3 Questions to Guide Your Lesson Preparation

Every month we give our Primary teachers at church a "Tip & Treat" to help them with teacher training.  This month I decided to focus on Chapter 31 in the manual "Teaching, No Greater Call."

These questions are great for general lesson planning, not just for teaching lessons at church.  They can be used at school, home, work, etc.

Click HERE to get the PDF on GoogleDocs (6 bookmarks per page).

PS For the treat, I am giving each teacher a few donut holes in a small plastic bag with this tag attached to them.  I would have made a treat but I was having a busy weekend and this seemed like an easy solution.  Why add craziness to my schedule if I can do something simple, right?

Click HERE to get the PDF on GoogleDocs for the Donut Holes (12 tags per page).

You've Been Easter Egged!

I saw this concept online and thought it was a fun idea.  Unfortunately, the version I saw did not involve a poem, so I felt compelled to write a playful little rhyming version this morning.

Click HERE to get the PDF file from Google Docs.

If you like this idea, try these for other holidays:
Valentine Love Bug
Halloween Phantom Call
Christmas Socking

Ding Dong Ditching

For Family Night, we are going to go DING DONG DITCHING!  We bought individually wrapped Ding Dongs at Costco (around 24 for $5.99).  Put them in a bag, slap on this fun note, and then put them on someone's porch as you ding dong ditch.  My boys are very excited for this new tradition.

Feel free to use and share the sign I created.

Update - We went Ding Dong Ditching and it was a huge success.  Kids and teenagers alike thought it was super dooper fun and clever.

Game Night (and Storage)

 We are a bunch of game fanatics.  I made the Scrabble layout above which incorporates many of our favorite things and sayings.  I am enlarging the picture, framing it and placing it on my game cubbies.

 We were storing our games in some cabinets in the kitchen but they weren't being played with as much as I'd like.  Ya know, OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND.  So I bought this simple cubby shelf at IKEA and put our favorite games out.  Now the kids are playing more games and we are having more family game nights.  Did I mention I love games?  And this is less than half our collection.

Halloween "Phantom Call"

We received this cute poem on our porch tonight with a plate of goodies. We usually "boo" people at Halloween, and this is another form of that. We will include this in our family night this week. (Click to enlarge or print)

Family Home Evening Lesson - Combatting Pornography

Click HERE for a great Family Home Evening lesson Combatting Pornography and Making Safe Media Choices

Family Home Evening

What is Family Home Evening? (from www.LDS.org)

"Family home evening is a special time set aside each week that brings family members together and strengthens their love for each other, helps them draw closer to Heavenly Father, and encourages them to live righteously.

In 1915 President Joseph F. Smith and his counselors in the First Presidency began a Churchwide effort to strengthen the family. They called on parents in the Church to gather their children once each week for a "Home Evening." Families were to take time to pray and sing together, read the scriptures, teach the gospel to one another, and participate in other activities that would build family unity.

In 1970 President Joseph Fielding Smith joined with his counselors in the First Presidency to designate Monday night as the time for family home evening. Since that announcement, the Church has kept Monday evenings free from Church activities so families can have this time together.

Latter-day prophets continue to urge Church members to give highest priority to family home evening. They have promised that our dedication to this program will help protect our families against the evils of our time and will bring us abundant joy now and throughout the eternities.

Although family home evening should begin and end with prayer, it is not intended to be a formal class. In a statement regarding family home evening in 1915, the First Presidency said that "formality and stiffness should be studiously avoided, and all the family should participate in the exercises."

Family home evening can be held by every family and in a variety of different ways. Whether you have children in the home or are a family of one, the resources available on this site can help you plan and prepare successful and memorable family home evenings."

From a talk by David A. Bednar:

"In my office is a beautiful painting of a wheat field. The painting is a vast collection of individual brushstrokes—none of which in isolation is very interesting or impressive. In fact, if you stand close to the canvas, all you can see is a mass of seemingly unrelated and unattractive streaks of yellow and gold and brown paint. However, as you gradually move away from the canvas, all of the individual brushstrokes combine together and produce a magnificent landscape of a wheat field. Many ordinary, individual brushstrokes work together to create a captivating and beautiful painting.

Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33). Consistency is a key principle as we lay the foundation of a great work in our individual lives and as we become more diligent and concerned in our own homes."

Click HERE for more information about Family Home Evening.

Click HERE for easy to prepare activities and lessons.

FHE - Persistence

Click to enlarge (or print):

FHE - Fiery Darts of the Adversary

We met with a few families at the park and had a fun FHE tonight about protecting ourselves from temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary. This could also be adapted for Primary, Young Men, or Young Women activities.

Lesson:

1) What are the fiery darts of the adversary?
(Everyone gets a chance to discuss)

2) What can protect us from temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary?

1 Nephi 15:24 - “Whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.”

WORD OF GOD: The “Iron Rod is the Word of God” – The Word of God does not consist of just reading the scriptures. It is also listening and obeying to our living prophet as well as obeying the commandments in the scriptures.

D&C 3: 8. – “Yet you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble.”

FAITH: If we are true and faithful, we will have the Holy Ghost with us and we will be supported when faced with temptations.

PRAYER: Pray for strength to resist temptations and the fiery darts in our own lives.

TRUTH & RIGHTEOUSNESS: We need to cling to truth no matter how confusing the world becomes. We also need to strive to be righteous and not let Satan trick us onto the wrong paths in life.

Activity:

I made up 4 shields in advance. (I bought some silver cardboard cake platters to use as shields). I printed out wordstrips for Word of God, Faith, Prayer and Truth & Righteousness and taped those on to the "shields" (one per shield)

After the lesson, we assigned half the group to be "adversaries" and the other half to be people trying to avoid the fiery darts. For our fiery darts, we used giant marshmallows thrown by hand, and mini-marshmallow guns made from pvc pipes. The people had to run to a "home base" and try to make it past the adversaries throwing their "fiery darts." The four people who received the shields were able to use those to protect themselves. It was a little chaotic and messy, but the kids all loved it. One of the dads was bummed we didn't light the marshmallows on fire to be literal "fiery darts" but we try to avoid arson charges. For dessert we served Ding Dongs because they are silver and round and I told them they were really shields to protect them from the fiery darts of the adversary.

Graveyard Brownies

Our boys look forward to our annual Halloween tradition of making graveyard brownies. The picture at the top is not our actual creation, but it is similar. These are really easy and fun to make. I'm pretty sure I originally found the idea in a magazine (like Family Fun or something).

Here's how we make our graveyard brownies....

Object Lesson - Friends Rub Off on You

Brief Description/Purpose:
By coloring in with pencil large letters that spell FRIENDS, you will show how friends, whether they are good or bad can easily rub off on you.

Objects Used/Preparation:
chalk, chalkboard (or)piece of paper with the word FRIENDS on it in bubble letters for each student, pencil for each student

Lesson:
Before class print out the word FRIENDS in large bubble letters, about two inches high. During class, give each child a sheet of paper with FRIENDS printed on it and a pencil. Tell them to use the pencil to color in all the letters completely and very dark with the pencil. This may take a few minutes. After they are finished, you will have them rub their fingers over the letters to see that the graphite from the word friends has rubbed off on them. The friends you choose in life can have a big impact on the way you act. Friends can influence what type of clothes you wear, the type of music you listen to, what you believe, the words you use when you speak, the way you treat others, and the list goes on and on. In other words, friends can rub off on you.

Alternate: You can also have someone write the word "Friends" on the chalkboard and then have them rub the letters instead of using a pencil and paper.

Discuss: Talk about positive ways that each of us can rub off on our friends. Who is a friend that we want to have rub off on us? (the Savior)Scriptures: Proverbs 22:24-25; Proverbs 18:24; D&C 23:6; John 15:14

Source: Children's Sunday School Object Lessons, some additions by Michelle Walton

FHE Lesson - Attitude

This lesson was designed as a family night lesson, but can be adjusted for another purpose.

Attitude
A good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude fair results, a poor attitude poor results. Teach your family to shape their own lives through their daily choices.

Thought:
Remember, a good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude fair results, a poor attitude poor results. We each shape our own life, and the shape of it is determined largely by our attitude. (M. Russell Ballard, “Providing for Our Needs,” Ensign, May 1981, 85)

Song:
“If You’re Happy” Children’s Songbook, p. 266.

Scripture:
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. (Romans 15:13)

Lesson:
Ask family members which of the following would be the most difficult for them to deal with:
1. Moving from your home because your parents lost their jobs.
2. Spending many weeks in a hospital because of illness.
3. Temporarily living in a shelter and relying on food storage because of a natural disaster.

Together, read 1 Nephi 16:13–21 and find out what challenges Lehi’s family faced. Ask why this would be a difficult challenge. How does it compare to the three examples above?

Ask your family to look again at verse 20 and tell how most of the group, including Lehi, reacted to the lack of food. Murmuring may be a common reaction to hardship and hunger, but did complaining help solve their problem? Compare the complaining of this group with what Nephi did in verses 22–30. How could Nephi’s non-complaining and productive example help us in our difficult situations?

(Dennis H. Leavitt and Richard O. Christensen, Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families: The Book of Mormon, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003], p. 37.)

Story: Daddy, I Sure Do Love You (Elder Paul H. Dunn)

Have you ever noticed that whenever a person seems out of sorts or somewhat cantankerous, we often say, “He got up on the wrong side of the bed”? Were you ever accused of having such an attitude? A few months ago I was close to having “one of those days.” It came about in this way: About midnight I received a telephone call from one of the teachers in our institute of religion program, which I was coordinating at the time, and he reported that he couldn’t possibly teach his early morning class the next day because of ill health. He wondered if I would teach it for him. I assured him I would and told him not to worry, though I wondered how adequately the material could be prepared in the time left that night to meet the challenge of the group.
After hanging up, I immediately started to prepare my lesson and finally at two a.m., not being able to see the words on the page, I went to bed. Needless to say I was tired and in need of a good night’s sleep. I didn’t stand much chance of getting it, however, since the class next morning met at seven a.m. and was thirty miles from home, all of which required that I get up at five o’clock. This meant only three hours of sleep at the most.

Shortly after going to bed, and not having quite fallen asleep, I was brought back to reality by my four-year-old youngster, who insisted that she have a drink of water—she simply could not get along without it until morning. So, after a hard struggle, I pulled myself together, secured the drink of water, and went back to bed only to be awakened a few moments later by another daughter who had just experienced a horrible nightmare. Her anxious summons brought me to my feet in a hurry, and in my excitement to answer her call, I failed to turn on the hall light. As I made my way in the dark, I was suddenly stopped in my journey by a door that had been left ajar. After a few seconds and with a newly acquired bump, I hastened to her side and gave the comfort that was needed.

Once again I crawled back between the warm covers with a hope that the remaining hours would give peace and rest, only to be brought slyly and slowly back to life by my wife, who had been awakened by the previous interruptions. She had just remembered that she needed the car the next morning for her church assignment and was wondering what arrangements could be made in order that we both might meet our appointments.

When the problem was finally solved, it was three o’clock, and when, shortly after, the alarm rang at five, you can imagine how I felt. After such a night I was getting up on the wrong side of the bed, and my attitude was not the kind that should be taken into a class of religion.
And then it happened—the little thing that changed the gloom of the night into the brightness of a beautiful day. As I was leaving the house, the four-year-old, who had started the series of events the night before, appeared at the door, pulled on my coattail, and then, with my help, climbed into my arms, took hold of both of my ears with her little hands, and without any warning kissed me as hard as she could right on the nose and said, “Daddy, I sure do love you. You are sure a good sport.” “A good sport, eh!” and I tried to smile away the frown that had settled throughout my whole system. “Yep! You’re the best daddy in the whole world,” and planting another kiss on my neck, she slid to the floor and ran back to her bed.

What was about to be a bad morning for me turned out to be one of my best. As I drove to my assignment with a song in my heart, I thought of my many blessings.

(Leon R. Hartshorn, Outstanding Stories by General Authorities, vol. 3, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book,1974].)

Activity:
1. Seat everyone in the room.
2. Pick someone to be the “poor kitty.”
3. The object is for the person who is kitty to get someone to laugh. Kitty goes up to people one at a time on his hands and knees and meows. That person must stroke kitty’s head and say, “Poor Kitty,” three times without laughing or even smiling. If that person smiles, the two trade places with each other and the game continues.

(George and Jeane Chipman, Games! Games! Games!, [Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 1983], p. 36.)

We played this silly game and it was fun for the family and trust me that we all ended up laughing. And that is a wonderful sound to have laughter in a family!

Object Lesson - Tug of War Temptations

This can be used for a Primary Sharing Time, FHE lesson, etc.

Tug-of-war temptations

Show a picture of a family and explain that there are three important things we have been asked to do regularly to strengthen our family. They are scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening.

Then we had 4 children come up, 2 girls & 2 boys, and hung signs on their necks that said Dad, Mom, Brother, Sister. We also had two signs that said Temptations of the world, which we had male teachers wear. Then we had the "family" do a tug-of-war against "temptations". Naturally, they lost.

Then we had 3 more teachers come up and wear the signs we made for Scripture Study, Family Home Evening, and Family Prayer. They joined the children representing the family and had another tug-of-war against "temptations and this time were successful!

The children loved it and it was a great visual for them.

(Thanks to Michelle Walton for this great object lesson!)

YW Activity - Charlotte & Wilbur Days

I did this activity with the Young Women as a Combined YW Activity a while ago. It was a huge success and I have kept my "web" in my keepsake box. This activity could also be adapted to use for Family Home Evening, with Activity Day girls, or even at school.

Charlotte and Wilbur Days

(Most of this is taken from the book I Walk by Faith by Ardeth Greene Kapp)

One of my favorite stories is Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. How many of you have heard the story? If you have read that book or seen the movie, you will remember that Charlotte is the spider and Wilbur is the pig. Poor Wilbur has some very hard times and often feels alone and discouraged. On one dreary rainy day, we read, he felt so “friendless, dejected and hungry, he threw himself down in the manure and sobbed.”

(Show video segment with Wilbur crying)

Have you ever had a Wilbur day? A day when you felt that alone and discouraged? Let me remind you of how Wilbur was rescued from his sad plight. Wilbur was visited by his dear friend Charlotte, the spider whom he didn’t like at all when he first met her. But over time he discovered a true friend in Charlotte, one who was willing to save his life by tirelessly spinning a beautiful web with a message that would let people know this was no ordinary pig. Even Wilbur began to believe he was something special because his friend told him he was.

At the end of the season, Charlotte knew that a spider’s life is short and that she would not be around in the spring to comfort her friend Wilbur. She wanted to help prepare him for the future so he would learn to look for the good things and not be discouraged and lonesome. Charlotte spoke softly to her friend Wilbur: “Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoys, Wilbur, the lovely world, these precious days…”

Charlotte stopped, and a tear came to Wilbur’s eye. “Oh, Charlotte,” he said. “To think that when I first met you I thought you were cruel and bloodthirsty!” When he recovered from his emotion, he spoke again. “Why did you do all this for me?” he asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.”

“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to life up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

“Well,” said Wilbur. “I’m no good at making speeches. I haven’t got your gift for words. But you have saved me, Charlotte, and I would gladly give my life for you – I really would.”

(Show video of bonding moment at end of story)

Would you be willing to save a friend? Can you tell when a friend feels “friendless, and dejected”, bad enough to through herself down in a manure pile and sob? Some people do that, you know – not in the manure pile in the barnyard, like Wilbur the pig, but in the waste and filth of the world because they feel worthless, good for nothing and unnecessary. At times like this, we all need a friend, one who will tell us how special we are, one who will remind us of what President George Q. Cannon tells us: “Now, this is the truth. We humble people, we who feel ourselves sometimes so worthless, so good-for-nothing, we are not so worthless as we think. There is not one of us but what God’s love has not been expended upon. There is not one of us that He has not cared for and caressed. There is not one of us that He has not desired to save and that He has not devised means to save. There is not one of us that He has not given His angels charge concerning. We may be insignificant and contemptible in our own eyes and in the eyes of others, but the truth remains that we are the children of God and that He has actually given His angels – invisible beings of power and might – charge concerning us, and they watch over us and have us in their keeping.”

Each of us has had many “Wilbur days” and hopefully some Charlotte times as well. I can’t help but think about Wilbur and Charlotte and all the other animals in the farm. Each animal was different, yet they all were living in the same barnyard. They sing a song in the video that says “We’ve got lots in common where it really counts, what we look like doesn’t count an ounce, we’ve got lots in common where it really counts.” This reminded me of us here in this room. We are each different and some of us don’t have a lot in common socially or have a lot of common hobbies or interests. However what we do share is what really counts… We share the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are sisters and we are here to help each other feel better about ourselves and about life in general.

Tonight we are going to make special spider webs. Each of us will have our own web to take home and treasure and look at on those “Wilbur days.”

Here are the guidelines for this activity:
1) Write your name in the middle of your web.
2) Pass it to the person to your right.
3) Write down something in one of the small sections of the spider web about the person whose name is on the paper. You can write something you admire about the person, something positive you have noticed about the person, a talent, a good deed that person has done or something along those lines.
4) Don’t write a lot, just fill in one of the small sections on each paper.
5) When your own paper gets back to you, we will be done and have dessert.

(Moral of the story - “Give a dog a name and he’ll answer to it.”)

Here is a spider web if you'd like to use it (click here to download the PDF).

Primary Sharing Time - Choosing Good Friends

Here is a Primary Sharing Time that can also be adapted to use for Family Home Evening.

Subject: “I will choose good friends and treat others kindly.”

I’m thinking of one of My Gospel Standards. It has less than 11 words in it. It has a word in it that means to search for or try to find. It talks about how we should act toward others. Who can guess which Gospel Standard it is?

I WILL SEEK GOOD FRIENDS AND TREAT OTHERS KINDLY.

Ask someone to pass out CTR signs and explain the role play activity. If you don't have CTR signs, you can just have kids do a thumbs up or thumbs down for good and bad choices.

Role Play Activity: We are going to have a role-playing activity now. If you think they made a good choice hold up CTR. If they made a bad choice do not put up your sign. If they make a bad choice, help them decide what the right choice would have been.

· 3 PEOPLE - Two of you are playing ball. Another friend walks up and asks if they can join you. You say “no.”
· 2 PEOPLE - You are on a class field trip on a bus and your friend dares you to hold your hand out the window with a jawbreaker in it. You do it and another kid hits your arm and the jawbreaker falls and almost hits a car on the freeway.
· 2 PEOPLE - You are at recess at school and see a new kid who is playing all alone and looks sad. You go over and ask them if they want to hang out with you.
· 2 PEOPLE - Someone at school comes up and pushes you. You punch him.
· 2 PEOPLE - You see a homeless person who looks sad and hungry. You give him a big smile and a granola bar and a bottle of water.
· 2 PEOPLE - You invite a neighbor to come to a church activity.
· 2 PEOPLE - You are at a friend’s house and they ask you if you want to watch a movie. The movie they pick is rated PG-13. You know you shouldn’t watch it, but you are embarrassed so you watch it anyway.
· 4 PEOPLE - You see one of the kids in your class being teased by some of your friends. You join in and tease them too.
· 2 PEOPLE - You see a person at school who uses a wheelchair. You go up and talk to them and offer to push them around in their wheelchair.
· 2 PEOPLE - You go to a friend’s house and make a big mess playing with their stuff. When it is time to leave, you run home and leave the big mess for your friend to clean up alone.
· 4 PEOPLE - You are playing a game at family night. You help your younger sister to learn how to play the game instead of getting impatient and frustrated with her.
· 2 PEOPLE - You are at a friend’s house and he asks you to play a video game that is rated M. You tell him “No thanks, I can’t play games with that rating.” You pick a rated E game instead.
· 3 PEOPLE - Your friend’s parents are driving you home from an activity. Instead of driving you home directly they decide to go get pizza instead. You call your parent and tell them where you are going.

Q. How do you feel when your friends are kind to you?
Q. How do you think they feel when you are kind to them?
Q. How important is it for you to choose good friends?
Q. Do you think being around friends who make bad choices can hurt you?
Q. Do you think being around friends who choose the right can help you make good choices too?

Song: “Kindness Begins with Me” (Children’s Songbook, p. 145).
I want to be kind to everyone,For that is right, you see.So I say to myself, “Remember this:Kindness begins with me.”

Chocolate Object Lesson: Bring chocolates to share with the Primary children. Place the treat where the children can see it. Mention how good it looks and ask the children if they would like you to share it with them. Ask the children how they would feel if you shared the treat with only some of them. Discuss how others feel when they are not included. Share the treat with the children.

Primary Sharing Time - Dancing Raisins & Faith

I used this for a Primary Sharing Time at church, but it can also be used as a family home evening lesson.

DANCING RAISINS & FAITH SHARING TIME
Welcome to my laboratory!
I am a scientist and you are my assistants.
Today we are going to do an experiment.
Scientists learn how things work by doing experiments.
They usually have an idea, but have to try it out before they can know for sure.
I am going to tell you what will happen in the experiment, but only by DOING the experiments will you know if it works or not!

I want these raisins to dance! Let’s see if I can take these ingredients and make them do it.
Add 1 cup water to glass
Add one tablespoon of baking soda and stir it up.
Drop several raisins into the glass
Are they dancing???
Pour vinegar into the glass until it bubbles
Wow! Look at them dance!
Mixing vinegar and baking soda together forms a gas called carbon dioxide. Bubbles of carbon dioxide stick to the sides of the raisins, act like air bags, and float the heavy raisins to the surface. At the surface the bubbles break and the raisins sink. Then the process starts all over again.

Show a picture of Alma.
Alma was a great prophet in the Book of Mormon.
He taught his followers about a different kind of experiment.
His experiment teaches us how to have faith in Jesus Christ.
Just like combining ingredients in the glass creates a reaction, if we combine the parts of Alma's experiment we will have the reaction of a testimony.

Post the word strip WANT TO BELIEVE.
The first ingredient in our faith experiment is wanting to believe in Jesus Christ. Even when we don't know, we need to have a desire to believe.

Post the word strip READ THE SCRIPTURES.
When we combine wanting to believe with regular scripture study a reaction starts to take place in our hearts. The scriptures contain many testimonies of Jesus Christ. The prophet Alma called the scriptures "the word." They are inspired by our Heavenly Father, and when we read them we can learn many things.

Post the word strip OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS.
When we do the things that Heavenly Father wants us to it is like adding another ingredient in our experiment. Alma called this "nourishing" our faith, which means feeding it good things.
Post the word strip PRAY IN FAITH
When we pray and ask Heavenly Father to help us, we are promised in the scriptures that we will know the truth.

Post the word strip = and then FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.
Faith in our Savior is the result of the first four steps.
Just like the "dancing" raisins are the result of the science experiment, when we perform an experiment of faith we are blessed with a testimony of Jesus.

The more we perform the experiment, the greater our faith will become.
I know these steps work because I have performed the experiment myself.

Challenge the children to try the experiment in their own lives and with their families.

Song Ideas:
"I'll Follow Him in Faith" (Friend, Jan. 2003, 24)
"I Pray in Faith" (Children's Songbook, 120)
"The Fourth Article of Faith" (CS, 124)
"Faith" (CS, 96)

Follow the Prophet - New Verses

Every week our family sings "Follow the Prophet" for our closing song at Family Home Evening. We grew tired of the same verses, so I wrote some additional ones to add some variety. Enjoy!

President Hinckley was a prophet
He taught the six Be’s
Built so many temples
To give the people peace.
Run away from evil,
Shun it from your mind.
Always share the gospel.
Be good and be kind.

Nephi was the prophet
Tried to get the plates
From the wicked Laban
Inside the city gates.
Laban would not give them
Took their gold instead
Nephi was commanded
To chop off his head.

Lehi was a prophet
Served the Lord so well
Sailed over the seas
To promised lands to dwell.
Used the Liahona
Had visions from our God
Tried to teach his family
To hold the iron rod.

Enos was a prophet
Went to hunt a beast.
Prayed all day and night
Had a spiritual feast.
He asked for forgiveness
Cried with all his soul.
His sins were forgiven
His faith had made him whole.

Ammon was a prophet
A missionary man
Went to teach the gospel
In another land.
He served King Lamoni
Guarded all the sheep
Chopped off arms of robbers
His promises to keep.


Joseph Smith was a prophet
Prayed to know the truth
He received an answer
From Heaven in his youth.
He restored the gospel
To our dreary earth
Brought the Book of Mormon
And spiritual rebirth.

President Benson was a prophet
He said pride was bad
If we compare to others
Then we will be sad.
Read the Book of Mormon
Share it with a friend
Study everyday the
Promises within.

King Benjamin was a Prophet
Worked with his own hands.
Following the Savior
Not the natural man.
Humble, meek and patient
Children we should be
Love and help each other
Serving cheerfully.

Alma was a Prophet
Converted as a man.
Left wicked King Noah
And his evil clan.
He taught many others
Baptized many too.
Prayed for his son Alma
For knowledge of the truth.


Jacob was a prophet
Warned of broken hearts
Of tender wives and children
When wickedness we start.
Seek not after riches
Or things that can be bought.
The kingdom of God
Is all that should be sought.

Poem - Prayer Bear

I used this originally while working with the Young Women, but it can be used for younger children too.

I'm your little prayer bear, I'll sit here on your bed.
I'm just a little reminder, to make sure your prayers are said.
I'll sit here and look so cute, and when the day is through,
You'll see me and remember you have journal writing too.
And just before you climb in bed, and close your eyes so tight,
I'll be there to remind you, to read your scriptures tonight.

FHE Idea - Family Night Phantom

We received the following cute note with a plate of cookies last night. What a fun idea! We're totally doing this next Monday night.

Shhhhhhh! Can you keep a secret?
There's a family night phantom who's been to your house.
He hopes you didn't hear him, he was quiet as a mouse.
He loves stories or treats for families to share -
It really doesn't matter - you'll know if he's been there.
He hopes that what he's left tonight will be enjoyed by you.
We're hoping that next family night, you'll be a phantom too!

FHE Idea - Family Prayer

PROPHETS HAVE TOLD US TO HAVE FAMILY PRAYER

Choose a child to come up and tell them we are sending them out in the wilderness where it is really cold and they have snow. Tell them we care about them so much that we want to make sure they are really warm--put on them snow hat and parkas, mitten, scarves, etc. Then have one more child come up, and tell him that we are going to send him too, but that we are not going to give him any warm clothes.

Summarize quote from talk in 2001 February, Ensign by Kent Rappleye " Wise parents will recognize the protective power of regular family prayer. President Kimball taught: "No mother would carelessly send her little children forth to school on a wintry morning without warm clothes to protect against the snow and rain and cold. But there are numerous fathers and mothers who send their children to school without the protective covering available to them through prayer--a protection against exposure to unknown hazards, evil people, and base temptations."

Ask the children to name things we can pray for in family prayer: safety, have the spirit with them to make good decisions, family harmony, desire to study the scriptures, patient with brother or sister, keeping family rules, go on missions, get married in the temple, etc.

Hold up some medicine (wrapped with a label that says "Family Prayer") and tell the kids that you know a kind of medicine that President Hinkley says the our whole society need--that medicine is Family Prayer. Quote from 1991 February, Ensign talk by President Hinkley. "I submit that a return to the old pattern of prayer, family prayer in the homes of the people, is one of the basic medications that would check the dread disease that is eroding the character of our society. We could not expect a miracle in a day, but in a generation we would have a miracle."

For older children, you could also have them do a scripture chase for 3 Nephi 18:21 Explain the setting--where Christ was on Earth teaching the Nephites. "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." We didn't even need a prophet to tell us to have family prayer, because Christ himself to us to pray in our families.

Note: We have been having family prayer and scripture study everyday for about 4.5 years now and our family has become a lot stronger. Before that we were "hit and miss" but then we made a decision that we could not afford to deprive our children or family of this principle. I challenge everyone to pray as a family daily and to study the scriptures daily as well.