Atonement

Scripture
The pictures for the story are at the end of the story. Cut and laminate
pictures.

Our Savior and Redeemer

Our Savior and Redeemer,‖
Friend, Apr 1999, 39
I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25).

Knowing that the end of His life was near, Jesus Christ led His
Apostles to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. He
told them, ―Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder‖. (

HOLD UP JESUS PRAYING IN GETHSEMANE

Then, after He left them and kneeled to pray, He suffered great

pain for our sins. The pain was so great that He pleaded, ―Father, if
thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will,
but thine, be done. ―And there appeared an angel unto him from
heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more
earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling
down to the ground.‖ Later that night, one of the Savior‘s Apostles,
Judas, betrayed Him by leading a group of His enemies to Him.
Jesus was arrested, unfairly tried, and nailed to a cross. (

HOLD UP CHRIST ON THE CROSS

After hanging on the cross for six hours and enduring intense pain, the
Savior said, ―Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit‖. Then He
bowed His head and died. Jesus Christ‘s body was taken to a
borrowed tomb, where it was wrapped in white linens and tenderly laid
inside. A large stone was rolled in front of the entrance, and soldiers
were ordered to stand guard. For two days His body lay in the
tomb, and the soldiers kept watch. (

HOLD UP EMPTY TOMB

Then before the morning sun of the third day, ―there was a great
earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and
came and rolled back the stone from the door. … ―And for fear of
him the keepers [guards] did shake, and became as dead men.‖

HOLD UP TWO WOMEN

When Mary Magdalene and Mary came to visit the tomb that morning,
the angel ―said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye
seek Jesus, which was crucified. ―He is not here: for he is risen.‖ The
Savior was not there because He had been resurrected and He was
about His Father‘s business. Heavenly Father sent His Son Jesus
Christ to earth to save us from our sins. If we repent of what we
have done wrong, we will be forgiven because of the atoning sacrifice
of the Savior. And, like the Savior, we will all be resurrected
someday.
Story
The pictures for the story are below the story. Cut out the girl and boy
for the sister and brother. Cut out the mother. There are two tiled floors
and two ketchup bottles. One set is for the spilt ketchup on the tile floor
the other is for an up-right bottle on a clean floor. Tilt one of the
ketchup bottles and color in some spilled ketchup. Then color and laminate
the pictures.

Parable of the Ketchup

By Meghan Decker, Friend, Apr 1999, 32
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isa. 1:18).

SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY AND THE CLEAN FLOOR

Carrie hurried around the corner of the grocery store aisle, trying to
keep the cart out of the reach of her six-year-old brother, Andy.
“No fair!” he cried. ―“You‘ve pushed it the whole time we‘ve been
here.” He tried to grab the cart, but nine-year- old Carrie twisted
it away quickly, accidentally hitting a row of ketchup bottles lined up
neatly on a shelf. Two of the bottles crashed to the floor,
shattering and spraying the bright red contents everywhere. The two
children stared in horror at the broken glass and scarlet ketchup.

SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY WITH THE MESSY FLOOR

AND MOM

Mom came around the corner just then, saying,

“―I want you two to stay with me.” Her words trailed off as she
saw the mess on the floor and the misery on Carrie and Andy‘s
faces. “―It looks like there‘s been an accident,” she said. “―It‘s all
right. Sometimes things break and have to be cleaned up. There‘s no
use crying over spilt ketchup.” Mom found a clerk, who cleaned up
the mess without getting mad at Carrie or Andy.
(SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY AND THE CLEAN FLOOR
AND MOM

Carrie still felt terrible. She knew it wouldn‘t have happened if she
hadn‘t been swinging the cart to keep it away from Andy. Before
they left the store, she quietly told Mom how the bottles had been
broken. Mom listened solemnly while Andy stood with a scared
expression on his face. ―J

SHOW ANDY, CARRIE AND MOM

“Are we in trouble?” Andy asked, struggling to keep from crying.

Mom hugged Andy. ―
“No, I think you feel badly enough about what happened that you‘ll
be more careful in the grocery store from now on. But, Carrie, what
do you think you need to do to make up for the store losing those
two bottles of ketchup?” ―
“I think I need to pay for them. I didn‘t mean to break them, but
it was still my fault.” ―
“I think that‘s a good idea,” Mom said. “―I can lend you the money
for now, and you can pay me back at home.”
At the cash register, Mom explained that Carrie had been playing
around with the cart when the bottles broke, and so she wanted to
pay for them. The clerk thanked Carrie for being so honest, and
Carrie felt much better. At home, Carrie didn‘t feel quite as good
when she gave Mom part of the money she‘d been saving for an
Ipod, but she was still glad she didn‘t have that sick feeling in her
stomach that she had felt when the bottles exploded on the floor.
She remembered how red everything looked.

SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY WITH THE MESSY FLOOR

She had been afraid she would see that stain on the floor forever,
reminding her of her mistake, but it had come clean with a wet
mop.

SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY AND THE CLEAN FLOOR

A few months later, Carrie finished Sunday dinner and flopped down on
the couch with a big sigh.

SHOW CARRIE AND MOM

―“What‘s the matter, sweetheart?” Mom asked. ―“That‘s a pretty

heavy sigh for a Sunday afternoon.‖”
“Mom, I have to give a talk in Primary next Sunday on Jesus‘
Atonement. I‘m not even sure I know what the Atonement is.” ―
“This sounds like a good Sunday activity,” Mom said, sitting on the
couch next to Carrie. ―“Why don‘t you tell me what you do know?”
Carrie was quiet for a moment, then replied, ―“I think it‘s when Jesus
suffered for our sins. If we repent, we don‘t have to suffer any
more for them because He already did. Then we can be forgiven.” ―
“Good!” Mom said, squeezing Carrie‘s arm warmly. ―“You understand a
lot. Tell me about being forgiven. What does that mean?”
“―Well, I guess it means that we‘re not in trouble anymore.” Carrie
thought some more. ―“I mean, Heavenly Father doesn‘t hold it against
us. He forgives us, and we can forget about what happened.”
“―Do we forget completely?” Mom asked quickly. ―
“Well, no— we have to remember never to do that wrong thing again.
And we have to try to make up for what we did, like me
apologizing to Andy if I yell at him or something. But once we‘re
forgiven, we don‘t have to keep feeling bad anymore. But, Mom?”
Carrie asked, ―“how do I explain this so the little kids get it? The
three- year-olds are going to be totally lost!” Mom was excited, her
eyes twinkling. ―
“Do you think they‘d like a flannel-board story?” ―
“Sure! But how can I do that for the Atonement?” ―
“Think ketchup,” Mom said mysteriously. Carrie looked at her in
confusion, then cried, ―
“Perfect!” as she bounced off the couch and hurried into the
kitchen for paper, pencils, and construction paper. Carrie worked on
her talk all afternoon, cutting out figures and thinking about her
story. Next week even the Sunbeams forgot to wiggle in their chairs
as Carrie gave her talk. She put up a cut-out shape of a ketchup
bottle, then the broken container with a big pool of red below it.

SHOW CARRIE AN ANDY WITH THE MESSY FLOOR

The children were obviously shocked by the thought of breaking a

whole bottle of bright red ketchup. Carrie explained, ―
“We can make mistakes that seem too horrible to be forgiven, but
if we repent, our spirits can become clean from sin, just as ketchup
can be mopped up off a floor.” She took down the picture of the
broken bottle, and replaced it with a picture of a sparkling clean
floor. (

SHOW CARRIE AND ANDY AND THE CLEAN FLOOR ―

“It‘s kind of like how Jesus helps us ‗clean up‘ when we commit a sin
and we‘re truly sorry and try to repair the damage we‘ve done. He
has suffered for our sins, so we don‘t have to keep feeling guilty
and bad forever. He helps us feel good again after we repent.” She
ended her talk with a scripture from the Bible, explaining that even
if our sins are like scarlet, we can become white as snow through
repentance, because of the Atonement. As Carrie sat down, she
looked at Mom sitting on the back row of the Primary room. Mom
winked, and Carrie smiled back. This was the best talk she‘d ever
given. Maybe the rest of the family would like a repeat for family
home evening!
Activity
Take A Walk With Christ
Go outside and go on a nature walk. Ask your child to find the list
of items below. Then tell them what each nature items represents in
Jesus’ last week of life.

A Branch –
A week before his crucifixion, as Christ entered the city;, the people
waved branches from palm trees

Something Prickly –
His “crown” was made of thorns and once they had pressed the
crown on his head they whipped him

A Piece of Wood –
Talk about what a cross looks like, how Christ had to carry it, and
how big it was and then explain how they nailed his hands and feet
twice

Something No Longer Alive –

The Savior died on the cross

A Stone –
The buried Jesus in a cave and rolled a big stone over the entrance to
keep everyone out

Something Living –
To remind us that Christ surely lives. He suffered – atoned, died and
resurrected because he loves us!