April Sharing Time - Obey Parents and Show Family Love

As I explained earlier, I'm combining ideas from the last two weeks into one sharing time because I chose to spend a week talking about Christ for Easter.

In a great talk, Elder David B. Haight pretty much summed up this entire month in one quote. 

"I spoke to the audience and to this young mother about the proclamation that was issued five years ago by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, a proclamation on the family, and of our responsibility to our children, and the children's responsibility to their parents, and the parents' responsibility to each other.  That marvelous document brings together the scripture direction that we have received that has guided the lives of God's children from the time of Adam and Eve and will continue to guide us until the final winding-up scene."

I love it.  Later in the talk he teaches that the proclamation gives us a yardstick to measure our progress AND that it gives us the strength we need to do what it asks.  Awesome.

Just as an aside, I found this really great set of cards to help a family memorize the Family Proclamation.  It was one of those things I found while perusing on Pinterest, which usually involves pinning rapidly followed by forgetting.  This time though, ever since I pinned it, I've been thinking about how good it would be for my family.  For me.  I think it's time to take the leap.  I'm sure it'll take a while, but I know that studying it will bring great blessings (and that promised strength).

Okay, back to this weeks sharing time... 

Hide the scripture somewhere in the room (or you could just stick it up front and choose someone to read through it) and then take time to talk about what it means. 

Some Sundays the kids are completely engaged, they ask and answer questions, stay on track and it's pretty darn awesome.  Other Sundays I might think crickets had invaded, except there isn't even that much noise.  On those weeks, I like to get them a little more involved by answering the question myself, except not a REAL answer.  Usually, I go with an answer that's the exact opposite of what I'm looking for. 

For example, if I'd asked what it means to obey, and everyone sat there staring at me, I might say, "Okay, so it's when your parents ask you to take out the trash and you say just as soon as I finish this level/text/page?"  The kids will laugh and then a few of them break out of the haze long enough to answer.

You could then talk about how it's not easy to obey, in fact sometimes it's down right hard.  To illustrate this point, use a story from the scriptures (like the example of Lehi sending his sons to get the brass plates) or, my personal favorite, tell a story from your life.  Be personal, share your testimony of how, in the end, it is always better to follow "in the Lord."

To transition into the next section, teach about how obeying our parents is one way that we can serve members of our families, but there are lots of ways.  Before we get into the HOW, let's talk a little more about the WHO.

Two weeks ago, we talked about the different people who make up a family and this lesson will be a continuation and extension of that.  If you used clipart for the family members in that lesson (and didn't throw them away like I thoughtlessly did), you can re-use them here.  For me, clip art is much easier than props to represent each different type of family member.

If you don't have clipart ready to go (and you'd like to), I found a variety of people on lds dot org (from the cut-outs section under primary) that could be used to fill the rolls of various family members.  If you already have these sitting around, you can grab them out of the different picture kits they belong to, if not, you can download them at the bottom of the post.

I made up some clues to go along with some of the pictures (this way you can pick and choose which pictures you want to use or you can use some of the clues more than once if you have a large primary and want to involve more children).  As the outline says, when the children guess which family member the clues are talking about, have one come up front to "become" that person.

You can talk about how we can serve that particular family member directly after they're guessed or guess everyone first and talk about service at the end. 

Either way, once you've finished going through the "clipart family", split the family members into family groups (mom, dad, brother, sister and aunt, uncle, cousin, cousin and grandparents), pull out some houses (I included some different homes in the download below) and give one to each family group sending them to different areas of the primary room.  Ask the children how they can serve their families if they don't live close by. 

I haven't lived near my family for more than 15 years (holy cow...I didn't realize it'd been that long), so I will share some personal stories about serving and staying connected.  If you haven't, you could ask another member of the presidency or just ask the children to share their experiences.

Elder David A. Bednar talked about how we can serve those in our families by expressing our love, bearing our testimony and being consistent. 

"...our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results.  "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.  And out of small things proceedeth that which is great" (D&C 64:33)."

I love how perfect that scripture is.  Our service will most often be small.  So small we may wonder if anyone notices or if we're making a difference.  WE ARE! 

He goes on to say that "In these important pursuits we will never be left alone." 

What a comfort that is for each of us.  We do not need to be perfect, we just need to have a desire and continue to work.  Continue to love our families no matter what.

Have a wonderful sharing time!

Leah

If you're interested in any of the items I put together for this weeks sharing time, you can download them all here (scripture, clues, and family/home clipart).