Wit & Wisdom

Today I tried another fun little quiz with my boys. The idea of doing this again came to me during our New Testament scripture study last night. When Eric said we were going to be reading about Cornelius, Nathan said, "Cornelius Fudge?" and Daniel said, "Cornelia Augusta?" (she is a cute little character in a picture book called The Day It Rained Hearts). Their answers are gems--sometimes of humor, sometimes great wisdom. Asking the questions also helps me to see where the gaps are in their knowledge of the gospel so we can be more effective teachers.

With Nathan, I asked him who various (and sometimes lesser-known) people in the scriptures were and then asked him some gospel-related questions. Here are his most amusing and insightful responses.

Who was/were--
(I would say the name and wait for his response)
GOLIATH:  "A soldier who was a little too big."
METHUSELAH:  "Wait--Medusa?"
ISHMAEL:  "Ishmael...Ishmael...I'm guessing that he was a male, but other than that I don't know anything. Wait...Ishmael was a girl, right?"
ESTHER:  "Esther was a girl who was born on Easter."
CAIN & ABEL:  "Wasn't Abel a monkey?"
ZORAM:  "Hmmm....he sounds powerful."

Questions--
What does a prophet do?
"They pray about what they should talk about in General Conference and Jesus and Heavenly Father tell them what they should talk about and how it can change people's lives. It's unlikely, but sometimes it's for just one person in the entire world."
What is the priesthood?
"Power and authority from God that allows us to heal people, to bless the sacrament and pass the sacrament."
What do we do in temples?
"We baptize for the dead, we get married, we get sealed to our family so we can live together forever."
Where is Jerusalem?
"In Europe somewhere. Wait! It's...um...on the right of Spain."

With Daniel, the scripture people questions didn't really work, so I just asked general gospel questions. Here are his delightful responses!

What is a prophet?
"A person who is called by God to be the person who leads General Conference and gives speeches."  (Note: For weeks leading up to Gen. Conf., Daniel has been praying "Bless the prophets on their speeches." Very sweet.)
Who is the Holy Ghost?
"Kind of like a spirit that comforts you when you're scared or sad or maybe even when you're mad. If you're a really good person the Holy Ghost will come to you and come inside of you and comfort you and help you. And he whispers instead of talking loud."
What is a testimony?
"When you know about something that is true."
Where is Jerusalem?
"Close to Africa in the state of Asia."
Tell me something about Joseph Smith.
"First prophet. He was getting sick in his leg, so his mom called the doctor and the doctor came right away. And I think he lived in a log cabin. And the doctor came and said he had to cut off his leg."
What is the priesthood?
"It helps the sick and you have to have a prayer when you're putting one little tiny drop of oil on someone's head. It's kind of like a power of the Lord."
What do we do in the temple?
"We worship God and we can pray there."
What does it mean to get sealed in the temple?
"When you get married and you get sealed it's almost like you get tied together with a rope and you never leave each other. And when you die, you're still together."

That seemed like a good note to end on, so I stopped at that point. And I guess it's a good place to stop now as well.

Hidden Messages

You know those cute surveys that are done every so often where an adult reads part of an old adage or saying and then lets a child finish the sentence? Like "Don't put all your eggs in one...pocket." Well, I decided it would be fun to try that with my kids using well-known phrases from the scriptures. Some of the responses were exactly correct, some caused me to stifle a laugh, and a few made me rethink my own comprehension of a verse. Here's what my little scriptorians had to say.

First, Daniel (who is 7):
Ye are the salt of... the earth.
Do not run faster than... the wind.
No man can serve two... people.
Pray always, that you may... find the Holy Ghost.
Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have... Priesthood.
Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto... you.
Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as... snow.
Will a man rob God?... No.
But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for... good.
Wickedness never was... here.
And it came to pass that... Nephi came.
For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose... wickedness.
For where your treasure is, there will your... Christ ...be also.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy... love.
Feed my... flock.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be... broken.
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by... fasting.
Make a joyful... house ...unto the Lord.

And Nathan (who is 11):
Ye are the salt of... many.
Do not run faster than... the speed limit.
No man can serve two... minutes.
Pray always that you may... talk with the Lord.
Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have... kids.
Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto... men.
Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as... snow.
Will a man rob God?... No.
But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for... repentance.
Wickedness never was... okay.
And it came to pass that... they descended into the wilderness.
For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose... his friends.
For where your treasure is, there will your... family ...be also.
Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy... faith.
Feed my... people.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be... demolished.
Man shall not live by bread alone but by... water.
Make a joyful... noise ...unto the Lord.

I loved hearing their responses! I could write pages about what their responses tell me about them. The only one they BOTH filled in correctly was Isaiah 1:18--"though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." If there's anything I would hope for them to already understand about the gospel and keep foremost in their minds throughout their lives, I think that verse would be it: that they can repent and be clean and pure again if they will "reason" with the Lord. Hmmm...they're crazy little people, but I really love them.