2022
Teaching about God’s Promises
February 2022

“Teaching about God’s Promises,” Liahona, February 2022

For Parents

Teaching about God’s Promises

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dad with son sitting on his shoulders

Dear Parents,

We can each come closer to God as we make covenants with Him. This month’s issue can help you teach your children about the covenants God made with His people in ancient times as well as the covenants we make with Him today. The ideas below can help you have discussions with your children about covenants and staying strong through difficult times.

Gospel Discussions

Becoming a Covenant People

To teach the ideas in “Gospel Basics” on page 10, you could draw a path leading to heaven. Place markers along the path representing essential ordinances, like baptism, and the associated covenants we make. What can your children do to prepare for their next ordinance? How does keeping the covenants we have already made prepare us to make additional covenants? How do our promises with God help us stay close to Him?

You can also share principles from Elder Neil L. Andersen’s article on page 6. What blessings and responsibilities come from being part of God’s covenant people?

Facing Challenges with Faith

Read some quotes from the article on developing resilience (page 16). Invite family members to share a time they were blessed for persevering through something difficult. Then discuss these questions: How did God help you through that difficult time? What do we learn from this article that can help us move forward when we struggle, make mistakes, or fail? What else can we do to prepare as a family for challenges that may come?

You can also read Elder Ojediran’s article on page 42 to learn about what it means to have “a broken heart” (3 Nephi 9:20). How does humility help us overcome our challenges?

Come, Follow Me Support

See pages 46–48 to learn more about Noah’s ark and other material to support your family’s weekly Come, Follow Me study.

Come, Follow Me Family Fun

Tithing Brings Gratitude

In Genesis 14:20, we read that Abraham paid tithing. Elder David A. Bednar has taught that spiritual blessings “are poured out through the windows of heaven and into our lives as we honor the law of tithing” (“The Windows of Heaven,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 18).

  1. As a family, discuss the blessings you’ve seen from obeying the law of tithing.

  2. Have one person write the blessings down.

  3. Together, go through the list again and discuss some of the ways these blessings make your life better.

Elder Bednar also taught that “a subtle but significant blessing we receive [as we honor the law of tithing] is the spiritual gift of gratitude that enables our appreciation for what we have. … A grateful person is rich in contentment” (“The Windows of Heaven,” 18). How has your family seen gratitude as a blessing of paying tithing?

Noah’s Animals—20 Questions

Genesis 6–11; Moses 8

The Lord gave Noah specific instructions to prepare him and his family for the coming flood. “And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him” (Genesis 7:5). Even though there was no evidence of rain, Noah listened and gathered the animals into the ark.

  1. Briefly tell the story of Noah and the ark (see Genesis 6-8). Discuss how Noah was commanded to help animals enter the ark (see Genesis 6:20; 7:14).

  2. Name different kinds of animals that Noah might have brought on the ark.

  3. Then play a game of 20 questions with your family. Have one person think of an animal that was on the ark. Everyone else takes turns asking yes or no questions to try and guess the animal.

  4. Continue asking questions until someone guesses the animal correctly or until 20 questions have been asked.

  5. Repeat the game until everyone has had a turn thinking of an animal.

Discussion: What are some ways Noah acted in faith? What are some things the Lord has asked us to do? How will we be blessed as families by following the teachings of Jesus Christ?