Family-Focused Family Home Evening

For my family's family home evening this past Monday night, I chose two of BYUTV's amazing Turning Point episodes for us to watch: San Pasqual Academy and The Clarks.

After watching those two inspiring videos on my own, I felt so strongly that my children absolutely needed to learn life lessons from those sweet children in California's foster care system, and especially from the wonderful Clark family. And I knew that our family home evening was the perfect opportunity for us to learn together! 😊

While those Turning Point episodes show the immense value of solid/good personal relationships, they especially point out the vast importance of families—which begin from having good parents (and grandparents, whenever possible)!

When my family finished watching San Pasqual Academy and The Clarks, Greg and I had a fairly long conversation with our children about life.

Greg and I reminded our children how incredibly blessed we are to have each other in our very own eternal family! We already have everything those darling foster-care children were seeking and desired so deeply within their lonely, lost souls. No one can ever put a price on the earthly and eternal bond my family has!

We pointed out that San Diego County finally realized—after interviewing many foster-care children—just how invaluable the basic family structure is—including mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, etc. I wanted our children to internalize that those elected officials in California thought it important enough to recreate traditional families for many foster-care children who had lost all hope.

Greg and I helped our "babies" understand that if children are going to be successful, they always need good mothers and fathers in their lives that possess consistent and correct parenting skills!

We also discussed how the amazing Clark parents taught through their example that selflessness, pure love and endless dedication is needed in raising children well. Those same vital principles also apply to children contributing to the happiness of their families. The 21 loving, responsible, kind and cooperative Clark children were a sight to behold! And I've already hoisted Mary Beth and Scott Clark (the amazing parents) on a pretty sizable pedestal! 😉

Greg and I have talked with our children umpteen times about the great importance of parents having a good marriage, but we pointed it out again because we can never undervalue the fact that a solid, loving marriage is what keeps every family going in the right direction!

Our children understand that while no one is perfect, all of us can try to improve ourselves daily! And after watching those two lovely Turning Point videos, I dearly hope my darlings further internalized that family members really can help each other be happy and become better people!

Gratitude was also a big focus of our night. Greg and I really wanted our children (and us!) to remember to be sooo grateful for our lives and the opportunities we've been given! But we also wanted them to realize that even if people don't have the best upbringing, they can still make good choices and live productive, happy lives!

Most importantly, Greg and I helped our children see that each of us can make a very positive impact in this world! Even though we may feel like our lives are small, or they don't matter much, that's most definitely not the case! Every child, sibling and parent can make a difference in someone else's life—even if it's just our own life for a little while! Yes, sometimes we need to work on ourselves before we can branch out and help someone else. But I believe the ultimate goal of this life is for everyone to be happy and to love and serve others to the very best of our abilities—just like Jesus Christ did. 😊

As you may have guessed, our children weren't too thrilled with Greg and I taking away so much time from their Monday night of technology fun. Yes, my babies were very verbal about their unhappiness with our family home evening decision 😒. Yet I did not care how bothered they were because our FHE was worth every single one of those little frustrations! 😊

I love that I accomplished my goal of carving out our essential family togetherness time—especially when I knew it was going to be a battle to have such a l-o-n-g (in their eyes) family home evening. Yet despite my darlings' complaints, I know our family-focused family home evening bonded us and will be remembered for even longer—and that's what really matters!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, here are the wonderful Turning Point episodes—complete with beautiful, uplifting music(!)—that taught my children so much! *FYI, you can turn off the closed captioning by clicking on the "cc" sign and clicking the "on" to "off."

San Pasqual Academy:



The Clarks:



P.S. Please feel free to use this FHE lesson idea and pass it along to others! I know it will impact your family for the better! 😀 Plus, I'd love the entire world to fully internalize just how important good parenting is! Let's spread the word that there is nothing better than having dedicated, Paramount Parents!

Family Home Evening

I'm so happy the combined Young Women/Young Men lesson I gave at Church yesterday went better than I could have hoped for. I'm so grateful my prayers were answered! Prayer works, oh, yes, it does! Thus, I decided to share the handouts I made for my lesson. I wish I had more time to expound on what we talked about, but this will give you the basic idea. :)

By the by, my fonts are acting weird because I copied/pasted them from a Word doc. Sorry they're all skiwampus! And I have no idea how they'll look on the mobile version of my blog! Also, I created my typographic designs in black and white simply because my laser printer only prints in black ink. If I created them in color, but printed them in black ink, my handouts would have looked ridiculous! ;)

Family Home Evening Material

ü  The Importance of the Family and the Home:

“From the very beginning the Lord has established the importance of the family organization for us.” – Elder L. Tom Perry

“The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place nor fulfill its essential functions.” – President Gordon B. Hinckley

“President Brigham Young explained that our families are not yet ours. The Lord has committed them to us to see how we will treat them. Only if we are faithful will they be given to us forever. What we do on earth determines whether or not we will be worthy to become heavenly parents.” – Elder L. Tom Perry

“No other success can compensate for failure in the home” – J.E. McCulloch, Home: The Savior of Civilization. (President David O.McKay quoted this in a General Conference address, but it was not his original quote.)

ü  Combating the Adversary:

“Someone has said that our complacency tree has many branches, and each spring more buds come into bloom.

“We cannot afford to be complacent. We live in perilous times; the signs are all around us. We are acutely aware of the negative influences in our society that stalk traditional families. At times television and movies portray worldly and immoral heroes and heroines and attempt to hold up as role models some actors and actresses whose lives are anything but exemplary. Why should we follow a blind guide? Radios blare forth much denigrating music with blatant lyrics, dangerous invitations, and descriptions of almost every type of evil imaginable.

“We, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, must stand up to the dangers which surround us and our families.” – President Thomas S. Monson

“May it be our resolve this year to build a gospel-centered home, a safe harbor from the storms of the adversary.” – Elder L. Tom Perry

“’Your mind is a cupboard, and you stock the shelves.’ Let us make certain that our cupboard shelves, and those of our family members, are stocked with the things which will provide safety to our souls and enable us to return to our Father in Heaven. Such shelves could well be stocked with gospel scholarship, faith, prayer, love, service, obedience, example, and kindness.” – President Thomas S. Monson

ü  The Importance of Family Home Evening:

“We remind you that parents are to preside over their own families.” – Elder L. Tom Perry

 “We cannot afford to neglect this heaven-inspired program [Family Home Evening]. It can bring spiritual growth to each member of the family, helping him or her to withstand the temptations which are everywhere. The lessons learned in the home are those that last the longest.” – President Thomas S. Monson

“As we train a new generation, so will the world be in a few years. If you are worried about the future, then look to the upbringing of your children.” – President Gordon B. Hinckley

ü  The First Presidency letter to all members about Family Home Evening:

“To: Members of the Church throughout the World

“Dear Brothers and Sisters:

“Monday nights are reserved throughout the Church for family home evenings. We encourage members to set aside this time to strengthen family ties and teach the gospel in their homes.

“Earlier this year we called on parents to devote their best efforts to the teaching and rearing of their children in gospel principles which will keep them close to the Church. We also counseled parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities.

“We urge members, where possible, to avoid holding receptions or other similar activities on Monday evenings. Where practical, members may also want to encourage community and school leaders to avoid scheduling activities on Monday evenings that require children or parents to be away from their homes.

“Church buildings and facilities should be closed on Monday evenings. No ward or stake activities should be planned, and other interruptions to family home evenings should be avoided.”—October 4, 1999

ü  What makes family home evening successful? (taken from LDS.org's Family Home Evening page)

• Start and end with prayer. This invites the Spirit, increases love, and teaches your family how to pray.
• Learn from the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets to help your family live the gospel.
• Add music, such as hymns and Primary songs, to create an atmosphere of love, peace, and joy.
• Make it fun by playing games, acting out scripture stories, and making treats. Keep the atmosphere light and loving.
• Be consistent. Monday nights are set aside by the Church for family home evening. If that doesn’t work, find a night that does.
• Add variety. Help a neighbor in need, hold a lesson at the park, or go for a walk as a family.

Here are some resources for Family Home Evening I came up with:

• The Family Proclamation
• Family Home Evening Resource Book
• Scriptures
• LDS.org
• The Church magazines
• The Mormon Channel (Also found on the Roku and in the app. store)
• BYU TV
• Articles from Meridian Magazine
• Pinterest

Speaking of Pinterest, I found a plethora of Family Home Evening resources! Here are some fun examples to get you excited about FHE:

• Magazine Monday (Church Magazines)
• Family Olympics
• Choosing the Right Board Game
• Talents Night
• Six Super Summer Service Projects
• The Articles of Faith
• “Who Said it? Prophet or Princess?” game
• Family Tales
• Commandments Matching Game
• FHE for Newlyweds and Empty Nesters
• Jesus the Christ, A Family Study Project
• Half Time Games for Family and Friends
• Family Friendly Family Fued

When all is said and done, the ultimate goal of all these fun family home evening ideas is to bring us closer to our family members. We should be our family members' friends! For, as I tell my children:

If you can’t be nice, kind, and good friends with your siblings, then you shouldn't spend time with your friends. Focus first on becoming friends with your siblings! Friends come and go, but family is FOREVER! :)