“Can you change the title to The Amazing Adventures of the Book of Mormon?” asked a young boy after coloring and engaging in the activities of the Book of Mormon scripture stories coloring book.
The first in an upcoming series of coloring books, the Scripture Stories Coloring Book: Book of Mormon is a new resource to help children gain a love for the people, stories, and teachings in the Book of Mormon.
“Helping our children to become familiar with these stories will build within them a lifelong love for the scriptures,” said Elder Larry R. Lawrence of the Seventy.
Designed to support family and individual scripture study, the 20-page coloring book includes look and find, dot-to-dot, mazes, and other fun activities. Each page also includes a search the scriptures challenge. For example, a coloring page about 1 Nephi 16 invites children to draw what the Liahona might look like and then asks, “How did the Liahona help Lehi’s family?”
Where to get the coloring book
The book is available on children.lds.org as a PDF, from which you can choose to print the entire book or individual pages. CLICK HERE to download a copy.
The 20‑page book includes coloring, dot‑to‑dot, mazes, and other fun activities for children ages 2–8. Each page also includes a challenge to search the scriptures.
Printed copies will be available for 85 cents at store.lds.org and Distribution Services centers, Deseret Book, and other LDS booksellers.
Gospel teaching
This convenient resource is an easy way to interest and engage younger children in scripture stories. Each page provides activities and opportunities to search the scriptures, providing parents natural opportunities to talk about the scriptures with their children. As children explore the activities and color the illustrations, they’ll learn for themselves the truths found in the scriptures.
Following are a few examples of how individuals and families have already used the coloring book:
• Family scripture study. The coloring book helps younger children engage in the scriptures in ways appropriate for their ages and attention spans. For example, parents can give the book to younger children to color while they read from the scriptures with older children.
• Correlates perfectly with this year’s Primary Theme, “I know the scriptures are true.”
• Family home evening and one-on-one teaching.
Parents can use the coloring pages to help tell a story from the scriptures or as an activity following a lesson. Inviting children to share what they learned from the page they colored or asking them to retell a story in their own words helps them remember what was taught. Using the search the scriptures question found on each page can prompt further discussion.
• Sabbath day. Simply setting out crayons and the coloring book encourages children to choose a fun and meaningful Sabbath day activity. Parents can use the examples in the coloring book to spark additional ideas for helping the Sabbath be a delight for their children.
Available translations
To support scripture study around the globe, the coloring book will eventually be translated in languages that have LDS editions of the scriptures. It is anticipated that the coloring book in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Traditional), German, Russian, and Italian will be available on LDS.org near the end of March 2016, with copies of the printed book becoming available in May of 2016. Additional translations will follow in the coming years.
“The scriptures can be fun,” explained Elder Lawrence. “These activities teach them in their early years that they can find answers to their questions within the pages of the scriptures. After all, the scriptures are for everyone.”