Getting to Church on Time

With four young, active boys in the family, getting everyone up, fed, and ready for church used to be a monumental challenge. Many times we found ourselves in the car late and with a spirit of contention in the family. Then we thought of making a Sunday tape to help us get to church on time. It has really helped.

One family home evening we sat down with the boys, a tape recorder, and some of our favorite music. We also created a script that gave every member of the family a part. After some practice and a couple of false starts, we were ready to record.

Our son Jon begins the tape saying, “Good morning, family! It’s time to get ready for church. We have half an hour before we need to be in the car. If you don’t have your Sunday clothes on yet, it’s time to get going!” His voice is followed by a favorite Church song. After the song our son Michael comes on. “Only twenty-four minutes left. Have you found your shoes yet?” Then another song plays. The tape continues like this for half an hour. After each song a family member reminds us to do such things as comb hair, gather scriptures and lesson materials, and have family prayer. By the end of the tape we’re ready for church—and Mom and Dad don’t have to do much more than start the tape at the right time.

Now when we climb into the car to go to church, we are usually on time and ready to enjoy the day. Best of all, our former contention has been replaced by sweet, reverent feelings, and we can go to our meetings prepared to feel the Spirit.—Scott Perry, Albany, Oregon