Family Home Evening Ideas

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

“Disciples and the Defense of Marriage,” page 34: Consider how you can be a “defender of marriage” in your own home. Have you ever had a conversation with your children about their future marriages or about how the Church’s view of marriage differs from the world’s? Have you ever shared your feelings about marriage with your children? Have you taught them the teachings of the prophets and apostles concerning marriage? During a family home evening, consider discussing these topics, using “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” (Ensign, Nov. 2010, 129).

“Lighting Our Children’s Path with Gospel Standards,” page 42: Consider using one of the ideas suggested on page 46 of the article. For example, you could use the “Stand for the Right” poster on page 47 (also found on page 20 of this month’s Friend) to start a family discussion about reading good books, using “good words,” being honest, or showing respect to others. You could also read aloud the quotation from President Uchtdorf on page 45 and then ask your family: In what ways are the standards and teachings of the gospel like “light posts” to us? See also the related articles on pages 48 and 68 of this issue.

More Out of Conference

For years we enjoyed reading the conference issue of the Ensign as a family, one talk at a time. But we came to realize we were simply reading it to “get through it,” without stopping to digest the messages. To get more out of what we were reading, we decided to provide one copy of the conference Ensign for each family member. Everyone was to select and study a talk and then share highlights during family home evening. Gathering together to teach each other from the talks—asking questions and having gospel discussions—became a great way of hearing each other’s informal testimonies in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere.

Greg Batty, Utah, USA