October 2026 General Conference › Lessons › Sister Tamara W. Runia › Children

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

Heavenly Father Has a Plan for Me

From “The Sculpting of Our Souls,” by Sister Tamara W. Runia · Saturday morning session, October 2026 General Conference

Watch the talkRead the full talk

The big idea

Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me, and I can trust Him and ask Jesus to help me.

Objective

Children will be able to say that Heavenly Father loves them and has a plan for them, and will choose one way to follow His plan this week.

Before you teach

  • Read paragraphs 25–27 and 36–46 of Sister Runia's talk.
  • Bring a small set of building blocks (or paper cups to stack).
  • Bring paper and crayons for each child.
  • Practice the short truth the children will repeat: Heavenly Father loves me. I can trust His plan.

Lesson plan

Thirty minutes in 6 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.

3 min0–3

Welcome and song

  1. Greet each child by name. Invite a child to pray.
  2. Sing I Will Follow God's Plan together, or say the title together three times with a clap on each word.
  3. Teach the short truth with actions: Heavenly Father loves me (hug yourself). I can trust His plan (hold hands open like a book). Say it twice.
Ask
  • What do you like to build?
6 min3–9

Follow the instructions

  1. Set the blocks in the middle. Tell the children you have a plan, and they will build it one step at a time without knowing what it is.
  2. Give one step to each child in turn: Put two blocks side by side with a space between them. Put one long block across the top. Put one block on each end. Put one block in the very middle on top. (Any simple bridge or tower works.)
  3. Ask what they built. Point out that they followed each step even though they could not see the end.
  4. Tell the story: Sister Runia told about her grandson Jaac. When he was seven, he shared a Primary talk. He said he loves Lego bricks and follows the instructions, and that Heavenly Father has a plan like that. Read Jaac's words (first key quote).
  5. Jaac's mother asked what he would do if he did not have the picture on the box, only the instructions. Read his answer: “Yes, because you can trust the one who designed it, and it always turns out.”
Ask
  • Who made the plan for us?
  • Why can we trust Heavenly Father?
4 min9–13

Builder says

  1. Have everyone stand. Play Builder Says, like Simon Says, but no one is ever out. Say: Builder says stand tall like a tower. Builder says stretch wide like a bridge. Builder says be small like one little brick. Builder says march in place.
  2. Let one or two children take a turn as the builder.
  3. Sit down and say the short truth together with the actions.
Ask
  • How did you know what to do in the game?
6 min13–19

Asking for help

  1. Give each child paper and a crayon. Ask them to close their eyes and try to draw a star. Let them look and laugh together at how hard it was.
  2. Tell the story: Sister Runia's brother Kent was in a class where he had to make a statue of his own face out of clay. He could not make the eyes look right. He tried and tried by himself. At last he asked his teacher for help. The teacher was very good. He carved the clay, and soon the eyes looked real. Kent could not have done it alone.
  3. Say: If you would like help with your star, ask me. When a child asks, draw a star in light dots on their paper for them to trace.
  4. Explain that Jesus is like the master teacher. He loves us and wants to help us become like Him. We ask for His help when we pray.
  5. Read the third key quote (paragraph 18) and explain shaping: Heavenly Father is helping us become our very best.
Ask
  • How did it feel when you had help?
  • How do we ask Heavenly Father and Jesus for help?
5 min19–24

Standing on the rock

  1. Have the children stand on one foot and wobble. Then have them plant both feet and stand strong.
  2. Explain that everyone has rainy, stormy days. Sister Runia taught that the gospel of Jesus Christ is like a solid rock we stand on in the storm.
  3. Read Helaman 5:12 aloud from the scriptures, or have an older child read it. Ask the children to put a fist on top of a flat hand every time they hear the word rock.
  4. Make a storm together: tap fingers on knees for rain, sway for wind, pat louder for a big storm. When you say Jesus is my rock, everyone plants both feet and stands still and strong. Do it three times.
Ask
  • Who is our rock?
6 min24–30

Draw and choose

  1. On the back of their paper, invite each child to draw one thing they will do this week to follow Heavenly Father's plan: pray, be kind to someone, help at home, or listen to a scripture story.
  2. Let each child who wishes show the picture and say what they will do. Thank each one.
  3. Check for understanding: ask the children to say the short truth with the actions one more time without your help.
  4. Sing My Heavenly Father Loves Me or I Will Follow God's Plan.
  5. Bear a simple testimony that Heavenly Father loves each child and that Jesus helps us. Tell the children you will ask next week what they did, and close with prayer.

Key passages from the talk

“I love Lego bricks, and when I get a new box, I open it up and lay out all the pieces and follow the instructions. Just like our Heavenly Father has a plan, and if we follow, it will guide us, and we can build hard things.”

Sister Runia’s talk, paragraph 25

“Yes, because you can trust the one who designed it, and it always turns out.”

Sister Runia’s talk, paragraph 27

“God is shaping us into something only He knows we can become.”

Sister Runia’s talk, paragraph 18

Scriptures

  • Helaman 5:12 Read aloud in the rock segment. Children make a fist on a flat hand each time they hear the word rock.
  • 1 Nephi 11:17 For older children: one child reads it aloud after the Lego story. Ask what Nephi knew about God even when he did not know everything.

Other voices that agree

“I am a child of God and He loves me.”

Elder Fale · I Am a Child of God, paragraph 1

“He sees not only who we are but who we can become.”

President Chibota · A Child of God, paragraph 9

Three things to remember

  • Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me.
  • I can trust Heavenly Father even when I cannot see the whole picture.
  • Jesus helps me when I ask.

Ways to act this week

  • Say a prayer each day and ask Heavenly Father to help you with one hard thing.
  • Do the thing you drew to follow Heavenly Father's plan.
  • Teach your family the short truth and the actions: Heavenly Father loves me. I can trust His plan.

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

Music

  • I Will Follow God's Plan
  • My Heavenly Father Loves Me

Adapting the lesson

  • Ages 3–7. Build the blocks yourself with one child helper per step, tell each story in three or four sentences, and repeat the short truth with actions after every segment. Do the storm game twice as long and skip the drawing with eyes closed if it frustrates anyone; go straight to tracing the dotted star. Use Elder Fale's words (aligned quote) as a second line to repeat.
  • Ages 8–11. Let a child give the building steps and another lead Builder Says. Have children read Helaman 5:12 and 1 Nephi 11:17 aloud. Ask a harder question: How can we trust Heavenly Father's plan on a day when things go wrong? Read President Chibota's words (aligned quote) and ask what Heavenly Father might see in them.

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.