***Note: Please read the post called “10 Lesson Helps” found under “Primary Lesson Listings” before reviewing any of my Sunbeam lesson plan ideas.

“Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, ‘Teaching by the Spirit requires first that we keep the commandments and be clean before God so his Spirit can dwell in our personal temples.’ To be ‘clean before God,’ we can remember the Savior in all we do, always acting as true disciples. We can repent of our sins. We can seek things that are ‘virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.’ We can study the scriptures daily and with real intent, seeking to be ‘nourished by the good word of God.'” (Teaching, No Greater Call, p. 13).

Materials needed: pictures of temples, the Primary children’s music CD and player, blocks (wooden or of some other material) and toy cars and people if available.

Show picture 1-54, Salt Lake Temple, and pictures of several other temples, including the temple in your temple district, if available.

What are these beautiful buildings called? Have you ever seen a temple? What do you think about when you see a temple? What do we do inside them?

Discuss the beauty of the temples, pointing out the spires, windows, and doors. Explain that on an outside wall of each temple are the words The House of the Lord. Members of the Church go to the temple to learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus and their love for us.

Can you find the steeple?  It points to heaven because it is Heavenly Father’s house on earth. It is very special and we go there to get married. Talk about your experiences and feelings about the temple.

Tape up the temple pictures around the room, naming each one.

Let’s make a steeple with our arms.  I’m going to play the song, “I Love to See the Temple” from the music CD and you can walk around the room with your arms pointing to heaven. When the music stops, stand in front of a temple that you like. I will tell you the name of the temple you like. Repeat.

When we get married in the temple, we can live together as families forever. Tell the children that if they keep Heavenly Father’s commandments, they can go to the temple when they are older. Explain that in the temple we make special promises to Heavenly Father to obey his commandments. We can be married in the temple, and we can be baptized for people who weren’t baptized while they lived on the earth.

Have the children hold up three fingers and repeat three things they can do in the temple when they are older:

“In the temple I can make special promises to Heavenly Father.”

“In the temple I can be married.”

“In the temple I can be baptized for others.”

What color of clothing are you wearing today? Talk about each child’s clothing and the colors they are wearing.

Sing “Mary Wore Her Red Dress” adapting it to the names of the children and what color of clothing they are wearing.

Example:

Thomas wore his green shirt, green shirt, green shirt,

Thomas wore his green shirt to church today.

What color of clothing will you wear inside the temple?  Sing another verse to the song:

We will wear our white clothes, white clothes, white clothes,

We will wear our whites clothes in the temple.

Tell the following story about President Lorenzo Snow in your own words:

Lorenzo Snow knew that he would soon be the prophet of the Church. He went to the temple, put on his white clothing, and knelt down in a special room to pray. He wanted Heavenly Father to tell him what he should do to lead the Church. He prayed and prayed but did not receive an answer. As President Snow was leaving the room where he was praying, Jesus appeared to him. Jesus wore beautiful white robes and looked so bright and shining that President Snow could hardly look at him. Jesus looked as though he were standing on solid gold. Jesus told President Snow the things he had prayed to know (see LeRoi C. Snow, “An Experience of My Father’s,” Improvement Era, Sept. 1933, p. 677).

Why do you think President Snow prayed in the temple instead of some other place? (Because he could feel closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus inside the temple.)

If you have good weather, take the class outside and play “I Spy.”  Have them look for different colors of things, especially look for white things, the same color that is in the temple.

Back inside the classroom, explain that because the temple is a sacred place, we are reverent when we are inside. We whisper or talk softly. Explain that we can feel happy and peaceful in the temple because we feel close to Heavenly Father and Jesus.

Play the “Whisper Game.” Whisper “I love Heavenly Father and Jesus” in each child’s ear. After you are done, ask them what you said. Tell them they had to listen carefully to hear your whisper. We have to listen carefully and quietly in the temple too.

You can repeat the Whisper Game with other phrases.

In all the temples, we walk quietly.  We are reverent because we are thinking of Jesus and how much He loves us.  Let’s practice walking in the church halls, like we will walk in the temple when you are older, to see if you can walk reverently and quietly. 

I know that temples are the most special place on the whole earth and Heavenly Father gave them to us to be happy. When you are older, you will be able to go inside if you do these things: pray, be obedient, pay tithing, eat healthy foods, go to church every Sunday, be honest and love each other. Can you do those things?

I brought some blocks so we can pretend to build a temple. Remember that it has a steeple on top?  Let me show you how and then you can build your own pretend temple and drive a car to it.