FHE- The Family - A Proclamation to the World

Tonight we gathered together and sang "Families can be Together Forever" to start our FHE. After the song and opening prayer, Ryan turned the lesson over to me. I have had this impression to talk about the Proclamation (which you can read here).

Note to reader- So this FHE may seem rather lengthy, but I condensed it and I asked a lot of questions. But for sake of recording it, I put my thoughts and things that I read while I was preparing it. Please don't think I read word for word what I have typed below - those are my notes, just in case my family had questions. Our lesson took about 5 minutes and then we played a fun game to sum up what we talked about. So don't let the length of this post through you off!

Back to our Family Home Evening: I asked my family what was the most sacred institution (place) in the Church? Dallin said, the chapel, then quickly changed his answer to the temple. I read the following quote:

"The center core of the Church is not the stake (center); it is not the chapel.... The most sacred place on earth may not be the temple, necessarily. The chapel, the stake (center), and the temple are sacred as they contribute to the building of the most sacred institution in the Church - the home - and to the blessing of the most sacred relationships in the Church, the family" ("That All May Be Edified" [1982], 234-35).

(This is my most recent picture of our home - Nov. 2007)

(Our happy family - Oct. 2007)

We then went on to talk about what the proclamation was and why the Lord saw fit to reveal it to our Prophet - the family is under attack is the reason given by our dear Prophet (President Hinckley, who passed away in January, revealed this doctrine at the October conference in 1995). He said "Why do we have the proclamation on the family now? Because the family is under attack. All across the world families are falling apart. The place to begin to improve society is in the home. Children do, for the most part, what they are taught. We are trying to make the world better by making the family stronger" ("Inspirational Thoughts," Ensign, Aug. 1997, 5).

Next we talked about how we can apply the principles and counsel in the inspired document into our lives:


1. Sons and Daughters of God. First, the proclamation declares our self-worth by reminding us that "all human beings - male and female - are created in the image of God." We are literally His sons and daughters. I asked Dallin how that made him feel and he said "Happy!" It should make us all happy, all human beings are loved.


2. Guidelines for everyday living. The proclamation offers valuable guidelines for everyday living. I asked my family what some of those guidelines were - Ryan remembered "wholesome recreational activities" and Dallin said "prayer." Both answers are correct. It also explains the plan of salvation and the principle of chastity. It states, "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ." One of the main purposes of the family is to perfect us as individuals. So some of the teachings of Christ that can help us strive towards perfection, as outlined in the proclamation, are: "faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work and wholesome recreational activities."

3. Family History and Temple Work. The proclamation upholds the significance of temple blessings. We are reminded that we as individuals must be worthy before we can return to God's presence. Preparing and staying worthy to enter the temple will help us to remember those sacred covenants. Temple attendance also helps us to think of our own families and our ancestors. As we think of our families (including our extended, many generations removed) we are reminded that we are an integral part of an eternal family.

4. The Law of Chastity. Another important proclamation principle is that "God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. That those sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife."

5. Marriage and Parenthood. The proclamation says, "Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God" and "Marriage... is essential to His eternal plan." Those who have not yet found an eternal companion should not give up hope and they should not give up trying to find that person. Marriage and a family of our own are to be worthy goals in our lives. President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994) reminded us that "the greatest responsibilities and the greatest joys in life are centered in the family, honorable marriage, and rearing a righteous posterity."

All people, whether married or single, young or old, have the responsibility to live the principles of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."

I ended with my testimony that Jesus is the Christ, that the Book of Mormon is indeed scripture given to us from our Father in Heaven to be a companion to the Old and New Testaments. I know that if we strive to live the principles in the proclamation we can have joy and happiness.

We closed our FHE with a song and Carson attempted to say a prayer!

The game we played is called family baseball. On a piece of paper I drew a baseball diamond with the 4 bases. I had a bowl of chocolate chips to act as markers and our very simple dessert. I "pitched" questions to Dallin and Ryan from our FHE lesson and then determined if it was a single, double, triple, or homerun. We even had a 3 strikes rule (no one struck out though). It was fun and the best comment from the game was "Carson keeps stealing 3rd!" Carson couldn't resist sneaking the choc. chips that were being used to mark which base they were on. It was so much fun - definitely a game we will repeat!

Here is a great site that breaks down the Proclamation and explains the different paragraph's.