The Atonement

by Lara Goold

Materials needed: scriptures, (treats, tape, 2 plates, and rocks—for the Visual of the Pits activity)

Purpose: To teach family members (even young children) to understand the significance of Christ‘s atonement in
our lives.

Scripture: “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws
and ordinances of the Gospel.” Article of Faith #3

Opening song(s): ―He Sent His Son,” Children‘s Songbook, page 35

Opening Prayer:

Lesson: Summarize the account of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection (―Our Savior and Redeemer‖
summary and flannel board figures included)—if any of your kids are old enough (5+), have them use the
visual aids and summarize it themselves. Be patient and have them use their own words, only interjecting
to help when needed (or wanted).

Story: ―Parable of the Ketchup‖ with visual aids. This is a great story for younger children. It explains
the major concepts of the atonement in a way that is easy to understand. You may want to familiarize
yourself with the story in advance so you can retell the story instead of reading it.

Enrichment Activities:
Visual of the Pits: This is probably a little too advanced for younger children, but for school age kids this
is a great way to learn more details about the atonement. In advance, place treats on one plate and rocks
on the other, then cover both plates completely so that they will not be able to tell what is on them. Then
make a line across the table with tape or yarn and place each plate on opposite sides of the line. Have
Dad standing near one plate and Mom near the other, each doing their best to persuade the children to
choose their side, for it will bring them ―joy and happiness‖. Ask the children to each choose a plate.

Once all the children have chosen, uncover the plates and show them what is on it. The ones who chose
the rocks will undoubtedly be disappointed and will want to switch sides. Explain that they made their
choice and can‘t switch to the other side.

Further explain that this is what life would be like if Christ had not atoned for our sins. We would be
stuck in the misery of our wrong choices, with no hope of enjoying happiness again. Fortunately
Christ‘s atonement provided a way for us to cross back over to happiness again. Lay the pit visual on the
line and point out how Christ‘s atonement is like a bridge. Allow the children to cross the bridge to the
side of happiness. Share the treats with everyone as you encourage the children to appreciate the sacrifice
that was made by Christ so that we could have a way to return to our Heavenly Father again.

Use the yellow wordstrips to further explain what we need to do for our part in partaking of the gift of
Christ‘s atonement. For those who are ready to learn more, you can explain the difference between
spiritual and physical death and what the resurrection and the atonement mean to us as individuals. The
main purpose here is to convey Christ‘s great love for us and His desire for us to be happy and return to live
with Him again someday.

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 Additional Scriptures: Isaiah 1:18, John 3:16, Doctrine and Covenants 19:16, Moses 1:39

―Take a Walk with Jesus” (info below)—walk outside, and find and place the items in bag
while you talk more about Christ‘s atonement

Closing song(s): “I Feel My Savior’s Love”, Children‘s Songbook, page 74-75

Closing Prayer:

Refreshments: see recipe below

BYU Mint Brownies

BROWNIE:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 Tbs. honey
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

CHOCOLATE PAN FROSTING

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

MINT ICING
5 Tbs. butter
dash of salt
3 Tbs. milk
1 Tbs. light corn syrup
2-1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt butter and mix in with cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour
batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Cool. 2. Prepare mint icing: Soften butter. Add salt, corn syrup,
and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency
is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. 4. Prepare chocolate frosting:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, 2-3 minutes. Stir in cocoa powder and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring, and then
remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar until frosting is thickened and smooth. Pour and spread warm frosting on top of the layer of
mint frosting. Let them cool before cutting. Enjoy!

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Our Savior and Redeemer

―Our Savior and Redeemer,‖ Friend, Apr 1999, 39

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25).

Knowing that the end of His life was near, Jesus Christ led His Apostles to the Garden of Gethsemane on the
Mount of Olives. He told them, ―Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder‖. (HOLD UP JESUS PRAYING IN
GETHSEMANE) Then, after He left them and kneeled to pray, He suffered great pain for our sins. The pain
was so great that He pleaded, ―Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will,
but thine, be done.

―And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed
more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.‖

Later that night, one of the Savior‘s Apostles, Judas, betrayed Him by leading a group of His enemies to Him.
Jesus was arrested, unfairly tried, and nailed to a cross. (HOLD UP CHRIST ON THE CROSS) After hanging
on the cross for six hours and enduring intense pain, the Savior said, ―Father, into thy hands I commend my
spirit‖. Then He bowed His head and died.

Jesus Christ‘s body was taken to a borrowed tomb, where it was wrapped in white linens and tenderly laid
inside. A large stone was rolled in front of the entrance, and soldiers were ordered to stand guard. For two days
His body lay in the tomb, and the soldiers kept watch.

(HOLD UP EMPTY TOMB) Then before the morning sun of the third day, ―there was a great earthquake: for
the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door. …

―And for fear of him the keepers [guards] did shake, and became as dead men.‖

(HOLD UP TWO WOMEN) When Mary Magdalene and Mary came to visit the tomb that morning, the angel
―said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

―He is not here: for he is risen.‖ The Savior was not there because He had been resurrected and He was about
His Father‘s business.

Heavenly Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to save us from our sins. If we repent of what we have done
wrong, we will be forgiven because of the atoning sacrifice of the Savior. And, like the Savior, we will all be
resurrected someday.

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Our Savior and Redeemer—flannel board figures

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Our Savior and Redeemer—flannel board figures

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Our Savior and Redeemer—flannel board figures

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Parable of the Ketchup

By Meghan Decker, Friend, Apr 1999, 32

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isa. 1:18).

(SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY AND THE CLEAN FLOOR) Carrie hurried around the corner of the grocery
store aisle, trying to keep the cart out of the reach of her six-year-old brother, Andy.

―No fair!‖ he cried. ―You‘ve pushed it the whole time we‘ve been here.‖ He tried to grab the cart, but nine-year-
old Carrie twisted it away quickly, accidentally hitting a row of ketchup bottles lined up neatly on a shelf. Two
of the bottles crashed to the floor, shattering and spraying the bright red contents everywhere. The two children
stared in horror at the broken glass and scarlet ketchup. (SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY WITH THE MESSY
FLOOR)

Mom came around the corner just then, saying, ―I want you two to stay with me. …‖ Her words trailed off as
she saw the mess on the floor and the misery on Carrie and Andy‘s faces.

―It looks like there‘s been an accident,‖ she said. ―It‘s all right. Sometimes things break and have to be cleaned
up. There‘s no use crying over spilt ketchup.‖

Mom found a clerk, who cleaned up the mess without getting mad at Carrie or Andy. (SHOW CARRIE AND
ANDY AND THE CLEAN FLOOR) Carrie still felt terrible. She knew it wouldn‘t have happened if she hadn‘t
been swinging the cart to keep it away from Andy. Before they left the store, she quietly told Mom how the
bottles had been broken. Mom listened solemnly while Andy stood with a scared expression on his face.

―Are we in trouble?‖ Andy asked, struggling to keep from crying.

Mom hugged Andy. ―No, I think you feel badly enough about what happened that you‘ll be more careful in the
grocery store from now on. But, Carrie, what do you think you need to do to make up for the store losing those
two bottles of ketchup?‖

―I think I need to pay for them. I didn‘t mean to break them, but it was still my fault.‖

―I think that‘s a good idea,‖ Mom said. ―I can lend you the money for now, and you can pay me back at home.‖

At the cash register, Mom explained that Carrie had been playing around with the cart when the bottles broke,
and so she wanted to pay for them. The clerk thanked Carrie for being so honest, and Carrie felt much better.

At home, Carrie didn‘t feel quite as good when she gave Mom part of the money she‘d been saving for an Ipod,
but she was still glad she didn‘t have that sick feeling in her stomach that she had felt when the bottles exploded
on the floor. She remembered how red everything looked. (SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY WITH THE MESSY
FLOOR) She had been afraid she would see that stain on the floor forever, reminding her of her mistake, but it
had come clean with a wet mop. (SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY AND THE CLEAN FLOOR)

A few months later, Carrie finished Sunday dinner and flopped down on the couch with a big sigh.

―What‘s the matter, sweetheart?‖ Mom asked. ―That‘s a pretty heavy sigh for a Sunday afternoon.‖

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―Mom, I have to give a talk in Primary next Sunday on Jesus‘ Atonement. I‘m not even sure I know what the
Atonement is.‖

―This sounds like a good Sunday activity,‖ Mom said, sitting on the couch next to Carrie. ―Why don‘t you tell
me what you do know?‖

Carrie was quiet for a moment, then replied, ―I think it‘s when Jesus suffered for our sins. If we repent, we
don‘t have to suffer any more for them because He already did. Then we can be forgiven.‖

―Good!‖ Mom said, squeezing Carrie‘s arm warmly. ―You understand a lot. Tell me about being forgiven. What
does that mean?‖

―Well, I guess it means that we‘re not in trouble anymore.‖ Carrie thought some more. ―I mean, Heavenly
Father doesn‘t hold it against us. He forgives us, and we can forget about what happened.‖

―Do we forget completely?‖ Mom asked quickly.

―Well, no—we have to remember never to do that wrong thing again. And we have to try to make up for what
we did, like me apologizing to Andy if I yell at him or something. But once we‘re forgiven, we don‘t have to
keep feeling bad anymore. But, Mom,‖ Carrie asked, ―how do I explain this so the little kids get it? The three-
year-olds are going to be totally lost!‖

Mom was excited, her eyes twinkling. ―Do you think they‘d like a flannel-board story?‖

―Sure! But how can I do that for the Atonement?‖

―Think ketchup,‖ Mom said mysteriously.

Carrie looked at her in confusion, then cried, ―Perfect!‖ as she bounced off the couch and hurried into the
kitchen for paper, pencils, and construction paper. Carrie worked on her talk all afternoon, cutting out figures
and thinking about her story.

Next week even the Sunbeams forgot to wiggle in their chairs as Carrie gave her talk. She put up a cut-out
shape of a ketchup bottle, then the broken container with a big pool of red below it. (SHOW CARRIE AND
ANDY WITH THE MESSY FLOOR) The children were obviously shocked by the thought of breaking a whole
bottle of bright red ketchup. Carrie explained, ―We can make mistakes that seem too horrible to be forgiven, but
if we repent, our spirits can become clean from sin, just as ketchup can be mopped up off a floor.‖ She took
down the picture of the broken bottle, and replaced it with a picture of a sparkling clean floor. (SHOW CARRIE
AND ANDY AND THE CLEAN FLOOR)

―It‘s kind of like how Jesus helps us ‗clean up‘ when we commit a sin and we‘re truly sorry and try to repair the
damage we‘ve done. He has suffered for our sins, so we don‘t have to keep feeling guilty and bad forever. He
helps us feel good again after we repent.‖

She ended her talk with a scripture from the Bible, explaining that even if our sins are like scarlet, we can
become white as snow through repentance, because of the Atonement.

As Carrie sat down, she looked at Mom sitting on the back row of the Primary room. Mom winked, and Carrie
smiled back. This was the best talk she‘d ever given. Maybe the rest of the family would like a repeat for family
home evening!
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Parable of the Ketchup—flannel board figures

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Visual of the pits (use Velcro or tape to attach the word strips as shown in the photo below)

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Visual of the pits (use Velcro or tape to attach the word strips as shown in the photo below)

Example of how it will look put together

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Visual of the Pits—Yellow Wordstrips

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 —

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