Jesus' Birth Story

This year I bought a little people nativity for my 2 year old to play with . We keep it by the christmas tree and he has been told that this is a special Christmas decoration just for him to play with.  I have tried to make these toys seem extra special and fun so that he is sure to play with them!

Shortly after getting the toy I had an FHE lesson about Jesus and his birth. I used the nativity set I had just bought to act out what happened during Jesus' birth. For older children children you could read the scriptures that go along with this (e.g. Luke 2:1-20).

After the lesson I encouraged my son to play with his new toy. I pointed out the names of the toys and mentioned things about the nativity story we had just gone over while he played with his toys. I continue to do this when he plays with the toys in hopes that when he plays with them in the future (hopefully year after year) this story will come to his mind.

Jesus' Birth Story

Straw Bed For Jesus

My in-laws started this for us last year, and we really enjoyed it. It was inspired by the book The Last Straw by Paula McDonald. It is a great way to remember the reason for the Christmas season.

Opening Song

We sang The Nativity from the Children's Songbook. Any song that discusses Jesus in the manger will work well.

Scripture

Luke 2. Especially versus 7, 12, and 16

Supplies

• Manger (my Father-in-law built this one, but a shoe box would work as well)
• Straw
• Baby Jesus (but you don't need the baby until Christmas Day)

Lesson

Discuss with your family the meaning of Christmas. Why do we celebrate Christmas? Why do we give gifts? How can we give gifts to Jesus? Matthew 25:40 will work well at this point (And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me).

Discuss what it would be like to lay in a manger (make sure you describe what a manger is). How would if feel? 

Tell your children that this year, you are going to work as a family to make sure the bed for baby Jesus is as soft as it can be. You will do this by doing acts of service.

For each act of service someone does, they get to put a piece of straw in the manger. The goal is by Christmas to have a nice, soft bed for baby Jesus to lay in.

This is a great way to get focus on service during this season. My children really look for ways to serve and think about serving rather than just thinking about presents (though they do plenty of that).  I really love this tradition and think you will, too!

Straw Bed For Jesus

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a great time to get together with family and celebrate the many things that you are thankful for. There are a lot of different, fun activities that you can do on thanksgiving day with your family to help you remember the things you are thankful for. These are especially fun to do while everyone is sitting around the table eating dinner and talking.

*Thanksgiving bingo (a favorite for my family)
*Thanksgiving pictionary
*Go around the dinner table and have people say 5 (or however many things you want) things they are thankful for this year
*Go around the dinner table and have people
*Make a thanksgiving snack mix where each item in the mix represents something you are thankful for
*Have young children color a picture of something they are thankful for
*Sing some thanksgiving songs
*Volunteer at a food bank etc.
*Go shopping on black friday for items to donate to an organization/family in need

Thanksgiving

"Thank You"

Lesson

“There are two little words in the English language that perhaps mean more than all others,” says President Gordon B. Hinckley. “They are ‘thank you’ ” (“A Prophet’s Counsel and Prayer for Youth,” Ensign, Jan. 2001, 4).

Ask: “why do you think these words are so meaningful? “do you feel good when someone tells you “thank you”? why?

Discuss ways in your own home you can show gratitude. Take time to tell each member of the family why you are grateful for them and the things they do. Take turns doing this.

It is important to say thank you; in fact, we are commanded to be thankful. In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord says, “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things” (D&C 59:7)..

Ask: “how do we show Heavenly Father and Jesus we are thankful for all they do for us?”

-We show Heavenly Father and Jesus that we are grateful to Them by keeping Their commandments. When we are baptized, we show obedience to the Lord. When we read the scriptures, we show that we are thankful to have the word of God. When we partake of the sacrament reverently, we are showing our gratitude for Jesus Christ’s Atonement.

Challenge

challenge the family to say a “thankful prayer”. When they get on their knees to pray tonight encourage them to take one prayer to only give thanks and not ask for anything. Tell the children they will discover they have SO MUCH to be thankful for!

Activity

Make Gratitude Journals for each child. Take time for them to write all the things they are grateful for. Encourage them to keep the journal somewhere they can see. This way when they have a bad day they can get it out and be reminded of all the things they have to be thankful for. Also, as they think of more things to be grateful for they can add it to their journal.

or

Using a box or other materials, make a simple replica of a home. Tell the children that the box represents a home and ask them to name some of the things in their homes that they are grateful for. Before FHE, prepare wordstrips for the older children and pictures for the younger children of things that are in the homes. Inside a box have the wordstrips or pictures such as “bed,” “sofa,” “scriptures,” and “sink.” Also include family members and possibly pets. When the children have guessed all of the things that are in the box, show them the empty box but explain that some of the most important things in a home cannot be seen. Help them name intangible things such as “love,” “the gospel,” and “gratitude.” Explain that our homes are happier when we are grateful.

Song

“I Am Glad for Many Things” (p. 151).

"Thank You"

Thanksgiving

Song: Hymn 94 Come, Ye Thankful People

Scripture: 1 Nephi 13:12-19 Nephi tells of the Gentiles coming to America.

Lesson: Tell the story of the pilgrims coming to America to escape religious persecution. Thanksgiving is a holiday we celebrate because of the gratitude the pilgrims felt for finding a new land where they could worship freely.

Discussion: Each member of the family share something he or she is thankful for.

Activity: Think of a person outside of the family who you are thankful for. Brainstorm some way you can show this person your gratitude for him/her i.e. take cookies to the home teachers, draw a picture and mail it to grandma, write a note to the bishop, rake a neighbor's leaves, etc.

Thanksgiving

Families are important. If you didn't think so, you probably wouldn't be coming here for FAMILY home evening ideas. There are many family trees out there. I love this idea from a creative blogger. Have your children help pick out the materials for the tree, set the tree up take the picture, and then help them fill in the bubbles. Explain how a family tree works, going into as much depth as you feel appropriate for your children. Most importantly, have fun! And don't forget to sing, " Families Can Be Together Forever" from the children's Primary Song Book.

How to Make a Unique Family Tree
Taken from http://milasdaydreams.blogspot.com/

Families fit rarely into ready sablons, so when I tried to fill our family tree for Mila's baby book I noticed it would be better to make our own tree. Then you can make it as wide as you like, or just choose those closest relatives.

You need:

- blanket or other fabric to be a tree trunk and grass

- 3-4 colored paper napkins for leaves.

- Paper plates, as many as close relatives. Tip: if you like ornaments a lot, use white paper lace!

+ what ever you like to decorate your tree. Is your family tree full of paper hearts, real fruits, candles, or personal items to symbol your family members.

The building tree is easier if you make a first draft to paper. Use just names and list them in a form of tree. Start from to top of tree and put there the baby, then parents, grandparents etc. Add siblings. Just like you would draw a mind map.

When you are building an actual tree, notice that you can use the bigger plates for close relatives and smaller ones for the siblings. If you have a huge family, aunts and cousins don't need a plate, you can use smaller symbols, or cut smaller round circles from light colored paper/ paper napkins. Make tree leaves from napkins. Just twofold them and cut from the fold half of leaf, so you get multiple leaves from one cut when you separate the layers of napkin.

Photo example with teddy bears

After taking your photo, you may adjust color & lighting and add names or photographs in the picture by photoshop. If you use elliptical marquee-tool, you can get round headshot cut out from pictures. In my version those bigger plates are good for about 85x85pixels photos and smaller ones 60x60pixels. Pictures don't have to be perfectly round. You can also print photo out and add relatives by hand writing.

Example with photoshop names.

And voilà, personal and unique Family Tree is ready!

PS you can also add ancestors in the "roots" if you like. Just make a rocks or little signs there to make a space for the info.

In our family tree there would be many Viking kings from Norway, King Gustav I of Sweden, Jaakko Ilkka, Finnish leader of the Peasant Rebellion and from my side there's just a big bunch of simple farmers from North Karelia. Well, maybe few of my greatgreatgreat uncles and distant cousins have been artist and painters, but that's it. And probably there has been some finnish pagans before northern crusade. So I began to feel that this great offspring of noble savages has stolen this simple Karelian maid, and history still repeats itself...haha.

Thankful Basket

This is an activity we did last year, and we will be repeating it this year. It is quite a simple way to help teach your children (and remind yourself!) about being thankful for what you have.

November is a logical time of year to do this activity since it is Thanksgiving, but there is never a wrong time to focus on gratitude.

PREPARATION

• Get a basket or some other container
• Cut up small pieces of paper

LESSON

Opening Song Ideas

• A Song of Thanks (Children's Songbook page 20)
• Father, We Thank Thee for the Night (CSB page 8)
• For Health and Strength (CSB page 21)
• For Thy Bounteous Blessings (CSB page 21)
• I am Glad for Many Things (CSB page 151)
• I am Thankful to Be Me (CSB page 11)
• I Thank Thee Dear Father (CSB page 7)
• A Song of Thanks (CSB page 20)
• Thanks to our Father (CSB page 20)
• Thanks to Thee (CSB page 6)
• Thank Thee, Father (CSB page 24)
• Thank Thee for Everything (CSB page 10)
• Count Your Blessings (Hymn number 241)
• Prayer of Thanksgiving (Hymn number 93)

Scripture Ideas

D&C 62:7--I, the Lord, am willing, if any among you desire to ride upon horses, or upon mules, or in chariots, he shall receive this blessing, if he receive it from the hand of the Lord, with a thankful heart in all things.

D&C 78:19--And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.

Thankful Basket

Introduce the Thankful Basket (you could also call it a "Blessing Basket"). Explain that each night, each person is going to tell something they are thankful for. They (or mom or dad if the person is too little) will then write it down on a paper and put it in the basket. 

At Thanksgiving, you can look and see the many things your family has to be grateful for. 

Whenever you first start an activity like this, it can be hard to think of something new after the standard answers have been used up. But you soon find that it is hard to stop thinking of the blessings you have once you start to focus on them.

Thankful Basket

Angels

Opening Song: An Angel Came to Joseph Smith

I used pictures in the Gospel Art Book to teach what angels are. The definition I used was from the Bible Dictionary: "Angels are messengers of the Lord."

Page 28: The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary

Page 31: The Angel Appears to the Shepherds

Page 62: The Ascension of Jesus

Page 77: Conversion of Alma the Younger

Page 91: Moroni Appears to Joseph Smith in his room

Page 66: The Second Coming

I had my daughter point out the angel in each picture and then told her what was going on in the picture. For #91, we also discussed how that relates to Angel Moroni on the temple. For the last picture, we talked about the difference between Jesus and angels. (This was the motivation for the lesson, my daughter was confused on who everyone was in that picture.) I closed with my testimony of how though we will probably never see an angel, I know they are messengers from God.

Angels

Teaching About Fire Safety

October is National Fire Safety Month. For this last Family Home Evening, we learned about fire safety and practiced our evacuation plan. I am cross-posting this on two of my other blogs today because I think this is a very important topic.

Teaching children about fire safety can be difficult to do. I have been trying to think of ways to teach my young children what to do in case of a fire. Here is what I have come up with.

Preparation
First, I reviewed this website:  Fire Safety.gov for Kids

Second, I wrote a list of notes from the website. If you have an older child (five or older), you can review the website together, but I think younger kids will much prefer to hear it mom's own words. I actually think all kids prefer that.

In Action
Monday night, we had a lesson and practice time for fire safety for Family Home Evening. Start with a song and a prayer. Follow with family business if you do that. Then begin the lesson.

First, we went over rules for preventing fires and burns. We discussed rules that applied to our home (for example, we don't have a fire place so we didn't discuss fire places).

Second, we talked about smoke detectors. We pointed out the smoke detectors in our home. We tested them. This a)tested the alarms and b)let the kids hear what a smoke detector sounds like. An idea from the Fire Safety for Kids website is to also take this moment to clean smoke detectors, but I knew we would lose the focus of the kids at that moment, so it wasn't a family affair.

Third, we talked about our escape plan. Firesafety.gov has an Escape plan grid you can use to write out your evacuation plan.

We talked about how if our smoke detectors go off, we need to get out of the house as fast as we can. We talked about staying low to the ground. We practiced touching the bottom of doors first to make sure they aren't hot.

Fourth, we practiced our evacuation plan. We had the detector go off. We dropped to the ground and left the house. We ran to our designated meeting spot. We practiced leaving each room two ways.

We went into each child's bedroom and discussed and practiced the two ways to escape. It was great to do. We, the parents, were able to observe the children executing these plans and became more aware of things we need to do to help aide in a quick escape. An example is in Brayden's room. He likes to play with his cars on his large window sill. We don't often clean those up each night because he just gets them out the next day and they aren't in the way. But as he was practicing escaping from his window, he was severely slowed down by the cars. He also didn't want to just brush them onto the floor as we suggested. So we will now have him clean those up each evening before bed.

We also realized that our three year old would be unable to open her window on her own. So we practiced having her leave through her door. We also instructed her of what to do if the door was hot. We told her to leave it shut and go stand in a specific spot close to her window. In that spot, we could break her window from the outside and then reach in and grab her if needed.

We spent about an hour practicing our escaping over and over from room to room.

Now, you may be thinking this over and starting to realize if you talk about fire safety, you are going to have a scared child on your hands. This is most likely true. Even Kaitlyn was scared, and she just doesn't get scared. I do think, however, that it is a small price to pay for preparing your children for a fire. Better a little scared today than unprepared tomorrow.

While house fires are relatively rare, they do happen--obviously. Over the last weekend, a home in our community burned down and is a total loss. Luckily no one was hurt. It was started while the father was grilling outside--one spark. It doesn't take much, and it can happen. This really brought to light the importance of preparation on this topic.

Treat
After you finish the lesson, you can try out these Fire Truck Cookies posted by my friend Raegan.

Teaching About Fire Safety

General Conference: My Favorite Things

I hope you enjoyed General Conference! We took our children to Temple Square for one session. While we were not able to sit and listen to the talks like we would have at home (thank goodness for DVR!), it was a great experience that I would highly recommend you try at least once if you can. Families bring blankets and lunches. The speakers are blasting conference all over Temple Square. It is such a unified feeling, and reminded me of the people pitching their tents to listen to King Benjamin. It was a lot of fun.

For a Family Home Evening lesson following General Conference, I think a great idea is to bring the family together and have everyone share their favorite talk or thought from General Conference. Bring scriptures so you can go further into topics if prompted. You might even visit the new General Conference website and watch a favorite talk again.

I plan to make this a tradition. I think it will help everyone pay attention a little better if they know they are going to be asked about it. It is also a great opportunity to share testimony. Also, it is a great time to discuss goals we have for ourselves and our families.

General Conference: My Favorite Things

Holy Ghost Lessons

During the month of October, your children might enjoy lessons on the Holy Ghost. We have a couple here on the blog. See the Holy Ghost blog label for ideas.

Holy Ghost Lessons

FHE Treats

Not sure what to do for FHE? Even worse, not sure what to have for DESSERT? I have to admit, the dessert part of FHE is my favorite. Sometimes, the making of the dessert IS our family activity. Most kids love to help in the kitchen, get the whole family involved!! Here are a bunch of ideas to get your mind thinking.

Monkey Bread - Mix 1/3 C brown sugar, 1 T. water, 3 T. melted butter in a round glass bowl. Microwave for 2 min. Add 1 pkg. refrigerator biscuits onto mixture and place a small juice glass in center. Microwave 2 more min. Remove glass and invert onto serving plate. Serve warm by pulling sections apart.

Marshmallow Puffs - Take a pkg. or refrigerator biscuits and pat each out flat, place a marshmallow in center and wrap up sealing the edges. Dip in melted butter, roll in cinnamon sugar. Put in muffin tin. Bake at 400 for 10-12 min. Eat 'em hot.

Fruity Tuties- Get a bowl of ice-cream and add some of your favorite juice or soda. Enjoy! -

Teddy Smores' - Roast a marshmallow. Put it on a graham cracker and put 4 chocolate teddy grahams on the marshmallow. Enjoy!

Easy Donuts - You will need: 1 can of Pillsbury biscuits or more depending on how many you want to make, and a Fry Daddy, or other similar deep-frying appliance. Take the biscuits out of the can and cut out the center of each biscuit. Fry donuts and holes in oil until golden brown. Drain on wire rack or cookie cooling rack. Top with glaze. Glaze: Powdered sugar and milk combined to desired consistency. Pour over hot donuts. These are best fresh. They do not re-heat well.

Patty Cakes - First, get some soft tortillas and cheese. (refried beans if desired) Then, sprinkle cheese on top of a tortilla and put microwave for fifteen seconds or until cheese is melted. Cut like a pizza and enjoy!

Temple Cake - Make a cake (square is best) put 4 ice cream cones point up on the cake. these will be the pillars. then, put a little Moroni on top of one pillar.

Oreo Pie - It's easy, you just get chocolate pudding and Oreo's and whip cream. Crush the Oreo's up and put them on the bottom of a pan. Then put the pudding on top .then more crushed up Oreos. then put the whip cream on top and spread it out.

Homemade Ice-cream Sandwiches - Yummy and easy. First make a box of brownies, any kind. Let cool and cut into squares. Take aluminum foil and put one brownie square on it add vanilla ice cream (or any flavor you like) and top with another brownie. Wrap up and put into freezer. Do this with all the brownies.

Waffles and Ice Cream - You need ice cream in a box carton and waffles. Completely open ice cream box and slice it into 1/4 inch slices. Place slice of ice cream on one warm waffle and top with second warm waffle. Eat like a sandwich. Kids love these! -

Ice-cream Spiders! - Put 1 or 2 scoops of ice-cream in a cup fill with your favorite soft drink and enjoy! :-)

Fondue Fun - Fondue is a really fun and yummy treat for FHE. If you don't have a fondue pot you can use a crock pot or something like a crock pot, on low heat. You can have either cheese fondue and dip bread chunks and veggies in it or have the obvious chocolate fondue, (either brown or white chocolate) and dip fruits and sponge cake chunks into that one. It's easy, inexpensive and fun!

Rice Crispy Treats - Take rice crispies and turn them into fun!!! Add food coloring for each season of the year or for any special occasion.

Nachos - Put corn chips on a cookie sheet and put on shredded cheese we like the four cheese blend the broil in the oven until the cheese is melted. don't bake it too long! hard cheese is not very good.

Banana Malts - First get a few bananas. (Buy more if you have a big family) Then, buy malt mix. Get some ice. Put all of these things into a blender, little by little. ENJOY!!!!!!!

Kid-Proof Sushi - To make kid proof sushi you must have fruit roll ups, a gummy bear and rice crispies, you can use store brand or homemade. Take the rice crispies and flaten it out but keep it in its shape. Then take 1 fruit roll up and cut it to the length of the crispy. Take a gummy and put it laying on 1 end of the crispy, then roll the crispy and eat it!

Colored Thick Shake - Ingredients: Vanilla ice cream, food coloring (all different colors), vanilla, milk, and whip cream. Instructions: Plug in blender, fill blender up with enough ice cream for all, put vanilla and milk in. Blend it until it is mushy. Then in all the different corners of the blender put in the 4 different food colorings. Blend again (but only until the colors are swirly) pour into glass, top with whipped cream, and sprinkle. Then you have your loving desert! ♥ -

Home Made Oreos - A favorite of my family is a joyous mix. It's lots of fun to put together as well. Prepare one box of devils food cake. follow the recipe on back on how to prepare it for cookies. Place the dough/batter on a cookie sheet and cook for app. 10 minutes, (the back of the box should say exactly.) After the cookies are cooked and cooled, spread vanilla frosting on the flat side of each cookie and place to together!!!! ENJOY!

Counter Sundaes - On the kitchen counter (kitchen table works, too), lay out wax paper and tape to counter. Scoop ice cream on counter and let kids add toppings, syrup, etc. After, eat straight off counter. Kids will love this!

Fruit-a-shoot-a : Put fruit into a bowl. add walnuts, and a pinch of sugar if you please.

Microwave S’mores - Place two pieces of a Hershey’s candy bar on a graham cracker, then place a large marshmallow on each of the two pieces of candy bar and place in the microwave. Be sure not to over cook, you only need about 30 seconds. Its fun to watch the marshmallows expand. After you warm the chocolate and the mallows place another graham cracker on top and squish together. Let cool for a few moments and dive in……….

Graham Crackers and Frosting - Get some graham crackers and your favorite frosting (or Nutella if available) It is fun to make and good to eat. (Make sure you have lots of milk to wash it down)

Milk Shakes - Just some ice cream and milk in a blender make a great milk shake. Our favorite is vanilla ice-cream, milk and Hershey's chocolate syrup. If you want a faster shake, stir with a spoon instead of using a blender. Not as smooth, but still tastes great!.

Frozen Bananas - Freeze banana slices on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. (do early in the day) . Remove from freezer after family night and dip in melted chocolate and favorite toppings (nut, coconut, sprinkles, etc)

Homemade Popsicles - In the morning or day before, make juice and poor it in cups. Use popsicle stick (or spoons) and place them in the cup. freeze them (you might need to let a little hot water run on the outside of the cup to release them.

Carmel Apples - Put popsicle sticks in each apple, make sure the apples aren't too sweet. Sour ones work best. Slow cook Kraft caramels and dip the apples in. cover with nuts or chocolate chips if you like. Put on wax paper and let cool. Put them in refrigerator to harden

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - Clean the pumpkin seeds well. Fry them in butter and salt. Let cool a little bet. Eat

Orange Julius' - Put 1 1/2 c. water, 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 can frozen orange juice concentrate (regular size can), ice cubes (as much as you like, around 2 cups is good) into a blender. Blend until ice is well crushed. We almost always had this with popcorn! Contributed by Christine Jensen

EASY Carmel Apple Dip - This really tastes like caramel! 1 block cream cheese (softened), 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix well and serve with apple wedges!

Banana Shake - First you get your blender put a whole banana in there in slices, then put ice as much as you like, put 4 teaspoons of sugar and pour milk in the blender until it covers the ice and banana or as much as you like to serve, blend it and serve, taste better than a milkshake! -

THING-A-MAJIGS - Get 12 fig bars, 4 oz peanut butter, 6 ice cream sticks, six 5 oz paper cups, 9 to 12 oz choc pudding, 1 1/2 cup raspberry yogurt. Put two fig bars on each side of stick. spread with peanut butter, fill cup with 1/2 pudding, push stick in cup, add yogurt to top, freeze over night, split cup, peel , eat.

Baked Apples - Core the apple, put a little cinnamon, sugar, raisins, and water inside the hole in your apple. Bake until a little bit brown......... ENJOY!!!!!

Quick and Delicious Peanut Butter Cookies - Ingredients: 1 cup of white sugar 1 cup of creamy peanut butter 1 egg Mix all together and bake at 350 degrees til' done. (About 8-10 minutes. Enjoy with a glass of milk. Can add a chocolate kiss to the middle before baking. (I like to bake mine in a mini muffin pan to make little peanut butter tarts.)

Cookies with ice-cream in the Middle - Take two chocolate chip cookies (or any other cookies that you think would also taste good,) and put ice-cream in the middle. You can make as many cookies as you would like.

Nacho Cheese Dip - Take any kind of salsa and sprinkle it with grated cheese on the top of the slasa. Cook it in the microwave for 60 seconds.

FHE Treats

Wise and Foolish

This lesson is adapted from the CTR A lesson 36: "I am wise when I choose the right."

Purpose: To help children understand that we are wise when we obey the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Intro: Put different articles of clothing on incorrectly. For example, put a hat on your feet. Talk about how the clothing doesn't do us any good if we don't wear it correctly. When we wear a hat on our feet, it doesn't protect us from the cold, rain, or sun. It is foolish. When we wear it correctly, we get protected. We are being wise when we wear a hat correctly. You can let your kids take turns demonstrating how to wear clothes correctly.

Scripture story: Tell the story of the wise man and the foolish man found in Matt 7:24-27. Talk about how each man felt when the rains came. Explain that if we are wise and follow Jesus Christ's teachings, we will be happy like the man whose house stayed standing. If we are foolish, we will be sad like the man whose house fell.

Activity: On the sidewalk or a cookie sheet, set up two houses made of blocks. Build one block house on a large rock. Build the other on a pile of sand. Pour water on the rock and the sand and watch what happens! The house on the rock stays standing, and the house on the sand falls down.

Song: Sing "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man." Do the actions too of course. :)


Summary: We are wise when we follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Wise and Foolish

First Presidency Statements Regarding FHE from LDS.org

"We advise and urge the inauguration of a 'Home Evening' throughout the church, at which time fathers and mothers may gather their boys and girls about them in the home and teach them the word of the Lord. . . . 'Home Evening' should be devoted to prayer, singing hymns, songs, instrumental music, scripture-reading, family topics and specific instruction on the principles of the gospel, and on the ethical problems of life, as well as the duties and obligations of children to parents, the home, the Church, society and the nation. For the smaller children appropriate recitations, songs, stories and games may be introduced. Light refreshments of such a nature as may be largely prepared in the home might be served."

"If the Saints obey this counsel, we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influence and temptations which beset them."(First Presidency letter, 27 April 1915 — Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, Charles W. Penrose)

"Homes are more permanent through love. Oh, then, let love abound. Though you fall short in some material matters, study and work and pray to hold your children’s love. Establish and maintain your family hours always. Stay close to your children. Pray, play, work, and worship together."
(President David O. McKay, 1968)

"Well-planned family home evenings can be a source of long-lasting joy and influence. These evenings are times for group activity, for organizing, for the expressions of love, for the bearing of testimony, for learning gospel principles, for family fun and recreation, and of all things, for family unity and solidarity."
(Family Home Evenings, 1970-71, p. v — Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, and N. Eldon Tanner)

"Family home evening is for everyone. It is for families with parents and children, for families with just one parent, and for parents who have no children at home. It is for home evening groups of single adults and for those who live alone or with roommates. . . . Regular participation in family home evening will develop increased personal worth, family unity, love for our fellow men, and trust in our Father in heaven."
(Family Home Evening, 1976 — Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, and Marion G. Romney)

"Our spiritual progress, individually and as a Church, will largely be determined by how faithfully we live the gospel in our homes. The most important calling of a priesthood holder is that of husband and father. The most divine station of woman is that of wife and mother. . . . Fathers should lead their families in holding meaningful family home evenings. Such experiences will build family unity and influence each person toward increased righteousness and happiness."
(Family Home Evening, 1980 — Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, and Marion G. Romney)

"Family home evenings should be scheduled once a week as a time for discussions of gospel principles, recreation, work projects, skits, songs around the piano, games, special refreshments, and family prayers. Like iron links in a chain, this practice will bind a family together, in love, pride, tradition, strength, and loyalty."
(Salvation; A Family Affair, Ensign, July 1992, p. 4 — President Ezra Taft Benson)

"Monday evenings should be reserved for family home evening. Local leaders should ensure that Church buildings and facilities are closed, that no ward or stake activities are planned for Monday evenings, and that other interruptions to family home evenings be avoided. The primary emphasis of family home evening should be for families to be together to study the gospel. We remind all that the Lord has admonished parents to teach their children the gospel, to pray, and to observe the Sabbath Day. The scriptures are the most important resource for teaching the gospel."
(First Presidency Letter, 30 Aug 94 — Howard W. Hunter, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Thomas S. Monson)

"We call upon parents to devote their best efforts to the teaching and rearing of their children in gospel principles which will keep them close to the Church. The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place or fulfill its essential functions in carrying forward this God-given responsibility. We counsel parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities."
(First Presidency letter, 11 February 1999 — Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, and James E. Faust)

"Monday nights are reserved throughout the Church for family home evenings. We encourage members to set aside this time to strengthen family ties and teach the gospel in their homes. . . . Church buildings and facilities should be closed on Monday evenings. No ward or stake activities should be planned, and other interruptions to family home evenings should be avoided."
(First Presidency letter, 4 October 1999 — Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, and James E. Faust)

FHE lesson with my 2 year old

First Presidency Statements Regarding FHE from LDS.org

Honesty

Topic: Learning to distinguish between telling the truth and telling a lie

Scriptures:
Phillipians 4:8
Alma 27:27
D&C 98:10
Article of Faith 13
Other scriptures about Honesty found here

Song Suggestions:
I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus, Children's Songbook 78
I Believe in Being Honest, CS 149

Lesson:
-Ask if your child understands what being honest is. Explain that being honest is telling the truth and not making up a story.
-Give some examples of being honest and telling a lie (ie. If you tell someone that you made your bed, but you didn't, is that being honest? If you tell someone that you cleaned up your room, and you really did, is that being honest?)
-Read a scripture or two and talk about how the people were trying to be honest, and that Heavenly Father is happy when we are honest and wants us to find these things
-Read the story, The Case of the Broken Mirror, from the January 2010 Friend magazine
-Talk about how you feel when you are honest, and that it makes you happy inside

Activity:
We played a game where the children stood across the room from the parents. Examples of being honest and dishonest were shared. Everytime an example of being honest was shared, the child got to move forward. If the example was someone being dishonest, the child stayed where she was. You can have the children answer the same question, or move from child to child with different examples.

I am sure that there are other activities that you can use, but I ran out of time (and energy) to make the board game about honesty that I wanted to.

Honesty

Getting Closer with your Family

As I thought about what I wanted to write about this month I started thinking about the Family Home evenings I had with my own family growing up. We had the standard lessons with a song and a treat, but we often would sit down and play a game together, make cookies together, or go on walks together. I loved these home evenings. Looking back I don’t think this was an easy out for my parents. It was on these nights that we really got to know each other. We learned how to have fun together and to appreciate each other. So that is my challenge, at your next FHE don’t worry so much about what the lesson is going to be about. Plan something that will allow you to get to know your kids, and let them get to know you. Play a game and ask questions. Find out what they want to be, do, and see. You’ll love to watch your kids interact and become closer to one another and you’ll LOVE getting closer to them!

Getting Closer with your Family

Puppet Show Scripture Stories

Acting out puppet shows is a great way for children to reinforce stories they have heard. It solidifies their knowledge of the story. Another great thing about puppet shows is that it is interesting to your little ones--even the babies--and your older children, also.

I would start with reading a scripture story. Then, I would let each child choose one character to play from the story. Get behind a couch and hold up your puppet. Have fun reenacting the story! Help your children as needed.  Have fun!

The puppets pictured above are actual Bible puppets you can purchase online (Google "Bible puppets"). But you don't need to do something this extravagant. I wouldn't unless they were on super duper sale. I would just  use stuffed animals and sock puppets. An old sock (or socks from the dollar store) together with some yarn and a child's imagination and you have yourself a puppet show. When you do Jonah and the Whale, get out the old Shamoo you got form Sea World, make a Jonah, and you have a story. Want to do Daniel and the Lions Den? Glue some yarn to some socks for the lions' manes, make a Daniel, add a paper crown to one puppet for the king, and you have a puppet show! Use your imaginations. 

Puppet Show Scripture Stories

Keeping a Journal

My grandmother (Norma) has kept a journal practically every day of her life. She has shelf upon shelf of journals old and new. If you want to confirm an event or the weather of a particular day, go to grandma. She could find the information in her journals.

Grandma as been an inspiration to me of record keeping since I was little. I got my first journal when I was about 6. I wrote in it nearly every day. It is fun for me to look back and see what I wrote about. It is telling of what I thought was important at the time.

Make a FHE activity out of it.

It is evident that keeping records is important. Take the Book of Mormon and share a family favorite story. Share your testimony that the things written in the BofM are not just stories, but rather a record that people kept of events that actually happened. What if people hadn't written about when Jesus came? What if we don't write about our lives?

If you haven't already introduced journal writing to your family, now is a great time to start. Even if you have children who are too young to write, you can write for them, and have them draw a picture to go along with what you did that day/week/month.

Give each child who is old enough a piece of paper or a special notebook just for them to write about their day or about a particular activity they participated in recently. Encourage your children to write often their thoughts, feelings, testimony, daily activities ect.

Don't forget to do this yourself too! You may think you'll remember all the fun things your kids and your family does, but you may find that you don't and you'll wish you had written things down!

Happy writing!

Keeping a Journal

I'm Sorry, Please Forgive Me

Topic:
We should say "I am sorry" when we make mistakes and "I'm sorry, please forgive me" when we do something wrong purposefully.

Scriptures:
James 5:16
3 Nephi 12:23-24

Materials:
Scriptures
Children's Songbook
Four pieces of paper
Picture of Jesus
Pictures of people (optional)

Song Suggestion:
I'm Trying to be like Jesus (Children's Songbook, 78-79)

Lesson:
Show picture of Jesus. Jesus wants us and others to be happy. He has taught us some ways to make ourselves and others happy. One of these ways is to say we are sorry and to ask for forgiveness.

Whenever we make a mistake we should say we are sorry. Whenever we do something wrong purposefully, we should say we are sorry and then ask for forgiveness from the person we wronged (this second idea is just a suggestion).

When we say these kind words to others we make ourselves and others feel happy. Have everyone repeat after you, "I'm sorry and if you want, "I'm sorry, please forgive me". Emphasize that there is no reason to feel embarrassed to say "I'm sorry". We are a bigger person for doing this and should feel proud not ashamed.

Next you can tell of a story in the scriptures where someone did something wrong, felt bad about what they did, apologized, and then were happy. You could also tell of a personal experience where this happened.

Activity Ideas:
Gather four pieces of paper. On one piece draw a smiley face, on another draw a frown, on another piece write "I'm sorry" and on the last piece write "Please forgive me". Depending on your number of children old enough to participate either give all the pieces of paper to one child, or hand them out to different children. Tell of some stories of people making mistakes or doing something purposefully wrong (show pictures of people if desired). When you get to the sad part where someone does something wrong, have the child with the frown hold it up. When you get to the happy part, have the child hold up the happy face. Continue from there with the other pieces of paper.

Have your children act out different situations where someone makes a mistake or does something wrong making sure that they say the words "I'm sorry" and "Please forgive me" where appropriate. Discuss how they would feel (sad/happy) if these situations really happened to them.

Weekly Challenge:
Challenge your children to say "I'm sorry" and "Please forgive me" when appropriate this week.

I'm Sorry, Please Forgive Me

Father's Blessing

As summer winds down and activities such as school, dance, music lessons, sports, etc. start up again, it is a great time to discuss the Priesthood and a Father's Blessing.

My suggestion is that you have a lesson on the priesthood followed by each child who wants to (along with Mom) getting a Father's Blessing.

Here are some great resources to study as you prepare for this lesson. The first is "The Priesthood"--chapter 13 in Gospel Principles (the manual being used by Priesthood and Relief Society this year). Second is a talk "The Power of the Priesthood" by President Boyd K. Packer given in the April 2010 General Conference. Third is also a talk. This is by Elder Dallin H. Oaks and is titled "Healing the Sick, " and was also given at this past April's Conference.

For the purpose of this lesson, I like the part of Elder Oak's talk that discusses faith. "...the greater responsibility is with him who is blessed...The major element is the faith of the individual when that person is conscious and accountable." This is a quote by President Kimball. These talks mesh together well because President Packer discusses that the father is to preside over the blessings of his family no matter who else is present, and Elder Oaks quotes President Kimball who points out that it doesn't matter who is giving the blessing; the Priesthood is the same. What matters is the faith of the receiver. So receiving a blessing from your father is no less spectacular than if you were to receive it from the Prophet. Elder Oaks says, "...the effect of the blessing is dependent upon faith and the Lord's will, not upon the words spoken by the elder who officiated." This quote is found under the heading "Words of Blessing."

Fourth, you might enjoy reviewing the lesson "Fathers' Blessings" in the Young Women Manual 2.

Song Suggestion: Priesthood Power in Children's Songbook

Father's Blessing

Sister Beck Quote

"I have said lately that women are like lionesses at the gate of the home. Whatever happens in that home and family happens because she cares about it and it matters to her. She guards that gate, and things matter to that family if they matter to her. For example, if the lioness at the gate believes in the law of tithing, tithing will be paid in that family. If that family has a humble little portion of ten pesos coming in, that lioness will safeguard the one peso if tithing is important to her. If that lioness at the gate knows about renewing her baptismal covenants with God, she will be in sacrament meeting on Sunday, and she will prepare her children to be there. They will be washed, cleaned, combed, and taught about that meeting and what happens there. It isn’t a casual event, but it is serious to her, and it will be serious to them. The lioness at the gate ensures that temple worship is taken care of in the family. She encourages that participation. She cares about seeking after her ancestors. If the lioness at the gate knows about and understands missions, missionaries, and the mission of the house of Israel, she will prepare future missionaries to go out from that home. It is very difficult to get a lion cub away from a lioness who doesn’t believe in missions, but if the lioness believes in a mission, she will devote her life to preparing the cub to go out and serve the Lord. That’s how important she is. Service happens if she cares about it." -Julie B. Beck, Women's Conference 2010

She didn't say it specifically, but if family home evening is important to us, the lionesses at the gate, then it will happen and it will bless our families.

(See the whole talk here).

Sister Beck Quote

Individual Worth

Purpose: to help each child know they are special and of worth to our Heavenly Father

Materials: Mirror, magnifying mirror (or some kind of mirror that distorts the reflection), scissors, paper, crayons or markers

*Have each child cut out a snowflake with the white paper (you can have them color/decorate it too)

Discussion: snowflakes are wonderful. Each is beautiful and yet not one is the same. (Have each child show their snowflake and how different it is but how they are all beautiful).

Just as snowflakes are beautiful but different, so is each of us. As children of God we are very important and precious. We are also different from each other. We have different thoughts, ideas, talents, and needs. We can all be different and also be important.

Lesson: Pass both mirrors around for the children to look at themselves. Explain that the magnifying mirror gives a distorted image of ourselves. If we thought we looked like that we would become very discouraged. The ordinary mirror reflects the true image.

Liken the magnifying mirror to how the world can make us see ourselves. It’s a distorted view but if we believe it, like relying on other people’s opinions about us we would become discouraged. People can be negative, critical, and untruthful. The world will tell us that we need to dress and act in ways that don’t reflect our values and standards in order to fit in.

Heavenly Father offers us the true reflection of ourselves like the ordinary mirror. He sees our strong points and our talents. He loves us for who we are and who we can become. He wants to help us in all we do.

Conclusion: Read Isaiah 13:12. Help your children understand that they are very special in Heavenly Father’s sight. His opinion of them is the one to value.

Individual Worth

Scriptures

Opening Song: Book of Mormon Stories

Scripture: James 1:5

Lesson: Tell the story of the first vision.

Activities:

For younger kids: Scripture coloring page

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=21bc9fbee98db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=d1191cc1c81b7110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1

For older kids: Scripture Treasure Hunt

http://ldssplash.com/fhe/scripture1/scripture.htm

Scriptures

I Have a Family that Loves Me

Recently my husband and I thought it was a good idea to teach our oldest (I can say that now that I have two children :) what his last name one. We thought it would be a good idea in case he ever got lost somewhere or something like that. In the process, we started to teach him that mom and dad have the same last name as well as one set of his grandparents. We then taught him that his other set of grandparents had another last name. This is pretty simple for an older child to understand, but for a two year old it can get a bit confusing. We decided a FHE lesson on families might help explain things to him.

First we drew a picture of a family. We showed him a mommy and daddy and some brothers and sisters. We named off these people explaining their relationships to each other (brother, sister, daughter, son etc). We then went around our family and named everyone and talked about their relationship to each other. This talk can of course be adjusted to fit any type of family. If my son was older I would probably have gone into more detail about how some families have step parents etc. But this would probably have confused him out of his mind at the age of 2.

After talking about family member relationships we talked about how families love each other. We then went around and told everyone that we loved them. We would have given hugs too except my toddler is anti-hugs much of the time :)

I Have a Family that Loves Me

Resources for Enhancing your FHE Lesson

If you are looking for a way to enhance your lesson or activity I found this resource through The Friend website.

They have an activities archive where it has a list of different coloring pages, activity pages, flannel board art, hidden pictures, etc. They are listed according to topic and have quite a few. You do have to be careful if you think your activity might be a two page activity. I have found some that are missing the second page. Sometimes by looking at the link though, you can figure out the year and month that the activity was originally included in The Friend and get the second page.

You can get to the archive by going directly to http://www.friend.lds.org/ and on the right hand side you'll see the link or you can click on this link here to go straight to it.

Below the link to the activities archive is an archive of Friend stories by topic. This way if you need story for your child for a specific topic you can look one up there.

Resources for Enhancing your FHE Lesson

Reinforce Lessons from Church

I know this isn't anything new or revolutionary, but we've enjoyed using the handouts my daughter (almost 2.5) brings home from Nursery as the basis for our lesson on Monday night.

I downloaded a copy of the nursery manual here so I look up the lesson based on the handout. I follow the parts of the lesson plan that will work well for our family. I try to ask her questions and allow her to show us what she colored. She doesn't have a huge vocabulary, but I think the repetition and having us help her learn some of the new words is helpful. Sometimes we color her handouts some more after the lesson.

"I remind you that repetition is a law of learning."

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Reinforce Lessons from Church

Reverence During Prayers

This is one of those lessons that comes about because a need is seen. Our boys seriously need to work on being reverent during prayers.

Goal: Being reverent during prayers

Song: Reverently, Quietly

Lesson: Start the lesson by whispering. See if you can get your kids to whisper with you. Tell them that when we are quiet we are better able to hear the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. When we pray, the Holy Ghost can answer our prayers, but we have to listen. Remind your children that when we pray, we want to be respectful to Heavenly Father and Jesus, and that means being reverent. Have your children repeat the word "reverence." Part of being reverent during prayers is being silent and still.

Activity: Practice being silent and still. Have a family member say a short prayer while the other family members practice. Let everyone have a turn praying.

Reverence During Prayers

Holy Ghost

We got this idea out of June's edition of the Friend magazine.

What you do is you blindfold your child. You then tell him/her to walk to a certain location. You don't interfere at all (for younger children, you might want to be close by and get between the child and any sharp corners).

Once your child has reached the goal, bring him/her back to the starting position, keeping the blind fold on. This time, have a member of the family gently tell him/her where to go. We of course had to have our two older children and Mommy and Daddy do it. When it was Daddy's turn, I put up lots of obstacles (like chairs) in his way to make it more interesting :)

Afterward, you talk about the experience. Ask your children if it was easier to find their way with the help or without. Liken the voice to the Holy Ghost.

You can also combine this with a story about listening to the Holy Ghost. Share your own experiences or read a story from the Friend. June's issue has a good story to go along with this. But of course, your own story will be much more interesting to your children.

Holy Ghost

Kindness

Topic:
Being kind to others

Songs:
Jesus Said Love Everyone (CSB 59), Kindness Begins With Me (CSB 145), I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus (CSB 78), and many more

Materials:
Gosopel Art Book, page 44, picture of the parable of the Good Samaritan

Scripture:
Luke 10:25-37 (Story of the Good Samaritan)

Lesson:
Talk about how Jesus said to love everyone (goes well if you have sung Jesus Said Love Everyone first). Mention that in the scriptures Jesus teaches us with a parable (story) how to be kind to others. Depending on your child's age, read or tell the story of the Good Samaritan and show the picture from the Gospel Art Book. Talk about how Jesus wants us to be kind to other people.

Activity:
-Role play ways to be kind
-Do something kind for someone else (make and take cookies, write letters to missionaries/those who are sick, etc)
-Talk about how to be kind to siblings

Closing:
Sing another song about being kind and help them remember that Jesus wants us to be kind to everyone.

Kindness

Articles of Faith

We have spent a few lessons recently focusing on the Articles of Faith. My daughter is only 28 months, so we aren't getting too deep, but we've had some good lessons from it.

For each Article of Faith, we start by singing the song from the Children's Song Book. Then we say it aloud and have my daughter repeat back to us the key words. For example, in the 4th Article of Faith, we just had her say "Faith", "Repentence", "Baptism", and "Holy Ghost" not all the descriptive words. This could of course be adjusted depending on your child's speaking ability.

I used the document "Articles of Faith Helps" from this site which has a few clip art pictures for each Article of Faith to help illustrate the principles in each Article of Faith.

Then we sang the song again! My daughter loves music!

Articles of Faith

Follow the Prophet

My daughter comes home every Sunday from Primary singing “Follow the Prophet”. If your primary kids like to sing that song too, I thought it would be a fun lesson to learn a little more about why we have prophets and that following their teachings will bring us happiness!

Materials: if you can find them, pictures of Noah, Isaiah, Lehi, Daniel, Samuel the Lamanite, and President Monson

Activity: have your children take turns holding up the picture of each prophet. Identify the prophet, talk about him and what he did. Proceed similarly with each picture.
1. Noah: told people to repent and live the commandments of Heavenly Father (Genesis 6-8)
2. Isaiah: saw the birth of the Savior
3. Lehi: preached to the people and old them to follow the commandments or Jerusalem would be destroyed
4. Daniel: Interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream when no one else could
5. Samuel the Lamanite: Foretold the birth of Christ to the Nephite people
Tell the kids that these prophets were very close to the Spirit and were very good men. They loved the Savior and tried to help people learn about him. Sometimes the people listened to what the prophet said, sometimes they didn’t. The prophets have the gift of revelation.

Discussion:
1. What does a prophet do? (receives messages form Heavenly Father)
2. Who can be a prophet? (a man who has lived righteously, obeys Heavenly Father, holds the Priesthood, and is called of God)
3. Why does Heavenly Father want us to have prophets? (Following the prophet will help is choose the right, will make us happy, will help us to follow Christ.)
4. Who is our prophet today? (Show Pres. Monson’s picture)
5. What has he asked us to do?
6. Why would Heavenly Father want us to do these things?
When we hear a prophet speak to us it’s as though Heavenly Father is speaking to us. If we obey the words of the prophet we will be safe, healthy, and happy.

Songs: “Follow the Prophet” CSB110, “Stand for Right” CSB 159

Follow the Prophet

Prayer Topics

Sometime this last April, I noticed that my oldest child, then four, was getting very repetitive in his prayers. I reminded him of the purpose of prayer and that we are supposed to offer sincere prayers.

"You shouldn't says the exact same thing at every prayer," I reminded him.

"Well, you and Daddy do!" He replied.

Oops.

Apparently, the entire family could use a Family Home Evening lesson on prayer.

As I studied my Gospel Principles book (the book being used by Priesthood and Relief Society this year), I happened to be reading the lesson on Prayer, chapter 8. Funny how that works out, right? I found it to be an excellent lesson guide for our Family Home Evening lesson. You can prayerfully read that and pull out what you think would be best for your family.

I wanted to share an idea I had while reading this. I had the idea to create a prayer paper for our family. Since my children are all young and don't really read yet, I did pictures. On this paper, I put pictures of things we should pray about. Here is a list from the manual:

• Strength to resist temptations
• Confess sins
• Ask for forgiveness
• Our families
• Our friends
• Our neighbors
• Our crops
• Our animals
• Our daily work
• Other activities
• Protection
• Express love
• Feel closer to Him
• Thank Him
• Strength to live gospel
• Keep on strait and narrow path
• Be righteous in thoughts, words, and actions
• Blessing on food
• Pray before meetings that we may worship in a manner that pleases Him
• Not in manual, but for our prophet

I didn't do a picture for everything here. I put a picture of our immediate family and our extended families. I put pictures of friends and neighbors. I put a picture of our garden and a picture of our dogs. I put a picture of our son playing soccer. I put a picture of a heart for love and a picture of Christ.

We don't look at this before every prayer we ever say. We try to remember to say it before family prayer at night. That way, once a day, our children (ahem--and their parents) are reminded of the things we are to pray about and we can hopefully avoid repetitious prayers.

Another idea for you if you have only younger children is you could make a page of how we should look when we pray. With our young toddlers, we teach them to close their eyes, fold their arms, and bow their heads. Then of course for some prayers you also kneel.

This was a great lesson to read to teach our family about prayer.

Prayer Topics

Fathers

When I was a teacher in primary last year this lesson was given about Fathers. I thought it was fun and the kids loved it.

The Role of Father

Fathers preside over, provide for, and protect the family with love.

Have a bunch of different types of shoes that show the different things fathers participate in (athletic shoes, casual shoes, Sunday shoes, work shoes, and slippers).

Show the family a copy of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" (Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). Teach and discuss the responsibilities of a father found in paragraph 7 of which reads:

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.

IDEA: If you have a collection of men that can come and participate in your FHE, that would be great (dad, Grandpa, uncle, home teacher, ect.). Each gentleman would bring a pair of shoes that tells about one of their roles of which they would take about.

IDEA: To show that fathers have many responsibilities, have children stand in the shoes they think are best for a father to wear when exercising, going home teaching, going to church, going to work building roads, and comforting a child in the middle of the night.

IDEA: Have all the boys in the family go get some of their own pairs of shoes and tell the family which shoes represent which sort of activities.

IDEA: Take the statement from the Family Proclamation about fathers and write each work on a separate word strip. Jumble the words. Have the children see if they can unscramble the words to make the correct sentence.

IDEA: If Dad is present, as him to leave and get refreshments ready. Encourage the children to write a note expressing their love for their fathers and to put it in one of his shoes

IDEA: Write the Family Proclamation and/or other statements as though they were “Mad Gab” sentences. See if the family can guess the sentence.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: Read and discuss 1 Nephi 1; 2. Talk about Lehi’s role as a father in his family. Bear testimony that one of the most important responsibilities a father has is to lead his family.

If Dad is present, as him to leave and get refreshments ready. Have the children write a note expressing their love and something they appreciate about their father and have them put the note in one of his shoes.

Have a happy Father's day this month!

Fathers

Family Home Evening Builds Unity

These are some quotes by President James E. Faust from the June 2003 Ensign. He speaks of how we need to build unity in our families by having consistent and planned family home evenings. If you're like me, you'll read this, feel bad, repent, and then resolve to do better. :)

Go to this link for the full talk.

Family Home Evening Builds Unity

May I suggest ways to strengthen our commitment to God and build unity and love during our family home evenings:


1. Pray. The source of our enormous individual and family strength is no mystery. It is an endowment from God. We need not consume addicting chemicals found in drugs and alcohol to make us capable of meeting life’s problems. We need only draw constantly from the divine power source through humble prayer.


It often takes a seemingly superhuman effort to get everyone together for family home evening. You may not always feel like praying when you finally do get together, but it will pay great dividends if you persevere.


2. Sing or listen to sacred music. Church hymns and children’s songs can invite the Holy Spirit into family home evening. The Lord has said that “the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads” (D&C 25:12).


3. Study the scriptures. All of us need the strength that comes from reading the scriptures. Parents must obtain a knowledge of the standard works to teach them to their children. Those who lead family home evening discussions should be adequately prepared to use the scriptures in the lesson. A child who has been taught from the scriptures has a priceless legacy. We are all fortified when we become acquainted with the heroic figures and stories of the scriptures, such as Daniel in the lions’ den, David and Goliath, Nephi, Helaman and the stripling warriors, and all the others.


4. Work together and serve others. Children need to learn to work. Every household has routine daily chores for which children can be responsible. Meaningful service can be given during family home evenings through well-planned home or community work projects.


5. Focus on developing discipline and obedience. If parents do not discipline their children and teach them to obey, society may have to discipline them in ways neither the parents nor the children will like. If adults do not discipline themselves, setting the proper example for others, the consequences can be devastating for themselves and society. Without discipline and obedience in the home and in our personal lives, unity within a family collapses.


6. Place a high priority on loyalty to each other. The dictionary defines the word loyal as being “faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due.” If family members are not loyal to each other, they cannot be loyal to themselves.


7. Build self-worth. One of the main problems in society today is that we spend less and less time together. Some, even when they are together, spend an extraordinary amount of time in front of the television, which robs them of personal time for reinforcing feelings of self-worth. Family home evenings give individuals and families important time to talk and listen as parents and children, brothers and sisters, spouses, and friends. Time together is precious—time needed to encourage and to show how to do things. Less time together can result in loneliness, which may produce feelings of being unsupported, untreasured, and inadequate.


8. Develop traditions. Some of the great strength of families can be found in the traditions they have established. Traditions can include making special occasions of the blessing of children, baptisms, ordinations to the priesthood, or birthdays. Traditional activities such as fishing trips or skits on Christmas Eve can help create fond memories of times together. Weekly family home evenings can also be a time for traditions. Home evening groups of any kind can likewise establish traditions by the activities they choose to continue on a regular basis and the way they celebrate special occasions and accomplishments.


9. Do everything in the spirit of love. Elder LeGrand Richards (1886–1983) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared a tender relationship with his father. Said he: “I walked into my father’s apartment when he was just about 90 … , and as I opened the door, he stood up and walked toward me and took me in his arms and hugged me and kissed me. He always did that. … Taking me in his arms and calling me by my kid name, he said, ‘Grandy, my boy, I love you.’ ”



I wonder if having unplanned and infrequent family home evenings will be enough to fortify ourselves and our children with sufficient moral strength to meet the complexities of our day. Infrequent family scripture study may be inadequate to arm ourselves and our children with the virtue necessary to withstand the moral decay of the environment in which we live. Where in the world will we learn chastity, integrity, honesty, and basic human decency if not at home? These values will, of course, be reinforced at church, but teaching them in family home evening can be particularly consistent and effective. To combat the world’s evil influences, we need the strength that comes from family home evening.

Family Home Evening Builds Unity