Bury Our Weapons

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Bury Our Weapons . . . Show Our Kindness

Preparation: Read through story so you are familiar with it. Gather pens and pencils for family members. Dig a hole in your yard for the activity. If this is not feasible, you could plant the paper swords in dirt in a pot and throw the pot in the trash. Prepare the Dirt Cups for refreshments. Objective: Learn the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis in the Book of Mormon (Alma 23-24). Identify weaknesses we have that could be improved upon. Show the Lord we are willing to abandon them in exchange for His help. Practice showing kindness to family members. Opening Song: “Kindness Begins With Me” Children’s Songbook, 145 Scripture: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. “ John 13:35 Story: Read “The Buried Weapons”. Discussion: What do we learn from this story? (The things we say can be hurtful to others) It is important to remember there are also things we do that can hurt other people. What are some actions that might hurt others’ feelings? (hitting a brother or sister, not including other kids in a game at recess, making mean faces, etc) We can follow the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s examples by thinking of what we may say or do that is not following Jesus’ example. We can than make a promise to change and do better. When we try to change and become more Christ-like, the Lord will help us in our efforts. Activity: Have family members take two or three swords and write some word or action that they would like to abandon. After all the family has written on their swords, go to the backyard and find a place to bury the swords. Now that we have buried the bad things we may say or do, let’s practice showing kindness by playing this fun game! Game: Kindness Toss Toss a beanbag or balled up sock around the circle. The person who catches it says something kind about the person who threw it to them. Then they toss it to someone else who compliments them. Closing Song: “Love One Another” Hymns 308 Refreshments: Make chocolate pudding and place in paper cups – one for each person. Bury a gummi worm down inside the pudding. Cover the top of the pudding with Oreo Cookie crumbs.


The Buried Weapons

Colleen Conrad Torrie, “The Buried Weapons,” Friend, Mar 1989, 8

“Hurry up, Mom!” five-year-old Jackson shouted. He grabbed the Book of Mormon storybook and

plunked down on the bright blue beanbag chair.

Four-year-old Michelle plopped down beside him. “Story time!” she cried, eagerly clapping her hands.

Mother squeezed between them on the beanbag chair and opened the book. “Let’s see. … Yesterday,

we were reading about the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, weren’t we?”

Jackson nodded.

“They were Lamanites. And they’d been converted to the gospel, remember?”

“And they were really wicked!” Michelle declared emphatically.

“Yes, they were really wicked. But when they were converted, they wanted to repent,” said Mother.

“They promised the Lord that they would never fight again. In fact, they buried all their weapons of

war in a big pit—see,” she said, pointing to the picture.

“Wow!” Jackson cried excitedly. “Look at all those weapons. Swords and bows and arrows and all

kinds of things!”

“That looks fun!” exclaimed Michelle. “Let’s bury our weapons, too, Jackson!”

Jackson giggled. “Oh, Michelle, don’t be silly. We don’t have any weapons.”

“Hmmm,” Mother said thoughtfully, “You may not use swords and bows and arrows, but sometimes

the things that come out of your mouths hurt too.”

Michelle wrinkled her forehead. “What comes out of our mouths?” she asked, puzzled.

“Words,” said Mother.

“You mean words like stupid and dumb, don’t you?” Jackson asked.

“Right,” said Mother. “Sometimes words hurt as much as a punch on the arm.”

“Then we must bury our bad words,” Michelle urged, “and never use them again!”

“I know what,” said Mother. “You tell me some words that hurt other people’s feelings, and I’ll write

them down on slips of paper. Then you can dig a big hole and bury all those bad words, just like the

Lamanites buried their weapons.”


“Great idea!” Jackson exclaimed. They found some paper and tore it into pieces. Then they thought of

all the unkind words that they knew. Mother wrote them down.

“Come on, Michelle, let’s go dig that pit now,” Jackson called enthusiastically. They dragged their

dad’s shovel out of the garage and raced to the unplowed area behind the garden.

Jackson jabbed the shovel tip into the dark, rocky soil. He pushed as hard as he could, but the ground

was so hard that he loosened only a small clump of dirt.

“Boy! You’re not very strong,” Michelle remarked saucily.

“Well, you’re pretty weak yourself,” he growled back. Then he stopped. “Hey, wait a minute. We’re

supposed to be burying those kinds of words! Sorry.”

“Me, too,” Michelle told him sincerely.

Jackson gripped the shovel handle with both hands, then jumped on the back end of its blade as he had

seen his dad do. He hovered there for a few seconds as it teetered in the hard dirt; then he lost his

balance and sprawled on the ground.

“Are you OK?” Michelle asked anxiously.

“Sort of,” he replied, wincing. “But we can’t quit now. The Lamanites didn’t quit until all their

weapons were buried.” He gritted his teeth determinedly.

“How about trying this?” Michelle suggested, handing him a garden trowel that they used in their

sandpile.

Jackson took it and chipped at the dirt while Michelle dug with a stick.

Soon they were covered with dust and dirt, but the hole was dug. They put all the papers with the

unkind words written on them into the hole. Then they pushed the dirt back.

“Are you finished yet?” Mother called from the kitchen window. “I’ve made some hot muffins for my

two hungry Anti-Nephi-Lehies.”

“Yes,” answered Jackson. “Our weapons are finally buried!”

“And,” Michelle solemnly declared, “we won’t ever use them again!”

Bury Our Weapons

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