Week 8: Where Are We Going?

Song: Families Can Be Together Forever (CS. 188)

Thought:
Life does not begin with birth, nor does it end with death. Prior to our birth, we dwelled as spirit children with our Father in Heaven. There we eagerly anticipated the possibility of coming to earth and obtaining a physical body. Knowingly we wanted the risks of mortality, which would allow the exercise of agency and accountability. “This life [was to become] a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God.” (Alma 12:24.) But we regarded the returning home as the best part of that long-awaited trip, just as we do now. Before embarking on any journey, we like to have some assurance of a round-trip ticket. Returning from earth to life in our heavenly home requires passage through—and not around—the doors of death. We were born to die, and we die to live. (See 2 Cor. 6:9.) As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven. (Russell M. Nelson: The Doors of Death)

Object Lesson:
Make 10 word strips which say the following: The Celestial Kingdom; Living Valiantly; Making and Keeping Our Covenants; The Terrestrial Kingdom; Having a testimony (if you had the chance), but being only lukewarm in your devotion; Living a clean and honorable life, but not valiant in faith; The Telestial Kingdom; immorality; lying; pride & rebelliousness. Place the word strips with the 3 kingdoms on them on a table or on the ground. Then take 3 pieces of string and lay them out so that they are leading to each kingdom. Explain to your family that the strings represent the pathways that lead to each of the kingdoms. The choices that we make win this life will determine which pathway we are on and which kingdom we will be worthy to attain. Remind your family that those who pass on from this life without having an opportunity to learn the gospel will have that chance in Spirit Prison prior to the judgement day and Resurrection. Then have your family members choose from the remaining word strips and place them along the appropriate pathways. (This idea is adapted from an FHE lesson plan done by Jenny Phillips in 2011 that is no longer available. Jenny Phillips has made several FHE lesson plans available for free download to her fans.)

Video: Until We Meet Again
Prior to watching this video discuss with your family how difficult it can be for people who have no knowledge of the plan of salvation to cope with the loss of a loved one. Acknowledge that even those with a testimony of the plan of salvation experience grief and even depression, but generally the pain from the loss is lessened by their testimony. Once the video is over invite your family members to share ideas regarding how we can comfort others when the are grieving over the loss of a loved one. Remind your family once again that "Men are that they might have joy." Bear testimony to your family of the eternal nature of families and what glory our Father has in store for us.

Activity:
Consider preparing hand puppets for younger children using this activity from The Friend (March 1986)

For the older members of your family consider the following activity from the Come, Follow Me curriculum.

Invite family members to write down their questions, thoughts, or fears about death, and then have them search for answers in Elder Russell M. Nelson’s talk “Doors of Death.” Encourage them to note in particular scriptures or statements that highlight the Savior’s role in helping us overcome death. Ask them to share what they find. Invite them to share their feelings about what the Savior has done for us.

This weeks challenge: As a family prayerfully consider someone you may know who has lost a loved one that could use comfort at this time. Find a way to comfort that individual or family by providing service or bearing testimony of the plan of salvation.

If there is no one that you know that you could do this for then consider praying as a family that you will have an experience this week to bear testimony of the plan of salvation to someone (especially about where we are going after this mortal life).

Three Degrees of Glory

When the Prophet Joseph Smith went to the Lord with questions about what happens to us after this mortal life he received a vision that is now recorded as Doctrine and Covenants 76. This revelation is widely considered one of the most important visions known to man. In 2002 I was able to participate in a class taught by Lawrence R. Flake where I learned that Joseph Smith also wrote this revelation out in poetic form. For additional insight on this beautiful revelation and the gospel principles that were restored through it I would highly recommend studying the book "Three Degrees of Glory: Joseph Smith's Insights on the Kingdoms of Heaven" by Lawrence R. Flake.

(This post is not sponsored and is purely my opinion and recommendation of an excellent resource when learning about and preparing to teach about the kingdoms of Heaven.)

Until We Meet Again

Pres. Monson shares with us an experience he had as a young man in comforting a mother who lost her son, his friend. I know that we will live again once we have passed on from this life and I am eternally grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and his gift of the atonement. I know that through Christ we all will live again!

Week 7: Why are we here?

Song: Choose the Right (Hymn 239)

Thought:
Why are we here? Earth life is part of God's plan for our eternal happiness. That plan includes gaining a physical body and learning to choose between good and evil. Our living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, has said: "How grateful we should be that a wise Creator fashioned an earth and placed us here, with a veil of forgetfulness of our previous existence so that we might experience a time of testing, an opportunity to prove ourselves in order to qualify for all that God has prepared for us to receive" ("The Race of Life," Ensign, May 2012, 91). (Taken from Feb 2013 New Era)

Object Lesson: We are lifted up
Fill a clear flat vase with water. Tell your family that this represents the world that we live in. Then pour a good bit of oil on top so that you have a nice layer on top of the water. Liken the oil to the gospel and righteous living. Then take a little bottle of food coloring and drop in a drop for each member of your family. The food coloring should stay on top of the oil in little round drops. Explain that the gospel of Jesus Christ buoys us up and keeps us safe from worldly things. After time a couple of the food coloring drops may fall through the oil...if this happens explain that the gospel of Jesus Christ never fails us. Sometimes we stop doing the right good things and we begin to "join" the world--perhaps we have stopped praying or studying scriptures. Discuss with your family that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will help us through whatever trials or adversity may come our way. This life is full of tests, but it is meant to be a time of learning and especially a time of experiencing joy.

Video: God Will Lift Us Up
Following this video discuss with your family what we can do when we are faced with adversity in this life. Point out that we always have our agency to choose--even in times of trial. God loves us and wants us to be happy and successful in this life. He will lift us up just like the drops of food coloring in the oil are safe from the water below.

Activity:
For the younger members of your family consider playing a game of "Chutes and Ladders," but changing it to "Adversities and Blessings." As they take turns find ways to integrate the idea that sometimes life knocks us down and we have set backs, but that if we persevere and keep going then there are also times that God and our Savior will lift us up and help us to get closer to our goal. Do not stop playing when the first person reaches the end. Consider playing until everyone has made it to the goal and then discuss how we will all face different growing experiences in this life, but despite the hard times we can all make it back to live with Heavenly Father again. Those who reach the goal first should be encouraged to cheer on the remaining players and support them as they strive to reach the end. (If this game is not available or time does not permit it consider having them color this page and then discuss the importance of having a testimony and trying our hardest to choose the right in all things.)

For the older members of your family have them read the four paragraphs of Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk "Trial of Your Faith," beginning with "These fiery trials are designed to make you stronger. Invite them to ponder the question "why do we have adversity?" as they read these paragraphs. Reiterate the ideas discussed earlier about what we should do when faced with adversity (lesson activity from here). Conclude with a discussion about what our purpose is in this earth. "Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy!" (2 Ne. 2:25) Encourage your family to focus on the blessings that come from choosing the right. Help them to remember that it is necessary for us to experience both the good and the bad. Consider having a small dish with some salt on it and another dish with some sugar on it. Tell your family members that one dish has salt and one has sugar. Ask them to identify which dish contains the sugar just from looking at them. When they cannot do this have them each taste the salt and the sugar so that they can tell which is which. Life may seem to be filled with many "salty" experiences, but there are plenty more "sweet" things in life that we have to enjoy if we choose to.

This week's challenge: Ask family members if they have had any opportunities to share the Plan of Salvation this week. Continue to pray for an opportunity to share this great Plan of Happiness with someone, especially that you may find someone to help understand why we are here.

God Will Lift Us Up

This life is full of trials, but those trials don't have to keep us from being able to fulfill our purpose in this life. "Men are that they might have joy." (2 Ne. 2:25) I firmly believe that we will never be given a trial in this life that we are not capable of overcoming with God's help.

Week 6: Where Did We Come From?

Song: I Lived in Heaven (CS. 4) (Picture helps can be found here)

Thought:

All human beings--male and female--are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally. (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)

Object Lesson:

Have a bowl filled with various things to eat. There should be a variety of both treats and non-treats. Then have each family member take a turn being blindfolded and then choose something out of the bowl. The first thing they touch is what they get. After each person has had a turn ask them if they are happy with what they chose. Discuss that our choice was to take something from the bowl, but we had no control over the consequence. Some may have chosen something that they enjoy while others may have chosen something that they don't like. Point out that while we may get what we want without looking, the chances of satisfaction are much greater when we can see the choices and know what we are choosing. (Idea adapted from here.) 

Discuss with your family that when we lived in Heaven before we came to earth that our Heavenly Father held a series of counsels with us where he taught us about the need for mortality and eternal progression. Jesus Christ volunteered to be our Savior and provide a way for us to return to live with God again through the atonement. Lucifer wanted to take away our agency and make it so that it would not be possible for any of us to sin and therefore we all would return to live with God again. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ understood that we needed to have the ability to choose using our agency in order to be tested while on the earth. What followed is known as the war in Heaven where we each had to make a choice of whom to follow. By coming to earth and receiving a body we know that we all chose to follow Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.
Elder Bednar has taught: In the grand division of all of God's creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon. As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of agency--the capacity and power of independent action. Endowed with agency, we are agents, and we primarily are to act and not only to be acted upon--especially as we seek to obtain and apply spiritual knowledge.
Learning by faith and from experience are two of the central features of the Father's plan of happiness. The Savior preserved moral agency through the Atonement and made it possible for us to act and to learn by faith. Lucifer's rebellion against the plan sought to destroy the agency of man, and his intent was that we as learners would only be acted upon. (Seek Learning by Faith, 2007)

Video: The Sting of the Scorpion

Lesson Activity: 

Have the younger members of your family color this page and then help them to fold it into a book. (Found here and available in both word and pdf formats.) Then read this book together and take the time to discuss the principle of agency with your child to assess their understanding of this vital gospel concept.

Ask the older members of your family to read Moses 4:1-2 and look for things they learn about the Savior and Satan in the Council in Heaven. What do we learn about the results of Satan's actions from verses 3-4? How does this conflict continue on earth today? What is the Savior's role in this conflict? What is our role? Invite your family to express their feelings about the Savior and His willingness to follow His Father's plan. List some of the challenges people face during mortal life. Read about the premortal life in True to the Faith (p.115-116), looking for truths that can help people face these challenges. (Taken from here.)

This weeks challenge: Continue to pray as a family that you will be able to share your knowledge of The plan of happiness (in particular: Where did we come from?) with a friend or relative. Prepare yourselves to be able to witness to others of God's love for them and what His plan is for all of us.

The Sting of the Scorpion

Such a powerful reminder that we have the ability to choose and what the consequences of our choices can be. I am so grateful for the gift of agency, but more importantly for a Savior who loves me enough to atone for my sins that I may repent and be clean again.

Week 5: The Plan of Salvation

Song: I Will Follow God's Plan (CS. 164)

Thought: In the premortal existence, Heavenly Father prepared a plan to enable us to become like Him and receive a fullness of joy. The scriptures refer to this plan as "the plan of salvation," "the great plan of happiness," and "the plan of mercy." The plan of salvation is the fullness of the gospel. It includes the Creation, the Fall, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and all the laws, ordinances, and doctrines of the gospel. Moral agency, the ability to choose and act for ourselves, is also essential in Heavenly Father's plan. Because of this plan, we can be perfected through the Atonement, receive a fullness of joy, and live forever in the presence of God. Our family relationships can last forever in the presence of God. Our family relationships can last throughout the eternities. You are a participant in Heavenly Father's plan, and your eternal experience can be divided into three main parts: premortal life, mortal life, and life after death. As you come to understand the plan, you find answers to questions asked by so many: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after this life? (True to the Faith, p. 115)

Object Lesson: Using graphics like these have your family members assist you in putting the parts of the plan of salvation in order. Discuss the basic principles behind the plan of salvation.

(source)

(If you are unable to print graphics out it would be just as effective to draw out the plan on a piece of paper.)

Video: Our Eternal Family

Lesson Activity:

Have the younger members of your family color and complete this activity page. (source)

While the younger members work on this activity the older members of your family can study Pres. Monson's talk: The Race of Life. If possible print out a copy of the talk for each participating family member and then use different colored highlighters to find the answers to the following questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?

This week's challenge: Pray as a family that you will each have an opportunity throughout the week to share your knowledge and testimony of the plan of salvation with a friend.

Our Eternal Life

This month we will be learning about The Plan of Salvation or The Plan of Happiness. This is a simple video that I find very helpful in providing a brief overview of what the plan is all about.