The Cups Lesson Printables and the Restoration of the Gospel
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In the month of July, we will be learning about the book of Acts as we continue with Come Follow Me. In Acts, the apostles work hard to establish the Church. The cups lesson is a really useful visual when teaching about the church Jesus and His apostles worked to establish in Biblical times, the Great Apostasy, and the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith. Missionaries have been using different versions of this for a very long time and now it's available in a simple printable lesson for you and your family to use! Thanks to Tulip Trees for designing this great printable!
Save it for later, pin it now!
This fun lesson works for all ages! It's a useful visual for adults and children alike (plus knocking down the cups is fun). Simply print the free pdf (found below), cut, and tape to disposable cups and you're ready to go! You can teach this in a variety of ways.
First, you could keep it simple and focus on how the original Church of Jesus Christ was established by Jesus and His apostles.
1- Stack a tower and talk about the components of the true church as you work through the cups. On the bottom, you should have Prophets (because the Lord always calls a prophet to lead His people), and Apostles, and Revelation. Fill in the other cups as you would like. The cup labeled "Jesus Christ" always goes on top, because it is His church.
2- To teach the Apostasy, take away the apostles and prophets cups (because they were killed) and then revelation and so on until the tower has fallen. Explain that the Church Jesus Christ established was not on the earth for a long time. This was a period of darkness called the Great Apostasy.
3- Then teach about the First Vision and the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith as you reassemble the tower. This new church represents The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have His Church back on the earth today, lead by Jesus Christ through modern-day apostles and prophets!
Additional Accompaniments to the cup lesson:
1- To make this a more in-depth study resource, you could follow along as you build your tower, the first time looking up the "THEN" New Testament scripture references listed on the cups, then after the tower has been destroyed and when it's time to rebuild, look up the "NOW" Doctrine and Covenants scriptures the second time around.
2- If you want to help younger children understand more by using visuals, you can use the pictures associated with each cup, found in the Gospel Media Library. Find suggested links below.
Kick it up a notch! Watch and copy the way these sister missionaries present the lesson. Definitely a fun way for kids to learn and share.
Helpful Images to Go with the Cups Lesson
Images can enhance this lesson a lot. You can pull them up on your tablet to show as you go through each one or print and tape the images on the sides of your cups with the label. There are lots of images you can use but here are some already picked out for you:
Images for Then
Images for Now
Print your labels and get practicing! These are helpful for the Come Follow me lessons at home or church including the Young Men and Young Women Come Follow Me lessons about the apostasy and restoration. They are also great for sharing about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with your friends.
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