Week 43: Patience

Song: I Want to Live the Gospel (CS. 148)

Thought: Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without being angry, frustrated, or anxious. We can develop patience by seeking to do God’s will and accept His timing, trusting that He will fulfill all of His promises to us. As we learn to be patient in small things, we prepare ourselves to face larger trials with patience. (Come, Follow Me)

Object Lesson: After reading the thought invite your family to share situations in their lives in which they might need patience (such as family life, education and career, marriage, or motherhood). Show several objects that represent times in your life when you had to demonstrate patience (for example, a college diploma, a wedding ring, or a missionary nametag). Have your family guess what the objects have to do with patience, and then share the experiences you had. (Come, Follow Me)

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Lesson Activity: Show your family several Mormonad posters from recent issues of the New Era or Liahona. Divide them into small groups, and invite them to create their own Mormonad on the topic of patience. They could start by finding a scripture on patience and think of a creative way to present it on a poster. Ask them to share their posters with the family and explain what patience means to them. (Come, Follow Me)

This Week's Challenge: Invite the your family to consider how they will live by what they have learned about patience.  For example, they could: Show more patience within your family in the coming week or make a list of quick ways to help control their impatience in a tense situation, such as counting to 10 or singing a hymn.

Week 42: Service

Song: I'm Trying to be Like Jesus (CS. 78)

Thought: As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf)

Object Lesson: You will need two candles. Light one of the candles and then talk about the brightness of the flame. Ask your family if it will hurt that flame to light another candle. Take the other candle and light it by using the first. Point out to your family that the first candle burns brighter as it is lighting the other candle. Compare the fact that a candle loses nothing by lighting another to what it is like for us when we give service to others.

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Lesson Activity: Have each member of your family use the topical guide of their scriptures to find a scripture about service and the Savior. Invite them to each share their scripture and what they have learned about the service from the example of the Savior.
Talk about ways that your family can do secret acts of service for each other and those around them. Prepare the following secret service activity and help your family to come up with ideas ways to serve.

This Week's Challenge: Challenge your family to complete the secret service activities this week and observe how increased service affects the love felt in your home.

Week 41: Christlike Love

Song: Kindness Begins With Me (CS. 145)

Thought: The pure love of Christ, known as charity, is the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love and the most joyous to the soul (see 1 Nephi 11:23). Jesus Christ is the perfect example of charity. In His mortal ministry, He “went about doing good,” showing tender compassion for the poor, afflicted, and distressed (see Matthew 4:23; Acts 10:38). To obtain Christlike love, we must seek it, pray for it, and follow the example of the Savior in our thoughts, words, and deeds. (Come, Follow Me)

Object Lesson: For this activity you'll need box of Band-aids, poster board and a permanent marker.  Ask your family why we apply bandages or band-aids.  (To help heal wounds) The bandage or band-aid doesn't heal the wound, but it protects the wound while the miracle of healing takes place.  We cannot heal all the hurts that people have.  Sometimes people's bodies get hurt very badly.  We cannot heal them.  Sometimes their feelings and hearts get hurt very badly.  We cannot heal them.  But Jesus wants us to be like a bandage or a band-aid.  He wants our compassion and love to protect a person while He does the healing. On the poster board write in small letters the ideas your family gives you about what hurts them. Write each idea separately and spread them out all over the poster board.  After writing as many ideas as they can come up with, give them all some band- aids.  Before applying a band-aid over one of the wounds written on the poster board ask them to think of something they can say or do that would help the wounded person.  (Don't forget PRAYER!  Even when there seems like there is nothing we can do, we can pray for that person)  The activity is complete when all the wounds talked about are covered with band-aids.  Encourage your family to look for "wounded" people this week that they can love and help. (Idea from Kindergarten Sabbath School Program via Sugardoodle)

Video: The Parable of the Good Samaritan


Lesson Activity: Invite your family to search Luke 10:25–29 and identify the questions the lawyer asked the Savior. Explain that in response to these questions, the Savior gave the parable of the good Samaritan. Assign several of them to represent some of the characters in the parable, and ask them to dramatize the story as you read it together (verses 30–35). Pause occasionally to ask those representing the Levite, the priest, and the Samaritan why they may have acted the way they did, and discuss their answers as a family. Read the Savior’s command to the lawyer in verses 36–37, and invite them to share situations they might face that are similar to the situation in the parable. (Come, Follow Me)

This Week's Challenge: Invite your family to quietly ponder someone in their life who they may have bad feelings for and think of ways they can show more Christlike love toward that person. Encourage them to show charity in their daily lives.

Week 40: Being Christ-Like

Song: More Holiness Give Me (H. 131)

Thought: Jesus Christ set the perfect example for us, and He has commanded us to become as He is. He exemplified characteristics such as faith, hope, charity, patience, humility, purity, diligence, and obedience. As we learn of Him and seek to develop His attributes, we will become the women He and our Heavenly Father would like us to be. (Come, Follow Me)

Object Lesson: Give each family member a copy of the attribute activity on page 126 of Preach My Gospel, and ask them to take a few minutes to complete the self-evaluation. Invite each person to share what they learned from the activity. Invite a few of them to share a Christlike attribute they admire in another family member.

(PDF format for printing)

Video: Being a More Christian Christian (Elder Robert D. Hales)


Lesson Activity: Share with your family the Christlike attributes listed in chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel, “How Do I Develop Christlike Attributes?” Ask your family members to select one of these attributes that they would like to develop. Give them time to learn about the attribute they chose, following the suggestions under the heading “Developing Christlike Attributes” on pages 122–23.  (Come, Follow Me)

This Week's Challenge: Encourage your family to continue studying their chosen attribute during the coming week and share insights from their study at the beginning of next week’s family home evening lesson.