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Hike to a Devotional

Hike to a Devotional

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Purpose

Hike to a devotional to understand more about physical and spiritual health and how they are important to our eternal progression.

Description

Plan a devotional, but don’t just hold it in your Church building! Instead, hold it somewhere you can walk or hike to. For the devotional, ask each participant to share a spiritual thought or scripture on being physically and spiritually healthy. Focus on how both physical and spiritual health impact our lives now and in the future.

As you plan this activity, please follow the counsel given in chapter 13 of Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010) and review “Safety Recommendations for Church Activities.”

More Ideas

  • Journaling—Have participants bring a journal or notebook, or provide pens and paper to use at the end of the activity. They could also use a device to record thoughts. After the hike and devotional, invite participants to write about impressions they received from the Spirit and how they will act on those impressions.

  • Connections—At your devotional, talk about how spiritual and physical health are connected (it’s harder to feel the Spirit if our bodies are tired, we might not care as much about our physical health if we need to repent, and so on). Give each participant several strips of paper and a pen or pencil. Have them write down aspects of physical health that affect spiritual health, and vice versa. Then have each person link their paper strips together to make a chain (you could use staples, tape, or glue).

  • Hidden treasures—Read Doctrine and Covenants 89 together, and discuss the “hidden treasures” (see verse 9) we find when we take care of our physical and spiritual health. You could invite participants to find hidden physical or spiritual “treasures” along your hike (such as healthy snacks or inspiring quotes hidden beforehand).

  • Walk to the temple—If you are near a temple, invite your group to walk there and hold a devotional on or near the temple grounds. You could invite a leader to speak about the importance of attending the temple and standing in holy places (see Doctrine and Covenants 87:8). Consider taking a picture of your group at the temple.

Discussion

Encourage participants to talk about what they are learning. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity. You could ask questions like the following:

  • Why do you think it is important to safeguard your physical and spiritual health?

  • When have you experienced blessings from maintaining or improving your physical or spiritual health?

  • What feelings or impressions do you have about being physically and spiritually healthy?

  • How can you apply what you are learning in your life?

Related Resources

Sabbath Day Lessons

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