October 2026 General Conference › Lessons › Elder Ciro Schmeil › Children

30-minute lesson · Children · Ages 3–11: Primary or home

Heavenly Father Loves to Bless Me

From “Consider Your Ways, and from This Day Will the Lord Bless You,” by Elder Ciro Schmeil · Sunday morning session, October 2026 General Conference

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The big idea

When I put Heavenly Father first and keep my promises to Him, He blesses me.

Objective

Children will be able to say that Heavenly Father blesses us when we put Him first and will choose one way to put Him first this week.

Before you teach

  • A paper bag with holes cut in the bottom, a paper bag with no holes, and a few buttons or small blocks.
  • Building blocks, or small boxes or books to stack.
  • A picture of a temple and a picture of the Savior, if you have them.
  • Paper and crayons for each child.
  • A soft ball.

Lesson plan

Thirty minutes in 7 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.

3 min0–3

Gather and sing

  1. Invite a child to pray. Sing I Love to See the Temple together.
  2. Sit in a circle. Roll the ball to each child in turn; the child who has it names one good thing Heavenly Father has given them, then rolls it back.
  3. Say: Heavenly Father loves to bless us. Today we will learn about a time He blessed His people.
5 min3–8

The bag with holes

  1. Hold up the bag with holes. Let children take turns dropping a button into it. Each one falls out. Ask what is wrong with the bag.
  2. Tell them that long ago the Lord told His people their work was like putting things into a bag with holes. They worked and worked, but they had forgotten to put the Lord first.
  3. Hold up the good bag. Let the children drop the buttons in and shake it gently to hear them stay.
  4. Say the truth for today and have the children repeat it: When I put Heavenly Father first, He blesses me.
Ask
  • How would you feel if everything you put in your bag kept falling out?
6 min8–14

Build the temple

  1. Tell the story simply, as Elder Schmeil told it: The Lord asked His people to build the temple again. They did not do it. Each one hurried to his own house.
  2. Have the children hurry in place and pretend to work on their own houses. Then say: The Lord said, Consider your ways. Children freeze.
  3. Explain that these words mean stop and think about what you are doing.
  4. Say: The people stopped. They were sorry. They chose to obey. Invite the children to come one at a time and add a block to build a temple together. Place the temple picture beside it.
  5. When the first block is placed, tell them the Lord said, “From this day will I bless you.” He blessed them as soon as they started.
Ask
  • When did the Lord say He would bless the people?
4 min14–18

Stop, think, turn

  1. Place the picture of the Savior on one wall. Have the children stand and walk in place.
  2. Explain the game: when you say Consider your ways, they stop, touch their heads to think, and turn to face the picture of the Savior.
  3. Play four or five rounds, sometimes whispering the words and sometimes saying them slowly.
  4. After the last round, say: Jesus knows each of us. When we turn to Him, He helps us.
6 min18–24

Draw how I put Heavenly Father first

  1. Explain that we make promises with Heavenly Father. When we are baptized we promise to follow Jesus, and every Sunday the sacrament helps us remember Him.
  2. Ask the children for ways they can put Heavenly Father first. Help with ideas: praying, thinking about Jesus during the sacrament, obeying, being kind.
  3. Give each child paper and crayons. Invite them to draw themselves doing one of these things.
  4. As they draw, go to each child and ask them to tell you about the picture.
Ask
  • What can you think about during the sacrament to remember Jesus?
3 min24–27

Say it and sing it

  1. Have the children hold up their drawings and say together: When I put Heavenly Father first, He blesses me. Say it once in a whisper and once in a strong voice.
  2. Sing Keep the Commandments.
  3. Read Elder Schmeil's words: “God knows what is best for us and is eager to bless us.” Explain that eager means He really wants to.
3 min27–30

Choose and close

  1. Ask each child to tell one thing they will do this week to put Heavenly Father first. Their drawing can be the answer.
  2. Tell them in a sentence that you know Heavenly Father keeps His promises.
  3. Ask them to take the drawing home and put it where they will see it. Tell them next week you will ask what they did. Next week, roll the ball again and ask.
  4. Invite a child to pray.

Key passages from the talk

“God knows what is best for us and is eager to bless us.”

Elder Schmeil’s talk, paragraph 22

“Jesus Christ knows us individually, and He will help us if we seek Him”

Elder Schmeil’s talk, paragraph 3

“God is our Father in Heaven, and He prepared a plan for us to return to His presence.”

Elder Schmeil’s talk, paragraph 1

Scriptures

  • Haggai 2:19 Tell the children this is where the Lord promised to bless His people from the day they began; an older child may read the last sentence of the verse aloud.
  • Haggai 1:5–7, 9 Use as the source for the bag with holes and the words Consider your ways; an older child may read verse 7 aloud before the freeze game.

Other voices that agree

“I invite you to always remember scriptures, prayers, the sacrament, and covenants.”

Elder Chigbundu · Spiritual Immunity, paragraph 25

Three things to remember

  • Heavenly Father loves me and is eager to bless me.
  • When I put Heavenly Father first, He blesses me.
  • The sacrament helps me remember Jesus.

Ways to act this week

  • Say a prayer each morning before you play.
  • During the sacrament on Sunday, sit quietly and think about Jesus.
  • Put your drawing where you will see it and do what it shows.

Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.

Music

  • I Love to See the Temple
  • Keep the Commandments

Adapting the lesson

  • Ages 3–7. Keep each part short and skip the questions that need long answers. Let every child drop a button and place a block. Play the stop, think, turn game twice if they are restless, and repeat the one sentence often: When I put Heavenly Father first, He blesses me. Have a helper sit with the youngest while they draw.
  • Ages 8–11. Have a child read Haggai 1:7 and the last sentence of Haggai 2:19 aloud, and let an older child lead the stop, think, turn game. Ask a harder question: The people were working hard, so why did the Lord tell them to stop and think? Share Elder Chigbundu's words (see aligned quotes) and ask which of the four things he names they could remember better this week.

This lesson is an independent study aid written for this site. It is not an official lesson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Quotations are word for word from the official talk; paragraph numbers count the paragraphs of the talk as published at churchofjesuschrist.org, not counting headings or picture captions. The activities, questions and ideas for acting are suggestions; follow the Spirit and adapt them to those you teach.