Sometimes life hurts. Are your children prepared to handle disappointment, setback, or sacrifice? Time for some FHE Fun to help build their skills in this important category!

Opening Song:  #215 Pioneer Children Were Quick to Obey 

Opening Prayer:  By invitation.

Time to Celebrate. What happy moments did your loved ones have this past week? You might take a moment to celebrate successes. This way your children will notice they do have strength sufficient to face challenges and to serve others.

Emergency Prep Minute. Just a little bit of weekly preparation can empower your children as they mature. What emergency tip do you want to share with your family this week?

Favorite Scripture Time. When kids and adults share favorite scriptures, you help encourage joy in scripture reading. You can include a few moments at the beginning of each week’s FHE to help bring the spirit and to settle the children for the lesson.

Here are a few ideas you might try with your family…or you may have a different lesson to teach. Regardless of the method, enjoy this weekly time with your loved ones!

Activity. We offer a suggested FHE activity…but do feel free to choose what you feel is most suited to your family’s needs this week.

Items Needed:

  • Scriptures
  • Paper and pen for each participant

Invite the family privately to brainstorm on the different kinds of hurt a child of God can experience in this world. Be thinking: BEFORE we came to earth, why might we have desired to experience cruelty, unjustice, pain? What do hard times potentially bring eventually? But what might we forget about them while we’re passing through them?

Give the family two minutes to write down “hurts.” Then you may want to read the following scripture in 1 Nephi 1:1:

“I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.”

Before people share the “hurts” they wrote down, you might invite the family to discuss a few of the following discussion points:

  • What do you think Nephi learned during all those years of keeping a journal about his experiences? (After all, he wrote 1 Nephi 1:1 years after his hard things had occurred.)
  • Why might journal-keeping help us see more clearly the experiences in our lives?
  • What kinds of hard things did Nephi experience? Why did Nephi not blame God? (After all, in the same breath of talking about “afflictions,” Nephi spoke of being highly favored. Why did he not blame God for hard things?)
  • What was the difference between Nephi’s perspective on hard things and Laman’s?

o      Here might be a good starting point for discussion: 1 Nephi 2:16. Nephi apparently started with a harder heart…otherwise how could he say in 1 Nephi 2:16, of the Lord, that He “did soften my heart”? What activity did Nephi engage in—in that same verse—that made the difference?

After the discussion, then ask the family to share the “hurts” they wrote down on their papers. Do they have any new thoughts about difficult times now that they have discussed Nephi’s response to hard things? How might the family use hard times to grow spiritually closer to God? Physically closer to God?

In closing, feel free to guide the outcome in the direction you feel is important. Any thoughts, testimonies, or ideals you desire to share?

Here is a final quote possibility from President Thomas S. Monson, as quoted by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

“Whenever I have had a difficult decision to make, or perhaps have had to measure the request to give a blessing against the endless demands of some of my paperwork, I have always looked at that picture and asked myself, ‘What would He do?’ Then I try to do it.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith”, Ensign, Sept. 1994, 12–13.)

Perhaps you might invite or challenge your family during the next week or month, if hard things happen, to do as President Monson does. Look at a picture of Christ and ask yourself, “What would he do?” And then try to do it. Or read President Kimball’s quote: “Those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives.”

 Closing Song: #255 Carry On

Closing Prayer.  By invitation.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

  • The scriptures are always an essential resource to turn to, coupled with prayer, during hard times.
  • Here is an article that is inspiring: Jeffrey R. Holland’s “President Thomas S. Monson: Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith”, Ensign, Sept. 1994, 12–13.

May you have a powerful “family week”!

C.S. Bezas obtained a degree in Communications, with an emphasis in training programs and human resource development. Struggling with your teens? C.S. Bezas’ book is an essential help for parents and youth leaders. Powerful Tips for Powerful Teachers teaches you how to create long-lasting change. Visit your local LDS bookstore or get your copy online here.