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My Favorite Family Story

My Favorite Family Story

youth talking

Purpose

Appreciate and draw strength from your family legacy by sharing family stories and experiences (see Joseph Smith—History 1:39).

Description

Invite individuals to come prepared to share a favorite family story, either from their family histories or from their own lives. Have them share why these stories are meaningful to them, either in small groups or with the whole group. You could also invite parents or other relatives to share stories.

More Ideas

  • Record it—Preserve your own stories for your future families by writing down or drawing a picture of a memorable event in your life. Consider providing each participant with a journal or other means to continue to record their own life stories at home.

  • Living history—Invite participants to dress up as a favorite ancestor or family member and share something about this person. Participants could act out family stories in small group skits.

  • Show and tell—Encourage each participant to bring in a picture or object that represents a story or memory from his or her family. Participants could then guess which object belongs to each person.

  • Listen and learn—Invite an older member of your ward or community to share about his or her life and how family has made a difference to him or her. Then take time to write about why your family is important to you or about your hopes for your future family.

  • Preserving history—Before or during the activity, invite everyone to interview a grandparent or other family member about his or her life and record the interviews. Invite each participant to share what they learned and consider publishing the recorded interviews on FamilySearch.org.

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 share family stories?

  • When have you experienced blessings from sharing family stories?

  • What feelings or impressions do you have about sharing family stories?

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

Related Resources

Sabbath Day Lessons

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