Today's Heavenly Treasure scripture is one of my favorites: D&C 43:34. The wording of this verse is beautiful, and I especially like the phrase "let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds." However, "solemnities" is not a word kids are familiar with, so it requires a bit of discussion. Here is what I have learned in helping kids to understand hard scripture words:First, explain the meaning by giving a synonym they have heard before. Today I said that solemnities comes from the word solemn, which means serious and steady.
Second, reread the part of the scripture with the challenging word, replacing the hard word with the easier synonym (i.e., "let the serious things of eternity rest upon your minds"). This way they can hear the context and understand the meaning of the verse more fully.
Third, ask for them to give examples of gospel things that fit the definition. Be flexible with their responses. For example, today Kitty's example was reading the scriptures. My response was, "Right, obeying the commandments like reading our scriptures is something we should take seriously."
Fourth, give lots of praise!!! Tell them how smart they are for thinking up such good examples. The more times they have positive reinforcement during scripture time, the more they will enjoy the experience.
Have you had luck with other strategies? I would love to hear your successes!
Becky,
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