Family Home Evening for Isaiah 40-49

 Read Isaiah 40:3-4

3 ​The ​​​voice​ of him that crieth in the wilderness, ​​​Prepare​ ye the ​​​way​ of the ​​Lord​​, make straight in the desert a ​​​highway​ for our God.

​​​4 ​Every ​​​valley​ shall be ​​​exalted​, and every ​​​mountain​ and hill shall be made ​​​low​: and the ​​​crooked​ shall be made straight, and ​​​the rough places plain​:

Discussion and Activity

As you discuss these things, you could straighten something that is crooked, clear a cluttered floor, or make a clear path in rocky ground (we used kinetic sand).

These scriptures asked us to prepare the way of the Lord. We have had many great examples of men and women who have prepared the way of the Lord. Two of them that come to mind, as especially instrumental, are John the Baptist and Joseph Smith.

How did John the Baptist prepare the way for Jesus Christ?

John came before the ministry of Jesus Christ. John testified of Jesus Christ. He taught people that there would be a Savior and Redeemer that would come and redeem all people. He prepared them by preaching baptism for the remission of sins (Luke 3:3). He taught them to be baptized and be prepared for when Jesus came. Many wondered if he was the Christ that they had been taught about. He said that he can only baptize with water, but Jesus would be able to baptize them with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

How did Joseph Smith prepare the way for Jesus Christ?

D&C 135:3 teaches us that he brought forth the Book of Mormon, which He translated by the power of God. He also sent forth the fulness of the everlasting gospel to the four quarters of the earth, brought forth revelations and commandments that helped people learn about Christ and how to become like Him, and helped to establish and restore the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth again.

Both John the Baptist and Joseph Smith died for their missions and testimonies of Jesus Christ.

How can you prepare the way of the Lord?

D&C 33:10 says, “Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled.” We might not always know exactly what to do or what to say, but if we are the valley, talked about in the Isaiah scripture, we will be able to take down the mountains of the world, build up the mountain of Zion, and make a straight path to and for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for Isaiah 13-14; 24-30; 35

 Read 

Isaiah 25:8-9

8 ​He will swallow up ​​​death​ in ​​​​​victory​; and the Lord ​​God​​ will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the ​​​rebuke of his people​ shall he take away from off all the earth: for the ​​Lord​​ hath spoken ​it.​

​​​9 ​​​And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this ​is​ our ​​​God​; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this ​is​ the ​​Lord​​; we have ​​​waited​ for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his ​​​salvation​.

Discuss

Tell the children about someone you know who has died. How do we feel when someone we love dies? Explain that the loved one that died is not dead forever, because of Jesus. Just like your loved one, Jesus died and was buried. His loved ones cried as they burried Him in a tomb. Three days later, Jesus was resurrected, and He lived again! It was hard for people to believe, because this had never happened before.

The scriptures we just read say that Jesus “swallowed up death in victory.” This means that because Jesus was resurrected, everyone will have the same opportunity to be resurrected. 

Explain that when your loved one died how it made you feel, and how you reacted. Many people cry when their loved ones die, because they love and miss them. What did the scriptures say that Jesus will do with our tears?

We don’t have to be super sad when someone dies, because we know that they are not dead forever. As part of our eternal family, we know that we can all be resurrected and be together again someday, because of Jesus Christ. 

This scripture also said that we will rejoice in His salvation. How do you rejoice in his salvation?

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for Isaiah 1-12

 Read Isaiah 1:16-18

16 ​​​​​​Wash​ you, make you ​​​clean​; put away the ​​​evil​ of your doings from before mine eyes; ​​​cease​ to do evil;

​​​17 ​​​​Learn​ to do ​​​well​; seek ​​​judgment​, ​​​relieve​ the oppressed, ​​​judge the fatherless​, plead for the ​​​widow​.

​​​18 ​Come now, and let us ​​​reason​ together, saith the ​​Lord​​: though your ​​​sins​ be as scarlet, they shall be as ​​​white​ as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Discussion and Activity

Sister Sharon Eubank, in her April 2019 General Conference talk, explained the meaning of these versus. She explained that, “The scarlet dye of the Old Testament was not only colorful but also colorfast, meaning that its vivid color stuck to the wool and would not fade no matter how many times it was washed.  (Get a white towel or old, white t-shirt. Pour cranberry juice on the white material.)

Satan wields this reasoning like a club: white wool stained scarlet can never go back to being white. (Rinse the towel in just water and show that it doesn’t come out)

But Jesus Christ declares, “My ways [are] higher than your ways,” and the miracle of His grace is that when we repent of our sins, His scarlet blood returns us to purity. It isn’t logical, but it is nevertheless true. Christ is the one that makes wool white.” (Add bleach or another stain remover to the towel, rinse in the water and show that it is white again)

She goes on to say, “I testify you are beloved. The Lord knows how hard you are trying. You are making progress. Keep going. He sees all your hidden sacrifices and counts them to your good and the good of those you love. Your work is not in vain. You are not alone. His very name, Emmanuel, means “God with us.” He is surely with you.”

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

Family Home Evening for Proverbs 1-4; 15-16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1-3;11-12

 Read Proverbs 3:5-7

5 ​​​​​​Trust​ in the ​​Lord​​ with all thine ​​​heart​; and lean not unto thine ​​​own​ ​​​understanding​.

​​​6 ​In all thy ways ​​​acknowledge​ him, and he shall ​​​direct​ thy ​​​paths​.

​​​7 Be not ​​​wise​ in thine own eyes: ​​​fear​ the ​​Lord​​, and depart from evil.

Discussion

Explain that these scripture tell us not to “lean unto [our] own understanding.” This means that when Heavenly Father asks us to do something, we should listen to Him and not think that we are smarter than Him. 

Activity

Get some unstable things to lean on, such as a piece of paper, a broom, etc. Explain to your children that we don’t often know everything or see situations the same way that God does. When we don’t trust God and do what He asks us to do, it can be as helpful as trying to put our hand on a piece of paper, broom, etc. to hold us up.

When we trust in the Lord, it can be like relying on a wall to hold us up. A wall is strong and steady, just like the Lord.

Discuss

These scriptures also talk about acknowledging Him in all our ways. What does this mean? This means that when Heavenly Father prompts us with thoughts or feelings of what we should do, we should always be ready to listen to him and obey these spiritual promptings. It is also important that when we receive these promptings and follow what they say, we remember to thank Him for guiding us and recognize His hand in our lives.

How can we show that we trust in the Lord with all our hearts?

Click this picture to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for Psalms 102-103; 110; 116-119; 127-128; 135-139; 146-150

 Read or Summarize Psalm 127-128

127

1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

128

1 Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.

2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.

5 The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

6 Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.

Discuss

What does it mean for the Lord to help us “build [our] house”? How can we better involve Him in our efforts to create a righteous home? If your home is not dedicated, consider dedicating your home. See how to dedicate your home here https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/18-priesthood-ordinances-and-blessings?lang=eng  

Activity

You will need a picture of a home (cut into puzzle pieces), building blocks, or something to build a house with. As you discuss what you can do to build a righteous home unto the Lord, add a block or puzzle piece to your home, and literally, build a house into the Lord. For more ideas of things you can do, search the Psalm above.

Click the picture below, to see how we did it.

 

Family Home Evening for Psalms 49-51; 61-66; 69-72; 77-78; 85-86

 Read Psalms 78:5-7

5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

Discuss

Think about your children, and the ages and stages of their growth and development, both physically and spiritually. What does Heavenly Father want you to teach your children? What things give you hope in God? What things give your children hope in God?

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for Psalms 1 2; 8; 19-33; 40; 46

 Read Psalms 24:3-5

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Discuss

What might hands represent in this psalm? 

• Hands represent our actions. It’s what we do.

What could the heart symbolize? 

• Hearts represent our feelings and our desires

Activity

You will need washable paint, bowl of water or sink, and a towel.

Have one of your child open their hands, above the bowl. Have other family members think of some actions that make their “lives dirty.” This could be things like lying, hurting your siblings, disobeying your parents, doing something that hurts another person, saying bad words, etc. With each suggestion, put a drop of paint on your child’s hands (different colors would be great). After several suggestions, have your child rub their hands together with this “sinful soap.” Show your family these hands, and ask them if these are the clean hands that the scriptures talk about. Now tell them that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, these hands can become clean again, if we repent. (Help your child rinse their hands in the bowl of water or sink.)

Discuss

What can we do to spiritually cleanse our hands?

Activity 

Cut a heart out of red construction paper, and one of the same size out of black construction paper. Cut the black paper into a few pieces. Have your children think about feelings or desires that could “un-purify” our hearts. This could include things such as holding a grudge, thinking you are better than someone else, not thinking about how others feel, thinking that you are always right, wanting to do things that are not good, being jealous, wanting what other people have, and not listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. With each suggestion put a piece of the black heart over the red heart. At the end, ask your children if this heart is pure anymore. 

Discuss

What can we do to spiritually cleanse our heart? (Remove pieces of black paper with each suggestion.)

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for Job

 Read Job 23:8-11

8 ​Behold, I go forward, but he ​is​ not ​there;​ and backward, but I cannot perceive him:

​​​9 ​On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold ​him:​ he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see ​him:​

​​​10 ​But he ​​​knoweth​ the way that I take: ​when​ he hath ​​​tried​ me, I shall come forth as gold.

​​​11 ​My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

Discuss

Sometimes, we feel like we are all alone in our trials. We may feel like we don’t have any friends, that no one understands how we feel, and like no matter what we do, things don’t get any easier. Job lost his family, his house, his money and everything he had. Instead of hating God and not believing in Heavenly Father and Jesus. He treated his trials as a learning experience and knew that in the end, he would be blessed for staying loyal to Heavenly Father and Jesus.

What does “I shall come forth as gold mean?”

Read the process of refining gold

1. Insert the gold scraps and the flux into the crucible

2. Put the crucible into the fire.

3. Stoke the fire until the heat reaches 1947.52 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the melting point of gold. The gold in the crucible will start to melt.

4. Remove the crucible from the fire when all of the gold is molten.

5. Pour the molten gold into the mold and let it cool.

6. Separate the base metals (copper, silver, iron, tin, lead, mercury, antimony) from the gold. They will float to the top of the mold.

7. Insert the gold into a retort with diluted nitric acid.

8. Pour off the nitric acid; pure gold remains.

Discuss 

Discuss how these steps can be applied to trails in our lives. Do you know someone who has gone through extremely difficult trials? Maybe you have. Discuss how faith in God and following His commandments have helped this person/you endure their/your trial(s).

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for Esther

 Read or Summarize Esther 1-10

Here is our summary:

King   was the King of Persia and owned a lot of provinces or cities throughout the land. One day, he was holding a feast for all of the princes and noble people of Persia, Media, and other surrounding provinces.

On the third day of the feast, the king called to his wife, Queen Vashti. The queen was very beautiful, and he wanted to show her off to all of his guests so that they could see how beautiful his wife was. 

Queen Vashti did not want to come. In fact, she refused to come.

The princes and noblemen said that if other queens and princesses heard what the queen did, then they too would rebel. So they told the king to take away her crown so that she would no longer be queen.

The king’s servants didn’t want the king to be without a queen, so they gathered up all of the beautiful girls in the land, who were not married. 

Among these women was a beautiful woman, named Esther. Esther had been raised by her cousin, Mordecai, after both of her parents died.

When the servants saw Esther, they said that the king would love to marry Esther, and they wanted her to be the next queen. 

As soon as the king saw her, he loved her above all the other women. So, he married her, and Esther became the next queen.

One day, Haman, one of the king’s most trusted officials, was walking through the city. The Persians were required to bow to Haman as he passed by, but the Jews were not required to obey the laws of the king. Mordecai was one of the people that Haman passed by.

He told Mordecai to bow to him. Mordecai reminded him that he was not required to follow that law, and he told him that the only person that he would bow to is God.

This made Haman very angry, he sent out a decree that all Jews were to be killed, on a specific day.

Mordecai went to Esther and asked her to talk to the king and save her people. 

Esther was scared, because usually the king would kill people who went to see him, without an invitation. Esther told Mordecai, Esther 4:16 “Go, gather together all of the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.”

After the fast, Esther went into the king. The king put his staff down to show his willingness to listen. Esther touched the end of the staff. To begin her conference with the king. The king expressed his love for Esther and told her he would do anything for her, even give her half of the kingdom. Esther just asked that he protected the Jews from Haman’s decree.

The king was mad that Haman made such a decree, and so the king put Haman to death. The Jews were protected from Haman’s decree. Esther was a hero, because she put her trust in God and protected her people.

Discuss

How can you have the courage to stand up for what is right, no matter how scary and difficult it is? Here are some scenarios, to help your children to prepare to be brave, like Esther and stand up for what is right.

1. You are at a friend’s house, watching a movie. The movie has a lot of bad language and makes you feel uncomfortable. What could you do?

2. Your friend shows you some pictures on their phone. The pictures are of girls and boys with little or no clothing. What do you do? (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has the antipornography lesson that teaches 3 steps when you see pornography. They say to 1-) Name it, say “That’s pornography” 2-) Get away from it 3-) Tell a trusted adult.)

3. You are hanging out with a group of friends. Some of your friends begin to bully another child, by saying mean things and pushing them. What do you do?

4. You have been saving for a new toy for a long time. You are at the store with your parents, and you see someone drop a $20 bill. If you keep that money, you can buy your toy. What do you do?

5. A really hard math test is coming up in school. One of your friends said that they are an aide in the copy center, and they have the answers to the test. They offer to let you memorize the answers with them. What do you do?

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah; 4-6; 8

 Read

Today’s lesson kinda jumped pretty far ahead in time. You may want to summarize a few events in the gap. Here is a short summary that I used.

Last week, we talked about King Josiah. Josiah led the Israelites in righteousness, and they enjoyed the blessings of the temple and held great passover feasts to remember how the Lord saved their ancestors in Egypt. 

One day, Josiah saw Necho, king of Egypt, leading an army and went to try and battle him. King Necho sent a messenger and said that he was not going to attack them, so to let him go. He said that the Lord had sent him on an errand and not to get in the way, or the Lord would stop Josiah. Josiah didn’t listen and put on a disguise so that he could still attack Necho’s army. During the battle, Josiah was hit with arrows and died.

Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz, became the next king. He was only king for three months, before Necho came back and overthrew him. Then, Necho gave the kingdom to his brother. Necho’s brother, Jehoaikim, was a wicked king. Then, Babylon’s King, Nebuchadnezzer, came and took Jehoakim as a prisoner. So, his son Jehoaichin became the king, after his father was taken. Nebuchadnezzar only allowed Jehoiachin to lead for 3 months, before he came in and made his brother, Zedekiah, the king. Zedikiah did not listen to Jerimiah, the prophet. He turned against all words of God.

Because the people followed the evil ways of their king, they did evil things in the temple. The king of Chaldees came into the land and began to destroy everything and everyone. The Chaldees entered the temple and took a lot of the gold, silver, and other valuable things and took them back to Babylon. They also burned down the temple. Many of the Israelites were taken, as prisoners and servants, back to Babylon.

Then, King Cyrus of Persia was told by God to build a new temple in Jerusalem. He tried to gather righteous people to help him. He went to Babylon and gathered the stuff that Nebuchadnezzer had stolen from the temple. He also allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem.

After 7 months, the Jews were able to build up the altar and begin to offer sacrifices to Heavenly Father again. They also began to lay the foundation for a new temple. The Samaritans offered to help the Jews, but then they wrote a letter to the King of Persia, now King Darrius. They told him that the Jews were beginning to build big walls and they were going to become strong again. This scared Darrius and he forced the Jews to stop building.

The prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, then prophesied that they should start building again and God would protect them. So the Jews resumed building. When the governor saw the building, he asked why they started building without permission. After their discussion, the governor sent a letter to King Darrius and asked him to let them start building the temple again, because that is what God wanted. Darrius made a decree that they could finish the temple.

They were finally able to finish the temple, and this is what was written: 

Ezra 6:21-22

21 And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat,

22  And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Discuss

In our time, we have not had our temples destroyed, but in recent years, we have had a pandemic. During the pandemic, we were not able to have access to the temples. All temples were temporarily closed and all temple work ceased to take place. As temples slowly began to open again, and people were allowed to enter the temples, we felt similar joy to the Jews. Talk about how the temple can bring us joy.

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson and to hear the story of how my brother and his wife found joy in being married and sealed in the temple, after the temples reopened in 2020.

Family Home Evening for Kings 17-25

 Read or Summarize 2 Kings 22-23

My Summary

There had been a lot of bad kings in Israel. Most of them stopped believing in Jesus and praying to Heavenly Father. The temple was destroyed and used for evil purposes and to pay debts to other kings. The Israelites began to pray to Baal and idols and even sacrifice their children to these false gods.

Finally, King Josiah became the king. He was only 8- years old when he became the king. The scriptures say, “And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. ​And like unto him was there no ​​​king​ before him, that ​​​turned​ to the ​​Lord​​ with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there ​any​ like him.” (2 Kings 22:2; 2 Kings 23:25)

King Josiah wanted to rebuild and fix the temple. When the workers were rebuilding the temple, Hilkiah found the book of the law. This was a scroll that contained the scriptures. 

A servant read the scriptures to King Josiah. He was so sad that his people had turned away from God and forgotten the scriptures that he tore his clothes.

Josiah read the scriptures to his people, and they made a covenant to follow the Lord.

Discuss 

Why do you think it is so important to read the scriptures? What do you think would happen if we didn’t have the scriptures in our lives? What scriptures have helped you? (If your children are too young, share some scriptures that have helped you in your life)

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for 2 Kings 2-7

 Read or Summarize the Stories in 2 Kings 4

Here are my summaries:

Story 1

A widow came to Elisha and said that a creditor was going to come and take her two boys as servants, unless she paid her debts, but she only had a pot of oil. Elisha told her to go and barrow every oil vessel she could from all of her neighbors, even empty ones. So she sent her sons to go gather the vessels. When they had gathered a lot, the woman locked her sons and her in their home and filled every vessel with oil, and still had more left over. She told Elisha that she had done as he asked. He told her to go sell the oil and pay her debt.

Story 2

One day, Elisha was walking through Shunem. A woman invited him into her home and gave him some bread. She gave him bread every time he passed their home. One day, the woman told her husband that she believed that Elisha was a prophet. She told her husband that they should prepare him a room in their home with a bed, a table, and a candlestick, so that he could stay with them. Elisha told his servant to tell the woman that because she had been so nice to him, he wanted to do something nice for her, and to ask her what she wanted. She said that she wanted a child, but her husband and her were too old. Soon after, the woman had a healthy, baby boy. Later, the son got sick and died. The woman had faith that Elisha could bring her boy back to life, and so she called for Elisha to come. Elisha gave the boy a blessing and the Lord brought him back to life.

Story 3

The  men traveling with Elisha were hungry, but they were in land that had a famine. So Elisha sent his men to gather what they could find to make pottage or soup. They gathered some herbs and gourds from around the area, but they didn’t know what they were because they were not familiar with the area. When the pottage or soup was made, the men began to eat it. Then they realized that some of the ingredients, used to make the soup, were actually poisonous. Elisha told the men to bring some meal of flour in and throw it in the pot. Then, they served the soup again, and none of the people got sick ir died.

Story 4

Someone brought some food to Elisha. He gave him 20 loaves of barley bread and full ears of corn. Elisha told him to help him feed all of the people with them. His servant said that it was not enough to feed 100 people. Elisha told him to just do as he said, because the Lord said that they should eat then leave. So the servant set out the corn and barley bread, and the people ate and left, just as the Lord had said.

Game

Now, you or your children can give a 1-2 word clue, to try and guess which miracle they are discussing.

Discuss

What miracles have you and your family seen in your lives?

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for 1 Kings 11-19

 Read 1 Kings 19:11-12- As you read, you could play sounds of a mudslide, earthquake, and fire to distract from and block the reader’s voice.

11 ​And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the ​​Lord​​. And, behold, the ​​Lord​​ passed by, and a great and strong wind rent ​​the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the ​​Lord​​; ​but​ the ​​Lord​​ ​was​ not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; ​but​ the ​​Lord​​ ​was​ not in the earthquake:

​​​12 ​And after the earthquake a fire; ​but​ the ​​Lord​​ ​was​ not in the fire: and after the fire a ​​​still​ small ​​​voice​.

Discuss

What things can your family do to be able to hear the Still Small Voice better in your life? What does Satan do to try and distract us from listening?

Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson