- Family home evenings reinforce family bonds.family image by Linda Mattson from Fotolia.com
Family home evenings are an opportunity to gather as a family and study the lessons of the Bible. As your family gathers in the home in the evening for lessons that centers on the lessons of Jesus Christ, consider how activities, scriptures, songs and discussions can be used to reinforce the central idea of the evening. - One of the main lessons from Jesus was that his people should love their neighbors. To start the evening, you can read Bible verses Matthew 22:37-40 and John 13:35, where Jesus commands his people to love their fellow men. Discuss with your family how you might follow this commandment: service, understanding people who are different, exercising compassion for those who are less fortunate, or sharing your blessings with others. For an activity, you might spend time as a family helping out a neighbor or a community member. Make a casserole for a person who is ill, volunteer at a local nursing home or surprise a neighbor by raking or shoveling their yard. Afterward, discuss with your family how you can love your neighbors in small ways each day, at school and at work.
- If you have teenage children, or even adults, who indulge in gossip, use it as a family home evening lesson to gently remind them of the possible harmful effects. Begin the lesson by reading Doctrine and Covenants 136:23, and discuss the differences between talking about someone and telling an adult something important. Ask your children to bring up situations in which gossip has hurt them or a friend, and share your own examples. Ask why it is hard to avoid talking about people behind their backs, and talk about the ways gossip can be harmful. As a family, decide that you will make your home a safe place for family, friends and strangers by not speaking ill of them. Make a pact to help remind each other when gossip starts.
- To reinforce a sense of gratitude for your family, prepare a family home evening that celebrates your gifts to each other. Ask each family member to identify a place in the Bible where a person inherited a trait or behavior from their parents or siblings, and have each person present their findings. Then, talk together about how your family helps each other or passes on gifts. An child might notice how he inherited his father's sense of honesty, for example, or a sister might express thanks for her brothers' help in learning to maintain her car. Finish the evening by having each person identify positive behaviors or traits that they would like to learn from an immediate or extended family member.
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