How Firm a Foundation Flipchart (Verses 2 & 7) by Tamara Fackrell

 Carrie Dziabczenko writes, "I plan on talking a little bit about how the SLC temple was built when I introduce this song, and talk about the faith of the people who worked on it, many of whom never saw the completion because it took 40 years to complete.  I also plan to read Helaman 5:12. 

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

Also, I may share some historical background for the song from "The LDS Family Hymnbook" if I have time: 

"[How Firm a Foundation] was included in Emma Smith's first hymnal in 1835.  In a well-known story, one of the survivors of the Haun's Mill massacre refused to stop praying vocally despite threats from the mob that she would be killed.  This woman, Amanda Smith--whose husband and 10-year-old son had been killed--went out into a corn field and poured her heart out to God "most fervently."  As she came out of the cornfield she heard a literal voice repeating the seventh and final verse of the hymn:  'The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes . . . '  At that moment, her fear vanished."

CLICK HERE for Carrie's flipchart.

 How Firm A Foundation for 2 violins and piano

 How Firm a Foundation by Rebecca Jack

 How Firm a Foundation - Song Presentation Idea by Michelle Seal

 I loved the idea for talking about laying the foundation for the Salt Lake temple! I am taking this idea a step further with the story Elder Uchtdorf used in his Priesthood session of October Conference about the Pioneer Moyle. This man had to walk to work 6 hours every day and night to lay the foundation for the temple. So, when I teach the 1st verse, I am going to have a child come up and be Brother Moyle, wearing a construction hat. He is going to walk around the room 6 times to represent 6 hours while the children sing the hymn. After he walks around 6 times, he will get a play hammer, and I have some toy bricks that he will enact building for the temple next to a picture displayed of the Salt Lake temple. When I teach the 2nd verse, I will have another child act out the cow (pretend to kick, not actually kick) that kicked brother Moyle's leg. I will show the children a picture of a wooden leg, and explain that he lost his leg from the accident. But despite the trial, Brother Moyle still walked to work every day for 6 hours there and back on his wooden leg. It was Brother Moyle who carved the words Holiness to the Lord on the temple! So, after the children learn the 3rd verse, I will have the child acting out Brother Moyle walk around the room again, but this time on crutches. I am excited about how well this story fits in with the message of the song!  (Idea by Connie Adams / ga01312009)

 A quick idea to help teach the song How Firm A Foundation is to build a small house out of graham crackers and icing. The house will be built upon a paper plate... the FOUNDATION! I am a Junior Primary chorister and think that this idea will help capture the children's attention and help them to understand the meaning of February's theme song. (Idea by Kassi Udy / ga02062009)

 Presentation Idea for "How Firm a Foundation"

 I combined a few ideas I had from others into one to introduce the hymn "How Firm a Foundation".   I think it worked quite well.  I gave the children large pretzel rods and taught them 2/4 and 4/4 leading with using the hymn as their music they were listening to. They absolutely loved the activity, and I recorded them a little while we did it, so we watched the video of them leading music while they ate their pretzel rods. My purpose in doing this was 3 fold: I have always been involved in a music calling at church, and it drives me crazy to not have people volunteer to conduct the music, especially if it is a simple time signature. The younger children learned to keep a beat to it, and the older ones are old enough to actually use it at some point. I taught the older ones how to direct the beginning and end of songs, too. I also wanted them all to learn to follow the music. All too often, I have over zealous singers who go faster than the music. If they see that we're all trying to stay together with the leader for a reason, it helps them think about it when they are singing. I also just wanted to get the tune of the hymn we were supposed to be learning stuck in their heads so all that was left were the words.  All and all, I spent $3 on pretzel rods, had the camcorder setup with the tv, and had a great time. I would think it would work well with "My Eternal Family" that talks about being a builder, too.  (Idea by Beth Barnett / ga03092009)

 I cut out foot prints with Testimony written on them and placed all over the primary chapel. As Junior Primary came in I ask if they seen anything different hopefully they notice the foot prints. Then I ask how important are our feet to our body?  Can we run, walk, play etc. without our feet?  Talk to them about our feet being the foundation of our bodies. Then I ask them what the big word was on the feet? Then we talked about how important our testimonies are for the foundation of the gospel in our lives. We talked about pouring a foundation....is it hard? and why?  For Senior Primary, I put up ten lines on the chalk board and gave them clues to see if anyone could guess the word. We then spoke about a foundation and the importance of them in our lives.  (Idea by Bonnie Poulsen / ga02022009)

 Teaching How Firm A Foundation (Versus 1 & 3) by Ruth Bardsley

 Flipchart for How Firm A Foundation (Verse 1) - by Ann Marie McKinney

 For singing time I am going to play a game with foundations. I will start out with numbers 1-7 on a table or on the board then I will have a box with different foundations inside (paper, wood, cardboard, sand, water, rock, and a picture of the Savior-each foundation will have a song attached) then I will have one child come up and pick an item out of the box (without looking). The child will then decide where the foundation belongs on the number line. For example if the first child comes up and picks out the paper they may decide that this is the weakest foundation and place it on number one. Then when water is drawn it will obviously be number one and they will have to decide where to put the paper now. These are the numbers 1-water 2-sand 3-paper 4-cardboard 5-wood 6-rock 7-Savior. (Idea shared by Colette / ga01302009)

 To teach "How Firm a Foundation" for singing time, I am going to start with some pictures of our foundation when we built our house. I'm going to explain to them that a house needs a foundation to be able to stand, and relate that to us needing Christ to be able to make it through this life. We will sing the song through a couple of times to get them used to it. Then I will bring out my game, "Don't Break the Ice". It's a little game from Wal-Mart for $5. (My children got it for Christmas) As they sing the song, I will be looking for a reverent singer to be my helper. The helper will come up and use the ice pick to tap out one block of ice without making the ice skater fall. We will sing again and then have someone else come up to tap out an ice block. The point is to go as long as we can without breaking the ice (foundation). Towards the end when we start running out of time, I'll let them tap more than one block to get the skater to fall....since the children will want to watch it break.  (Idea by Rachael Smith / ga01312009)

 Introduce the song by singing the phrase "The wise man built his house upon the rock" ("The Wise Man and the Foolish Man," p. 281). Hold up a rock and ask: Why was the man wise to build his house upon a rock (a firm foundation)? Have the children listen for who should be our rock (our foundation) as you read Helaman 5:12. Have a child hold the rock and a picture of Jesus Christ while you sing the first line of "How Firm a Foundation." Have the children repeat the line. On the board, write "faith in his ______ ___." Have the children listen for the words to put in the blanks while you sing the second line of the first verse. Have them sing the line. Ask: Where do we find His word (scriptures)? Invite a child to come up and hold scriptures. Have the children sing the first two lines. Sing line three. Add to the child's scriptures until he or she is holding all the standard works, a conference issue of the Ensign, and pictures of modern prophets to show how abundantly the Lord has given us His word. Have the children sing line three. Ask them to listen while you sing lines four and five for the word that is repeated three times ("Savior"). Define refuge (place of safety), and have the children sing lines four and five. For each line in the third verse, show a picture of Jesus Christ that represents the message. Ask the children to listen again in lines four and five for the word that is repeated three times. Define omnipotent (all-powerful). Bear testimony that Christ is a sure foundation and that if we are built upon His gospel, we shall not fall.  (Idea taken from the February 2009 Sharing Time)

 The Race by President Monson - A thought about this song

 Lyric Mix-up by Allison Jessop

 I had hand planned to use the cinderblocks that I was positive were stacked up beside our shed, but when I went to put the blocks in the van this morning, they were gone. Fortunately, this idea came flying into my brain while I was getting dressed - it worked great.

1) Sing "The Wise Man and Foolish Man." Ask why one house stood and the other did not. The children will probably make some reference to the rock being "hard." Teach them that another word for hard is "firm." Show picture of foundation, ask if anyone has seen a foundation of a house or building, etc. What is the job of a foundation? etc. Ask children if they realized that there is hymn in the green hymnal that has a similar message to that of "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man."

2) Object demonstration: I have a flat cut-out of a wooden house about 12 in. tall and 1 in. thick that we used as our FHE assignment board when our children were younger. It will not stand up on foam, but it will stand on a hard surface. So I took a piece of squishy foam, and my idea was to use hard cover Books of Mormon to build a "foundation" from His "exellent word." Unfortunately, I couldn't find enough hardcover Book of Mormon at the last minute, and the softcovers don't make the point - so I ended up using hymnals. But with advanced preparation, it should be easy to gather up five or six or so hardcover Book of Mormon. Have a volunteer come up to stand the house on the foam, and another to set it on the books. Ask why the house won't stand on the foam but it will stand on the books.

Again, the children will want to talk about the "soft" and "hard" surfaces - get them to start thinking of the foam as "not firm" and the books as a "firm foundation," then transition into teaching the hymn via method of your choice.  (Idea by Paula Miller / ga02012009)

 Firm or Flimpsy Foundation? by Kate Carter