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Deeper and Deeper!

A watchman warns, dry bones rattle, and a river flows out of the temple and makes everything come alive

  • 🛡️ CTR 4–7
  • Week 45
  • 📅 Sunday, November 8, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

Like the river flowing from the temple, blessings from Jesus Christ bring life and healing to me and my family.

I can listen to the prophet and get ready to go to the temple someday.

Study it yourself firstRead Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47)
Know the chapters

Ezekiel was a priest who was taken as a captive to Babylon, far from Jerusalem (Ezekiel 1:1–3). There the Lord called him to be a prophet and a “watchman” (3:17; 33:7), like a guard on a city wall who warns everyone when danger is coming. Our living prophet is a watchman for us today. He can see dangers we can’t, and he tells us how to stay safe.

Ezekiel 47 is a vision little children love. Water trickles out from under the temple door. A heavenly guide with a measuring line leads Ezekiel through it, and each time it gets deeper: up to his ankles, his knees, his waist, and then a river too deep to cross, water to swim in. The river flows into a salty sea where nothing could live, and the sea is healed and fills with fish. Trees on the banks grow fresh fruit every month, and their leaves are medicine. Everything the river touches comes alive (47:9). It is a beautiful picture of the blessings and healing that flow from Jesus Christ and His holy house to us and our families.

Ezekiel 37 has two more pictures. In a valley of very dry bones, the bones rattle together “bone to bone,” get muscles and skin, and stand up alive. It shows the Lord gathering His people, and it reminds us that because Jesus Christ was resurrected, everyone will live again. Keep it silly, not spooky. Then Ezekiel holds two sticks, one for Judah and one for Joseph, and they become one in his hand (37:17). The Church teaches that these stand for the Bible and the Book of Mormon, which work together to bring us to Jesus.

For 4- to 7-year-olds, the river is the heart of the lesson: walk it, splash it, swim it. Let readers hold the books and read the short screen lines. Help the 7-year-olds see the path ahead: baptism this year, and the temple when they are older, starting the year they turn 12. The new heart the Lord promises in Ezekiel 36:26 is something Jesus can give us every time we repent and take the sacrament.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Ezekiel 47:1–12 so you can tell it with your own words. Open the Story Drama on your phone or tablet and have the whole class walk into the river deeper and deeper. Then do the Rattle Bones wiggle, the key verse motions and Forehead Guess. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing”: two kids become the two sticks.

What to bring4 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. On one stick write “Judah: Bible.” On the other write “Joseph: Book of Mormon.” Keep the rubber band or tape handy.
  2. Put a sticky note or bookmark in the Bible at a story about Jesus (like Mark 10:13–16, Jesus blesses the children) and in the Book of Mormon at 3 Nephi 17 (Jesus blesses the children there too).
  3. Clear a strip of floor where the class can “walk into the river” for the story.
  4. Add your kids’ names in the My Class tab so you can hand out roles with one tap.

If your class is wild

  • The river walk is the wiggle built into the story. Let them splash and swim in place, then call “Freeze like a fish!” to calm them.
  • Keep the dry bones silly. Clacking, rattling and standing up like a giant army is fun; skeleton scares are not needed.
  • The watchman hook works best if you whisper the warnings. Kids have to listen hard to stay “safe.”
  • Give your readers the two books and the screen lines. Give your 4-year-olds the fish and the trees; they love those parts.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Steps that mention Teach Mode, the Sound Board or other class games refer to the Gospel Sparks app; on the web you can play Forehead Guess and Scripture Showdown from this page.

1. Hook

Watchman Walk

3 min

A pretend hike with warnings shows how a prophet is like a watchman who sees danger we can’t.

  1. SAY“We’re going on a hike! I’m the watchman. I can see things you can’t, so listen for my warnings.” Tap the trumpet on the Sound Board.
  2. Everyone hikes in place. Whisper warnings: “A river! Jump!” · “Low branch! Duck!” · “Sleepy bear! Tiptoe!” · “Mud puddle! Hop around it!”
  3. Let a 6- or 7-year-old be the next watchman for two or three warnings.
  4. SAY“The Lord told the prophet Ezekiel, ‘I have made thee a watchman.’ Prophets can see dangers we can’t see, and they warn us. Our prophet today is our watchman!”
  5. Show the prophet’s picture if you have one. Say: “Ezekiel saw something amazing: a river coming out of a temple. Let’s go see it!”
🌪️ Whisper the warnings. Anyone who doesn’t hear gets “caught” by the sleepy bear and does five jumping jacks.
🔊 Sound Board (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🔭 Listen to the watchman! · Jump! 🏞️ · Duck! 🌿 · Tiptoe! 🐻

2. Story

Story Walk: The River from the Temple

7 min

Walking into deeper and deeper water helps kids feel how blessings from the temple grow and give life.

  1. Hand out the roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Everyone who doesn’t have a part is on the River Crew.
  2. Line everyone up at one end of your cleared floor. Read each scene and pause for the action. Let a reader read each big caption.
  3. In scenes 3 to 6, the whole class walks forward a few steps each time as the water gets deeper.
  4. At scene 9, everyone makes a temple roof and whispers, “Everything lives!”
  5. Ask: “What happened everywhere the river went?” (Things came alive!) “Jesus blesses us like that.”
🌪️ Swimming stays in place: arms only, feet planted. If anyone bumps a friend, everyone “floats” on their backs on the floor for five seconds.

Class screen: 🌊 Deeper and deeper! · Ankles 🦶 · Knees 🦵 · Swim! 🏊

3. Wiggle break

Rattle Bones

2 min

Ezekiel also saw dry bones come together and live. A silly bone song gets wiggles out and teaches that everyone will live again.

  1. SAY“Ezekiel saw another vision: a valley full of dry bones. The bones rattled together, bone to bone, and then they stood up alive!”
  2. Everyone flops like a pile of bones. Rattle your fingers, clack your knees, then stand up bone by bone: toes, knees, hips, shoulders, head.
  3. Sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” (Children’s Songbook, 275) twice: once slow, once super fast.
  4. Finish standing tall like a giant army. Say: “Because Jesus came back to life, everyone will live again with a body someday!”
🌪️ Bones don’t bump other bones. If it gets wild, the bones fall back into a quiet pile and wait for the next “Rattle!”

Class screen: 🦴 Rattle, rattle, bone to bone! · Head 🙂 · Shoulders 💪 · Knees 🦵 · Toes 🦶

4. Object lesson

Two Sticks, One Hand

3 min

Two sticks joined together show how the Bible and the Book of Mormon work together to bring us to Jesus.

  1. Give one reader the Bible and another the Book of Mormon. Say: “The Lord told Ezekiel to write on two sticks.”
  2. Hold up the “Judah: Bible” stick. Then the “Joseph: Book of Mormon” stick. Let a reader read each one.
  3. Put them side by side in your hand and wrap the rubber band around them. Say: “They became one in his hand! The Bible and the Book of Mormon work together.”
  4. Open the Bible to Jesus blessing the children, and the Book of Mormon to 3 Nephi 17. Say: “Both books tell about Jesus blessing children, just like you!”
  5. Ask: “Which book tells about Jesus?” (Both!)

Class screen: 📚 Two books, one Savior! · Bible 📖 · Book of Mormon 📘 · Both teach about Jesus!

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Two flat sticks (craft sticks, rulers or paint stirrers), a marker and a rubber band or some tape, A Bible and a Book of Mormon (paper copies if you have them)

Two Kids, One Team

  1. Pick two kids to be the sticks. Stand them far apart. Say: “The Lord told Ezekiel to write on two sticks.”
  2. Touch one child’s shoulder: “This stick is the Bible.” Touch the other: “This stick is the Book of Mormon.” Have each child say their name in a big voice.
  3. The two sticks walk together and link arms. Say: “They became one in his hand! The Bible and the Book of Mormon work together.”
  4. Open the Gospel Library app to 3 Nephi 17:21 and Mark 10:16. Say: “Both books tell about Jesus blessing children, just like you!”
  5. Ask: “Which book tells about Jesus?” (Both!) Let two new kids be the sticks and link arms.
5. Scripture

River Verse: Ezekiel 47:9

3 min

A short verse with motions sums up the story: everything the river touches comes alive.

  1. Show the verse on your phone or tablet. Ask a reader to read it slowly.
  2. Teach the motions one part at a time. Say it together three ways: trickle voice (tiny), river voice (normal), and ocean voice (big, but not shouting).
  3. SAY“The river is like the blessings Jesus gives us. When we’re baptized and keep our promises, His blessings flow into our lives and help us grow.”
  4. Say it one last time with motions, then sit down quietly like still water.

Class screen: 🌊 Every thing shall live whither the river cometh · Ezekiel 47:9

6. Game

Forehead Guess: River Edition

3 min

A Heads Up–style game reviews the story with easy picture words.

  1. Tap Forehead Guess. One child holds your phone or tablet on their forehead, screen facing the class.
  2. Classmates give clues or act it out without saying the word. The picture helps pre-readers know what it is.
  3. Tilt down for “got it,” up to pass. About 30 seconds per guesser.
  4. Pair younger guessers with an older buddy who can whisper hints.
🌪️ Clue-givers raise a hand and wait to be called on. Fish lips and swimming arms are always good clues!
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess! · Give clues. Don’t say the word!

7. Talk it over

Temple Talk

2 min

Kids connect the river to real temples and to their own path: baptism now, the temple later.

  1. Show a temple picture if you have one. Tap Name Spinner to pick who answers each question.
  2. Little ones can point, draw in the air or act out their answer.
  3. Share your own answer to one question.
💬 Ask the class
  • Have you ever seen a temple? What did it look like?
  • Who do you know who goes to the temple?
  • What can you do now to get ready for the temple?
  • How is the temple like the river Ezekiel saw?
🎡 Name Spinner (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🏛️ Let’s talk about the temple! · The house of the Lord

8. Testimony

Families Together Forever

2 min

End calm with the blessing the temple brings: families can be together forever.

  1. Everyone sits still like a calm river. Hum or softly sing “Families Can Be Together Forever” (Children’s Songbook, 188).
  2. SAY“In the temple, families can be sealed together forever. That is one of the biggest blessings that flows from Jesus Christ.”
  3. SAY“First comes baptism, when you’re 8. Then, starting the year you turn 12, you can go inside the temple too.”
  4. Share a short testimony of Jesus Christ and the temple. Invite a child to say the closing prayer.

Class screen: 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families can be together forever! · Baptism 💧 · Temple 🏛️

9. Craft

River Drawings

4 minBONUS

Kids draw pieces of Ezekiel’s vision and hold them up as the story is retold.

  1. Give each child paper and crayons. Assign each one something to draw: the temple, the river, a fish, a tree, fruit, the salty sea.
  2. Retell the story quickly. When a child hears their picture, they jump up and hold it high.
  3. Readers can write a label on their drawing.

Class screen: 🖍️ Draw the river story!

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Paper and crayons for the bonus River Drawings

Draw & Guess: River Edition

  1. Tap Draw & Guess. One child draws a word from the story on your phone or tablet.
  2. The class guesses. Whoever guesses right draws next.
  3. Help pre-readers by whispering the word to them.

Class screen: 🖍️ Draw it! Guess it!

10. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A team quiz reviews the lesson if you have extra time.

  1. Split into two teams. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Read each question and the choices out loud for the pre-readers.
  3. Teams whisper together, then point to an answer. Tap the team that got it right.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown!

Story drama

The River from the Temple

Ezekiel 47:1–12 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • EzekielThe prophet. Walks into the river and gets deeper and deeper, then swims!
  • The GuideA heavenly messenger who leads Ezekiel and measures with a pretend string: “One, two, three… deeper!”
  • River CrewWiggle fingers low for a trickle, then wave arms for a big river: “Swoosh!”
  • Salty SeaMakes a yucky face (“Too salty!”), then smiles big when the river heals it.
  • FishSwim around with fish lips once the sea is healed.
  • TreesGrow from tiny seeds into tall trees with fruit and leaves.

Scenes

  1. 🏛️✨ Ezekiel sees a beautiful temple

    Ezekiel was a prophet who lived far away from home. One day the Lord showed him a vision, like a dream from God. A heavenly guide took him to a beautiful temple.

    🎬 Everyone makes a temple roof with their hands over their head and says, “Ooooh!”

  2. 🚪💧 Water trickles out the door

    Ezekiel saw something surprising. Water was coming out from under the temple door! Just a little trickle at first.

    🎬 The River Crew wiggles their fingers low on the floor: “Drip, drip, trickle, trickle.”

  3. 🦶💧 Up to his ankles!

    The guide measured the water and led Ezekiel into it. The water came up to his ankles. Splish, splash!

    🎬 Everyone stands, touches their ankles and walks in place: “Splish, splash!”

  4. 🦵💧 Up to his knees!

    The guide measured again and led Ezekiel farther. Now the water came all the way up to his knees!

    🎬 Touch your knees and walk with big, high steps: “Sploosh, sploosh!”

  5. 🧍🌊 Up to his waist!

    The guide measured again. Now the water was up to Ezekiel’s waist. It was getting hard to walk!

    🎬 Hands on your waist. Walk very slowly, leaning forward: “Whoa, it’s deep!”

  6. 🏊🌊 A river to swim in!

    One more time the guide measured. Now it was a great big river, too deep to walk across. It was water to swim in!

    🎬 Everyone swims in place with big arms. The River Crew goes, “Swoosh!”

  7. 🧂🐟 The salty sea comes alive!

    The river flowed into a sea so salty that nothing could live in it. But when the river water reached it, the sea was healed! Soon it was full of fish, and fishermen came to catch them.

    🎬 The Salty Sea makes a yucky face, “Too salty!”, then a big smile. The Fish swim around with fish lips.

  8. 🌳🍎 Trees with fruit every month!

    All along the river, trees grew tall and green. They had fresh fruit every single month, and their leaves were medicine to help people get better.

    🎬 The Trees start as tiny seeds on the floor and slowly grow up tall, then pick pretend fruit: “Yum!”

  9. 🏛️💖 Everything the river touches lives!

    Everywhere the river went, things came alive! Jesus Christ blesses us like that river. The blessings from His holy temple help us and our families, and they can last forever.

    🎬 Everyone makes the temple roof again and whispers, “Everything lives!”

Key verse

Ezekiel 47:9 ↗
“every thing shall live whither the river cometh”
In kid words: Everything the river touches comes alive!
🙌 “every thing” = sweep your arms wide · “shall live” = jump up with jazz hands · “whither the river cometh” = wiggle one arm forward like a flowing river.

More verses

Ezekiel 3:17 ↗
“I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel”
In kid words: The Lord made Ezekiel a watchman to warn His people.
Ezekiel 37:17 ↗
“join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand”
In kid words: Hold the two sticks together, and they will be one in your hand.
Ezekiel 36:26 ↗
“A new heart also will I give you”
In kid words: Jesus can give me a new, soft heart.

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 🧔 Ezekiel
  • 🏛️ Temple
  • 🏞️ River
  • 🏊 Swim
  • 🐟 Fish
  • 🌳 Tree
  • 🍎 Apple
  • 🦵 Knees
  • 🔭 Watchman
  • 🎺 Trumpet
  • 🦴 Bones
  • 🪵 Stick
  • 📖 Bible
  • 📘 Book of Mormon
  • ❤️ Heart
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family
Clues for each word
  • Ezekiel: The prophet who walked into the river
  • Temple: The house of the Lord
  • River: Water that flows and flows
  • Swim: What you do in deep water
  • Fish: It lives in water and has fins
  • Tree: Tall and green with leaves
  • Apple: A red fruit that grows on trees
  • Knees: The water came up this high
  • Watchman: He looks out and warns people
  • Trumpet: Toot toot! A loud horn
  • Bones: Rattle, rattle! They’re inside you
  • Stick: Ezekiel held two of these
  • Bible: A book of scripture about Jesus
  • Book of Mormon: Another book of scripture about Jesus
  • Heart: Jesus can give you a new one
  • Family: They can be together forever
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown8 questions

  1. What came out from under the temple door?
    • A. Water 💧
    • B. A cat 🐈
    • C. Smoke 💨
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Water 💧 A little trickle of water that became a great big river!

  2. The first time, the water came up to Ezekiel’s…
    • A. Nose 👃
    • B. Ankles 🦶
    • C. Hair 💇
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Ankles 🦶 Ankles, then knees, then waist, then deep enough to swim!

  3. What happened when the river reached the salty sea?
    • A. It froze 🧊
    • B. It dried up 🏜️
    • C. It filled with fish 🐟
    Show answer

    ✅ C. It filled with fish 🐟 The sea was healed, and fish could live in it.

  4. How often did the trees by the river grow fruit?
    • A. Every month 🍎
    • B. Never 🚫
    • C. Once in 100 years 🐢
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Every month 🍎 Fresh fruit every month, and the leaves were medicine!

  5. The Lord made Ezekiel a…
    • A. King 👑
    • B. Watchman 🔭
    • C. Fisherman 🎣
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Watchman 🔭 A watchman warns people about danger, just like prophets do.

  6. What did the dry bones do?
    • A. Stayed asleep 😴
    • B. Flew away 🕊️
    • C. Came together and lived 🦴
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Came together and lived 🦴 Bone to bone! Because of Jesus, everyone will live again.

  7. Which two books work together like Ezekiel’s two sticks?
    • A. Bible and Book of Mormon 📚
    • B. Two storybooks 📕
    • C. A menu and a map 🗺️
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Bible and Book of Mormon 📚 Both books teach about Jesus Christ.

  8. What can the temple help families do?
    • A. Win games 🏆
    • B. Be together forever 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
    • C. Go on vacation 🏖️
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Be together forever 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families can be sealed together forever in the temple.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • Families Can Be Together Forever Children’s Songbook, p. 188

    The blessings flowing from the temple include families together forever. Find it ↗

  • I Love to See the Temple Children’s Songbook, p. 95

    Little ones know it well, and it goes right with the river from the temple. Find it ↗

  • Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Children’s Songbook, p. 275

    For the Rattle Bones wiggle: bone to bone, all the way up! Find it ↗

  • Follow the Prophet Children’s Songbook, p. 110

    Prophets are watchmen. Sing it after the Watchman Walk. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Temple Spotter

This week, look at a picture of a temple with your family (or drive past one). Tell them about the river that flowed out of Ezekiel’s temple and made everything come alive.

Text the parents

Today in Primary we walked into Ezekiel’s river that flowed from the temple, deeper and deeper, until it healed a salty sea and filled it with fish (Ezekiel 47). We learned that blessings from Jesus Christ and His temple bring life to our families. Ask your child: how deep did the water get, and what happened everywhere the river went?

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

💧 Pour the River · 3 min

  1. Set a clear cup in a dishpan on a towel. Pour a tiny trickle of water in, then more and more.
  2. Let kids call out “Ankles! Knees! Waist! Swim!” as the water rises.
  3. SAY“The more we come to Jesus, the more His blessings fill our lives.”

🪵 Build Your Own Two Sticks · 4 min

  1. Give each child two craft sticks. Readers write “Bible” and “Book of Mormon”; little ones draw a book on each.
  2. Wrap them together with a rubber band or tape.
  3. SAY“Take them home and show your family how the two books work together to teach about Jesus.”

🪟 Watchman on the Window · 3 min

  1. Pick a child to stand by the window as the watchman and tell the class what they see outside.
  2. Everyone else keeps their eyes closed and listens.
  3. Ask: “How did you know what was outside?” (The watchman told us.) “That’s what prophets do for us!”

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

All CTR 4–7 lessons