1. Opening Prayer
2. Sing "Keep the Commandments" Hymns pg. 303
3. Read Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
4. Read and discuss the following from "Young Women Personal Progress"
I will prepare to enter the temple and remain pure and worthy. My thoughts and actions will be based on high moral standards.
Then read and discuss the following from Elaine S. Dalton:
Sometimes as we walk life’s paths, we want to loiter in dangerous places, thinking that it is fun and thrilling and that we are in control. Sometimes we think we can live on the edge and still maintain our virtue. But that is a risky place to be. As the Prophet Joseph Smith told us, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue” (History of the Church, 5:134–35).
In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord gives counsel to one of His precious daughters, Emma Smith, to be faithful and to “walk in the paths of virtue before me” (D&C 25:2). The Lord’s advice to Emma Smith is also His advice to all His precious daughters. What are those paths and what is virtue?
Virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. It encompasses chastity and moral purity. Virtue includes modesty—in thought, language, dress, and demeanor. Virtue provides an anchor on the path leading to our Heavenly Father’s presence. The paths of virtue lead to happiness in this life and in the life to come. The paths of virtue lead to strong families. The paths of virtue contain the foundation stones for the blessings of eternity. They lead to the temple. No wonder Joseph Smith said, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith 1:13).
In another revelation the Lord promises each of us that if we “let virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly,” we will have confidence. He promises that our “confidence [will] wax strong” and “the Holy Ghost will be [our] constant companion” (D&C 121:45–46). Living the standards helps each of us stay on the paths of virtue. Whenever we are worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, we can always be assured that the daily decisions we each make will be correct even when they are difficult.
5. Closing Prayer
Additional Resources: Cherish Virtue (New Era, March 2009)
Let Virtue Garnish Your Thoughts (Ensign, Nov. 2009)
Sexual Purity (For the Strength of Youth)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Family Home Evening Lesson #58: JESUS CHRIST RESTORED THE FULNESS OF THE GOSPEL THROUGH JOSEPH SMITH
1. Opening Prayer
2. Sing "On A Golden Springtime" Children's Songbook, pg. 88
3. Read Articles of Faith 1:6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, deachers, evangelists, and so forth.
4. Read and discuss the following from the April, 2010 Friend:
Imagine a glass full of clear, pure water. If we bump the glass, some water might spill out and the glass wouldn’t be full anymore.
When Adam and Eve were created, the fulness of the gospel was on the earth. For many years prophets taught the gospel.
When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He established His Church. He taught the fulness of the gospel: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and obedience to the commandments. Jesus showed all people how we should live. He became the Savior of us all. The gospel glass was full.
But as the years passed, parts of the gospel were lost because wicked people changed it or didn’t obey it. The fulness of the gospel was no longer on the earth. Heavenly Father promised His children He would give them the fulness of the gospel again. He called Joseph Smith to help Him restore the fulness of the gospel.
John 3:16 teaches us that Heavenly Father gave us His Son and the gospel because He loves His children. He calls prophets to teach everyone His gospel so we will know the way back to Him.
We are blessed to have the fulness of the gospel in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our gospel glasses are full to the top, and Heavenly Father has promised that the gospel will never be taken from the earth again.
5. Closing Prayer
Additional Resources: Jesus Christ Restored the Fulness of the Gospel through Joseph Smith
(Friend, April 2010)
The Gospel is Restored (Friend, Feb. 2003)
Joseph Smith--Prophet of the Restoration (Friend, July 2001)
The First Vision (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
2. Sing "On A Golden Springtime" Children's Songbook, pg. 88
3. Read Articles of Faith 1:6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, deachers, evangelists, and so forth.
4. Read and discuss the following from the April, 2010 Friend:
Imagine a glass full of clear, pure water. If we bump the glass, some water might spill out and the glass wouldn’t be full anymore.
When Adam and Eve were created, the fulness of the gospel was on the earth. For many years prophets taught the gospel.
When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He established His Church. He taught the fulness of the gospel: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and obedience to the commandments. Jesus showed all people how we should live. He became the Savior of us all. The gospel glass was full.
But as the years passed, parts of the gospel were lost because wicked people changed it or didn’t obey it. The fulness of the gospel was no longer on the earth. Heavenly Father promised His children He would give them the fulness of the gospel again. He called Joseph Smith to help Him restore the fulness of the gospel.
John 3:16 teaches us that Heavenly Father gave us His Son and the gospel because He loves His children. He calls prophets to teach everyone His gospel so we will know the way back to Him.
We are blessed to have the fulness of the gospel in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our gospel glasses are full to the top, and Heavenly Father has promised that the gospel will never be taken from the earth again.
5. Closing Prayer
Additional Resources: Jesus Christ Restored the Fulness of the Gospel through Joseph Smith
(Friend, April 2010)
The Gospel is Restored (Friend, Feb. 2003)
Joseph Smith--Prophet of the Restoration (Friend, July 2001)
The First Vision (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Family Home Evening Lesson # 57: HE IS RISEN
1. Opening Prayer
2. Sing "He is Risen" Hymns pg. 199
3. Read Matthew 28: 5-8 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the bLord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
4. Read and discuss the following from Thomas S. Monson:
Then comes that glorious day of resurrection, when spirit and body will be reunited, never again to be separated. “I am the resurrection, and the life,” said the Christ to the grieving Martha. “He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” (John 11: 25-26)
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. … That where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14: 2-3)
This transcendent promise became a reality when Mary and the other Mary approached the garden tomb—that cemetery which had but one occupant. Let Luke, the physician, describe their experience:
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre. …
And they found the stone rolled away. …
… They entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
… As they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
And … said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?” (Luke 24: 1-5)
He is not here: for he is risen.” (Matthew 28:6)
This is the clarion call of Christendom. The reality of the Resurrection provides to one and all the peace that surpasses understanding. 11 It comforts those whose loved ones lie in Flanders fields or who perished in the depths of the sea or rest in tiny Santa Clara or peaceful Heber Valley. It is a universal truth.
As the least of His disciples, I declare my personal witness that death has been conquered, victory over the tomb has been won. May the words made sacred by Him who fulfilled them become actual knowledge to all. Remember them. Cherish them. Honor them. He is risen.
5. Closing Prayer
Additional Resources: He Is Risen (Ensign, April 2003)
Jesus' Tomb (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
Mary and the Resurrected Lord (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
The Resurrected Jesus Christ (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
2. Sing "He is Risen" Hymns pg. 199
3. Read Matthew 28: 5-8 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the bLord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
4. Read and discuss the following from Thomas S. Monson:
Then comes that glorious day of resurrection, when spirit and body will be reunited, never again to be separated. “I am the resurrection, and the life,” said the Christ to the grieving Martha. “He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” (John 11: 25-26)
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. … That where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14: 2-3)
This transcendent promise became a reality when Mary and the other Mary approached the garden tomb—that cemetery which had but one occupant. Let Luke, the physician, describe their experience:
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre. …
And they found the stone rolled away. …
… They entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
… As they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
And … said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?” (Luke 24: 1-5)
He is not here: for he is risen.” (Matthew 28:6)
This is the clarion call of Christendom. The reality of the Resurrection provides to one and all the peace that surpasses understanding. 11 It comforts those whose loved ones lie in Flanders fields or who perished in the depths of the sea or rest in tiny Santa Clara or peaceful Heber Valley. It is a universal truth.
As the least of His disciples, I declare my personal witness that death has been conquered, victory over the tomb has been won. May the words made sacred by Him who fulfilled them become actual knowledge to all. Remember them. Cherish them. Honor them. He is risen.
5. Closing Prayer
Additional Resources: He Is Risen (Ensign, April 2003)
Jesus' Tomb (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
Mary and the Resurrected Lord (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
The Resurrected Jesus Christ (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Family Home Evening Lesson # 56: NONE WERE WITH HIM
1. Opening Prayer
2. Sing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" Hymns pg. 136
3. Read Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
4. Read and discuss the following from Jeffrey R. Holland:
My Easter-season message today is intended for everyone, but it is directed in a special way to those who are alone or feel alone or, worse yet, feel abandoned. These might include those longing to be married, those who have lost a spouse, and those who have lost—or have never been blessed with—children. Our empathy embraces wives forsaken by their husbands, husbands whose wives have walked away, and children bereft of one or the other of their parents—or both. This group can find within its broad circumference a soldier far from home, a missionary in those first weeks of homesickness, or a father out of work, afraid the fear in his eyes will be visible to his family. In short it can include all of us at various times in our lives.
To all such, I speak of the loneliest journey ever made and the unending blessings it brought to all in the human family. I speak of the Savior’s solitary task of shouldering alone the burden of our salvation.
I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
It was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.
One of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so . . . Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are.
My other plea at Easter time is that these scenes of Christ’s lonely sacrifice, laced with moments of denial and abandonment and, at least once, outright betrayal, must never be reenacted by us. He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance . . . may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,” for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.
5. Closing Prayer
Additional Resources: None Were With Him (Ensign, May 2009)
Jesus Praying in Gethsemane (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
The Crucifixion (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
2. Sing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" Hymns pg. 136
3. Read Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
4. Read and discuss the following from Jeffrey R. Holland:
My Easter-season message today is intended for everyone, but it is directed in a special way to those who are alone or feel alone or, worse yet, feel abandoned. These might include those longing to be married, those who have lost a spouse, and those who have lost—or have never been blessed with—children. Our empathy embraces wives forsaken by their husbands, husbands whose wives have walked away, and children bereft of one or the other of their parents—or both. This group can find within its broad circumference a soldier far from home, a missionary in those first weeks of homesickness, or a father out of work, afraid the fear in his eyes will be visible to his family. In short it can include all of us at various times in our lives.
To all such, I speak of the loneliest journey ever made and the unending blessings it brought to all in the human family. I speak of the Savior’s solitary task of shouldering alone the burden of our salvation.
I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
It was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.
One of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so . . . Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are.
My other plea at Easter time is that these scenes of Christ’s lonely sacrifice, laced with moments of denial and abandonment and, at least once, outright betrayal, must never be reenacted by us. He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance . . . may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,” for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.
5. Closing Prayer
Additional Resources: None Were With Him (Ensign, May 2009)
Jesus Praying in Gethsemane (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
The Crucifixion (Gospel Art Picture Kit)
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