Thoughts: I wanted the children to recognize that the Apostles and the Prophet were once children who grew up to be adults and chose to grow their testimony of Jesus Christ.
Before Class: Put Pictures of the 6 members of the quorum of the 12, and the First Presidency that I am going to spotlight on the board with his name underneath.
This link is to the Friend and has the baby pictures of general authorities. I picked the 6 for Jr and 10 for Sr. only because of size. I blew up their pictures and printed them off. With each picture there is short biography of each individual.
Identify Doctrine: Explain that every Apostle and Prophet has been called to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. Explain and ask questions about what it means to be a witness of Christ?
Activity: Pass out baby pictures to each class and have them read the short bio and try to guess what adult picture it goes with. After each class has had the opportunity to read and guess have one person from each class come up and read the short bio and place the baby picture on the adult picture. When all have guessed see who had guessed correctly.
Encourage Understanding: Discuss with the children how we can grow our testimonies of Jesus Christ, and how we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, and that we can choose to act like Jesus everyday. Personal Story about how to act like Jesus. (If time allows have children share how they have acted like Jesus)
Short Biographies:
Thomas S. Monson:
He relates this story about an experience in Primary:
“I remember that our deportment in Primary was not always as it should be. I had a lot of energy and found it difficult to sit patiently in a class. Melissa Georgell was our ward Primary president. One day she asked me if I would visit with her. We sat on the front row of the benches in the chapel, and she began to cry. She then told me that she was sad because the boys in particular did not behave during Primary opening exercises. Innocently, I asked, ‘May I help, Sister Georgell?’
“With a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye, she responded, ‘Would you?’
“I told her I would. The Primary’s disciplinary problems ceased that moment,” he laughs, explaining that he had been part of the challenge.
Dallin H. Oaks:
He was born in Provo, Utah, 12 August 1932, and grew up a worker. He began working for pay only three or four years after his father died, to help his widowed mother.
“I was blessed with an extraordinary mother,” he recalls. “She surely was one of the many noble women who have lived in the latter days.” He lauds her as a woman of “great faith,” a “very skilled parent,” and a woman possessed of great natural executive ability. Many outside the family would agree. His mother was known as a force for good in Provo, in both Church and civic service.
“She gave me a great deal of responsibility and freedom. She encouraged me to have a job,” . From the time he first worked for pay, “at eleven or twelve,” he has been continuously employed.
Russel M. Nelson: His professional work included the positions of research professor of surgery and director of the Thoracic Surgery Residency at the University of Utah and chairman of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Henry B. Eyring: Born in Princeton, New Jersey, 31 May 1933, he has served the Church as a regional representative, a member of the general Sunday School board and a bishop. He holds a B.S. degree in Physics from the University of Utah and Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Business Administration degrees from Harvard University.
Jeffery R. Holland: A student leader and varsity athlete at Dixie High School and Dixie College in his native St. George, Utah, he received his bachelor and master degrees in English and religious education, respectively, from Brigham Young University. He obtained master and doctor of philosophy degrees in American Studies from Yale University.
Robert D. Hales: He was born in New York City. He is a graduate of the University of Utah and holds a master of business administration degree from Harvard. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a jet fighter pilot. He married Mary Crandall, and they have two sons.
Richard G. Scott: He was born November 7, 1928, in Pocatello, Idaho, a son of Kenneth Leroy and Mary Whittle Scott. At the age of 5, he moved with his parents to Washington, D.C., where his father served with the Department of Agriculture, later becoming an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture.
M. Russel Ballard: His father was the owner of a Motor Company in Salt Lake City. “He had a profound impact on my life,” Elder ___ says. “He instilled in me the desire to work hard.”
That devotion to hard work showed up early in his life, recalls his sister, Ann Keddington. “He always had a job, even when he was little.” It started with cutting lawns, she says, and he took on more and more in the line of yard care until he got into something else.
Boyd K. Packer: He was born September 10, 1924, in Brigham City, Utah. He served as a bomber pilot during World War II in the Pacific Theater.
L. Tom Perry: He was born August 5, 1922, in Logan, Utah, He received his B.S. degree in finance from Utah State University in 1949 and did graduate work there. His professional career was spent in the retail business where he served as vice president and treasurer in companies located in Idaho, California, New York, and Massachusetts.
