Long-Distance Family Home Evening

Penelope Jensen, Washington, USA

My sister-in-law and I felt like we were missing out on the blessings of having family home evening with family; she had recently divorced and my husband was inactive, and our children were grown and had families of their own. My sister-in-law suggested we hold a monthly family home evening together on the phone since she and I live several hundred miles apart. I thought that was a great idea. We decided that each Monday we would discuss a different general conference talk (though we have deviated from that plan a few times). We alternate who chooses the talk, and we both read it ahead of time. Sometimes the person leading the discussion will e-mail in advance so we can coordinate the treat. We often finish by playing a few rounds of Internet Scrabble. We have been holding these family home evenings for over three years now, and it has been our sweetest and most rewarding time together.

Photograph by Robert Casey