Let There Be Light

I wrote a song this year - my first one.  I wanted the Primary children to sing something new for the Primary Program this year, and I came up with a short song that I combined with "I am Like A Star".  We did a few different "mash-ups" for the program, and you can read more here.  I later wrote a few more verses, but only have a recording of the first verse.

1) The earth in the beginning

was dark and without light

but a plan had been prepared

for us to come

We knew we would be tested

to choose from wrong and right

and a path was giv'n

to guide us safely home

2) Our parents in the garden

Father Adam, Mother Eve

Made the choice that gave us

all a chance to live;

A body for our spirit

is everything we'd need

to create the light that

we can freely give.

3)We have a living prophet

to guide us in our day

And he helps us to see

what we can become;

We also have a family,

our closest source of light,

and can live with them

eternally as one.

Chorus:

Let there be light

and let the whole world see

the promises that He

has made are true

May I shine bright

and may I always be

a source of light

my whole life through.

"Holy Temples on Mount Zion"

As part of our Primary Program this year, I have been doing some "mash-ups" with the music so that we can include more songs in the program.  One of the pairings I made is about the Temple, and it ended up being three songs mixed into two.  I really like the Primary song "I Love to See The Temple" so that was a given for me to teach this year.  The other song came to me a while ago when I was looking at the back of the hymnbook and was noticing the pages that give tunes and meters and group related songs.  I like the tune to "In Humility Our Savior" and found that the words to "Holy Temples on Mount Zion" are a meter match.  Putting the two together gives a new song about Temples that I was able to use with "I Love to See the Temple" in a simple medley:

For more information on the songs:

https://hymnary.org/person/Bennett_AF1?tab=hymnals

https://www.bystudyandfaith.com/holy-temples-on-mount-zion/

https://singpraises.net/text/289/holy-temples-on-mount-zion

"Blessed are Ye" - Come Follow Me

February 18–24
Matthew 5; Luke 6

“Blessed Are Ye”

"Everybody wants to be happy, but not everyone looks for happiness in the same places. Some search for it in worldly power and position, others in wealth or in satisfying physical appetites. Jesus Christ came to teach the way to lasting happiness, to teach what it truly means to be blessed."

The two chapters for the reading are similar - both cover the Sermon on the Mount and have a strong focus on Christ coming to fulfill the law, not just replace it, and in doing so the law becomes more elevated.  It's interesting that recent changes in the church have been talked about in a similar manner, and I think it is logical to think that there will be a continual refinement of the law as we fulfill the requirements of the lesser laws.

In Primary this week I plan to start teaching "I Feel My Savior's Love" and "Love At Home".  My plan for the program is to have the two songs sung together, most likely one verse of each one.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow!

"Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord"

Today was Week 5 for the Come Follow Me program, and the theme was "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord".  In Primary today, I selected "Baptism" as our focus song.  I had originally just been thinking of using it today to talk about baptism, but after singing it I think we might make it a part of our Primary Program in the fall. 

The children have been enjoying singing "Come, Follow Me" each week, or at least the first verse.  My plan was to try and add a verse each month so they are familiar with most of them by the end of the year.  I think in the Primary Program we will end up singing 2-3 and then the congregation will join in on a few verses at the end of the program.

We also practiced "Scripture Power" today.  I'd like to have them learn it well enough to sing in Sacrament Meeting on March 10th.  If it doesn't seem like they have it down, we might end up singing something from last year's program that they know pretty well.  We will see how the next few weeks go.

I'm enjoying the new 20 minutes of singing.  It really isn't a change from what I have been doing in the past, but for some reason it feels different.  Today finally felt like a good balance between old songs and new songs in Jr. Primary, and I've been mixing in some "Wiggle Songs" between the new songs and it seems to be working well. 

2019 Primary Hand-outs - Week 1

This year I am planning to put together a weekly handout to distribute to the Primary Children each week to give them some guidance on what songs we will be learning and what songs they can work on together as a family during the week.  This is my sample for Week 1:

We will be learning "Come Follow Me" during Primary Music time on January 6th.  I will be giving these out this Sunday (Dec 30th) so they will have the week to practice the song.  The other songs are suggestions that go along with the topic for the week that we are encouraged to study individually and as a family, under the topic "We are responsible for our own learning".

I also plan to post on Facebook in our ward page about the songs we will be singing, with links to the music either on LDS.org or on YouTube.  Hopefully this is helpful to families this year as they study the gospel together!

Latter-day Prophets - Updated for 2018

This year one of the songs I taught in Primary was "Latter-day Prophets".  The kids did a great job and picked up on everything really well!  We sang the updated version with President Nelson added to the end, although I did change it a bit from the way it is printed on LDS.org.  The recording we made was so the kids could practice for the Primary Program.

Latter-day Prophets Primary Song - 2018 Update

I just realized I hadn't posted a link to our Primary's practice version of "Latter-day Prophets".  We are planning to sing it in our primary program this fall, and I wanted to make a version that included President Nelson.  We recorded us singing it one week and I made a simple video on YouTube that the kids could use to practice with.  Enjoy!

FHE - Nurturing Love at Home

Tonight for Family Home Evening we plan to use this short video and blog post for our discussion.

 

Families come in more varieties than flowers in a garden—big, small, tall, not as tall, and everything in between. Our particular variety may look different than what we might think of as the ideal family, but each one has its own beauty, challenges, and unique family culture. We may love spending time with our families or struggle to carry on a conversation; our families may be our best friends, or perhaps we may find ourselves wishing that our family relationships were stronger.

No matter the state of our family relationships, we can always strive to create love at home—to do the small and simple things to nurture our relationships with the people who matter most to us. Living prophets and apostles have reminded us of things we can do to create an environment for love to flourish in our families and homes.

 "Love at Home" will be our song. And I made cookies last night so the treat is already done! It will be a nice night!

Primary Program Musical Numbers

Recently I was called as the Ward Primary Music Leader.  For the past year I have been substituting on and off, and so I have been familiar with the music program in our Ward, but it is now a very different thing to be in charge of the program and to have to ensure the Primary kids are prepared to sing in the annual Primary Program.

To help the kids practice, I have created a playlist on YouTube that they can listen to at home:

2018 Primary Program Songs