Book Review - Bible Origami by Todd Huisken

Let me start by saying that this book makes me happy. I will explain.

Since my youth, I have struggled with spatial things. Things such as folding paper airplanes and answering those test questions that involve imagining how an unfolded patterned cube would look when folded back up. These things tend to frustrate me and make me feel helpless.

Fast forward to my adulthood. Todd Huisken (creator of Bible Origami) reached out to me to review his new origami book.  Todd was my dear friend during our freshman year of college but after we graduated we lost touch. We reconnected when he found my blog and asked me if I would give an honest review his book.

Author, Todd Huisken

Todd sent me a copy of his book, "Bible Origami," along with some paper so that I could try creating some of his designs. (I'd kept my spatial inadequacies hidden so he had no idea how challenging this would be for me.)

So I bravely sat down to try my hand at "Bible Origami."  I started with making Joseph's Coat of Many Colors. I followed the directions and illustrations exactly. Imagine my surprise and delight when I was able to do it! I literally screamed out, "LOOK WHAT I MADE!" (Sure, my family mocked me a bit for my over-enthusiasm but they were happy for me.)

Reverence in Primary

Reverence is sometimes a hard thing to find in Primary.  Primary should be fun, but not crazy and chaotic.  There needs to be a balance.  It is important for the kids to learn how to be reverent so that they can feel the Holy Ghost.

Here are two ideas to help kids understand the importance of this concept.

"TO CATCH A BUTTERFLY" METHOD

When I was Primary President, we told a story about reverence, using butterflies as the object lesson.  Then I attached a realistic (but fake) butterfly to the end of a dowel and would have the butterfly land on each reverent child while we were waiting to start Sharing Time.  This worked especially well in Junior Primary but the older kids liked it more than I thought they would.

I read a story called "To Catch a Butterfly" from the May 2001 Children's Friend magazine (click HERE to read it).   In this story a pair of rambunctious twins learn the secret of catching a butterly.

“Reverence is a lot like these butterflies. You don’t catch a butterfly. You let it come to you. You don’t catch a reverent feeling, either. It just comes to you when you are quiet. It’s the warm feeling you are feeling right now. You can also feel it when you think about Jesus Christ or anything else wonderful. When you are in Primary next Sunday, think about how quiet you had to be to have these butterflies in your hands. Then think about Jesus, and see if you get that same reverent feeling.”

Click HERE for an action rhyme describing what butterflies can teach us about reverence.  (Good for younger children)

"EVEN THE PRESIDENT MONSON HAD THE WIGGLES" LESSON

This is a picture of President Monson when he was 10 years old.

Click HERE to read about how President Monson's childhood Primary President enlisted him to help solve the reverence problem in their ward.  I think it is good for the kids to know that even our prophet had a hard time being reverent sometimes.  (Hey, I'll admit it that I am even tempted to talk too much at church!)