Tuesday, July 01, 2008

FHE - Fourth of July

Last night we gathered together to have a lesson about the 4th of July and why we celebrate it!
We started with a rousing "Star Spangled Banner" which was followed by a nice prayer.

Our scripture for the week is Ether 2:12 - "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ..."

After we talked about the meaning of that scripture I then started asking questions about the 4th of July: What is Independence day? Do you know what the Declaration of Independence is? Can you recite the pledge of allegiance? etc... I was impressed that Dallin knew many of these answers.
We then talked about the American Flag and why we have a banner or standard to represent our country.

Did you know:

The United States flag has 13 stripes. One stripe to represent each of he original 13 colonies. There are 7 red stripes and 6 white stripes. the top left part of the flag is called the "field of blue." There are fifty white stars, one star to represent each of the fifty states in the USA.

As Americans, we honor and respect our flag. It is protected by law. It is not the piece of cloth that our flag is made out of that we respect. It is what our flag represents that is important and sacred.

The WHITE stripes stand for purity. We, as a country, want people to be honest in everything they do. We want the people of this country to do what is right, even if it is hard to do.

The RED stripes stand for courage. The courage of those men and women that have given their lives for this great country.

The BLUE SQUARE stands for freedom. Freedom is very important and we want all people to enjoy those blessings. That means that no matter who you are, what you look like, or who you believe in , you have the right to be treated like everyone else!

After we talked about the meaning for the different parts of the flag we talked about flag etiquette (when to fly it, how to display it, what to do if it touches the ground or is torn, etc).

We then briefly talked about how important it was for our country to become free! That by declaring it's freedom from the rule of England, we were allowed to worship how we believe. The stage was set for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored to the Earth! Oh how grateful we are for that!

We then ended with a game of "50 states" and then had a closing song and prayer.
Refreshments: Berry Sundaes from Sam's Club. So they don't exactly look like this, but all you would need to do is add some yummy granola and some fresh berries to the top. It was good nonetheless and they were only $1!

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