Family Home Evening Ideas

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

“Little Children and the Sacrament,” page 32. After reading the article as parents, you could discuss ways to teach your young children about the importance of the sacrament and the covenants they will one day make at baptism. You could use the sacrament prayers (found in Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79) to teach about the promises we make at baptism and how taking the sacrament each Sunday allows us to renew those promises. You could also come up with ideas to help your young children focus on the Savior during the sacrament, such as creating simple picture books filled with images of the Savior.

“Five Ways to Help Youth Tackle Tough Social Issues,” page 66. Consider reading aloud to your family this statement from Elder Foster found in the sidebar on page 69: “We cannot let society give our family a makeover in the image of the world.” Ask family members to share ways they think worldly influences try to shape our beliefs and our behavior. Then discuss ways we can strengthen our foundation in the gospel to stand strong against these influences. You might want to focus your discussion on one or two of the suggestions the author gives for helping youth deal with the false and misleading messages they often encounter in their daily lives.

Cell Phone Liahona

For one of our family nights, we talked with our four children about the story of the Liahona in the Book of Mormon (see 1 Nephi 16; 18; Alma 37:38–46). We then told them to use my son’s cell phone as if it were a Liahona (I had taped a picture on the back), and it would lead them to the “promised land.” I sent text messages to the cell phone every few minutes with directions that took the children on a journey through the neighborhood. The messages finally led them to a neighbor’s house, where my wife and I were waiting with open arms and some delicious treats. The activity helped the Liahona story come to life for our children.

Brad Peterson, Utah, USA