Using puppets, songs, crafts, stories and object lessons, the September Friend to Friend broadcast called “Covenants and Blessings” taught children in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about making and keeping covenants with Heavenly Father, the blessings received from those covenants and what it means to be a child of the covenant.
Primary General President Susan H. Porter and her counselors, Sister Amy A. Wright and Sister Tracy Y. Browning, gave an introduction to the episode broadcasted Saturday, Sept. 2, inviting children to look for different ways keeping covenants would help them become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Practicing and improving through God’s help
The episode began with Victor Batista, one of the young friends from previous episodes, trying to work on his math homework with his sister Giuliana Batista and their teenage friend Laura Fajardo-Riascos. But he became frustrated when he could not remember the answers.
After he left, Laura said, “We need to help him remember.”
“Remember what?” asked Louie the Toucan, a puppet and recurring character in several Friend to Friend episodes.
“That he is a child of God, that he has made promises with Him, and that also makes him a child of the covenant,” responded Laura.
Later, when Laura spoke to Victor, she reminded him that he is learning each time he tries to do his math homework — and practice helps.
“God blesses us as we are trying. He makes our efforts bigger and stronger. And the same thing happens with covenants. When we choose to be baptized, we enter God’s covenant path, and become a child of the covenant. And He never gets tired of helping us,” she said.
In another scene together, Laura spoke to Victor and Giuliana about their grandparents and the blessings of temple covenants.
Making puppets
During the episode, the Blankenship family — Dallin and Tracy and their children, Joseph and Natalie — made puppets together.
They gathered pine cones, acorns, sticks and rocks from outside, and other craft supplies inside their home like yarn, pipe cleaner, pasta, cloth, buttons, colored paper and more.
The craft was presented in a way to inspire children to make their own puppet. Tracy Blankenship told her children she liked to craft because it is one way that lets her light shine.
‘This Little Light of Mine’
Another part of the broadcast was a special music video set to the song, “This Little Light of Mine.”
During the singing, the Blankenship family was shown crafting together, and other scenes showed children all over the world doing service, playing with friends and family, cooking together, visiting neighbors and other activities.
Scenes of Jesus Christ interacting with little children from the Church’s Book of Mormon Videos were also included .
‘Divine potential’
The next time Victor worked on his math homework, he apologized to the others for losing his temper and said he would keep practicing having more patience. He stayed calm and was able to remember the right answers to the math problems.
“It makes a lot of difference to know I am a child of God and a child of the covenant. That’s how I know I can do hard things,” Victor said.
Louie the Toucan replied, “Divine potential.”
The broadcast was interspersed with vignettes from handmade puppets explaining about covenants made at baptism, then speaking about what it means to be a child of the covenant and how to let one’s light shine.
A message from the Primary general presidency
At the end of the broadcast, President Porter asked her counselors what they learned while watching.
Sister Wright responded, “I learned that with help from my Heavenly Father I can do hard things as I strive to keep my covenants and live like Jesus. God helps me and blesses my efforts.”
And Sister Browning said she learned that everyone can find their talents and develop them. “That’s one way to let my light shine, and sharing my talents is a great way to help others feel the joy and light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
President Porter explained when someone becomes a child of the covenant, they promise to take Jesus’s name upon them, aways remember Him and keep His commandments. “That helps us have a special relationship with God and Jesus,” she said.
They invited those watching to share what they learned with someone they loved.
How to use the Friend to Friend
The full episode or portions of it can be used at home or in Primary to help teach children about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The episode is available in the Gospel Library or on the three Gospel for Kids YouTube channels:
- Gospel for Kids YouTube (English)
- El Evangelio para niños YouTube (Spanish)
- Evangelho para Crianças YouTube (Portuguese)
This episode will be available in Gospel Library in Albanian, ASL, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Descriptive audio, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Ukrainian.
Previous episodes have taught about the temple, the covenant path, baptism, the Holy Ghost, the sacrament and what it means to be a child of God. They are also available on YouTube and in the Gospel Library.
- March 2023 Friend to Friend teaches ‘We Are God’s Children’
- ‘Share the happiness that is found on the covenant path,’ Primary leaders tell children during November 2022 Friend to Friend
- ‘Jesus always leads us to the temple’: July 2022 Friend to Friend teaches children about preparing to enter the house of the Lord
- February 2022 Friend to Friend for children teaches about baptism, the Holy Ghost and the sacrament by ‘exploring’ the covenant path
- What a story from Elder Soares’ youth taught Primary children during the February 2021 Friend to Friend
