With the storytelling aspect behind the lyrics of An Angel Came to Joseph Smith, you can use little pieces of nature to engage the kids senses and help the lyrics and song come to life. This approach can help bring new meaning to the stories and the verses of the song.
An Angel Came to Joseph Smith
Senses / Nature
Bringing in objects that can help you tell the story behind the lyrics is a fun way to bring the lyrics to life! Here’s what I plan to use for the first 2 verses:
1st Verse – Joseph Smith
I plan to fill a small plastic tote with gardening soil. I will place a copy of the Book of Mormon inside a ziploc bag. Then, I’ll bury the book beneath the soil.
Before telling the kids what song we’ll be working on, I’ll ask them if they ever dig in the ground looking for treasures? I’ll ask them to guess what might be below the soil in my tub. I’ll walk up to the kids by class and have them huddle around to feel the soil. They can press their fingers into the soil to see if they feel anything, but they can’t dig it up — yet!
I’ll ask if they know of any prophets who found something really special hidden in the ground? Whether they guess it right or not, I’ll next ask if they’d like to see what I have hidden here. Then, I’ll call up a helper or two to help me find the scriptures buried inside.
I’ll ask next, How did Joseph Smith find the scriptures? Did you know that one of our songs talks about this story? Who knows what song I’m thinking about? We’ll then sing through the verse.
In Junior Primary, I’ll let one class come up to feel the soil while we sing through the song. This will let us sing through the verse 4-5 times. The little kids will love the sensory activity. You could hide some other small objects in the soil as well – a coin, a fake worm, a small toy, etc.
2nd Verse: Lehi’s People
For the 2nd verse, I’ll bring in a compass plus a few objects to represent sailing across the sea to reach the promised land.
I’ll show everyone the compass and ask what it is. Then ask, does this remind you of anything we read about in the scriptures? I’m thinking of something that helped Lehi, Nephi, and their families.
After they say the Liahona, I say you’re right. They had a special director that was sort of like a compass. But unlike a compass, the Liahona pointed the way they should travel and helped guide them so they could stay safe while they were journeying in the wilderness.
Where did the Liahona lead Lehi’s people? It brought them to the coast where Nephi was instructed to build a boat. Their journey would take them across the ocean to reach the Promised land.
Then, I’ll pull out a squirt bottle filled with water (and just a tiny bit of salt for the ocean smell). I’ll turn it to the “mist” setting and mist the Primary kids with a little bit of a feel of the “ocean”. Grab the lesson plan printable for directions on how to make sea water!
Would you be scared to cross the ocean? What if you knew that Heavenly Father prepared a special place for your family?
Let’s now sing the verse together as I let you pass around my compass. I’ll hand the compass to one of the Primary kids and instruct them that they can look at it for a few seconds, then pass it down so everyone gets a chance to see the compass. We’ll sing the song through a few times while the kids each get a chance to look at the compass.
I plan to use the 1st and 2nd verse activities back-to-back during one week reviewing this song. You can use just one verse, or both – use whatever works best for the time and other activities you have planned!
Grab our lesson plan, which helps walk you through this lesson a bit easier than I have here, as it’s posed for how you’ll ask the questions!
Click here —> to Download An Angel Came to Joseph Smith Nature Lesson Plan
For another fun idea to teach An Angel Came to Joseph Smith – see our Show & Sing game!