Lesson 21 Teacher Material

Rearing Children in Love

“Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org). In this lesson students will discuss truths that can help them fulfill their sacred duty as parents to love their children. (The next lesson will focus on rearing children in righteousness.) Students will also be invited to determine how they can love and serve their families in a more Christlike way.

Suggestions for Teaching

Parents are to rear their children in love.

Consider beginning class by asking students what things they have seen their own or other parents do that they want to do when raising their own children. After a few students share, encourage the class to look for truths in this lesson and the next lesson that they can follow as they become parents.

Display the following statement from the family proclamation: Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love.

You might ask some of the following questions to help students deepen their understanding of this truth:

• What are some ways you can show love for your children? (Consider reviewing Church leaders’ statements about time and wholesome recreational activities in section 1 of the preparation material.)

• How have you been blessed by spending time, working, and engaging in wholesome recreational activities with your parents?

Explain that rearing children in love includes properly disciplining them when needed. Divide the class into small groups, and designate a leader for each group. Give the group leaders copies of the following handout, and instruct them to follow the directions as given. (You might want to adapt the scenarios to make them more relevant to your students.)

Disciplining Children in the Lord’s Way

The Eternal Family Teacher Material—Lesson 21

Invite group members to imagine that they are parents. Ask them to select one of the following situations to discuss together:

1. When you get home from grocery shopping with your children, you see your six-year-old daughter eating a candy bar she stole from the store.

2. Your 14-year-old son often bullies his 9-year-old brother. This usually occurs when you are not present. The son being bullied comes to you in tears and tells you that his brother has been saying mean things to him again.

3. You have been waiting for your 17-year-old daughter to return home from being with friends. When she finally comes home, it is well past her curfew.

Ask your group to discuss the following questions as they relate to the situation they chose:

• How could what you learned from section 2 of the preparation material guide you in disciplining your child? (If necessary, invite your group members to quickly review section 2.)

• What would your conversation with your child be like? What consequences might you give for your child’s actions?

• How is properly disciplining a child an act of love? (See Doctrine and Covenants 95:1.)

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Disciplining Children in the Lord’s Way

teacher handout

After students have finished the activity, invite a few to share what they discussed in their groups. As part of the discussion, emphasize the following truth: To follow the divine pattern of discipline, we must be motivated by love (see the statement by Elder D. Todd Christofferson in section 2 of the preparation material).

If needed, ask the class how the Lord’s way of disciplining can be different from ways of disciplining children that are accepted in some cultures or families.

• When have you seen someone discipline a child in a loving way? What did you learn from that experience?

Improving Teaching and Learning

Invite students to ponder. Pondering means thinking deeply about something. It can often be enhanced by prayer. As students learn to ponder, the Spirit will often reveal truth to them and teach them what they personally need to learn or feel.

Display the following instructions and questions, and give students several minutes to ponder them (they may also want to record some of their thoughts):

• Think of times when you have been corrected by the Lord or the Holy Ghost has prompted you to change in some way. What can you learn about disciplining children from those experiences? When can you remember Heavenly Father expressing His love for you at a time when you needed it?

Invite a few students to share their thoughts with the class.

Parents are to teach their children to love and serve one another.

Invite a student to read Mosiah 4:14–15 aloud.

• What sacred duties of parents did King Benjamin emphasize? (After students respond, display the following statement from the family proclamation: Parents have a sacred duty to teach their children to love and serve one another.)

• How did your parents teach you to love and serve your siblings or other family members?

Remind students that they were invited to think of a time when the Savior lovingly served someone and then write about how they could love and serve a family member in this or another Christlike way (see section 3 of the preparation material). Invite a few students to share what they wrote. (Also consider sharing an example of your own.)

Display the following questions, and invite students to record their thoughts related to the question that they feel is more relevant to them:

• How will you follow the example and teachings of Heavenly Father in rearing your current or future children in love?

• What is one Christlike way you can love and serve a sibling, your parents, or another family member this week?

Consider ending class by inviting a student to share his or her testimony of the importance of loving our family members or by sharing your own testimony of this gospel principle. Remind students that regardless of how they were raised, they can choose to rear their children in love and teach them to love and serve one another.

For Next Time

You might ask students at the end of class or in a message afterward the following questions to consider as they prepare for the next class:

• What spiritual experiences did your parents help you have growing up? What spiritual experiences do you hope to have with your children in the future?