Family Home Evening

On Monday nights we have "Family Home Evening," where we spend a little time together as a family, have a lesson, scripture, activity, songs, prayer, treats, etc.  Often its crazy, occasionally there are tantrums, but for the most part we have fun together.  And every once in blue moon we have a lesson that really sticks.  Here are two examples.

Last Monday I took the kids outside and had them draw chalk circles around themselves on the driveway.  Then read this quote by Karl G. Maeser (first president of BYU):

"I have been asked what I mean by 'word of honor.' I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls--walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground--there is a possibility that in some way or another I may escape; but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of the circle? No. Never! I'd die first!"





At first it took some explaining.  I got questions like, "Why was he in prison?"  But after talking about what it means to be men and women of honor, they started to get the idea.  


So a few times this week when I've asked Colby a question, such as "Did you brush your teeth?" or "Did you use the potty," I've heard, "Yes.  And I'm a man of honor!" A couple times I heard him start to reply falsely, then stop and think, and change his answer. 

So the lesson has stuck, at least for a little while.


Here's another one that stuck longer.  Over a year ago we had a FHE about bad words.  Sienna was in Kindergarten and we were starting to hear things in our home that we weren't use to.  Not terrible, just words like "stupid" or "dumb", but used in reference to people, which I didn't like.  So we had a FHE about it.  I looked up a story in the "Friend," then we wrote down as many negative words we could think of, wadded them into balls, and threw our "garbage words" across the room into the garbage can, trying to make baskets.


And we've rarely heard those words since.  I heard one this week from Sienna and called her on it.  Colby added the comment, "Yah, because once for Family Home Evening we threw those words in the garbage."  


Colby was three, almost four when we had that lesson.  It stuck!