Every parent knows the struggle of trying to follow the counsel of the Lord’s prophets on one hand, and preventing conflict and complaints among little children on the other when it pertains to scripture study. It can be very difficult.
In an effort to enhance to effectiveness of family scripture time, the Church has updated and released a new series of LDS themed coloring books available in hard copy format or printable online, beginning with a series of coloring books for children ages 2–8.
The Scriptures Stories Coloring Book: Pearl of Great Price and the updated Scriptures Stories Coloring Book: Book of Mormon are available today as a free PDF on children.lds.org, where you can choose to print the entire book or individual pages. Printed copies will be available March 24 in English for 95 cents at store.lds.org and Distribution Services centers, Deseret Book, and other LDS booksellers.
Helpful Hints
LDS.org gives some helpful hints on how the coloring books can be best used to enhance the learning of our children:
The scripture-based coloring books are an easy way to interest and engage younger children in scripture stories. As children explore the activities and color the illustrations, they’ll learn for themselves the truths found in the scriptures. Here are some ways you can incorporate the coloring books into your family scripture study:
- Read the scriptures to your children (or listen to the audio scriptures on the Gospel Library app or scriptures.lds.org) while they color the pages.
- Use the coloring pages to help tell a story from the scriptures or as an activity following a family home evening lesson.
- Help your children memorize the Articles of Faith as part of their Faith in God goals, by talking about and reciting together each Articles of Faith as you color the page together.
- Invite children to share what they learned from the page they colored or ask them to retell the story in their own words. Use the “Search the Scriptures” challenge found on each page to further the discussion.
- Set out the scripture stories coloring books and crayons on Sundays to encourage children to choose a fun and meaningful Sabbath day activity.
Where it is available
Church distribution centers, store.lds.org, Deseret Book & most LDS bookstores, and online.
How it is available
Hard copies are at above locations for $0.95, and free online .pdf downloads at these links:
Pearl of Great Price: http://lds.org/go/4BE
Book of Mormon: http://lds.org/go/4BF
This closing remark from Elder Bednar really hit home a few years back when he delivered this message during General Conference. It will give you the motivation to keep trying:
Sometimes Sister Bednar and I wondered if our efforts to do these spiritually essential things were worthwhile. Now and then verses of scripture were read amid outbursts such as “He’s touching me!” “Make him stop looking at me!” “Mom, he’s breathing my air!” Sincere prayers occasionally were interrupted with giggling and poking. And with active, rambunctious boys, family home evening lessons did not always produce high levels of edification. At times Sister Bednar and I were exasperated because the righteous habits we worked so hard to foster did not seem to yield immediately the spiritual results we wanted and expected.
Today if you could ask our adult sons what they remember about family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening, I believe I know how they would answer. They likely would not identify a particular prayer or a specific instance of scripture study or an especially meaningful family home evening lesson as the defining moment in their spiritual development. What they would say they remember is that as a family we were consistent.
Sister Bednar and I thought helping our sons understand the content of a particular lesson or a specific scripture was the ultimate outcome. But such a result does not occur each time we study or pray or learn together. The consistency of our intent and work was perhaps the greatest lesson—a lesson we did not fully appreciate at the time.
– David A. Bednar