Family Home Evening Ideas

This issue contains articles and activities that could be used for family home evening. The following are some examples.

“Act Well Your Part,” page 24: Show to your family a picture of President David O. McKay (lds.org/churchhistory/presidents/leaders.jsp) and read the story about him at the first of the article. You could then read Romans 1:16 and discuss how the story and scripture relate to Elder Quentin L. Cook’s counsel about avoiding masks of anonymity and about acting in accordance with your true identity.

“How Can I Be a Successful Missionary?” page 32: Share with your family some of the insights the author gained about being a successful missionary. Consider reading together the sidebar “Becoming a Successful Missionary” and then discussing some ways family members might measure success in their own missionary efforts. To further the discussion, select a few pictures from the article “Our Great Missionary Heritage” (page 40) and talk about how the missionaries in those pictures were successful.

“Becoming Men and Women of God,” page 60: Ask a few family members to each tell the story of someone from the scriptures, Church history, or the present day who could be considered a man or woman of God. You could then discuss what characteristics make that person a man or woman of God. Compare your ideas with the attributes that Elder Craig A. Cardon highlights from Doctrine and Covenants 4:6.

Establishing a Pattern

After my husband’s passing, holding regular and meaningful family home evenings became a struggle for my teenagers and me. During a family council, we shared ideas about what we could do. We decided to try a pattern of lessons and activities that would allow us to work together on Duty to God and Personal Progress goals, teach the gospel to each other regularly, and participate in various recreational activities. This pattern has helped everyone feel more prepared and willing to participate, and we feel closer and happier because of it.

Selena Rae Johnson, Utah, USA

Photo illustration by Cody Bell