CONFERENCE NOTEBOOK

SERVING UP GENERAL CONFERENCE FOR FAMILY HOME EVENING By Jessie Christensen

I knew I needed to give the idea of using conference talks for family home evening lessons a try.

hen general conference rolled “Mom, He’s Breathing My Air!” then verses of scripture were read Waround in October 2013, I As I pondered this question during amid outbursts such as ‘He’s touching realized it was the weekend my chil- the days before conference, I kept get- me!’ ‘Make him stop looking at me!’ dren were scheduled to spend all day ting the feeling that I should try using ‘Mom, he’s breathing my air!’” 2 Saturday with their father, my ex- the talks for family home evening Our results have been mostly husband. On the one hand, I looked lessons during the following months. in line with what Elder Bednar forward to a day of actually getting I resisted this feeling—my children described—small miraculous to hear the talks and ponder them are young, they might find the talks moments of family bliss interspersed in quiet peace, without the stress of hard to understand, and I just wasn’t with total chaos. Using general confer- trying to help three small children sit sure there would be any kid-friendly ence talks has not completely trans- through four hours of talks in a some- subjects. formed our family home evenings or what reverent manner. On the other Then, Saturday morning the second my children, but I think the overall hand, I do take seriously the counsel talk during conference was from Elder effect has been positive. to encourage our children to partici- Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of pate with us during conference. the Twelve Apostles, titled “General Zimbabwe Family Home Evening Over the past decade since becom- Conference: Strengthening Faith and At our house, family home evening ing a parent, I have sought to make Testimony.” 1 That was my answer—I lessons usually last less than 10 min- watching or listening to general con- knew I needed to give the idea of utes. Starting with the talk by Elder ference a significant family tradition. using talks for family home evening at Hales from October 2013 general To help engage the children during the least a try. conference, we have followed a sim- broadcasts, I’ve tried special foods, col- It could be a complete disaster. ilar outline for our lessons. First we oring packets, bingo, key-word activi- Most of the time our family home find information about the particular ties, and going for scenic drives. Most evenings resemble those described by General Authority or general officer commonly, I’ve simply required them to Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum giving the talk. The Church website be in the room doing something quiet. of the Twelve Apostles: “Sometimes has biographies for all these leaders, But what was I to do when my chil- Sister Bednar and I wondered if our and we’ve also used Google to find dren weren’t even going to be around efforts to do these spiritually essential background information about their for half of conference? things were worthwhile. Now and home countries or anything else

8 Ensign mentioned in their talks. Then we some strength challenges in the back- had some great discussions about discuss the content of the talk, pos- yard to learn about building our phys- gospel topics, and I’ve realized that my sibly do some kind of activity, and ical muscles. We’ve often found other children know more than I have given watch the last few minutes of the talk resources online, such as when we them credit for. Most important, I feel to hear the speaker’s conclusion and studied “Ye Are No More Strangers” strengthened by the fact that I took on testimony. by Bishop Gérald Caussé, first coun- something that seemed challenging Sometimes we have been pretty selor in the Presiding Bishopric, and and stuck with it. ◼ elaborate with our activities. Once we watched the Mormon Messages video The author lives in Utah, USA. used material about Zimbabwe from about bullying.5 NOTES the Friend to cook traditional food, 1. See Robert D. Hales, “General Conference: Strengthening Faith and Testimony,” Ensign, read about a child from that coun- Great Discussions on Gospel Topics Nov. 2013, 6–8. try, and play a native game before I had a few goals for this experi- 2. David A. Bednar, “More Diligent and Concerned at Home,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 19. studying a talk given by Elder Edward ment: help our family study recent gen- 3. See the Friend, Mar. 2014, 14–17, and 3 Edward Dube, “Look Ahead and Believe,” Dube of the Seventy. Sometimes we eral conference talks; focus our family Ensign, Nov. 2013, 15–17. have kept things simple, such as when home evening lessons more on gos- 4. See Richard J. Maynes, “The Strength to Endure,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 79–81. we studied “The Strength to Endure” pel topics; and become familiar with 5. See Gérald Caussé, “Ye Are No More Strangers,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 49–51, and by Elder Richard J. Maynes of the the different General Authorities and “Bullying—Stop It” (Mormon Messages 4 ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. BETH JEPSON ILLUSTRATIONS Presidency of the Seventy and did general officers of the Church. We’ve video), lds.​org/​go/​bullyingE615.

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