Scripture of the Week:
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
Matt 28:6
My ideas for this were adapted from the following sources:
FHE Ideas for Easter and Passover at Family Home Evening Planner
An Easter Activity for Family Home Evening at Times and Seasons
Lesson Plan
Fill 9 plastic Easter eggs each with one of the following items and scripture reference. Hide the eggs for the children to find. Open the eggs in order, read the scripture and discuss the item, then match to the appropriate Gospel Art Kit (GAK) picture. Simplified explanations of the events are included with each statement below.
Watch the following Mormon Message (An Apostle’s Easter Thoughts on Christ) by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
1. a leaf–real or plastic (if it vaguely resembles a palm branch, all the better)
“And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:8-9).
(When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people waved branches because that’s what people used to do when a king walked by.)
GAK: 223
2. a piece of a tortilla, pita, or bread or white clay shaped to look like flat bread
“And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body” (Mark 14:22).
(The next day, Jesus had another special meal with his friends. We call this The Last Supper. This is when the sacrament began, because Jesus said that people who followed Him should have bread and wine or water to help them remember Him.)
GAK: 225
3. a picture of Jesus in the Garden
“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit”and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink”nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men”(D & C 19:16-19).
( Jesus went to a garden to pray. Here, he suffered for our sins. Because He did this for us, we can repent and live in heaven again.)
GAK: 227
4. three dimes
“And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him” (Mark 14:10-11).
(Judas was supposed to be one of Jesus special helpers, but instead he helped other men arrest Jesus. He did this because those men paid him money.)
GAK: 228
5. a cross made out of wood, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, paper, or brown clay
“And it was the third hour, and they crucified him” (Mark 15:25).
(Jesus was crucified.)
GAK: 230
6. a nail
“Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen” (D & C 6:37).
(When the soldiers put Jesus on the cross, they pounded nails into His hands and feet.)
7. a little bundle (wrapped in fabric, a baggie, plastic wrap, etc.) of spices–cloves would be nice
“And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him” (Mark 16:1).
(After Jesus died, His friends put his body in a tomb. Later, some of the women who followed Him came to the tomb to put spices on His body. That was something they did back then when someone died.)
GAK: 231
8. a stone–rounded would be best
“And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great” (Mark 16:3-4).
(The tomb had a rock that could roll over the opening to seal it. While the women were walking to the tomb, they wondered how they would get the stone out of the way.)
GAK: 232
9. leave empty
“And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him”(Mark 16:6).
( When they got to the tomb, they were amazed to find that the stone had been rolled out of the way and Jesus body was gone! Then an angel came and told them, “He is risen; he is not here”(Mark 16:6). This egg is empty because Jesus’s tomb was empty. Jesus’s tomb was empty because He was resurrected!)
