Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 4

“In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped 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.”

How to Explain This to Children

Before we were born on earth, we lived with Heavenly Father as His spirit daughters and His spirit sons. Heavenly Father told us He had a plan for us. In this plan we would get a body by being born on earth. We would have experiences that would help us grow. We could choose to learn and become more like our Heavenly Parents. One day we would return to Them. We loved Heavenly Father and accepted this plan.

Activity Idea

Review the plan of salvation by labeling different places in your house as different parts of the plan (for example, pre-earth life, life on earth, spirit world, eternal life). As you move from place to place, talk about why that part of the plan is important. If possible, find a picture of Jesus Christ to take with you. At each stop, talk about why Jesus is important to that part of the plan and how He can help us get to the next place successfully. Talk about why Heavenly Father’s plan is sometimes called the “plan of happiness.”

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the family proclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 3

“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.”

How to Explain This to Children

Every single person on earth is an important child of Heavenly Parents. We can grow up to be like Them! Each person here on earth was created as a girl or a boy even before they were born. They are here as a girl or a boy for a reason. And after this life, they will continue to be a girl or a boy.

Activity Idea

Give each child a piece of paper and invite them to fill it with a collage of pictures and words showing what makes them unique. They could cut pictures out of magazines, draw their own, or print pictures from online. Talk about how wonderful it is that people have different talents and interests. Point to two different tools that were used to create your collages—a pair of scissors and a bottle of glue, for example. Although these tools look different and do different things, they worked together to create something beautiful. Explain that boys and girls are created to be different, but neither one is better than the other. Men and women work together to create beautiful families.

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the familyproclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 2

“We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”

How to Explain This to Children

This proclamation was written to the world by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It teaches what Heavenly Father wants us to know about families. Heavenly Father wants men and women to be married and create families because families are one of the most important parts of the plan of salvation. Families help us reach our “eternal destiny,” which is to learn and grow to become more like our Heavenly Parents.

Activity Idea

Show your children pictures of your wedding or the wedding of grandparents or other couples in your family history. Tell your children the story of how you and your spouse met, or share other stories from family and friends. Invite your children to draw pictures of what they imagine their wedding and family will be like someday. Testify of the blessings that have come into your life because of marriage.

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the family proclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 1

Read out loud the full title of the proclamation: “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

How to Explain This to Children

A “proclamation” is a very important announcement. Sometimes kings and queens make proclamations to the people in their land. This proclamation wasn’t written by a king or a queen—it was written by the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles! It teaches us important things that Heavenly Father wants us to know about families. It warns us about actions that will hurt our families or our communities. It also teaches us how we can stay safe and happy in this life. These teachings are so important that we want everyone in the entire world to hear this message. President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008), who was the prophet before President Monson, first read this proclamation at a general Relief Society meeting in September 1995.

Activity Idea

Imagine your family had the chance to share a message when the entire world was watching. What would you say? Create your own proclamation by writing or drawing your testimonies onto a large paper or poster board. Take turns standing on a chair and reading the statements of testimony out loud in a bold way, as if you were making an announcement. How does sharing your testimony make you feel? Why would it be important to listen to the proclamations and testimonies of the First Presidency and the Apostles?

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the family proclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.

Great Family Home Evening Idea

Cell Phone Liahona

For one of our family nights, we talked with our four children about the story of the Liahona in the Book of Mormon (see 1 Nephi 16; 18; Alma 37:38–46). We then told them to use my son’s cell phone as if it were a Liahona (I had taped a picture on the back), and it would lead them to the “promised land.” I sent text messages to the cell phone every few minutes with directions that took the children on a journey through the neighborhood. The messages finally led them to a neighbor’s house, where my wife and I were waiting with open arms and some delicious treats. The activity helped the Liahona story come to life for our children.

Brad Peterson, Utah, USA

Children Will Be Prepared

“If we faithfully have family prayer, scripture study, family home evening, priesthood blessings, and Sabbath day observance,” said Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “our children will … be prepared for an eternal home in heaven, regardless of what befalls them in a difficult world.”

Quentin L. Cook, “The Lord Is My Light,” Ensign, May 2015, 64.

Families are the Priority

We strengthen our families when we set aside undisturbed time to be together. Elder Oaks taught, “Parents should act to preserve time for family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, and the other precious togetherness and individual one-on-one time that binds a family together and fixes children’s values on things of eternal worth.”

Dallin H. Oaks, “Good, Better, Best,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2007, 105.

How can I make family home evening a priority?

“While you are working to strengthen your family and cultivate peace, remember … weekly family home evening. Be cautious not to make your family home evening just an afterthought of a busy day. Decide that on Monday night your family will be together at home for the evening. Do not let employment demands, sports, extracurricular activities, homework, or anything else become more important than that time you spend together at home with your family. The structure of your evening is not as important as the time invested. The gospel should be taught both formally and informally. Make it a meaningful experience for each member of the family.”

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority,”Ensign, Nov. 2014, 94.

Scripture Heroes Night

"For one of our family home evenings we decided to plan a "Scripture Heroes Night," Each os us chose someone from the scriptures to learn more about, and we have ourselves two weeks to prepare presentations  on our selected heroes. Preparations included studying the scriptures and searching LDS.org for pictures, videos, and other resources. When the highly anticipated night arrived, each of us shared what we had learned, and each presentation proved to be unique, colorful, and insightful. At the end we each shared a brief testimony of what our heroes meant to us and how we could become more like them. Our love of the scriptures grew as we got to know individuals from the scriptures more deeply."

Kathryn Fielding, Ensign, Feb 2015, 3.

Don't Be Discouraged

 “We know that family scripture study and family home evenings are not always perfect. Regardless of the challenges you face, do not become discouraged.”

Quentin L. Cook, “In Tune with the Music of Faith.” Ensign, May 2012, 44. 

It Takes Courage

“It takes courage to gather children from whatever they’re doing and kneel together as a family. It takes courage to turn off the television and the computer and to guide your family through the pages of the scriptures every day. It takes courage to turn down other invitations on Monday night so that you can reserve that evening for your family. It takes courage and willpower to avoid over-scheduling so that your family can be home for dinner.”

Larry R. Lawrence, “Courageous Parenting,” 100.

Remember When?

Although our children are grown and have families of their own, my wife and I still look for ways to have meaningful family home evenings with them. One way we have found to do this is by holding a special family home evening once a year in which we invite all of the family members to share their memories.

Before they come to this special family home evening, we ask them to write down three stories from their lives. We call these “I remember when” stories. During family home evening, each family member takes a turn telling or reading their stories.

We laugh and cry for hours about the experiences. When we are done we collect the written stories and compile them in our family history book. It is a good way for us to continue building our relationships as a family while creating a family history at the same time.

Douglas Andrew, Ensign, August 2011, 73.