Family Home Evening Helps:

Purposeful Family Home Evenings

“We are to teach our children in a well-organized, regular family home evening,” said Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (“The Importance of the Family,” Ensign, May 2003, 42).

Regardless of how long we have been members of the Church, we can all benefit from holding well-organized family nights. To strengthen our family’s activities and to better include our young children, my husband and I decided to plan activities with a purpose. So we gathered our family together for a planning meeting and brainstormed what we wanted or needed to learn. We listed anything that came to mind and then refined our list to focus on specific topics. Each family member then chose a subject to prepare for an upcoming Monday-night lesson.

Two of our lessons addressed helping with household chores and resolving contention in the home. Together we found solutions, such as job charts and reward systems for encouraging better behavior. We also role-played appropriate ways for resolving sibling conflicts.

I know that as we prayerfully ponder what our families need to learn, we will more effectively use this important time each week to teach essential gospel principles and strengthen family relationships.
Stephanie Weight, Arizona

Illustration by Beth Whittaker