching game about the Savior.  Match pictures of Christ with characteristics or just matching pictures from Christ's life.  This represents Heavenly Father's plan for us.  We can choose what we want, if we make a mistake we can go back and find the right answer (way), etc.