2025 Family Home Evening for D&C 29

 Read D&C 76:114

114 But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion;

Teach

This week, we are learning about the Plan of Salvation also known as the Plan of Happiness. The best summary that I could find was published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You can find it by clicking on the picture below.

Here are some notes that I took from D&C 29 and 76 That summarize what is in the video above, if you would prefer to use them instead. Click here for notes.

What about little children?

Read D&C 29:46-47

46 But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;

47 Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me;

Teach

These scriptures teach us that little children who die, before the age of accountability, are automatically saved through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The age of accountability is 8-years-old, when they are old enough to better understand right from wrong and receive the covenant of baptism.

Watch

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Family Home Evening for D&C 27-28

 Tell the Story

Joseph and Emma moved back to New York for a time. When they got there, there was a man named Hiram Page. He told people that he had a stone that gave him revelations for the church. Oliver Cowdry believed Hiram’s revelations. Joseph Smith asked Heavenly Father if Hiram’s revelations were true. God replied:

Read D&C 28:2

2 But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses.

Finish the Story

Joseph relayed this message to Oliver Cowdry and told him to tell Hiram that he had been deceived by Satan. He told Olver to talk to Hiram and tell him. Hiram felt bad and repented.

Discuss

Just as in the beginning days of the restoration, the same is true today. Only the prophet receives revelation for the whole church. We can, however, receive personal revelation for ourselves and sometimes to help the people we preside over or have a close relationship with, such as a person or family we minister to, a parent to a child, or husband and wife.

On April 5 & 6, we will have the opportunity to listen to the living prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, during General Conference. You can find General Conference here, on April 5 and 6 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/feature/general-conference?lang=eng. We will also have the opportunity to hear from other church leaders. As you listen to these messages, you can pray for personal revelation, which is how Heavenly Father speaks to you. The following scriptures teach us about how the Holy Ghost helps us receive personal revelation. Look for ways the Holy Ghost can help us receive personal revelations.

Read (personal revelations are in bold)

D&C 28:15

And it shall be given thee from the time thou shalt go, until the time thou shalt return, what thou shalt do.

John 14:26

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Moroni 8:26 

26 And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter Filled with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.

Moroni 10:4-6 

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

Conclusion

According to these scriptures, the Holy Ghost gives us personal revelations by 

• Tell us what we should do

• Teaching us and helping us to remember those things we’ve been taught.

• Fills us with hope and perfect love

• Helps us to know the truth of all things.

As you listen to General Conference, pray and seek to find what Heavenly Father wants you to know, and listen for the counsel that President Nelson gives to the whole church.

Watch

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Family Home Evening for D&C 23-26

 Read D&C 25:13

13 Wherefore, lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made.

Teach

This doctrine was given to Emma Smith, shortly after she was baptized. Just as people who are baptized today, Heavenly Father and Emma made these promises to one another at her baptism:

• What we promise:

• Take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ: This signifies becoming a follower of Christ and His teachings. 

• Always remember Him: This means to think of Jesus Christ and His Atonement in our daily lives. 

• Keep His commandments: This involves striving to live according to God's laws and principles. 

• Serve Him to the end: This means to dedicate our lives to serving God and others, even until death. 

• What God promises:

• The gift of the Holy Ghost: Through the laying on of hands after baptism, individuals receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, who can guide and comfort them. 

• Remission of sins: Baptism and confirmation are ordinances that help individuals receive forgiveness of their sins. 

• The privilege of being spiritually reborn:Baptism symbolizes a spiritual rebirth, allowing individuals to start a new life in Christ. 

Discuss

What does it mean to “cleave unto the covenants”? Why did the Lord tell Emma to cleave unto these covenants? 

Activity

If you have a rope and want to do a tug of war, go ahead. Put a small child on one side and all of the other children on the other side to represent the adversity.

Imagine that we are in a tug of war with Satan and those that follow him. Covenants, or the promises that we make with God and God makes with us are like the rope. The tighter and stronger that we hold onto the rope, the easier it will be to win. The great thing about it is that though sometimes we might feel alone and weak, if we are clinging to those covenants, such as following Jesus Christ, Always remembering Him, keeping His commandments, and serving Him, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and The Holy Ghost will all be on our side cleaving with us (add adults to the side with the smallest child), and they will help us overcome the adversaries. 

Watch

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Family Home Evening for D&C 20-22

 Lesson

This week, we will be learning about the day that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints was organized. We can read about it in the chapter heading of  D&C 20-22. Chapter 9 of the Doctrine and Covenants Stories does a fantastic job of simplifying and summarizing these sections. 

Read or Summarize Chapter 9 of the Doctrine and Covenants Stories

The Book of Mormon was now printed, and God’s priesthood power was on the earth again. The Lord told Joseph Smith it was time to organize the Church of Jesus Christ.

On April 6, 1830, about 40 women and men came to the Whitmer family’s home to organize the Church. The Lord had called Joseph and Oliver to lead His Church. Joseph and Oliver asked the people to raise their hands to show they sustained them as their leaders.

Next, Joseph and Oliver blessed the sacrament. They gave it to people to help them remember Jesus Christ. Joseph and Oliver then put their hands on the heads of people who had been baptized. They confirmed them members of the Church and gave them the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Lord gave Joseph a message for the new Church. He told them to write down what happened in the Church. He said that Joseph Smith was His prophet. He promised Church members that if they followed the commandments He gave Joseph, He would bless them. The devil would not have power over them.

The people were so happy to have the Church of Jesus Christ! After the meeting, more people were baptized, including Joseph’s mother and father. When his father came out of the water, Joseph gave him a big hug. “I have lived to see my father baptized into the true church of Jesus Christ!” he said.

Later that night, Joseph went to the woods to be alone. His heart was full of joy. It had been 10 years since he first saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. So much had happened since then. Joseph was very thankful he could help restore, or bring back, Jesus Christ’s Church!

Discuss

What blessings have you received because Christ restored His church?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for D&C 19

Teach

In D&C chapter 19, Jesus asked Martin Harris to mortgage a large piece of his farm to pay for the first 5,000 copies of The Book of Mormon to be published. Martin had one of the biggest farms in the area and worked really hard to get it. If the Book of Mormon didn’t sell well, Martin would lose the farm that he mortgaged. It was a hard decision for him to make. Jesus told Martin that he understood how hard it was, but His Atonement was a far more difficult sacrifice.

Read D&C 19:16-19

16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

Discuss

In these scriptures Jesus said that He suffered “these things for all.” What did he mean by “these things?” 

In Mosiah 3:7, we learn that He suffered for all of our temptations, all the pain our bodies have felt, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and for our sins.

In Alma 7:11-12 it says that Christ also suffered for our pain, afflictions, sicknesses, and temptations.

Suffering for our sins was very difficult, but Jesus Christ was willing to do it to obey His Father and to show His love for Him and for us.

What difficult things does God ask you to do? 

How can we find courage to obey Him?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for D&C 18

 Read D&C 18:10-13

10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;

11 For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.

12 And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance.

13 And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!

Teach

Heavenly Father loves you so much, and so does your Elder Brother and Redeemer, Jesus Christ! Read this scripture again, but this time put your name in these blanks.

Read D&C 18:10-13 Again

10 Remember the worth of ___________ is great in the sight of God;

11 For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of _________, that ___________ might repent and come unto him.

12 And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring __________ unto him, on conditions of repentance.

13 And how great is his joy in ___________ that repenteth!

Teach

People often teach that God is going to punish us for all of the bad things that we do, and that God is not loving. Really, God loves each of us so much, and He is just waiting for us to repent and turn to Him. In the Bible, we read John 3:16-17, which says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” When we remember Jesus Christ and His wonderful Atonement, we can feel in our hearts the love that Heavenly Father has for each of us, and we can share that love with others by teaching them that each person is a child of God and that He loves them too. The more people that we teach that to, the more we can help God’s love spread to others.

Watch

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Family Home Evening for D&C 12-17 and Joseph Smith History 1:66-75

 Teach

As Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery continued the translation of the Book of Mormon. They had a question about baptism. They wanted to know if they could be baptized for the remission of their sins. They went to the woods to pray and ask Heavenly Father about it. After they asked, a Heavenly Messenger visited them.

Read Joseph Smith History 1:72

72 The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized.

Continue Teaching

Immediately after John the Baptist, the same John that baptized Jesus, conferred the Aaronic priesthood on Joseph and Oliver, Joseph baptized Oliver Cowdery. Then, Oliver baptized Joseph. 

What are priesthood keys?

 Elder Dale G. Renlund and his wife, Ruth, offered this explanation about priesthood keys:

“The term priesthood keys is used in two different ways. The first refers to a specific right or privilege conferred upon all who receive the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood. … For instance, Aaronic Priesthood holders receive the keys of the ministering of angels and the keys of the preparatory gospel of repentance and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins (see Doctrine and Covenants 13:1; 84:26–27). Melchizedek Priesthood holders receive the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, the key of the knowledge of God, and the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:19; 107:18). …

“The second way the term priesthood keys is used refers to leadership. Priesthood leaders receive additional priesthood keys, the right to preside over an organizational division of the Church or a quorum. In this regard, priesthood keys are the authority and power to direct, lead, and govern in the Church” (The Melchizedek Priesthood: Understanding the Doctrine, Living the Principles [2018], 26).

The Aaronic Priesthood deals with the temporal and outward ordinances of the law and the gospel. In the church, today, a young man receives the Aaronic Priesthood in the January of the year that they turn 12 years old. Deacons, Teachers, and Priests are the different offices of the Aaronic Priesthood. Men and young men who hold the Aaronic Priesthood can bless and pass the sacrament, collect fast offerings, baptize people, and begin their callings as ministers. According to D&C, chapter 13, the Aaronic Priesthood “holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.”

Discuss

How does the Priesthood bless your life?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for D&C 10-11

 Discuss

What is something that you always do?

In the scripture below, what does the Lord tell us to always do?

Read D&C 10:5

5 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.

Continue the Discussion 

In this scripture, it says that if we pray always, we can have a special super power. What is it?

We can have the power to overcome Satan and his followers. 

What does it mean to pray always? Does this mean that we always need to be on our knees praying?

No! It does not. It means that we should develop habits of praying on our knees in the morning, when we wake up, at night, before we go to bed, and at meal times. During the other times, we can keep a prayer in our hearts, or if something happens to us that is difficult like taking a test in school, playing a tough team in a sport, or driving home during bad weather, we can say a prayer of comfort, peace, strength, knowledge, or protection in our hearts. If we are choosing the right and learn to listen to the soft, still promptings of the Holy Ghost, Heavenly Father promises us this.

Read D&C 11:12-13

12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.

13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;

Conclusion

As we pray always, we will receive spiritual promptings and be filled with joy!

Watch

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Family Home Evening for D&C 6-9

 Read D&C 6:5

5 Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you.

Discuss

What does the Lord mean that “it will be opened unto you”? When you pray and ask Heavenly Father something, He will answer your questions by the power of the Holy Ghost. There are several ways that the Holy Ghost speaks to us. We are going to learn some of them today.

Read

D&C 6:15 & 23

15 Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth;

23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?

D&C 8:2

2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

D&C 9:8-9

8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.

Discuss

According to these scriptures, how does Heavenly Father speak to you through the power of the Holy Ghost?

We noticed these:

• Enlightened the mind

• Peace to the mind

• In your mind and your heart

• After studying it out in your mind (this could take a while), your bosom will burn (it is the right thing), or you will have a stupor of thought (it is the wrong thing)

Share

Discuss with your family times that you’ve felt the Holy Ghost speak to you in your life.

Watch

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