The Backpack
A volunteer’s backpack gets heavier with every burden the class names, which makes the Savior’s invitation to the heavy laden feel real.
- A volunteer puts on the empty backpack. Say: “Everybody carries a backpack you can’t see. What goes in it for people your age?”
- Each time someone names a burden (a test, practice, family stress, a friend drama, a mistake, feeling left out), drop in a book. Keep going until the volunteer is clearly feeling it.
- SAY“In a 2023 conference talk, President Camille N. Johnson compared burdens to rocks in a backpack. Some are from our own sins, some from other people’s choices, and some just come from living in a hard world.” Ask: “Which of these rocks can a person take out on their own?”
- Let the volunteer set the backpack on a chair. Say: “Today Jesus has something to say about this backpack.”
Class screen: 🎒 What’s in the backpack you can’t see? · Name a burden. Add a rock.
No supplies? Do this instead
Instead of: A backpack and six to eight heavy books (or cans from the pantry)
- A volunteer stands and holds both arms straight out in front, palms up. Say: “Everybody carries a backpack you can’t see. What goes in it for people your age?”
- Each time someone names a burden, the class “places” an invisible rock in the volunteer’s hands. Just holding arms out gets heavy for real within a minute.
- SAY“In a 2023 conference talk, President Camille N. Johnson compared burdens to rocks in a backpack: some from our own sins, some from other people’s choices, some from living in a hard world.” Ask which ones a person can take out alone.
- Let the volunteer drop their arms. Say: “Today Jesus has something to say about this.”