Family Home Evening for 1 Nephi 16-22

 Read 1 Nephi 18:9, 28-29

10 And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.

28 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

29 And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

Lesson

Imagine that you are going to go on a trip to a far away place that you have never visited before. How would you know how to get there?

Some people might use a compass.

Some people might use a paper map.

Some people might use a GPS system.

The Liahona was like these things. It told Lehi how to guide his family through the wilderness. It also had writing on it that would appear and help them understand what Heavenly Father wanted them to know.

Going back to your imaginary trip, what could make the thing or things you are using stop guiding you? Maybe you could tell a story when something that was guiding you stopped working.

In 1 Nephi 18:9-12, 20-22 we learn that the Liahona stopped giving Lehi’s family directions. This was because they were doing things that were not good, and when Nephi told them that they needed to stop and repent, they tied him up. A huge storm came and almost broke the boat that they were traveling on. The Liahona didn’t begin working again until they repented and untied Nephi. Nephi prayed, and the storm stopped.

Discuss

What has God given us to guide us back to him, the way that the Liahona guided Lehi’s family through the wilderness.

Watch

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Family Home Evening for 1 Nephi 11-15

 Last week we learned about Lehi’s vision and Nephi’s desire to have the same vision and understand what the symbols in the vision meant. Do you remember what the tree of life represents?

When Nephi prayed, the first thing that he was shown was Mary, Jesus’s mother. The next thing the angel asks him is, “knowest though the condescension of God?”

What does the word “condescension” mean? It is when someone who has a high rank, like a captain or a king, chooses to leave their position to be with people that are below their ranking. When the angel asks Nephi if he knows the condescension of God, he is asking if Nephi truly understands the importance of Jesus leaving His Heavenly throne, as the Son of God and co-creator of this world, to come to earth. The angel then showed Nephi 5 events of the Savior’s life.

Read these verses and show these corresponding pictures from Chapter 11

1. 20-21- And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!

2. 24- And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.

3. 27- And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.

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5. 31- And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.

6. 33- And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.

Jesus was born as a baby, performed miracles, taught people about God and how to obtain eternal life, healed people and casted out devils, descended below all things by offering an Atonement for the remission of all of our earthly sins and afflictions, and was resurrected, before being able to take up His throne again next to God. This was the condescension of God and the ultimate display of God’s love for us. As we make Jesus and Heavenly Father the center of our lives, it will be the most joyous to our soul.

Discuss

What did you learn about Jesus Christ from these verses?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for 1 Nephi 6-10

 Summarize Lehi’s Dream, found in 1 Nephi 8

Here is our summary

Lehi had a vision of a man, dressed in white, who asked him to follow him. While he was following him, he discovered that he was in a dark place. He wandered around this dark place for many hours, before he prayed that he could be somewhere safe.

Then, he saw a big field and a tree. He knew that the fruit on the tree would make people happy, if they ate it. Lehi went to the tree immediately and ate the fruit. He said it was the best fruit that he had ever tasted. It was more sweet and white than anything he had ever eaten or seen before. After he ate the fruit, he felt so happy and he wanted to share this happiness with his family.

He looked around and saw a river of water by the tree. At the other end of the river he saw his wife, Sariah, and his sons Nephi and Sam. They looked lost and didn’t know where they should go. Lehi called to them, and they came to the tree and partook of the fruit too. 

Lehi looked again for his sons, Lamen and Lemuel, because he wanted them to partake of the fruit also. He found them and called to them, but they wouldn’t come to him.

At the bank of the river, Lehi noticed an iron rod that led to the tree. The iron rod was along a straight and narrow path. At the other end of the river, was a large field.

A lot of people were coming to the straight and narrow path that led to the tree, but a huge, dark cloud also known as a mist of darkness came, and a lot of people wandered off the path and were lost. Other people kept walking towards the tree and found the rod of iron in the darkness and held on really tightly to it. They used the iron rod to help them find the tree where Lehi was, and they were able to partake of the same fruit.

After they partook of the fruit, they looked around and then looked like they were embarrassed that they took it. This caused Lehi to look around, and he saw a great and spacious, in other words, a really big building with people in it that were dressed in fancy clothes. They were pointing at and laughing at those who had partaken of the fruit. This caused those people to leave the tree and wander off and get lost.

Other people felt their way through the mist of darkness, and traveled towards the great and spacious building, some just fell into the river and drowned, and some just wandered away and were lost.

The people who entered the building tried to make fun of those who were happy that they ate the fruit, including Lehi and his family, but they didn’t listen to them.

Lesson

After summarizing Lehi’s vision, explain that when Nephi heard his Father’s vision, he also wanted to see it and understand it. So, Nephi did what we all should do, when we don’t understand something. He prayed. The Lord not only gave Nephi the same vision, but he also sent an angel to explain to him what the different things represented, in 1 Nephi 11.

When Nephi asked what the tree meant, the angel showed him the Baby Jesus, and he told him that this Baby was the Son of God. The angel asked Nephi if he understood, now, what the tree represented. He said, “Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.”

The angel also told Nephi the following:

The iron rod represents the Word of God 

The river represents the depths of Hell

The field represents the world

The mists of darkness represents temptation 

The great and spacious building represents the pride of the world.

Discuss

What do we learn from Lehi’s vision?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for 1 Nephi 1-5

 Read 1 Nephi 2:16,19

16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.

19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

Lesson

Nephi’s father, Lehi, was a prophet in Jerusalem. Heavenly Father showed him many visions that taught him a lot of things. When he shared what he had seen with his family, his oldest sons, Lamen and Lemuel, rejected the visions and said that their father was a “visionary man,” which meant that they thought he was crazy. Nephi did something different.

Discuss

According to the scriptures at the beginning of this lesson, how did Nephi know that what his father taught was true? 

Why is it important to gain our own testimonies of truths that we learn?

Activity

Tell your children that these scriptures teach us how we can gain our own testimonies of what we are taught. 

Get some building blocks, food storage containers, sugar cubes, or anything else you can stack. Use these cubes to demonstrate how to build testimony. As you lay the foundation for your structure, teach them that the foundation of all testimonies is a belief or knowledge that Jesus is the Christ. That because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can live again after we die, repent, and live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again. Without a testimony of Jesus Christ, a testimony will not be as strong.

You could show your children pictures or objects that represent things they might seek a testimony of, such as a copy of the Book of Mormon or a picture of Jesus Christ, a temple, or the living prophet. Invite them to pick one and share their testimonies of that thing. As they do, add a layer or two of blocks, until you have built a strong, testimony house.

Watch

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Family Home Evening for Book of Mormon Introduction

 Show 

Show your Children the front cover of the Book of Mormon. Help them point to the subtitle, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Teach them that this means the Book of Mormon teaches us about Jesus Christ.

Read the Introduction Page to the Book of Mormon 

As you read, find the purposes of the Book of Mormon, listed in the title page.

Share 

Share your testimony of the Book of Mormon.

Make a Plan or Goal 

Make a plan or goal of how you will read the Book of Mormon as a family, and think of ways that you can strengthen your testimony of Jesus Christ as you do so.

Watch

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