What I learned from Church 8/25/13

What opportunities are there for learning and teaching in the home?

The home is the ideal place for learning, teaching, and applying gospel principles. Latter-day prophets have urged families to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities.

Prepare yourself spiritually

What experiences have you had with learning and teaching the gospel in your home? What could you share with the youth?

How can you inspire the youth to encourage gospel learning in their homes? What promised blessings might inspire them?

Use the resources below to prepare the youth to teach and learn gospel truths in their homes. Your own experiences will help you teach the youth effectively. Consider how the activities in this outline can help you plan ways to encourage the youth.

Mosiah 4:14–15; D&C 68:25–28 (Parents have a responsibility to teach the gospel to their children)

L. Tom Perry, “Becoming Goodly Parents,” Ensign or Liahona,Nov. 2012, 26–28

“Family Home Evening,” True to the Faith (2004), 65–66

“Family Prayer,” True to the Faith, 122

“Importance of Daily Scripture Study,” True to the Faith, 155–56

“The Home and the Church” Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), 1.4

Video: “A Heaven-Inspired Program”

Teaching in the Savior’s way

Jesus Christ invited those He taught to act in faith and live the truths He taught. How can you inspire the youth to want to participate in gospel learning in their families now and in the future?

Video: “Lead Us to Conversion”

Watch more

Make connections

See other learning and teaching ideas.

During the first few minutes of every class, help the youth make connections between things they are learning in various settings (such as personal study, seminary, other Church classes, or experiences with their friends). How can you help them see the relevance of the gospel in daily living? The ideas below might help you:

• Invite the youth to share how they applied what they learned in last week’s class during the week.
• Ask the youth to imagine that they are parents. What responsibilities do they have toward their children? Ask a class member to list them on the board, and invite the youth to look for any additional responsibilities in Mosiah 4:14–15and Doctrine and Covenants 68:25–28. What opportunities do parents have to fulfill the responsibilities described in these verses? What can the youth do to help?

Learn together

See other learning and teaching ideas.

Each of the activities below will help the youth prepare for and seek opportunities for learning and teaching the gospel in their homes. Following the inspiration of the Spirit, select one or more that will work best for your class:

• Show the video “A Heaven-Inspired Program,” and ask the youth to look for what dangers in the world they can be protected from and what strengths can come to individuals and families who study the gospel together. Invite the youth to read “Family Home Evening” in True to the Faith and prepare a simple outline for a family home evening lesson on a topic of their choice. Invite the youth to teach each other the lessons they prepare in an upcoming class.
• Ask each class member to read one of Elder L. Tom Perry’s five suggestions for creating stronger family cultures (in his talk “Becoming Goodly Parents”). For each suggestion, ask the youth to share examples they have seen of families following the suggestion, ways they can follow it as youth, and things they can do to prepare to follow the suggestion when they become parents.
• As a class, read the seventh paragraph of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Invite the youth to list on the board the principles upon which successful families are founded. Ask the youth to share some recreational activities they enjoy participating in with their families. Invite them to share what gospel truths or principles they have learned as they have taken part in these activities. For example, preparing a meal together may teach service and love, or playing a sport together may teach patience and perseverance. Encourage the youth to plan recreational activities for their families and to discuss with them how these activities relate to the gospel.
• Have the youth think of ideas people could use to encourage their families to participate in family prayer and scripture study. Discuss the blessings that come to families from these activities. The youth could read “Family Prayer” and “Importance of Daily Scripture Study” in True to the Faithfor suggestions. Role-play how a youth could talk to a parent and encourage regular family prayer and scripture study. Invite the youth to share any experiences they have had with family prayer and scripture study.