Our Family Will Be Strong

By Cheryl Esplin

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

A rope is made up of many strands that are tightly woven together. If one strand is broken or cut, it weakens the rope.

Your family can be compared to a rope. Each member can represent a strand. When you work together for good, the whole family becomes stronger. Every family member has a responsibility to help strengthen one another.

Think about Nephi and how he helped strengthen his family. While they were traveling in the wilderness, Nephi’s bow broke. They couldn’t get any food, and they were all tired and hungry. Many family members were angry with Nephi, and they murmured against the Lord.

Nephi didn’t murmur or get angry. He made another bow out of wood and an arrow out of a straight stick. He asked his father, Lehi, where he should go to hunt for food. Nephi was then able to get food for his family. They were happy, and they humbled themselves and gave thanks unto the Lord. (See 1 Nephi 16:18–32.)

You and your family members can help each other be strong by praying together, helping each other, showing kindness and love, reading scriptures together, enjoying activities together, and having family home evening.

Activity

Remove page F5 from the magazine, and mount it on heavy paper. In family home evening, talk about things that can strengthen your family. Write these ideas on the chart. Two ideas have already been suggested. Hang the chart where your family can see it and refer to it often.

Our Family Will Be Strong

Illustrations by Dilleen Marsh

1. Our family can pray together.

2. Our family can spend time together.

3. _____________________________________

4. _____________________________________

5. _____________________________________

6. _____________________________________

Sharing Time Ideas

Family prayer strengthens my family. While the oldest class reads 3 Nephi 18:21 out loud, ask the other children to listen for what Jesus Christ commands us to do (pray in our families). Get responses. Ask six children to come to the front of the room. Tape one of the following wordstrips on each child in random order: family, prayer, will, strengthen, my, family. Ask the other children to help unscramble the children so the words are in the right order. Recite the sentence together. Show Gospel Art Picture Kit 606 (Family Prayer), and explain that we are encouraged to have family prayer every night and every morning. Let the children suggest things they can do to help with their family prayers. Write their suggestions on the board. Have the children close their eyes and picture their families kneeling in prayer while you sing a song or hymn about prayer. Hand out pencils and pieces of paper that say “Family prayer will strengthen my family.” Ask the children to draw their families kneeling in prayer. Encourage them to take the picture home and hang it in a place where it will remind their families to have family prayer.
Reading the scriptures strengthens my family. Display the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. Play a guessing game by giving clues to help them guess which of the four books you are referring to. For example: “This book tells about Joseph Smith’s history and has the Articles of Faith” (Pearl of Great Price). As each book of scripture is identified, have the children repeat its name together. Teach that the scriptures are the word of God. They teach about Jesus Christ and His gospel. The scriptures can strengthen our families if we will read them regularly. Pass out one of the following scripture references to each class: Exodus 20:12; John 13:34; Ephesians 4:32; 1 Nephi 3:7; 3 Nephi 18:21; Doctrine and Covenants 59:7. Give each child a blank wordstrip and a pencil. Tell the children to follow along while their teacher reads the scripture. Then each child should find one thing the scripture says that would help his or her family be strong and happy. Have the children write it down on a wordstrip and then share with class members. Invite each class to read their wordstrips to the rest of the Primary. Tell an experience when the scriptures have strengthened your family. Encourage the children to read the scriptures individually and as a family.