2021
Temples, the Name of the Church, and Including Others
October 2021

“Temples, the Name of the Church, and Including Others,” Liahona, October 2021

For Parents

Temples, the Name of the Church, and Including Others

Image
young adults together in church

Dear Parents,

In this issue you can learn about using the correct name of the Church, the importance of temples, and including others. You can use these articles and the ideas below to open conversations with your family about things we can do to progress along the covenant path.

Gospel Discussions

Thus Shall My Church Be Called

President Henry B. Eyring talks about why we use the full name of the Church and what blessings we receive by doing so (see page 6). You could read this article as a family and discuss how using the full name of the Church is a way to share our testimony.

The Temple

Use the articles on pages 10–17 and the stories in the Friend magazine to help your family learn about the temple. Consider asking your children what the temple means to them. Use Church resources to help you answer any questions they have about the temple.

Inclusion

If you have older children who experience same-sex attraction or have friends who do, read the article on page 20 together. Then discuss how you can help your children or their friends feel more included and how you can share God’s love for them.

Come, Follow Me Insights

See pages 26–29.

Come, Follow Me Family Fun

The Weight of Affliction

Doctrine and Covenants 122:5–9

  1. Gather some heavy items, such as rocks or large books.

  2. Have everyone sit in a circle.

  3. Show a picture of Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail.

  4. Read Doctrine and Covenants 122:5–7.

  5. For each affliction mentioned in these verses, place a rock in the middle of the circle.

  6. Have each family member add one more rock to the pile to represent a trial they have gone through.

  7. Read Doctrine and Covenants 122:8–9.

  8. Who has felt the pain of all of these trials? Imagine how it would feel to carry them all.

Discussion: In what ways does the Lord understand us, help us, and turn our trials into experiences that “shall be for [our] good”? (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7). For ideas, see Jeffrey R. Holland, “Lessons from Liberty Jail,” Ensign, Sept. 2009, 29–32.

Refuge from the Storm

Doctrine and Covenants 115

Try this activity to teach how gathering as Latter-day Saints gives us strength and protection.

  1. Read together Doctrine and Covenants 115:6: “The gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.”

  2. Roll a set of dice or have a family member think of a number between 1 and 10.

  3. If the number is odd, name something that will protect you from a physical storm (for example: umbrella, coat, house).

  4. If the number is even, name something that will protect you from a spiritual storm (for example: scriptures, prayer, obedience, our families).

  5. Take turns thinking of answers.

  6. If you have older children, you could discuss the meaning of Zion from the Guide to the Scriptures: “Pure in heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:21). How does gathering together with the pure in heart protect us?

Discussion: What are some of the physical and spiritual storms we face? How can we gather in Christ? How can we “arise and shine forth”? (Doctrine and Covenants 115:5).