FAMILY HOME EVENING- CHOICES

by Shauna Gibby

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


Conference Talk:


For more information on this topic read “Walk in the Light,” by Henry B. Eyring, Ensign, May 2008, 123–25.

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=1325558fcc599110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Thought:



You make choices every day and almost every hour that keep you walking in the light or moving away toward darkness. (Henry B. Eyring, “Walk in the Light,” Ensign, May 2008, 123–25.)



Song:

“Teach Me to Walk in the Light ” Children’s Songbook, p. 177.




Scripture:


For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
(Moroni 7:16)

Object Lesson:


Materials needed: water, red food coloring, red punch mix, and cups.


Preparation: Prepare two pitchers, one of red food coloring and water, and another of red punch.


Procedure: Precede this object lesson with a discussion of Satan’s enticements.

Explain that he’ll try hard to make his traps look appealing and good however, the only source of true joy and happiness is from our Father in Heaven. Anything else is counterfeit.

Follow this discussion by serving punch. Instead of punch, use the food coloring and water. The family will notice the lack of flavor. Use this opportunity to compare it to Satan’s approach. He makes sin so inviting; but once we partake, we realize it’s a counterfeit to joy. Heavenly Father offers us the real thing. Conclude by serving the real punch.

(Beth Lefgren and Jennifer Jackson, Power Tools for Teaching, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], p. 90.)


Story:

President Milton R. Hunter

The Prophet Joseph Smith termed it this way, that the purpose of our existence is that we might have happiness. We want to be happy today, tomorrow, next week, next year, ten years from now, a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, a million years from now.

I was in a stake conference one time, and I made a remark similar to the statement I just made. There were several little boys sitting on the front row. One little chap spoke aloud what he was thinking. He said, “Oh, we won’t live that long!”

This gave me a fine opportunity to make an explanation. I said, “Young man, we will live that long. We live forever and ever.”


Permit me to give you a little illustration. If we take a pencil and put a dot on the wall over there, we could call that dot mortality. Then if we take that pencil and run a line clear around this big fieldhouse in which we are meeting, we could call that line the eternal existence or life we shall live. Notice that the dot is very, very small in comparison to the line; and yet it is most important, extremely important, because the joy that we have throughout the eternities or the sorrow that we have throughout the eternities is determined by the choices we make during our mortal lives. Also, the status of our life or existence, the future world in which we live, will be determined by what happens in this little dot, or, in other words, in this short span of life that we live here in mortality.

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


Activity:

Play “Hot Potato.”

1. Form people into a circle, seated or standing.

2. Throw an object back and forth across the circle. A ball or bean bag could be used.

3. Set a timer (an egg timer or a watch, for instance) for any length of time up to one minute. Music accompaniment, such as provided by a CD player, may be desirable.

4. When the timer rings, the person holding the ball is holding the “hot potato” and is eliminated from the circle. Play continues until only one person remains.

(George and Jeane Chipman, Games! Games! Games!, [Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 1983], p. 22.)



Refreshment



Chocolate Cream Crunch

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 8-ounce tub Cool Whip®, thawed and divided

1 6-ounce package instant chocolate pudding

1 6-ounce package instant vanilla pudding

3 cups milk, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make crust by combining flour, pecans, and margarine in a small bowl. Press into bottom of 9x13-inch pan. Bake 20 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack. Blend cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Fold in 1 cup of the Cool Whip. Blend well and spread over cooled crust. Chill. Combine instant chocolate pudding and 1 1/2 cups milk. Mix until smooth. Pour over cream cheese layer. Chill. Pudding will thicken in refrigerator. Repeat with instant vanilla pudding. Chill. Frost with remaining Cool Whip. Cut into 4-inch squares and serve.



Makes 28 squares.


Information from http://ldslivingmagazine.com/