No More Last-Minute Lessons

Our family rotates various family home evening responsibilities. Too often, though, the person in charge of the lesson procrastinates or forgets, and we receive a last-minute lesson.

To resolve this problem, my husband and I decided to periodically hold a family home evening to help everyone prepare an upcoming lesson. The first time we did this activity, we discussed how prayer helps us seek inspiration for preparing lessons specific to our needs. We then invited each family member to come up with his or her own list of possible topics. We also talked about the importance of teaching effectively from the scriptures, thus making them more meaningful and applicable to our lives. To further enhance our lessons, we suggested using ideas from Church magazines, singing hymns and Primary songs, or using puppet shows and other games to hold younger children’s interest.

We then spread out and began working quietly on our lessons. I went in another room to help our preschooler. By the time we had finished, she had prepared her first lesson by drawing pictures of the beautiful things God has created for us. The others also had each carefully prepared a lesson, without revealing their ideas, and were ready for their upcoming turns.

Not only does this activity help us to have more thoughtful family home evening lessons, but it also helps our children acquire teaching skills they can use in future Church callings.

Kathy Rose, Layton Sixth Ward, Layton Utah Stake

Illustrated by Beth Whittaker