Family Home Evening for Haggai; Zechariah 1-3; 7-14

 Read Haggai 1:2-7

 ​Thus speaketh the ​​Lord​​ of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the ​​Lord​​’s house should be built.

​​​3 ​Then came the word of the ​​Lord​​ by Haggai the prophet, saying,

​​​4 ​​Is it​ time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ​​​ceiled​ houses, and this house ​lie​ waste?

​​​5 ​Now therefore thus saith the ​​Lord​​ of hosts; ​​​Consider​ your ways.

​​​6 ​Ye have ​​​sown​ much, and bring in little; ye ​​​eat​, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that ​​​earneth​ wages earneth ​​​wages​ ​to put it​ into a bag with ​​​holes​.

​​​7 ​​Thus saith the ​​Lord​​ of hosts; ​​​Consider​ your ​​​ways​.

Discuss

The Israelites had been in captivity for a long time. When they finally went back to Jerusalem, the whole city had been destroyed. Their houses were broken up and the temple had been destroyed. The people wanted to rebuild the temple immediately, but the Lord told them that they needed to rebuild their own spiritual foundation first. 

The scriptures we just read asked us to “consider your ways.” As a family, let’s think about our ways. “Our ways” represents our habits and the things that we do everyday. Think about the phrases in verse 6. What could they mean in your family? For example, “Ye have sown much, and bring in little,” could mean that though you are busy all day, maybe you fill your day with things that don’t help you come closer to Heavenly Father, develop your talents, help others, or help you become the person that Heavenly Father wants you to be. Or “ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink,” could mean that you have your scriptures open or you sit quietly during family scripture study, but you don’t really listen to or pay attention to what is being read.

Find your own family meaning for these phrases and discuss how you could work harder to “consider your ways” and grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus, as a family.

• ​​​​Ye have ​​​sown​ much, and bring in little

• Ye ​​​eat​, but ye have not enough 

• Ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink

• Ye clothe you, but there is none warm

• He that ​​​earneth​ wages earneth ​​​wages​ ​to put it​ into a bag with ​​​holes

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Family Home Evening for Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah

Read Zephaniah 2:3

3 ​Seek ye the ​​Lord​​, all ye ​​​meek​ of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek ​​​righteousness​, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the ​​​day​ of the ​​Lord​​’s anger.

Discuss

What does it mean to be righteous?

The Guide to the Scriptures teach us that people who are righteous do what is right, are holy and virtuous, act fair, avoid sin, and obey God’s commandments.

What does it mean to be meek?

The Guide to the Scriptures teach us that to be meek means that we put what God wants us to do above what we want or what other people want us to do. A meek person is righteous, humble, teachable, and patient under suffering. The meek are willing to follow gospel teachings.

What does it mean to seek righteousness and meekness?

Activity

Sometimes it is hard to find meekness and righteousness in a world that’s full of so many distractions. See if you can find 5 MEEKNESS words and 5 RIGHTEOUSNESS words in the words below

VIDEOGAMES TELEVISION ONLINE MOVIES GAMES MEEKNESS FOOD FRIENDS PARTIES PLAYING RIGHTEOUSNESS EMAIL TEXTING MEEKNESS PHONES NOTIFICATIONS RIGHTEOUSNESS SOCIAL MEDIA RIGHTEOUSNESS BALLOONS BUBBLES MEEKNESS TOYS SIBLINGS MONEY SLEEPING WEB SURFING RIGHTEOUSNESS HOMEWORK FITTING IN SICKNESS LAZINESS MEEKNESS THOUGHTS NEWS NOISE RIGHTEOUSNESS PEER PRESSURE CLOTHING WANTING TO BELONG MEEKNESS

Click on the picture below to see our video of this lesson

 

Family Home Evening for Jonah and Micah

 Today, we will be covering Jonah 1-4. These are very short chapters, but they are a lot more fun to act out, than they are to read. You can read the chapters and write your own script. Here is what we did:

Lord: Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

Jonah: (Jumps up) I don’t want to go to Nineveh. Those people are so wicked, they won’t listen to me. I know, I’ll hide out in Tarshish instead!

A great storm arises, people on the boat are shaking, being squirted with squirt guns or having water thrown on them, pieces of the boat break off. The people in the boat are scared and begin to kneel down and pray. Some of them start throwing things overboard to lighten the load)

Jonah: Sleeping in the bottom of the boat.

Shipmaster: Why are you sleeping?! You need to wake up and pray, or we are all going to die! 

Shipmate 1: Let’s cast lots and see who made God so mad that He sent this storm! (Passes out sticks. Jonah gets the short stick)

Shipmate 2: (to Jonah) What did you do that caused this to happen? Where did you come from?

Jonah: I am an Hebrew; and I pray to the God that created the whole world. I am running away, because God told me to do something that scared me.

All Other Shipmates: Gasp

Shipmaster: Why did you do that? What should we do to save us and our ship?

Jonah: I know that this storm is my fault. Just throw me overboard and you will be safe.

Shipmaster: I hate throwing you over board in this storm. Maybe we can row really fast and make it to land.

The storm continues as they try to row to land.

Shipmaster: Please God, do not let us die. We tried to protect this man, but we know that’s not possible. We hate killing this man, but we will do what you want.

Throw Jonah overboard. The storm stops. The shipmates thank God, and the boat leaves, and Jonah is swallowed by a big whale.

Inside the belly of the whale

Jonah: (praying) Please forgive me. Thank you for answering my prayer and saving me from that terrible storm. I promise, if I make it out of here alive, I will go to the temple. No matter what happens, or whomever I am with, I will always worship Thee!

Jonah gets spit out of the belly of the whale onto dry land.

Lord: Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

Jonah: Okay! 

Narrator: Nineveh was a great city that took 3 days for Jonah to travel to.

Jonah: In 40 days Nineveh will be overthrown, according to the word of God.

Townsperson: We should worship God and fast. We don’t need fancy clothes or jewels.

King of Nineveh: I too shall take off my fancy clothes and repent of my sins. I send out a royal decree that every man, woman, child, plant, and beast will begin a fast. Nothing will eat or drink anything, but we will be humble and pray to God for forgiveness.

Lord: I am pleased with the humility of these people. I forgive them and I will not let them be destroyed.

Jonah: Hey! I was like them, when I was at home, and I knew you were kind, merciful, forgiving, and not angry. That’s why I tried to leave and go to Tarshish. If you are going to forgive them that easily, I might as well just die.

Lord: Is it doing you well to be angry?

Jonah: I’m going to sit up in the mountains and watch this city fall again.

Narrator: Overnight a gourd grew and the leaves covered Jonah’s head and protected him from the sun. Jonah was grateful for the gourd. The next evening, the Lord sent a worm to destroy the gourd. Then there came a strong east wind and the sun beat down on Jonah all day, until he fainted.

Jonah: It is better for me to die than to live.

Lord: Do you still think it is worth it to be angry? Would you rather be angry at or be happy for the people of Nineveh? You are sad that the gourd died, but you didn’t do any work to create it or grow it. Nineveh is a great city, with thousands of people and animals that are mine, and I love them. Why should I not save them?

Discuss

What lessons do we learn from Jonah?

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

Family Home Evening for Amos and Obadiah

 Read Amos 5:4

4 ​ ​For thus saith the ​​Lord​​ unto the house of Israel, ​​​Seek​ ye me, and ye shall live:

Discuss

What does it mean to seek the Lord?

Activity

Make a poster to help your family remember ways that they can seek the Lord. One idea would be to put the scripture in the center of the poster and have children surround the scripture with things that they could do to seek the Lord. Pictures could be hand-drawn, cut out from magazines, or printed clip art from the internet. For older children, you could add other scriptures that teach us to seek the Lord or how to seek the Lord, such as Matthew 7:7–8; Ether 12:41; and Doctrine and Covenants 88:63.

Click on our poster below, to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for Hosea 1-6; 10-14; Joel

 Read

As you read the following scriptures, ask your children to look for 2 things. 1- How can we show the Lord that we love Him? 2- How does the Lord show us that He loves us?

Jake will read Joel 2:12-13

Zander will read Hosea 2:20-21

Parker will read Hosea 10:12

Joel 2:12-13

12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Hosea 2:20-21 and 23

20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Hosea 10:12

12 ​Sow to yourselves in ​​​righteousness​, ​​​reap​ in mercy; ​​​break​ up your fallow ground: for ​it is​ time to seek the ​​Lord​​, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Discuss

In these scriptures, the Lord asks us to turn to Him with all of our hearts, fast, feel truly repentant for our sins, sow ourselves to righteousness, reap mercy, break up our fallow ground (prepare ourselves to grow spiritually), and to seek the Lord. 

Use these things to help you make a list of what you can do to show your love for the Lord. For example, you could turn to Him by turning off a movie that has things in it that would make the Lord sad.

The Lord shows us that He loves us, because He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forgives us of our sins. He wants to bind us to Him forever, just as someone who marries another person is bound to them. He gives us the Holy Ghost so that we can hear what Heavenly Father wants us to know, and He listens to us, when we pray. Sometimes the world seems so mean and hard. Sometimes it feels like nobody loves us and we are all alone. If we can learn to turn our hearts to the Lord we will see that we will find mercy and love. The kind of love that is eternal, pure, and everlasting, and He will rain righteous upon you.

Activity 

Fill out the clock on the next page to help children identify something that they can do each hour to show the Lord that they love Him. Set a reminder or alarm and have them do these things for 1 week. At the end of the week ask them how they were able to better feel the love of the Lord, as they gave their love to Him. 

Watch

Click the picture of our clock below to see how we did this lesson

Family Home Evening for Daniel 1-6

 Discuss

Has anybody ever asked you to do something that your parents have taught you not to do? Do you know what the Word of Wisdom is?

According to the Guide to the Scriptures, the Word of Wisdom is, “A law of health revealed by the Lord for the physical and spiritual benefit of the Saints (D&C 89). It has become commonly referred to as the Word of Wisdom. The Lord has always taught His followers principles of health. The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith which types of foods to eat and which to avoid, along with a promise of temporal and spiritual blessings for obeying the Word of Wisdom.”

The following are the things outlined in the word of wisdom:

• All things which come of the earth are to be used with judgment, not to excess.

• The Lord counseled the Saints to not use wine, strong drinks, tobacco, and hot drinks.

• Herbs, fruits, flesh, and grain are ordained for the use of man and of animals.

• Eat meat in thankfulness and should be eaten sparingly

The Lord promises in D&C 89:18-21

18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;

19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;

20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.

21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

Discuss how your children should respond when someone offers them something that is against the Word of Wisdom.

Did you know that there is a story in the Bible where Daniel and his friends, Shadrach; Meshach; and Abed-nego, were offered food and strong drink and they had to tell the prince of eunuchs, Melzar, that they could not drink the wine or eat the meat that the king offered them. 

The prince was afraid that the kind would be very mad and kill him, because they would be sick and look too skinny. They asked the prince to give them grains to eat and water to drink, for 10 days.

After 10 days, Daniel, Shadrach; Meshach; and Abed-nego looked more healthy than those that had eaten the king’s meat and drank the king’s wine.

Daniel 1:17-20 says

17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah [Shadrach], Mishael [Meshach], and Azariah [Abed-nego]: therefore stood they before the king.

20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

As Daniel grew older, he became loved by all the kings, and he was known as the interpreter of dreams. King Darius loved Daniel and made him a prince over the kingdom. The other princes got jealous and tried to find a reason to get him in trouble, but Daniel was honest and good.

So, the princes told Darius to make a royal decree that said if anyone should ask any man or God for something for 30 days, then he should be ​​​cast​ into a den of lions.

Daniel was not ashamed to pray, and left the windows open in his house, when he knelt down to pray. The princes saw him and told the king that they saw Daniel pray 3 times a day. King Darius wanted to change the decree, but there was a law that once a decree was made, it could not be changed. 

King Darius asked his guards to go arrest Daniel and cast him into the lion’s den. As he went into the den, the King told Daniel that he believed that the God that Daniel prayed to would save him. 

The king fasted all night and ran to the lion’s den as soon as the sun came up. He went to the top of the den and said, 

Daniel 6:20-23

20…O Daniel, ​​​servant​ of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

​​​21​Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.

​​​22 ​My God hath sent his ​​​angel​, and hath shut the ​​​lions’​ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

​​​23 ​Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he ​​​believed​ in his God

Daniel was blessed because he prayed to God and didn’t let anybody stop him. What do we learn from Daniel’s example? What can we do to be more like him?

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Family Home Evening for Ezekiel 1-3; 33-34;36-37; 47

 Read or Summarize Ezekiel 37

Make sure to emphasize the 2 different symbols, represented in this chapter. Here is an example of our summary:

Dry Bones

Ezekiel was shown a land that was covered in dry bones. These bones were so dead and dry that there wasn’t any sign of life in any of them. Ezekiel asked if the bones could ever live again.

The Lord asked him to tell the bones about Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Ezekiel did what the Lord asked, and the bones began to shake and rattle. Then, they started to come back together. Then, their insides and skin came back on their bones. They looked like they did before they died and turned into bones, but they were still not alive. So the Lord told him to speak to the wind. This symbolized calling the Spirit back to the body. When Ezekiel did this, the spirit and the body came back together, and they were resurrected. Ezekiel asked who all of these people were. The Lord said that this was the House of Israel, and because of Jesus Christ they will all be resurrected, and when they come out of their grave, they will know Jesus Christ is the reason they can be resurrected, and His Spirit will be with them.

Stick of Judah and Stick of Joseph

Ezekiel was told to take 2 sticks. On one stick, the Lord told Ezekiel to write “For Judah, and for the children of Israel” and on the other one write “ For Joseph and for Ephraim and all of the House of Israel.” The Lord told Ezekiel to join these two sticks together. The Lord told Ezekiel that this represented what Jesus will do in the last days. He said that He will gather all of the children of Israel and the house of Israel together into one place, and He will be their king and they will all be one people.

Discuss

Latter-day revelation has revealed that the Stick of Judah represents the Bible.

 About 975 years before the birth of Christ the tribes of Israel were divided. When King Rehoboam and King Solomon made the people pay taxes or money. During Rehoboam's reign, the tribe of Judah and most of the tribe of Benjamin wanted Rehoboam as their king. They became the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem, where Jesus was born, was the main city. The people of Judah wrote the Bible. This is why we call it the Stick of Judah.

The other 10 tribes and the rest of the tribe of Benjamin chose Jeroboam as their king. They called themselves Israel, and became also known as Ephraim, because Ehpraim was the strongest tribe. Ephraim’s dad was Joseph. So they were of the tribe of Joseph. 

In about 721 B.C., Israel was captured by the Assyrians, under Shalmanezer, and carried away, and subsequently, became lost to the knowledge of men. They are now referred to as "the lost ten tribes."

About 600 years before Christ was born, a prophet, named Lehi, left the rest of the other people from Joseph’s tribe and came to the Americas. Lehi and his posterity kept a Spiritual record of their lives and visions, visits from Jesus Christ before His birth and after His resurrection, and even how some of them were destroyed because of wickedness. This record is known as the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is the Stick of Joseph, talked about in Ezekiel.

Now, the Stick of Joseph and the Stick of Judah have been reunited to teach us about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. Together, they teach us about how we can become like Heavenly Father and Jesus and return to them.

President Nelson explains the importance of the Book of Mormon in gathering all of the tribes together in the following video:

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Family Home Evening for Jeremiah 30-33; 36; Lamentations 1; 3

 Read Jeremiah 31:3

1 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

3 ​The ​​Lord​​ hath appeared ​​​of old​ unto me, ​saying,​ Yea, I have ​​​loved​ thee with an everlasting ​​​love​: therefore with loving kindness have I ​​​drawn thee​.

Discuss

This scripture says that Heavenly Father and Jesus love us with an “everlasting love.” In the past few weeks, we have learned and discussed the Plan of Happiness, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and other ways that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have shown us their everlasting love. As a family, discuss how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have helped you feel of their everlasting love.

Click the picture below to see how we did this video

Family Home Evening for Jeremiah 1-3; 7; 16-18; 20

 Read Jeremiah 1:5

5 ​Before I ​​​formed​ thee in the belly I ​​​knew​ thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I ​​​sanctified​ thee, ​and​ I ​​​ordained​ thee a prophet unto the ​​​nations​.

Discuss (Show pictures, summarize, and/or bear testimony of the following)

This scripture is very important, because it helps us to know that we lived before we came to earth. Heavenly Father knew our spirits before we came to earth to receive bodies. In Heaven, before you came to earth, there was a war. 

Heavenly Father presented His beautiful Plan of Salvation, also known as the Plan of Happiness. This Plan made it so that we could come to earth, receive our bodies, and return to Him again. In order for us to be able to make it back to Heavenly Father, we needed to be able to repent of our mistakes. The only way that this could happen was to have a Savior. Two people wanted to be the Savior. 

Lucifer, also known as the devil or Satan, wanted to be the Savior. He didn’t love Heavenly Father or us. He wanted to change Heavenly Father’s Plan and take all of Heavenly Father’s power and glory. 

Jesus also volunteered to be the Savior. He loved Heavenly Father, and He loved us. He offered to come to earth, receive a body, atone for our sins, and be resurrected, so that Heavenly Father’s Plan could be fulfilled.

Jesus was chosen as the Savior and Messiah. This made Satan very angry. Heavenly Father cast Satan out of Heaven. One-third of all the people in Heaven left with Satan. You were part of the people who stayed and decided to follow Heavenly Father’s Plan. You not only decided to follow His Plan, but you were one of the most valiant of that group. This means that you were one of the people that loved Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and powerfully supported God’s Plan of Happiness. You stood strongly for them there, and you promised to stand strongly for them here. President Russell M. Nelson has said this about you, “You are a chosen generation, fordetermined by God to do a remarkable work–to help prepare the people of this world for the Second Coming of the Lord.” 

This valiant spirit is in your body. Heavenly Father knew you, before you even went into your mommy’s tummy. He knows who you are, and He knows what you can and will become. You were saved and prepared to come in the latter days, to be born to your parents, and to be an example of Heavenly Father’s light and hope in the world.

Click the picture below to see our video for this lesson

Family Home Evening for Isaiah 58-66

 Read or Summarize Isaiah 58:3-11 

Have your children act our the different kinds of fasting, as you read or summarize these verses 

3 ​​ ​​​​Wherefore​ have we fasted, ​say they,​ and thou seest not? ​wherefore​ have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your ​​​fast​ ye find ​​​pleasure​, and ​​​exact all your labours​. 

​​​4 ​Behold, ye fast for ​​​strife​ and ​​​debate​, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not ​​​fast​ as ​ye do this​ day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

​​​5 ​Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? ​is it​ to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes ​under him?​ Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the ​​Lord​​?

​​​6 ​​Is​ not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the ​​​bands​ of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go ​​​free​, and that ye break every yoke?

​​​7 ​​Is it​ not to deal thy bread to the ​​​hungry​, and that thou bring the ​​​poor​ that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from ​​​thine own flesh​?

​​​8 ​​Then shall thy ​​​light​ break forth as the morning, and thine ​​​health​ shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the ​​Lord​​ shall be thy ​​​rearward​. 

​​​9 ​Then shalt thou ​​​call​, and the ​​Lord​​ shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I ​am.​ If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the ​​​putting​ forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 

​​​10 ​And ​if​ thou draw out thy soul to the ​​​hungry​, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light ​​​rise in obscurity​, and thy darkness ​be​ as the noonday: 

​​​11 ​And the ​​Lord​​ shall ​​​guide​ thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in ​​​drought​, and ​​​make fat​ thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a ​​​spring​ of water, whose waters fail not.

Which of these ways is a more acceptable fast for the Lord?

Discuss 

What is fasting?

According to Gospel Topics:

Fasting is a commandment from the Lord where we humble ourselves before Him by voluntarily refraining from eating and drinking.

In the Church today, one Sabbath day each month is set aside for the purpose of fasting. Members of the Church go without food and water for two consecutive meals in a 24-hour period and then contribute the money that would have been spent for that food to those in need

There are 2 parts to fasting

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught: “Without prayer, fasting is not complete fasting; it’s simply going hungry. If we want our fasting to be more than just going without eating, we must lift our hearts, our minds, and our voices in communion with our Heavenly Father. Fasting, coupled with mighty prayer, is powerful. It can fill our minds with the revelations of the Spirit. It can strengthen us against times of temptation.

To see how we did this lesson, click on the picture below

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