Meetinghouse Library Materials: Check Them Out! Use Them in Your Family!

One secret that successful parents and teachers tell us is that teaching is generally far more effective when learning activities include a variety of well-chosen visual aids, whether they be pictures or posters, maps or charts, artifacts, flannelboard stories, films or filmstrips, things from nature, or whatever—the possibilities are almost unlimited.

Many of these teaching aids, and more, are available in meetinghouse libraries throughout the Church not only for teachers but also for families and individuals to borrow and use. (See “The Meetinghouse Library: Also a Family Resource,” Ensign, August 1976, p. 29.)

Beginning this month, the Ensign will periodically list a whole spectrum of materials that teachers and parents may not have been aware of before. Many of these items are new. Others are older but are still excellent resources that are available for purchase through the Church. A few that are out of stock may still be found in some meetinghouse libraries. Some of these items might be just what a parent or teacher needs to help him or her be more successful in stimulating and exciting young people. Many parents will see the availability of these materials as a great opportunity to help their family home evenings come alive.

The following materials, unless otherwise noted, are all available at the General Church Distribution Center in Salt Lake City. The stock number and purchase price must be noted in the order.

New World Map

A new 25″ x 38″ map of the world is now available. This map distinguishes each country by name and color and identifies some major cities and locations. It will be excellent for Relief Society Cultural Refinement lessons as well as other classroom and home evening presentations. (Stock no. VVON0118, $1.50 each; replaces VVON0016, no longer available.)

New Pictures of the Creation

Five beautiful paintings representing different periods of the creation of the earth have recently been printed in 11″ x 17″ reproduction size. These new pictures, excellent for any teaching situation, replace the OS size Creation series that is no longer available. The periods represented are Light Divided from Darkness (VVOQ4798), Firmament (VVOQ4801), Earth (VVOQ4812), Lights (VVOQ4823), and Living Creatures (VVOQ4834). (25¢ each.)

Book of Mormon Captioned Filmstrips

A fine collection of twenty-four Book of Mormon captioned filmstrips is now available for meetinghouse libraries and individual families. This valuable set of Book of Mormon stories is neatly packaged in an attractive box measuring 8 1/4″ x 12 1/4″ x 1 1/2″.

Captioned filmstrips are very useful for children’s groups, family home evenings, or for those with hearing impairments. A short dialogue, printed below each frame, can be read aloud and discussed before going on to the next frame. The 1,218 beautifully painted pictures from Book of Mormon history make this set extremely valuable. (Stock no. PCS10069, $19.00.)

Children’s Filmstrip Series

Two sets of eight filmstrips each for children entitled Children’s Filmstrip Series, Part A and Children’s Filmstrip Series, Part B may now be obtained from the General Church Distribution Center. Each set includes a cassette tape recording for each filmstrip, a printed discussion that includes questions that may be asked about the filmstrips, and an attractive storage album.

The main purpose for these filmstrips will be for use in Junior Sunday School sessions at stake conferences and for special Primaries conducted for handicapped children. However, they can also be appropriately used to supplement instruction in regular Sunday School and Primary classes, or by families.

Titles of the eight filmstrips are: Part A (VVOF1431)—Birth of Jesus Windows of Heaven; Four Steps of Prayer; Run and Not Be Weary; We Are Happy When We Are Honest; Peto and Tavita Repent; Heavenly Father Is Real; and Heavenly Father Gave Us Our Body, Mind, and Feeling. Part B (VVOF1511)—To Know Is to Love; A Wise Choice; Sharing Is Happiness; Freddie Finds Bravery; The Same Way I Want to Be Treated; Gary’s Love for His Mother Grows; Three Promises of Baptism; and We Are All Children of Our Father in Heaven. ($14.00 each set.)

Worthy Music, Worthy Thoughts

This is a new filmstrip taken from a general conference address by Elder Boyd K. Packer.

Worthy Music, Worthy Thoughts (98 frames, 15 minutes) is a message for Latter-day Saints today. Elder Packer points out that probably the greatest challenge we face in mortal life is learning to control our thoughts. Music is one of the most forceful instruments for governing the mind. If we can say that a song is spiritually inspiring or that it urges us to see ourselves in a more noble perspective, then the music is worthwhile. Elder Packer urges us to be selective in what we listen to and produce. (Stock no. VVOF1293, $2.5, cassette tape included.)

Services of a Branch Genealogical Library

The Church now has nearly 250 branch genealogical libraries worldwide that operate in conjunction with local meetinghouse libraries to provide facilities for doing research. Services of a Branch Genealogical Library is a new orientation filmstrip (86 frames, 15 minutes) that helps you become acquainted with the services of your library and shows you how to use the facilities there. (Stock no. VVOF2569, $2.5, cassette tape included.)

The Very Key

This filmstrip (61 frames, 14 minutes), based on an address by Elder Boyd K. Packer and narrated by him, beautifully explains the sacred nature of the power of procreation, the sanctity of the body, and the importance of moral purity. The Very Key is most appropriate for youth but would be of interest to any age group. (Stock no. VVOF1373, $2.4, cassette tape included.)

The First Vision

This remarkable new 16mm color motion picture is now available to all Church units and interested individuals. It shows the Prophet Joseph Smith as a boy and vividly depicts the struggle for truth that led him to the Sacred Grove. The First Vision (15 minutes) is suitable for any age group and could be used for teaching in a wide variety of circumstances. It would be excellent for showing in child, youth, and adult Sunday School classes; in Primary classes; at firesides, especially where investigators are attending; in family home evenings; in special home teaching visits; and on many other occasions. (Stock no. VVMP 1640, $45.00.)

Lehi’s Wilderness Journey

This new filmstrip, based on an Ensign-sponsored journey in the Arabian Peninsula, will be exciting to anyone interested in the Book of Mormon. It beautifully portrays the geography and cultural conditions that could have existed in Lehi’s day and gives the viewer a better feeling for and understanding of the journey that Lehi and his family experienced in traveling from Jerusalem to the Land Bountiful. Lehi’s Wilderness Journey (94 frames, 16 1/2 minutes) is appropriate for a wide variety of teaching situations. (Stock no. VVOF0599, $2.5, cassette tape included.)

Repair of 16mm Films

Films are sometimes so damaged or spliced in so many places that the message of the movie is lost in distractions. In most such instances it is not necessary to buy a complete new film. Usually the footage needed for repairs can be ordered, whether the damaged section is at the beginning, the middle, or the end of the film. Replacement footage is available from the Brigham Young University Motion Picture Production Department for most Church films.

If you do not have facilities for measuring and splicing film, you can send damaged films to BYU for repair. For further information on replacement footage or film repair, write to Brigham Young University, Media Marketing, W-STAD, Provo, Utah 84602, USA.

Frame from the filmstrip, Services of a Branch Genealogical Library.

Scene from the filmstrip, Lehi’s Wilderness Journey.