For each day, prepare in advance by reading the
lesson found in Preach my Gospel, as
many scripture references as you can, and watching any supplemental videos to
narrow down what you plan to share. You
can use your own personal copy of Preach
My Gospel when you are presenting the lessons, or you can access the online
version: Preach My Gospel. The Online version is very convenient for
preparations as all of the scriptural references are already linked and you can
go right to them. Each lesson will be
shared 2 or 3 times over the course of the school year, so you will have the
opportunity to share different things each time if you choose. When presenting the lesson to your family,
read or summarize the section that is listed.
The first time through the schedule, you might feel more comfortable
sticking to the written paragraphs in the section you are studying, so as not
to stray from the pure doctrine you will share.
As you feel more comfortable, use your own words, remembering to
maintain the doctrine described, and without veering into other topics; those
topics will eventually be covered in all of the lessons.
Always share your testimony of the truths you
are sharing, and ask questions, especially questions that allow your family
members to ponder and feel the Spirit. Just
as the missionaries teach, find appropriate opportunities to give challenges or
assignments to family members to strengthen their faith in a principle (ex. If
a child is old enough to understand, but has not yet been baptized, challenge
them by asking if they will prepare themselves to follow Jesus Christ and be
baptized someday).
Use a scripture or two to solidify the
topic or principle, but do not bombard the child(ren) with too much information
that it becomes overwhelming. This study
guide is meant for all ages. Help them
to enjoy learning about the gospel, and look forward to these lessons each day. The goal is to have devotional lessons daily
before school (if time allows), and thus, if your children attend public school, time may be an
issue, and you might want to opt to doing this when they all return home for the day. Either way, I recommend maintaining your normal time for family scripture study, and adding this study time in where it works best for your family. Try to consolidate your lesson
time to about 30 minutes. Hopefully,
your children will love these lessons so much, that they will want to continue
through the summer months.
The Article
of Faith listed will last a week or two, depending on length, and can be
used as a teaching tool for memorization and copy work, as well as for
explaining what we believe. Help your
child(ren) to understand what each Article
of Faith means before you begin memorizing it. Find a way that works best for you where
there is a balance between learning the meaning and memorizing, possibly
alternating each day, or having a different activity each day that has to do
with that specific Article of Faith. I have not listed resources for this, though
some helpful ideas may include: printing the Article of Faith and placing it on your fridge or on a mirror where
people will see it the most, using pictures to remember what it says, or
whatever you can find. A search on
Pinterest can give you ample ideas to help in teaching and memorizing The Thirteen Articles of Faith. The Church website also has this very helpful
game to encourage memorization: Articles of Faith Memory Quest.
Supplemental resources are listed with
each lesson. These selections do not
represent a complete collection of all presentations specific to the
topics. If you do not find that the
listed videos are suitable for your needs, please search through the video
selections on LDS Media Page or Mormon Channel, both of which show Church-approved
materials. There are many more videos
available than just what I have listed on this guide. Many of the topics overlap, so there is some
repetition in the videos listed. The
sources listed are sources directly linked through the Church, and Church-run
websites, but if you find other sources are doctrinally sound, feel free to use
them. I used the following resources,
and you can search them if you need to find additional videos or audio
presentations:
Please keep in mind, though the videos
are useful resources, their purpose is to reinforce, and not replace your
teaching and personal testimony. Always
view them personally prior to presenting them for your children, as some of the
themes may be more suitable to younger or older children. Unless otherwise indicated, all video
resources are under five minutes in length.
The longer videos may be saved for Sundays or Family Home Evenings if
you want to review a topic, or if you have ample time, feel free to use them
while you are teaching during the regular week.
May your family be blessed as you learn
to live and share the gospel together.
Thank you....so much.
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