Family Home Evening Ideas

This issue contains articles and activities that could be used for family home evening. The following are some examples.

“Becoming Perfect in Christ,” page 14: Using Elder Gong’s teachings about perfectionism, put together a true-or-false quiz for your family to help them realize if they have perfectionist tendencies. You could use statements like “I can be happy even when I make mistakes” or “It’s hard for me to forgive others” in your quiz. Together, read what Elder Gong teaches about relying on the Savior. You could also use pages 146−47 in Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service to teach how to set appropriate goals and overcome perfectionism.

“The Gift of Our Physical Bodies,” page 66: Consider discussing with your family the section called “A Tool for Service and Learning.” In what ways do our bodies give us opportunities for physical and spiritual growth? You may also want to review with your children the related article “My Body Is a Temple” on page 24 of this month’s Friend. Use the questions in the Friend article to teach your children how to respect and love their bodies. Encourage them to reach out to a child or teenager in their ward, branch, or school who has disabilities. You could also sing “I’ll Walk with You” (Children’s Songbook, 140).

Idea Container

For meaningful family home evening activities that require little preparation, I like to put a variety of ideas in a decorated container. The day before family home evening, we draw out an idea and make plans. Some of the ideas we’ve used include dressing up as scripture characters, reading to housebound neighbors, and delivering food boxes to the needy. We’ve especially enjoyed an activity we call “Consequence Drive,” in which we travel along a designated path in our home and, at each intersection, flip a coin to decide which way to go. This can lead to a discussion about the importance of small decisions in our lives.

Karee Stosich, Utah, USA