Our Sunday Evening Tradition

We have a Sabbath evening tradition that has weathered eleven years. We enjoyed success with it even when our children were younger.

After a full Sunday, we all dress for bed, turn off all house lights, gather with pillows in the living room, the family room, or a bedroom, and lie down somewhere. Dad announces the order of speakers, and then we proceed one by one to tell any story we choose—with just one stipulation: it must be a true story. Most of our stories are scriptural, though sometimes we draw from Church history, the experiences of General Authorities, our own lives, or stories from our family heritage.

Everyone participates. (When the children were younger, we excepted those who didn’t yet talk, of course.) Earlier in the day the older children have thumbed through their illustrated books of scriptural and Church history stories to choose a story. We sometimes help our preschoolers refresh their memories on details, if they choose a story they already know; if they choose a new story, we read it over several times with them. Over the years we have enjoyed again and again such favorites as the stories of Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Daniel in the lions’ den, Jonah, the Christ Child, the Savior calming the waters, the Resurrection, Paul on the road to Damascus, Lehi’s exodus, and Joseph Smith’s First Vision.

This has been a golden opportunity for us to bear testimony to the truth of the scriptures and for our children to learn the gospel and find an enjoyable Sunday activity. Besides, it’s so nice to end the day quietly. Jeanine Franson, Farmington, Maine