30-minute lesson · Children · Ages 3–11: Primary or home
Jesus's Giving Way
From “O Be Wise,” by President D. Todd Christofferson · Saturday morning session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
I am happy when I work, share and give, the way Jesus does.
Objective
Children will be able to say that Jesus's way is to work, share and give, and will choose one way to do good for someone this week.
Before you teach
- Bring building blocks (or paper cups that stack), plain paper, and crayons.
- Read Doctrine and Covenants 58:27 and Matthew 22:39.
- Practice the three actions: work (pound one fist on the other), share (hold both hands out), give (hands on heart, then open them outward).
- This talk was about gambling. With children, teach only the hopeful truths underneath it; do not describe or explain betting.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 7 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
3 min0–3
Welcome and song
- Greet each child by name and invite a child to pray.
- Sing “Kindness Begins with Me” together, once seated and once standing.
- Ask the question below and listen to three or four answers.
Ask
- When did you help someone or share something, and how did you feel inside?
5 min3–8
Two towers
- Make two small piles of blocks in front of you, one for each hand. Say you want the first pile to be bigger, then move blocks from the second pile onto the first until the second is almost gone.
- Ask the first question below. Help the children see that one pile only grew because the other pile lost.
- Now give every child one or two blocks. Invite them to come up one at a time and add their blocks to build one tall tower together.
- Ask the second question. Say: Jesus does not take. Jesus gives. His way is the giving way.
Ask
- My first pile got bigger. What happened to the other pile? Was that fair?
- How was building the tower together different?
3 min8–11
Work, share, give
- Have the children stand. Teach the short truth with actions: I can work (pound fists), share (hands out), and give (hands on heart, then open).
- Say it together three times: once in a normal voice, once in a whisper, once in a strong voice.
- Let a child lead it one more time.
4 min11–15
Busy doing good
- Open the scriptures to Doctrine and Covenants 58:27 and tell the children the Lord asks us to “be anxiously engaged in a good cause.” Explain that this means being busy and glad to do good things.
- Play Show Me: call out a good thing and have the children act it out without words. Set the table. Pick up toys. Help someone who dropped their books. Draw a picture for a friend. Take turns with the ball.
- Let two or three children think of a good thing for everyone to act out.
- Ask the question below.
Ask
- Who is happy when you do these things?
5 min15–20
What I have, I can use for good
- Hold up your two hands, then point to a clock, then hold up one crayon. Say: Heavenly Father has given me hands, time, and things. He trusts me to use them to do good.
- Hold up the hands again and ask what good hands can do. Do the same for time and for the crayon.
- Tell the children that at general conference President Christofferson, who serves in the First Presidency, taught that a big part of a good life is helping others be well and happy.
- Read Matthew 22:39 from the scriptures, or tell it simply: Jesus asks us to love other people as we love ourselves.
Ask
- What good can you do with your hands? With ten minutes? With one crayon?
6 min20–26
A gift I made
- Give each child paper and crayons. Help them fold the paper in half like a card.
- Invite them to draw something kind for a person they choose, and to give the card to that person. This is working and giving at the same time.
- As they draw, walk around and ask each child who the card is for and what else they could do for that person this week.
- Have the children hold up their cards. Thank them for their work.
4 min26–30
Reach higher
- Have the children stand and reach as high as they can on their toes. Tell them President Christofferson asked all of us to live on a higher plane. That means choosing Jesus's giving way.
- Check what they learned: ask what Jesus's way is, and do the three actions together one last time.
- Tell them the prophet Jacob in the Book of Mormon said, “O be wise.” Have them whisper it back to you. Say: we are wise when we follow Jesus.
- Invite each child to give their card and do one helping thing this week. Tell them you will ask next week what they did. Share your testimony that Jesus loves them and gives to them every day, and close with prayer.
Ask
- What is Jesus's way?
Key passages from the talk
“A key part of a life well-lived is contributing to the well-being of others.”
President Christofferson’s talk, paragraph 24
“It is being and doing better without others doing worse.”
President Christofferson’s talk, paragraph 24
“O be wise; what can I say more?”
President Christofferson’s talk, paragraph 26
The speaker’s direct invitation
“Today, I am pleading with all of us to live life on a higher plane.”
President Christofferson’s talk, paragraph 24
Scriptures
- D&C 58:27 Open to it in the Busy doing good segment; say the phrase the talk quotes and let children act out good causes.
- Matthew 22:39 Read or tell it simply in the fifth segment: Jesus asks us to love others as we love ourselves.
- Jacob 6:12 In the closing, tell the children Jacob's three short words and have them whisper the words back.
Other voices that agree
“Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made”
President Marion G. Romney, quoted by Elder Fantone · Take Upon Us His Name, paragraph 17
Three things to remember
- Jesus's way is the giving way.
- I can work, share and give.
- Heavenly Father trusts me to use what I have to do good.
Ways to act this week
- Give the card you made to the person you made it for.
- Do one helping job at home without being asked.
- Share something of yours with a brother, sister or friend.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- Kindness Begins with Me
- Have I Done Any Good?
Adapting the lesson
- Ages 3–7. Keep each part short and repeat the work, share, give actions between activities. Let helpers hand out blocks and crayons. Skip reading the verses; say each idea in one sentence. In Show Me, do each action with them. Sing the song again if they grow restless.
- Ages 8–11. Have a child read Doctrine and Covenants 58:27 and Matthew 22:39 aloud and tell what a good cause is. After the two towers, ask why getting more by making someone else lose is not Jesus's way. Let an older child lead Show Me, and read the sentence about service from President Marion G. Romney, which Elder Fantone quoted, and ask what it means.
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.