Week 49: Service in Church

Song: Love One Another (CS. 136)

Thought: I would hope that we would not lose the real objective of our cherished opportunities to serve. That objective, that eternal goal, is the same spoken of by the Lord and found in the Pearl of Great Price: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
May we ever remember that the mantle of membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a cloak of comfort but rather a robe of responsibility. Our duty, in addition to saving ourselves, is to guide others to the celestial kingdom of God. (Thomas S. Monson)

Object Lesson: Bring a magnifying glass to FHE, and ask your family what it is used for. Ask them what the word magnify means to them. Why do they think this word is used to describe how we should serve in our callings (in the phrase “magnify your calling”)? Invite them to read President Henry B. Eyring’s talk “Rise to Your Call” (beginning with the phrase “There is a third thing you need to know”), looking for ways the Lord magnifies us when we serve in a calling. Ask them to share what they find with each other. Share a personal experience in which the Lord magnified you to help you fulfill a calling. (Come, Follow Me)

Video: The following video shows pictures of various people throughout the world serving within the LDS church.

Lesson Activity:
Have your family think of all the people that serve them by magnifying callings within the church. Discuss how they are serving and what the blessings are that your family has received because of that service. Identify a few of them that you would like to give a special thanks to and then write out thank you cards or letters to those individuals. You could even consider putting together a treat of goodies and delivering them as a family this Christmas season.

This Week's Challenge: Encourage your children to not only magnify any callings they are ever privileged to serve in, but to show gratitude and thanks to others for their service in the church. Remind them that the church functions through the service of imperfect members who can use all the love and support that we have to offer them.