FAMILY HOME EVENING LESSON

FAMILY by Shauna Gibby

Stable families provide the fabric that holds society together, benefiting all mankind.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conference Talk:
For more information on this topic read “Restoring Faith in the Family,” by Kenneth Johnson, Ensign, May 2008, 15–17. Click to go to the link to "Restoring Faith in Family"

Thought:
Stable families provide the fabric that holds society together, benefiting all mankind. (Kenneth Johnson, “Restoring Faith in the Family,” Ensign, May 2008, 15–17)

Song:
“Love is Spoken Here,” Children’s Songbook, p. 190.



Scripture:
But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another. (Mosiah 4:15)

Object Lesson:
Materials needed: Two magnets.

Presentation: Choose two members of the family and give them each a magnet. have them put the two magnets together. Explain that love brings people together. Love unites the entire family. Then have them turn the magnets around so that they repel rather than attract each other. Explain that without love the family will lack strength and may fall apart. We need to take the proper steps to keep love strong in the family.

(Alma Heaton, Tools for Teaching, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1979], p. 17.)

Story:
The Unknown Treasure from Jutta Baum Busche

In our home there was little religious education, although my parents were Protestant. My family simply did not talk about religion. But my father’s brother was a Protestant minister. I remember a time when this uncle’s wife came to visit. Before my aunt arrived, my father instructed us, “When she is here, we must have a prayer before we eat.” I will never forget how comical and strange it was to hear my father offer a blessing on the food in words and tone of voice so unfamiliar to us that it struck me as hypocritical. Yet, as I grew up, frequently in the evening I knelt at my bedside on my own initiative to pray to my Heavenly Father because, even without religious instruction, I felt in my heart that there must be someone whom I could trust and love—someone who knew me and cared about me. What a privilege it would have been to be reared in a family that was well-grounded in the restored gospel!

When the missionaries first came to our door in Dortmund, Germany, my husband and I had not been married long. Our first son was only three months old. I was and always will be grateful each minute of my life for the message that came to us through these young missionaries. I was impressed with many things about these young men. One was the loving way they talked about their families. . . . I sensed such humble honesty in their expressions of testimony that I was compelled to listen.

(LDS Women’s Treasury: Insights and Inspiration for Today’s Woman [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997].)

Activity:
As a family, put together a puzzle. Or for younger cildren you can print out this picture to color.

Click the picture to get a bigger image to print out.

Refreshment:
Fresh Cherry Cobbler

4 cups fresh sour cherries, washed and pitted
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon instant tapioca
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter or margarine

In a saucepan, combine cherries, 1 cup sugar, tapioca, vanilla, and lemon juice. Stirring frequently, heat over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved. Mix together flour, 1 cup sugar, milk, and baking powder. Melt butter in 9–inch square baking dish in 350–degree oven. Pour batter on top of melted butter, and spoon cherries on top of batter. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.


*Note: 4 cups canned or bottled sour cherries may be used instead of fresh cherries. Drain and proceed as directed.
(Paula Julander and Joanne Milner, Utah State Fare, [Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 1995], p. 178.)


This information came from http://ldslivingmagazine.com/categories/show/3