Family Home Evening and Preach my Gospel

"Studying [Preach My Gospel] is a great support in developing a strong testimony. It helps us understand fundamental gospel principles and the desire to serve.” -- Elder Erich W. Kopischke, of the Quorum of the Seventy

For those who have asked, or those who are interested, I was asked to teach a Relief Society Meeting Night on Using "Preach My Gospel" in Family Home Evening.  Here is the basic outline of what I taught, plus ideas.  Enjoy and good luck.  Truly, the most important thing you can do is to teach your children in your home so they will be comfortable sharing what they know with those around them.

I served in the Florida Tallhassee Mission in 1996-1997, where I served in Southern Alabama, and the Gulf Coast of Florida.  In 2004, the First Presidency introduced Preach My Gospel, and taught us that it is to be used for missionaries and families.  If children and parents are familiar with these comepts, not only will they have a better idea of what to expect on a mission, but they will have gained a testimony of the gospel, and in turn, be strengthened to teach gospel principles to those around them.

For more information on this, please go to http://www.lds.org/, and look up Elder Erich W. Kopischke's talk in the October 2007 General Conference, entitled, "Unifying Tool Between Members and Missionaries".  You can pick up the Preach my Gospel book at any LDS bookstore and distribution center, or online.

As part of my lesson, I also used ideas 1 and 2. 

Ideas for Family Home Evening using Preach My Gospel
1. Lehi’s Vision
Suggested Songs: Nephi’s Courage (CS), The Iron Rod (Hymns)
Week 1: Using a poster board, read through and illustrate Lehi’s dream as found in 1 Nephi 8. Work in teams, or have each family member draw their own element of the dream. Post in conspicuous place, and during the week talk about what each item might symbolize.

Week 2: Focus on 1 Nephi 11, and label your illustration of Lehi’s dream with the symbolic meanings. Set up a rope (inside or outside) which lead to a tree/plant which has marhmallows, or any type of white or silver treat hanging from it. Have each family member follow the rope (possibly blindfolded) to reach the end. Focus lesson on holding to the rod and enduring to the end.

Week 3: Family flag and song. Based on Lehi’s vision, discuss faith, gospel ordinances, enduring to the end, attitudes, and sharing the gospel as they relate to Lehi’s dream. Discuss the story of Captain Moroni (Alma 46) and the Title of Liberty. Determine what is most important to your family, and discuss and make long term family goals, and identify short term goals wich are necessary for reaching long term goals. Make a family flag and a family song as a reminder of the family goals.

2. The First Vision
In order to teach this lesson you will need a Preach My Gospel and a Gospel Art Kit. Begin by telling your family a little about the Great Apostasy using Preach My Gospel Pg. 35. This will give a little background information about why a restoration was needed. Use objects if you need to.

Describe Joseph Smith, and how he was confused by the different churches and their different religions. Then use PMG pages 36 and 37 to read some of the passages while using pictures 401, 402,403,404,406,407,408,416, and 417 from the Gospel Art Picture kit to go along with the story.
End by explaining the name of the Church and who leads it today

For Activity, play charades using the pictures above. First, mix up the pictures. Then allow a family member to choose one. Then have that person act out what is on the picture and see if other family members can guess what picture is being acted out.

3. Gospel Principles Video. Have family members be news reporters. Divide into teams and research gospel principles of faith, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost using the Bible Dictionary and scripture references found in the Topical Guide. Have each member or team report and make a video, or present their findings by way of a news cast.

4. Journal Night. Have a Journal FHE. Read some important passages from your journal to your family or from an ancestor’s journal. Have each family member come up with a question, and have everyone respond to it in writing in their journal. Answer the questions in the Personal Study activity on pg. 18

5. Ideas for Study and Application. Use PMG as a manual, using the activities and suggestions found at the end of each chapter under the Personal, Companion, District, and Zone conferences, and Mission President headings. Many different ideas, penetrating questions, and related scriptures are compiled in these sections. Simply modify for your family’s needs.

6. Blue Box Discussions. Use the blue boxes in the text (Pg.8 for example). They have a question and a theme. Read the related scriptures together and have a gospel discussion. A great way to start is to try and restate a verse in one’s one’s own words, or use a dictionary to discover words that children aren’t familiar with. Make it fun by having a scripture chase to find each scripture or act it out.

7. Activity Boxes. Use the activity boxes – they are full of ideas and applications. Make your lesson from these (for example, pg. 22)

8. Get to know your scriptures. Learn how to use the Topical Guide, Bible Dictionary, Maps, Gazetteer, and Abbreviations

9. Scripture Marking. Teach how to mark scriptures, pg. 24

10. Kids Teach: Get children involved in the discussion by preparing beforehand and having them teach the lesson or tell the story.

11. Missionary Night. Work with kids before the lessons, and have them be missionaries, teaching parents and family members the principles. This is what is practiced in the MTC. Act as the investigator to see if they can teach you.

12. Word match and Definitions Game, PG. 44

13. Sunday Talks. Practice preparing and giving talks – Use pg. 124 and ideas 1 and 2 to prepare talks to give to each other, pretending it is a Sacrament meeting. Practice Sacrament Meeting behavior.

14. Cultural Night. Once a month have a “cultural night” and study the ideas, beliefs, foods, religions, and customs of a different culture.

15. Different Religions FHE. Explore different religious ideologies and customs. Pg. 45-46 give a very brief overview of a few.

16. Family “To Be a Friend” Action Plan. Use ideas from pge 167, 215-217. Figure out what you and your family can do to be part of this process. Make fellowshipping goals; put them into action and report back.

17. One minute messages. Divide family into teams and put several principles or topics into a jar to be drawn out. Time each family member and give them 2 minutes. One minute to think and plan, and then one minute to teach the principle. This could be adapted into a game show with a competition between teams, teaching, being scored by the judges, etc.

18. Service lesson by a 5 year old. Give them 45 seconds to talk about the importance of service, that it makes you strong, helps others, and helps Heavenly Father. Like musical chairs, hand out stuffed animals, one less than participant number. Instead of chairs, play musical animals. While singing a song, pass the bears to each other around the circle. When the music ends, whoever doesn’t have a bear gets to have an on the spot service done for them by the other participants (i.e. back rub, foot rub, glass of water, make their bed, etc.). Continue until everyone has had a chance to serve and be served.

19. Likening the Scriptures Game: Two contestants face each other and an abstract word is given. The first contestant to figure out how to liken that word to a gospel principle wins a team point. Contestants then go back to their teams, and the teams are given a same specific scripture (Family Fued Style) and a time limit within which they must come up with as many personal applications as possible. Points are awarded for each valid personal application wich does not duplicate the opposing team’s answers.

20. Questions of the Soul. Make a list of questions of the soul. See if your family member’s questions are similar to the ones found on pg. 107. Put the questions in a jar – have someone read out the question, as well as the chapter it is found, and have a scripture scanning race to find the answer within that chapter.

21. References to Christ. Personal study activity on pge 112 (#1)

22. Personal Attributes Exam. Pretend that your family has just been resurrected and the personal inventory questions on pg 126 are the questions you will be asked at the judgement bar. Have each family member complete the self evaluation and grade themselves, then identify focus areas and record personal insights and goals in their journals.

23. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. Organize family into groups and assign a chapter from the Book of Mormon. Have each group identify a story, scripture event or teaching that is meaningful from their chapter. Have each group sketch or describe how they visualize this, or their mental image they have formed regarding what they read and why it is meaningful to them. For a twist, give them a piece of paper and have them make something that was talked about in the chapter.

24. Sermon on the Mount. Compare and Contrast. Personal Study Activity on pg 112 (#4)

25. Size and Time Adaptations. Use suggestions found in text (Pgs. 30-88) which break lessons up into small, medium or large lessons.

26. References of Christ in the Book of Mormon. Highlighting references of Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon activity Pg 114 (#6)

27. Principles and Topics. Start on pg. 30 and break each subject down (30-88). Remember it isn’t a marathon – break it down into topics such as :
God is our Loving Heavenly Father (Pgs 30-34) etc.
The Savior’s Earthly Ministry and Atonement
The Apostasy
The Restoration, First Vision
The Book of Mormon
The Holy Ghost
Etc.

Make sure you prepare beforehand. Study the scriptures, suggested questions, activities, and ideas to figure out what you want to teach. Prayerfully determine what will be most important for your family. As you focus on each topic, use the internet, primary manuals, conference talks, the Friend, church magazines, videos, publications, FHE manuals, etc. to search for lesson ideas, stories, songs, object lessons, and games for each topic.

Sources:
http://www.mormonshare.com/
http://www.lds.org/
http://www.ldssplash.com/
http://www.theideadoor.com/