Reminder Makes Perfect

Most of us wouldn’t pay for our children to take piano lessons if they never practiced. We wouldn’t pay tuition for a university class if we didn’t intend to study. But how many of us ignore the need to practice the gospel principles we have studied?

Our family decided to make a conscious effort to practice the concepts we had learned in home evening. To help us, we created an additional assignment on our home evening chart: each week we assigned someone to be the “reminder.” The reminder’s job is to help us think about the lesson throughout the week and apply its teachings in our lives.

Here are a few ideas to help any family get started. Try these in your own home and see what a difference they can make.

Tie a piece of brightly colored yarn around each family member’s wrist to remind him or her to think about the lesson.
Put notes, signs, or pictures on the mirror, in shoes or gloves, or in a cereal box.
Ask family members to memorize a scripture or article of faith that pertains to the lesson. Learn the same one or let each person choose his or her own to share at the end of the week.
Offer small rewards for a job well done; for example, place stars on a progress chart or offer ice-cream cones or an activity when family members achieve a goal.
Prepare a handout that relates to the lesson. Place one in each family member’s lunch box or under his or her pillow.
During meals, share a thought, poem, song, finger play, story, or scripture that applies to the principle. Or discuss the home evening topic and ask each person how he or she tried to apply it during the day.
Write a commercial about the message. Videotape it or act it out for the family.
Make “I Did It” badges for family members to wear when they meet the home evening challenge.
Ask a neighbor to secretly leave a message on the front doorstep, or ask a grandparent to telephone a message when everyone will be home.
Have a code word, a family motto, or a sign such as a wink, nod, or wave that means “Remember what we learned on Monday.”
Write your family’s weekly goals on the calendar or in a journal. Check next week to see whether you reached the goals.
Use a stuffed toy as a reminder. Place the toy on someone’s bed. That person must practice that week’s gospel principle, then place the toy on another person’s bed. Repeat this throughout the week, letting each person have many turns.
Plan a midweek service project to carry out the home evening challenge.
In each prayer during the week, ask Heavenly Father to help your family practice the principle you have learned.

King Benjamin taught his people, “If you believe all these things see that ye do them.” (Mosiah 4:10) We must teach the same truths to our families by practicing the principles we discuss in home evenings.—Emily C. Orgill, West Valley City, Utah