Seek the Lord Early (CS p.108)

Have you ever played hide and seek?
What does the "seeker" do?
What would happen if the seeker decided to just lay down on the couch and take a nap?
Would the "hider" ever be found?
Seeking is an action word; it requires you to DO something.

This is a song about you being a seeker.  Listen to the first line.  Who are you seeking? (The Lord)  When should you seek Him? (early in your life/ in your youth)

Now as you listen to the song, listen for the things that YOU need to do as a seeker.  (If you have pre-readers, you can use pictures rather than writing out a list. Then use those pictures to help sing the song.)
         Search the scriptures
         Fervent prayer (fervent means really wanting to know and communicate with Heavenly Father)
         Obey the living prophet
         Keep the commandments

If you do these things, the Lord promises three things.  Listen for the Lord's promises.
      He will help me to know the truth (through the Holy Ghost)
      His love will abound (abound means there is so much, it can't be contained)
      He will be found

Remember that the Lord isn't trying to be tricky.  He WANTS to be found.  He's just waiting for you to do the seeking .

Other ideas for discussion:
---Why is it important to seek the Lord EARLY while in your YOUTH?  Can you think of examples of youths in the scriptures? (Samuel, Nephi, Joseph Smith)  Did they follow this same pattern?

---What does it mean to "find" the Lord?  Joseph Smith found Him in a very literal and physical sense.  But that is not usually how He is found.  How can the Lord be found in your life?

---Why is obedience included as an important part of seeking?

Conclusion:
End with a personal experience of a time when you were seeking and were able to experience the Lord's promised blessings.  You can also include a time when you weren't actively seeking (figuratively sleeping on the couch) and the blessings you missed out on.  Bear your testimony of this doctrine.

Sing the song again and afterwards point out the Spirit testifying that what you sang is true.

Optional: You can play this game to practice the song.  Choose a "seeker" to leave the room for a moment.  Have another person hide a small picture of Jesus (pass-along card size) somewhere in the room.  When the seeker returns, begin singing the song.  Sing louder as the seeker gets closer to the hiding spot; sing softer if the seeker gets further away.  Keep singing until the picture is found, then choose a new seeker to play again.