A House or a Home

By Sheila E. Wilson

“And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably” (Mosiah 4:13).

Picture a house. Are you imagining a building with windows and a door? A house is where families eat, sleep, and live. A house becomes a home when family members learn together, help each other, and do fun things.

Many years ago a fire destroyed a family’s house. A neighbor tried to comfort the family’s seven-year-old boy by saying, “Johnny, it’s too bad your home burned down.” Johnny thought for a moment and said, “Oh, that was not our home; that was just our house. We still have our home; we just don’t have any place to put it right now.” Johnny knew that the fire had not destroyed his family and their kind feelings for one another.

What are you doing to make your house a home? You invite the Spirit into your home when you show love and care for family members. You can make a difference in your family and in your home as you live the teachings of the gospel.

When Weldon was five years old, his mother asked how he would act if Jesus came to their home. Would he change the way he treated family members? His mom gave him a picture of a house and some paper flowers. Each time he shared with his brothers or did not quarrel, he could paste a flower on the house. The picture reminded him to make his house a home.

Making Your House a Home

Cut out the flowers on page F4. Then write your family’s name on the nameplate on the house. When you serve your family or live gospel teachings, glue a flower on the house. As you add flowers, your house will become a home. Place it where it will remind you to make your own house a home!

Illustrated by Thomas S. Child

My house becomes a home when I live in harmony and give joy, love, and peace to those in my family.

Sharing Time Ideas

Read the story of Jesus Christ visiting the Nephites and commanding them to pray (see 3 Ne. 18:17–21). On the chalkboard write “Family prayer strengthens my family.” Write scripture references about prayer (see below) on pieces of paper, and tie each paper to a stick. Have each class read a scripture and discuss the blessings of prayer (for example, Alma 37:37; 3 Ne. 18:15; 3 Ne. 18:20; 3 Ne. 18:21; Moro. 10:4–5; D&C 68:28; D&C 88:63; D&C 112:10). To report, have each class read the scripture, tell the blessing in the scripture, and bring the stick to the front. Once all the sticks have been collected, tie them together. Ask a child to try to bend the bundle of sticks. When the sticks are bundled together, they become stronger. Similarly, the blessings of prayer can strengthen our families. Share an experience when your family was strengthened through family prayer. Sing a song or hymn about prayer. To conclude, have the children draw and color a picture illustrating 3 Nephi 18:21 to display in their homes.
Draw a large outline of a house on the board. Draw a table and chairs inside the house. Give five or six children pieces of chalk, and whisper to them to draw a family member at the table reading the scriptures. Have the pianist play a song or hymn about the scriptures, and have the Primary guess what the family in the picture is doing. Point out that just as the children were told what to draw, the Lord speaks to His children through the scriptures. The scriptures can help us if we read them regularly, pray about them, and follow their teachings. Help the children memorize D&C 19:23 (see Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 171–72). Have each class learn and act out a verse (excluding verse 8) from “Book of Mormon Stories” (Children’s Songbook, 118–19) and then sing it to the Primary. Challenge the children to be prepared to recite D&C 19:23 next Sunday.