Helps for Home Evening

“Fasting Strengthens Us Spiritually and Temporally,” page 8: Read the article, sharing the points illustrated on the second page. Point out that fasting includes more than just going without food and drink—it should be accompanied by prayer and by donating a generous fast offering. You may wish to ask family members how they have been blessed by fasting. Consider sharing the story of Esther and fasting found in Esther 4–5.

“Obtaining the Spirit through Counseling Together,” page 36: Familiarize yourself with the article before family home evening. With your family, you may want to outline the five principles discussed in the article and then apply them to counseling together as a family. Ask family members why it is important to counsel together as members of the Church and as a family.

“Acting on Promptings,” page 16: Read or summarize the sidebar “Eight Purposes of Revelation.” Then read the stories in the article one at a time, identifying as a family the purpose for which the Spirit was communicating. Encourage family members to pay attention this week to when and how they may feel the Spirit, explaining the benefit of recording impressions and acting upon them. You may want to follow up the next week to see if anyone learned anything new that they would like to share about how the Spirit speaks to them.