What opportunities are there for learning and teaching in the home?

The home is the ideal place for learning, teaching, and applying gospel principles. Latter-day prophets have urged families to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities.

Prepare yourself spiritually

What experiences have you had with learning and teaching the gospel in your home? What could you share with the youth?

How can you inspire the youth to encourage gospel learning in their homes? What promised blessings might inspire them?

Use the resources below to prepare the youth to teach and learn gospel truths in their homes. Your own experiences will help you teach the youth effectively. Consider how the activities in this outline can help you plan ways to encourage the youth.

Mosiah 4:14–15; D&C 68:25–28 (Parents have a responsibility to teach the gospel to their children)

Valeri V. Cordón, “The Language of the Gospel,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 55–57

M. Russell Ballard, “Family Councils,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 63–65

Quentin L. Cook, “The Lord Is My Light,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 62–66

“Family Home Evening,” True to the Faith (2004), 65–66

“Family Prayer,” True to the Faith, 122

“Importance of Daily Scripture Study,” True to the Faith, 155–56

“The Home and the Church” Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), 1.4

Videos: “A Heaven-Inspired Program,” “Building Families”

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Make connections

During the first few minutes of every class, help the youth make connections between things they are learning in various settings (such as personal study, seminary, other Church classes, or experiences with their friends). How can you help them see the relevance of the gospel in daily living? The ideas below might help you:

Invite the youth to share how they applied what they learned in last week’s class during the week.
Ask the youth to imagine that they are parents. What responsibilities do they have toward their children? Ask a class member to list them on the board, and invite the youth to look for any additional responsibilities in Mosiah 4:14–15 and Doctrine and Covenants 68:25–28. What opportunities do parents have to fulfill the responsibilities described in these verses? What can the youth do to help?

Learn together

Each of the activities below will help the youth prepare for and seek opportunities for learning and teaching the gospel in their homes. Following the inspiration of the Spirit, select one or more that will work best for your class:

With permission from the bishop, invite someone in your ward who has had to learn a new language and culture to come to class and speak to the youth about his or her experience. Before class, ask the person to read the analogy about language loss that Elder Valeri V. Cordón used in the first six paragraphs of his talk “The Language of the Gospel.” Ask the person to share how his or her experience was similar to Elder Cordón’s analogy. Divide the youth into three groups and give each group one of the sections that describe ways to preserve the language of the gospel in the home. Invite the groups to share what they learned and ways they can preserve the language of the gospel in their homes now.
Invite class members to read Elder M. Russell Ballard’s talk “Family Councils,” searching for and marking counsel that applies to them as children in families. Invite youth to share what stood out to them as they read. What advice does Elder Ballard give regarding technology? How can youth support their parents and siblings in family councils? You might invite the youth to role-play holding a family council to model what family councils are like.
Invite the youth to read the section titled “The Right Time at Home” in Elder Quentin L. Cook’s talk “The Lord Is My Light.” What do the youth learn from the example of Vaughn Kimball and his family in the story? What have the youth learned from their parents? How will they help learn and teach in their homes? As part of this activity, you could also show the video “Building Families.”

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Show the video “A Heaven-Inspired Program,” and ask the youth to look for what dangers in the world they can be protected from and what strengths can come to individuals and families who study the gospel together. Invite the youth to read “Family Home Evening” in True to the Faith and prepare a simple outline for a family home evening lesson on a topic of their choice. Invite the youth to teach each other the lessons they prepare in an upcoming class.

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As a class, read the seventh paragraph of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Invite the youth to list on the board the principles upon which successful families are founded. Ask the youth to share some recreational activities they enjoy participating in with their families. Invite them to share what gospel truths or principles they have learned as they have taken part in these activities. For example, preparing a meal together may teach service and love, or playing a sport together may teach patience and perseverance. Encourage the youth to plan recreational activities for their families and to discuss with them how these activities relate to the gospel.
Have the youth think of ideas people could use to encourage their families to participate in family prayer and scripture study. Discuss the blessings that come to families from these activities. The youth could read “Family Prayer” and “Importance of Daily Scripture Study” in True to the Faith for suggestions. Role-play how a youth could talk to a parent and encourage regular family prayer and scripture study. Invite the youth to share any experiences they have had with family prayer and scripture study.

Ask the youth to share what they learned today. Do they understand how to prepare for and seek opportunities for learning and teaching at home? What feelings or impressions do they have? Do they have any additional questions? Would it be worthwhile to spend more time on this topic?

Gospel study skills

Studying the scriptures does not come naturally to most people, any more than playing the piano or painting does. Learning to study the scriptures effectively usually requires developing skills. The gospel study skills described in these learning outlines can help the youth become diligent students of the gospel. Point these skills out to the youth, and encourage them to use them as they study the gospel on their own.

Invite to act

Invite the class members to look for the blessings that come when they participate in gospel learning with their families through prayer, scripture study, family home evening, or recreational activities.