Reader’s Guide

Creative ideas for using this issue of the New Era.

Family Home Evening Ideas

• Does the television interrupt your family life too much? Read together “A Question of Time” on page 38. Brainstorm ways the family can decrease consumption of television and other media, perhaps by holding a “television fast” for a week or two. With your parents, make a list of activities family members can participate in instead of turning on the television, and post it in a prominent place, perhaps taped right to the television screen.

Young Men and Young Women Activity Ideas

• As a class or quorum presidency, read President James E. Faust’s article on page 4 about missionary preparation. Use his checklist as the basis for planning several activities. Be sure to balance practical preparation such as ironing, cooking, and housekeeping with spiritual preparation such as scripture study and testimony.

Seminary Devotional

• Bring a telephone to class and set it up in front without plugging it in. Ask someone to make a call. Have him or her explain to the class why it will not work. Compare the phone to prayer. We need to be “plugged in” to the right source, then we will never get a busy signal. Read Q&A on page 16 and outline for the class what we should do to be in communication with the Lord.

Personal Improvement

• Do you honor and respect the fact that you are one of our Father in Heaven’s most important creations? Do you sometimes say things to yourself you would never dream of saying to others? Read “Mirror Image” on page 34, then write in your journal about things you are grateful your body can do. Also make a point of sincerely complimenting others to help them feel better about themselves.

• President Ezra Taft Benson reminded us in the article, “Of the Most Worth,” on page 46, that as Church members we are charged with the responsibility of sharing the gospel. Prayerfully select a friend, neighbor, or family member to present with a copy of the Book of Mormon. Don’t forget to write a note expressing your testimony in the front of the book.

Value Project

• For the youth in Tonga, seminary graduation is a big deal (see page 28). In addition to the planned graduation ceremony or fireside, ask permission to honor the graduates in your seminary classes. Ask other students what they think would be an appropriate way to recognize such an important accomplishment. It might be fun to take a cue from the Tongan tradition and make a lei for each graduate.