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

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