You Are Not Lost

I am excited that you decided to stop by and am so grateful to be able to share a little bit of my love for the Savior and His gospel with you. Before jumping into today's family home evening lesson I wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and encouraging to me. It truly means so very much. I want to make your experience here as beneficial as possible. My objective is to come up with family home evening lessons that are meaningful yet simple in regards to the amount of effort and preparation necessary to make them happen.

In addition to family home evening lessons, my goal over the next few month is to write more material, more frequently in regards to scripture study, family history, family traditions and ways to incorporate, The Family: A Proclamation to the World, into our families. If there is something in particular you would like to see more of please comment below and let me know.

Preparation:
Read Elder Echtdorf's talk from the April 2018 general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entitled, Behold the Man!

Materials Needed: 
An item that you can hide.

Opening Song: 
My Heavenly Father Loves Me 

Opening Prayer: 

Gain Attention:

Hide an item of some sort somewhere in the room or house before family home evening starts. We hid our youngest child's doll. Explain to the family that there is an item hidden someone and that we are going to play, Hot or Cold, to find it. You can play the version where you simply say hot, hotter, hottest as the near the item or cold, colder, freezing as they move further from the item. Or, you can play the singing version where you singer louder the closer they get to the item and more softly as they move further from the item.

Instruction:

Once the item is found, ask the children if any of them knew where the item was? Ask them, who knew where the item was the whole time?

Read 3 Nephi 17:4 as a family.

Explain that just as the item that was hidden was not lost to you because you knew where it was, none of us will ever be lost to our Heavenly Father because he knows where we all are and what we are all going through.

Ask the children what we should do if there is a time that we feel lost. (It is okay if they answer this question for being physically lost as well as spiritually lost. It may even provide a chance to make sure our children do know what steps to take if the are physically lost.)

Discuss as a family that there may be times in our lives when we have done things wrong that make us feel bad and feel that Heavenly Father does not love us. There might also be times where we have done nothing wrong yet feel distant from our Heavenly Father and uncertain what we should be doing. Explain that in this past general conference Elder Echtdorf talked about this and he said,

"When you feel lost or forgotten, behold the Man.

When you are despairing, deserted, doubting, damaged, or defeated, behold the Man.

He will comfort you.

He will heal you and give meaning to your journey. He will pour out His Spirit and fill your heart with exceeding joy.

He gives 'power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.'

When we truly behold the Man, we learn of Him and seek to align our lives with Him. We repent and strive to refine our natures and daily grow a little closer to Him. We trust Him. We show our love for Him by keeping His commandments and by living up to our sacred covenants.

In other words, we become His disciples.

At this point you may want to take out a piece of paper and write or draw a plan, depending on the ages of your children, of what to do if we are lost spiritually based off of what Elder Echtdorf taught was necessary to do to behold the Man. (You may also want to write down a plan for what to do if you are lost physically on the back side of the paper.)

Remind children that even if at those moment we do not feel lost, there are others who probably do. Discuss as a family ways you can help others who feel lost know that they are loved and that our Heavenly Father loves them and knows where they are. 

To conclude bear your testimony of a time where you felt lost and how turning to our Savior helped you or simply bear you testimony of the fact that our Heavenly Father loves each of us and will always be there for us. 

*I feel like this lesson could easily be changed to focus on quite a few different topic, such as missionary work. So if you feel that another topic would be more beneficial for your family that is always an option by simply shifting your discussion about 3 Nephi 17:4 towards the topic you would like to cover and substituting the quote by Elder Echtdorf with a quote about your chosen topic. 

Activity Ideas: 

Play Hide n' Seek as a family. 

Play a few more rounds of Hot and Cold

Treat Idea: 

Brownie Batter Puppy Chow (Or Muddy Buddies) from Mel's Kitchen Cafe 

Family Scripture Study

Sometimes I think it would be quite entertaining if I were to post a video of our family scripture study on here. Some days it might be considered picture perfect but those days are certainly the exception. More often it is filled with mom and dad reminding the children to sit still as the over-tired crazies flop around the room. This is our reality right now and we are assured by so many that we will miss these days that we do our best to find joy in it all. Although, in our imperfection we fall short often times.

To help keep those little hand occupied in a more productive manner during scripture study we initiated these scripture journals for each of our children. Each child picked out their own colored notebook at the store as well as a set of crayons or colored pencils. Once each notebook was labeled with its owners name it was placed in a special place to be reserved for scripture study and church only. Our hope is that by reserving them for these times only they will not loose their novelty.

When we are really on top of things, we label each child's notebook page with the chapter that we are reading that day. At the beginning of scripture study we read the chapter heading and then discuss a few things that are going to happen that the children might want to color a picture about. Then, as we read the chapter the children color. At the end they tell us about their pictures and then put their notebook back in the assigned place.

Going and getting their notebooks and putting them away has served as a great transition for our bedtime routine. It has also been so much fun to see what they decide to color and then to hear their descriptions of the events they are hearing about in the scriptures. I feel like this toddle version of the scripture study journal would pair nicely with a more traditional scripture study journal for older children if the age of your children varies more.

Sharing the Gospel

Materials:

• Some sort of drink, snack, or treat

Opening Song: 

We'll Bring the World His Truth 

Opening Prayer: 

Gain Attention: Have a drink, snack or treat of some sort that you like, for example a plate of cookies. Walk around to each family member and tell them that these are some of your favorite cookies. Then offer them a cookie. If they say they want one you give it to them and if not you don't try to pressure them you just kindly accept they refusal.  

Instruction: Ask the children if they felt uncomfortable with you offering them a cookie. Ask if they think less of you because you offered them a cookie. Explain that sharing the gospel should not be any more complicated than offering someone a cookie. It would be silly if I went around the room and tried to hand feed each of you a cookie when you are completely capable of eating it on your own or worse yet tried to force it into someone's mouth. Just the same it is silly for us to think it is our responsibility to make sure someone accepts the gospel or try to force them into it. It is simply our responsibility to share and invite. As we do so some may not want what we are offering but we do not need to be discouraged anymore than if they had simply refused a cookie we have offered them. We can simply keep loving them. 

Share this quote from President Nelson's talk that he shared at the conclusion of the April 2018 general conference: 

I bless you to raise your voice in testimony, as I do now, that we are engaged in the work of Almighty God! Jesus is the Christ. This is His Church, which He directs through His anointed servants. I so testify, with my expression of love for each of you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Watch this video found on LDS.org about sharing the gospel. 

Discuss as a family ways that you can share the gospel and invite others to come unto Christ. Extend an challenge if you feel one is appropriate. 

Conclude with your testimony. 

Activity Ideas: 

Make cookies to share with some neighbors. 

Go for a bike ride as a family. 

Treat Idea: 

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from Mel's Kitchen Cafe