This powerful video clip, lesson, activity and story will help your family understand the importance of not becoming trapped by dishonesty, while the fun twist to a traditional Chinese recipe will help them recognize the many blessings that Heavenly Father grants us when we are an honest people.
If you wish to print sheet music or have an online music file to accompany you click on the song link to visit: http://www.lds.org/cm
SCRIPTURE
Philippians 4:8
8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
VIDEO
Watch chapters 10-11 from the animated Complete Learning System, Marco Polo DVD or CLICK FOR CLIP
LESSON SUMMARY
For younger children, it may be helpful to summarize the following ideas:
To have the attributes that President Benson listed requires a person to be honest in all that they do, honest with themselves and honest with Heavenly Father.
Did Marco Polo’s father teach him to be honorable? (Yes.)
Have you ever been accused of being dishonest when you were being honest? (Discuss ideas.)
There were many people who thought Marco Polo was being dishonest about his journey to China and laughed or persecuted him for it. Like Marco Polo, there were many people who did not believe Joseph Smith, “...and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.” (JS-H 1:25)
Why were both Marco Polo and Joseph Smith willing to endure persecution and even give their lives if it meant being dishonest? (Discuss ideas.)
Does the Lord bless us for being honorable? (Discuss ideas.)
How does being dishonest make you feel? (Discuss ideas.)
There are countless stories about people who have taken something that didn’t belong to them or done something that was dishonest. It could be something as small as a glass or towel from a hotel room, a dime from their mother’s purse or cheating on an exam in grade school. But the one thing they all have in common is suffering with guilt because they did
not repent.
There are others who make excuses for their dishonesty, but to Heavenly Father, there are no acceptable excuses or reasons for being dishonest. If there are ways in which we have been even the least bit dishonest, we need to repent.
How can we become trapped by dishonesty? (Discuss ideas.)
An example of being trapped by dishonesty is when we tell what might seem like a little white lie. That little lie often leads to another and another, becoming bigger and bigger. It then becomes harder and harder to remember what lies you have told. You soon become trapped by your lies and dishonesty.
Mother pushed the grocery cart through the slushy parking lot with Jackson hitching a ride on the end. “Look, Mom. It’s so cold I can see my breath,” Jackson said, blowing into the frigid air.
“Just be careful you don’t put your tongue on the shopping cart like your Grandpa did when he was a little boy,” Mother laughed, “or it might just get stuck there!”
When they reached the car, Mother and Jackson quickly began loading the groceries into the car.
“Oh, dear!” Mother exclaimed, picking up a bag of onions from off the bottom of the cart. “I don’t think the checker saw these.” Mother quickly scanned her receipt. “Nope. They’re not on here,” she sighed.
“Sweet,” Jackson exclaimed, “Free onions!”
“What do you mean free onions?” Mother asked.
“It’s not our fault the checker missed them,” Jackson rationalized.
“Oh, I see. Since it’s not our fault, it’s okay to be dishonest.”
“Come on, Mom. No one will ever know we didn’t pay for them. Besides it’s just a little bag of onions,” Jackson scoffed. “Let’s just go home. It’s freezing out here,” he said before climbing into the car.
Mother climbed into the driver’s seat and handed the bag of onions to Jackson. Silently she prayed for Heavenly Father’s wisdom. Without saying another word, Mother started the car, turned on the heat and drove to a dark secluded spot in the alley behind the store. When Mother turned off the headlights they were engulfed in the darkness of the winter night.
“Jackson. Can you see the bag of onions in your hands?” Mother asked.
“It’s so dark I can’t even see my own hands,” Jackson reported.
“But you know the onions are there, right?”
“Of course. Even if I couldn’t feel them, I’d know they were here by the smell.”
“Oh, no,” Mother worried aloud. “Even if no one saw us take them, the smell might give us away.”
“What are you talking about?” Jackson queried.
“We just stole a bag of onions! I don’t want us to get caught and go to jail. Do you?”
“Jiminy, Mom. No one’s going to send us to jail. It’s not like we took them on purpose.”
“It’s not?” Mother asked. “We both knew we didn’t pay for them. So, we did take them on purpose. Didn’t we?”
Jackson sat quietly as Mother’s words sank in.
“But, then again, it’s just a small bag of onions,” Mother continued. “And onions don’t cost very much. It’s not like we stole something big or expensive,” she confessed. “Not this time, anyway, but you can’t tell anyone. Not even Dad. We’ll have to lie to protect ourselves.”
“We’re not going to steal anything else,” Jackson worried. “Are we?”
“Why not? It was so easy. We didn’t even get caught. Unless,” Mother whispered anxiously, “Jackson, do you think it’s dark enough that Heavenly Father didn’t see us steal the onions?”
“He saw,” Jackson answered quietly. “He sees everything.”
“That does complicate things. Doesn’t it?” Mother asked. “What should we do?”
“We should go back to the store right now and pay for the onions,” Jackson answered.
“That would be the honest thing to do. It certainly would clear things up with the store, but there’s
someone else we need to clear this up with, too. Isn’t there?”
“It’s Heavenly Father,” Jackson answered. “We need to repent and ask Heavenly Father to forgive us.”
“You’re right, Jackson!” Mother said, as she pulled the car around and headed back towards the store.
“Mom, you weren’t really going to steal the onions, were you?”
“Jackson, I want you to remember, there isn’t anything worth having in this life, if it keeps us from returning to our Heavenly Father with honor.”
“I’ll remember, Mom,” Jackson promised. “Boy, you sure taught me a lesson.”
“Well, to be honest, I didn’t do it on my own, Jackson. Heavenly Father helped.”
Print out and cut the blessing papers.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff. Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl.
Stir the water into the flour mixture.
Add the flour mixture into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter.
Place level tablespoons of batter onto a greased cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart.
Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth and from side to side so that each tablespoon of batter forms into a four inch circle.
Bake 14 - 15 minutes, until the outer 1/2-inch of the cookies turn golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula. Working quickly place a blessing in the middle of each cookie and then fold the edges together to form a half circle. Then gently fold the cookie into a half moon shape, with the seam side facing out. Place finished cookies in the cups of a muffin tin until they cool,
so they will keep their shape.
Treat Time:
Give each family member a Blessing Cookie. Read them out loud and discuss why good blessings come from being honest. Having a relationship with Heavenly Father has both spiritual and practical blessings.
Ingredients
2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons water
ACTIVITY
Activity: Younger children will need help from an older sibling or parent.
1. Explain: When the Polos returned from their travels to Asia, Europeans had never seen many of the things the Polos told them about. The Polos were laughed at, ridiculed and accused of being dishonest. Although some people enjoyed hearing the stories they still didn’t believe them.
2. Ask: Have you ever seen a giant orange cat with black stripes like Marco Polo saw? (Yes. A tiger.) Ask: Do you think Marco Polo was telling the truth about his trip to Asia? (Discuss ideas.)
3. Explain: There are still people today who question the truthfulness of Marco Polo’s stories. Yet, like Joseph Smith, Marco Polo never denied what he had seen, because his father had taught him the importance of being honest when he was young. Even when with the prospect of being killed, both Marco Polo and Joseph Smith remained honorable.
5. Explain: If we commit one dishonest act and do not repent, we often continue being dishonest to avoid being caught, thus we become trapped in our dishonesty.
6. Ask: Why would being caught for being dishonest be better than continuing to be dishonest and becoming trapped? (Discuss ideas.)
7. Use the “Chinese Finger Trap” and examples to demonstrate how being dishonest can trap us and how repentance can set us free.
What you need:
A copy of the “Being Honest” activity (artwork included with this lesson), a self laminating sheet, scissors and tape. Note: Artwork will not work if it is not laminated on at least one side. You can substitute 1/2-inch curling ribbon in place of the artwork and the laminating sheet or use a purchased Chinese Finger Trap.
1. Watch chapter 10 from The Complete Learning System Marco Polo DVD.
2. Read: Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
3. What does it mean to be honorable? (Discuss ideas.)
To have the attributes that President Benson listed requires a person to be honest in all that they do, honest with themselves and honest with Heavenly Father.
4. Have you ever been accused of being dishonest when you were being honest? (Discuss ideas.)
There were many people who thought Marco Polo was being dishonest about his journey to China and laughed or persecuted him for it. Like Marco Polo, there were many people who did not believe Joseph Smith, “...and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.” (JS-H 1:25)
5. Why were both Marco Polo and Joseph Smith willing to endure persecution and even give their lives if it meant being dishonest? (Discuss ideas.)
6. Does the Lord bless us for being honorable? (Discuss ideas.)
8. How can we become trapped by dishonesty? (Discuss ideas.)
An example of being trapped by dishonesty is when we tell what might seem like a little white lie. That little lie often leads to another and another, becoming bigger and bigger. It then becomes harder and harder to remember what lies you have told. You soon become trapped by your lies and dishonesty.
9. There are others who make excuses for their dishonesty, but to Heavenly Father, there are no
acceptable excuses or reasons for being dishonest. If there are ways in which we have
been even the least bit dishonest, we need to repent.
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above for full screen) 
