Sunday, May 5, 2024

Family Home Evening for Mosiah 7-10

 Read Mosiah 8:17

17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.


Object Lesson

Go on a treasure hunt around your house and look for things that help you to see things clearly. Some ideas might be glasses, binoculars, magnifying glasses, flashlights, telescopes, microscopes, etc. Just like these things help us to see things that are hidden, a seer is a person authorized of God to see with spiritual eyes things that God has hidden from the world. He is a revelator and a prophet. 


Lesson

In 2022, we studied the great prophets, seers, and revelators in the Old Testament, such as Adam, Noah, Moses, Israel, Daniel, David, Joseph, all the way to Malachi.


In 2023, we studied the teachings of Jesus Christ, Himself. We studied His birth, His life, His death, and His resurrection. After His ascension into Heaven, Jesus left the keys of the Priesthood with His apostles. We studied some of their words, and the words of newly called apostles, like Saul who became Paul. We ended the year on the revelations given to Jesus’s apostle, named John.


Many people believe that after all of Jesus’s apostles died or went into hiding, that revelation ended, and God and Jesus Christ, no longer speak to us today. 


In the Spring of 1820, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. Over the course of his lifetime, the Priesthood keys were restored. These very keys were the very authority by which Jesus Christ performed miracles, sealed things in Heaven and on Earth, performed miracles, and gave us sacred ordinances. The Heavens opened and new revelations began to pour from Heaven. Today, we can pray and receive personal revelations. 


Joseph Smith was the first prophet and seer called in the Latter Days. The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators. President Russell M. Nelson holds all Priesthood Keys and is the prophet and seer that guides The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the world. Let’s look at some of the things that President Russell M. Nelson has taught in the past few years:


  • Rejoice in the Gifts of Priesthood Keys (April 2024)

  • Think Celestial! (October 2023)

  • Peacemakers Needed (April 2023)

  • The Answer is Always Jesus Christ (April 2023)

  • Focus on the Temple (October 2022)

  • What is True? (October 2022)

  • The Power of Spiritual Momentum (April 2022)

  • The Correct Name of the Church (October 2018)


The Come Follow Me Program was introduced in June 2018, and the church meetings were changed from being 3 hours every Sunday, to being 2 hours every Sunday, so that more time could be spent making our home a place for gospel learning and worship. 


We have been the recipients of so many amazing revelations and the outpouring of Heaven, because we have a prophet and seer that knows the past and future, is bringing hidden things to light, and is helping us to know things, which otherwise could not be known. 


Watch

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson


Monday, April 29, 2024

Family Home Evening for Mosiah 4-6

 Read Mosiah 4:11-12, 26

11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.


12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.


13 And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.


Discuss

Discuss ways that you and your children feel the love of God in your lives.


Teach

Teach your children that when they feel the love of God in their lives, then they will feel more like helping and serving others. Talk about ways that you can help others feel the love of God in their own lives.


Watch

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson.


Monday, April 22, 2024

Family Home Evening for Mosiah 1-3

 Read or Summarize Mosiah 3:19


19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.


Activity

We can teach how to avoid the natural man, meaning temptations and other things that take us away from focusing on the things that Heavenly Father has taught us. Think of this scripture as a recipe for taking our focus off of the things that take us away from Heavenly Father. Use this recipe for chocolate chip cookies, or another favorite treat, and,rename the ingredients to match the recipe found in Mosiah 3:19 for putting off the natural man. An example is given below.


  • 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour (listening to the spirit)

  • 1 tsp. baking soda (putting off the natural man/thinking more about things of God than things of the world)

  • 1 tsp. kosher salt (becoming a saint-going to church and becoming clean through the Atonement of Jesus Christ)

  • 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (being submissive to God- being willing to do whatever He asks you to do)

  • 3/4 c. granulated sugar (meek-being quiet and listening for the promptings of the Holy Ghost)

  • 3/4 c. packed brown sugar (humble- not putting yourself above others)

  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (patient- understanding that God’s timing is different than ours, and sometimes we have to wait patiently for our prayers to be answered)

  • 2 large eggs (full of love- we should love others, ourselves, and God. We can prove this love by how we talk to and treat other people.

  • 2 c. semisweet chocolate chips- (being willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon you- even when Heavenly Father asks us to do things that are hard, we do it willingly and cheerfully, without complaining or getting angry.)


Step 1

  • Preheat oven to 375° and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Step 2

  • In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. 

Step 3

  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts (if using). 

Step 4

  • Using a small cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough onto baking sheets at least 2” apart. 

Step 5

  • Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden. 


Watch

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson.


Monday, April 8, 2024

Family Home Evening for Jacob 5-7

Read Jacob 5:3

3 For behold, thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of Israel, like unto a tame olive tree, which a man took and nourished in his vineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to decay.


Lesson

This week's Lesson covers Jacob Chapter 5. Use the beautiful picture flowchart below, found in your Come Follow Me Manual, to help you teach this chapter to your children.


Watch

Click the flowchart below to see how we did this lesson

 

Monday, April 1, 2024

Family Home Evening for Jacob 1-4

 Read or Summarize Jacob 4:6, 10

6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.


10 Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.


Activity 

After reading these scriptures, find a small tree, and ask them to shake it (careful not to damage the tree). Though the tree is healthy, it is easily influenced by it’s environment, the things around it. 


Now, find a larger tree. Ask your children to try and shake the large tree. Why is it harder to shake the bigger tree? What phrases in Jacob 4:6, 10–11 describe what we can do to make our faith in Jesus Christ unshaken?


Lesson

One of the things that Jacob told us to do, to have our faith in Jesus Christ become unshaken, is to search the prophets. This weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, is General Conference. During General Conference, we have the opportunity to listen to living prophets and other servants of the Lord speak. If you have spiritual questions that you need to have answered, you can pray to Heavenly Father and ask Him to reveal the answer to you, during General Conference. I promise you that He will. By listening to the words spoken at General Conference, you will have the opportunity to strengthen your personal testimony in a way that your faith will become unshaken.


Watch

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson.



Family Home Evening for Easter

 Read Alma 11:42-45

42 Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

43 The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.

44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.

45 Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.


Lesson

Oftentimes, we hear that Jesus was “resurrected.” What does this mean?


Use the following activity to demonstrate 

You will need 2 sheet protectors, a permanent marker, and a copy of the pictures on the next page. Before the lesson, print the pictures on the next page and put them in the sheet protectors. Trace the lines on the girl and boy and on Jesus on the outside of the sheet protector. Remove the pictures from the sheet protectors, so only the outline remains. This represents our spiritual bodies. Before we received our bodies, we lived as spirits in Heaven. We were males and females (boys and girls) there, just as we are males and females (boys and girls) here. When we came to earth, we received our bodies, and our spirits went into our bodies (place the pictures of the girl and boy into the sheet protector). When we die, our bodies go into the ground, and our spirits go to the Spirit World (take the pictures of the boy and girl back out).


Jesus was just like us. Before He was born, Jesus too was a spirit (show the sheet protector of the outline of Jesus). When He was born, His spirit went into His body (put the picture of Jesus in the sheet protector). When Jesus died on the cross, His Spirit went to the Spirit World, and His body went into the ground (remove the picture from the sheet protector). After 3 days, His spirit came back to His body, and He became a celestial being, and His spirit and body will never be separated again. This is what the word “resurrection” means. It is when our spirits and bodies unite together, never to be separated again. Jesus was the first one to be resurrected, and we will all have the opportunity to be resurrected when Jesus comes again. This is Jesus’s free gift to all people that have ever been born and ever will be born. 

Here are some links to past videos that we have done, to talk about the other things that Jesus has done for us.


Easter Lesson for the Old Testament 

Easter Lesson for New Testament


Watch

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson










Monday, March 18, 2024

Family Home Evening for 2 Nephi 31-33

 Read 2 Nephi 32:3-5

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.


4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.


5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.


Lesson

What is the difference between tasting a food, eating a food, and feasting on food?


When we taste food, we barely let it touch our tongue and we would never feel full of food from tasting it.


When we casually eat food, we might take a bite here and there. We don’t usually fill up quickly, and we definitely don’t get very full. 


When we feast upon our food, this is usually because we really enjoy this food. Even if our tummies are satisfied, we will still eat more, because it tastes so yummy. When we feast, our bodies are filled with food to full capacity.


What did the scripture above say that we should feast on? What does feasting on the words of Christ look like to you?


Watch

Click on the picture below to see how we did this lesson.



Monday, March 11, 2024

Family Home Evening for 2 Nephi 26-30

 Read or Summarize 2 Nephi 29:7-11

7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?


8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.


9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.


10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.


11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.


Discuss

Ask your children to imagine that a friend says, “I don’t need to read the Book of Mormon. I’ve already read the Bible.” Using the scripture at the beginning of this lesson, talk about what could we say to our friend? 


Watch

Click the video below to see how we did this lesson


Sunday, March 3, 2024

Family Home Evening for 2 Nephi 20-25

 Read 2 Nephi 25:26

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.


Lesson

Watch Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me by clicking on the blue words of the title. When you have watched it, ask your children how the children and other people that interacted with Jesus in the video felt. How would they feel to see Jesus? 


Listen and Discuss

During the April 1972 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, former Apostle Bruce R. McConkie shared a stirring, personal talk titled “The Testimony of Jesus.” In his address, he revealed his personal witness of Christ and shared a poem he wrote, titled “I Believe in Christ.” Before sharing the poem he stated the following:

“I shall take the liberty, both by way of testimony and to set the tone for what is involved, to read these words of my own composition:"

Listen to or sing the words of I Believe in Christ (hymn 134) Link to Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square performing this song


This song was written as a poem declaring the testimony, happiness, and joy that Jesus brought to Elder Bruce R. McConkie.


 Ask each child to finish this line, helping them to understand the beginnings of their own testimony, “I believe in Christ, He __________.”


Watch

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson


Monday, February 26, 2024

Family Home Evening for 2 Nephi 11-19

 Read 2 Nephi 15:20

20 Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!


Lesson

Watch the first 90 seconds of the video “You will be Freed.” 


Discuss

Why does the fisherman disguise his hook? Why does Satan disguise sin? How does Jesus Christ help us avoid being deceived by Satan?


Watch

Click on the picture below to see how we did this lesson


Monday, February 19, 2024

Family Home Evening for 2 Nephi 6-10

 Read or Summarize 2 Nephi 9:6-10; 19-24

When I have huge scripture chunks like this, I like to summarize parts and then read some of the verses word for word. This helps familiarize scriptural language for kids.


6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.


7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.


8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.


9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.


10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.


19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.


20 O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.


21 And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.


22 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.


23 And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.


 24 And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.


Lesson/Activity

You can use the activity page, at the bottom of this lesson (also found in the Come Follow Me Manual here) If Adam and Eve had stayed in the Garden of Eden,  they would never die, and they would never have children. They would just live in the garden forever as if they were little kids. As soon as they partook of the fruit, they had to leave the garden. They knew right from wrong, and they became mortal, meaning that they could now die. Because they couldn’t be perfect their whole lives, when they died, they would die in their sins. Since we are all born after Adam and Eve, we too would be doomed to die without being perfect and would also be forced to live with Satan for all eternity as spirits, because when we died, our bodies would go into the ground and never be resurrected. We would be much like this man at the bottom of this pit. (Put the man at the bottom of the pit) No matter how hard he tries, there is no way that he can get himself out of there.


Heavenly Father loves His children, and didn’t want them to be doomed forever, so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for all sins, pains, and afflictions and be resurrected. When Jesus died and was resurrected, He gave us a free gift. Resurrection. All people, who have ever lived, will be resurrected and live again. (Put the ladder between Jesus and the man at the bottom of the pit). Jesus Christ gave us a way out of the pit.


Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can live forever with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. (2 Nephi 9:22) The ladder is now this man’s way out of the pit, but he can choose, with something we call agency, to use the ladder or not. We too can use our agency to receive the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 2 Nephi 9:23-24 tells us 4 things that we must do to “climb the ladder” out of the “pit of sin.” We need to (as you read each step, move the man up the ladder, until he reaches Jesus Christ)

  1. Repent

  2. Be baptized in His name

  3. Have perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel

  4. Endure to the end


Close

In closing, share your testimonies of Jesus Christ as a family.


Watch

Click the picture below to see how we did this video.