Purpose: to help your family understand that each of us is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents and we lived with them before we were born.
Possible scriptures: Psalm 82:6; Malachi 2:10; Matthew 5:48; Acts 10:34-35; Acts 17:28–29; Romans 8:16; Hebrews 12:9; Doctrine and Covenants 29:31-38; Doctrine and Covenants 76:23–24; Doctrine and Covenants 138:55–56; Moses 3:7; Mosiah 4:9-12; 1 Nephi 17:36; 3 Nephi 27:13-22;
Possible Songs: “O My Father,” Hymns 292;“I Am a Child of God,” Hymns 301, Children’s Songbook 2; “I Lived in Heaven,” Children’s Songbook 4; “I Know My Father Lives,” Hymns 302, Children’s Songbook 5; “My Heavenly Father Loves Me,” Children’s Songbook 228
Possible Materials: We Grow To Be Like Our Parents puzzle pieces; Pictures of your family; Picture of Joseph F. Smith; Figures of Moses and the burning bush. You may consider acquiring either of these books (no affiliation. I’m just impressed by both of them and think that they need read by the world): The Hiding Place and Corrie ten Boom: The Courageous Woman and The Secret Room
Preparation: Begin with prayer. Think about your relationship with your Heavenly Father. When have you felt closest to Him? How do your family members feel about themselves? How can having a strong relationship with Heavenly Father strengthen their self-worth? Read the suggested scriptures, along with Moses chapter 1, and read through the lesson, including any links, and carefully select the most relevant material for your family. Print, color and cut the puzzle pieces. Children: Ask a grownup to read the story about Moses from The Friend. Ask a grownup to read the beginning of the We Grow To Be Like Our Parents sharing time. Also, watch this video about Corrie Ten Boom.
Lesson:
Discuss how last week’s challenge went.
Introduction: For younger children, place the puzzle pieces on the ground and have your family put them together to create pairs. The puzzle pieces only fit together with the right parent, showing that babies grow up to be similar to their parents. Include dialogue like, “What is a baby frog called? What will that tadpole grow up to be?”
Hold up the family portrait or separate pictures of each family member (for a twist, use baby pictures), and ask, “Who are these people? How are the members of our family different from each other? (Facial characteristics, age, talents, etc.) In what ways are members of our family alike? (Facial features, interests, desires to learn, etc.)” Talk about how we inherit some of our characteristics from our parents.
Explain that we will grow up to be like our parents just like baby animals grow to be like their parents. Heavenly Father is the father of our spirits, so we can grow to be like Him. Read the introduction included with the puzzle pieces. Talk about what you learned about God the Eternal Father in last week’s Family Home Evening.
Elder Marvin J. Ashton, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “As children of God we are somebody. He will build us, mold us, and magnify us if we will but hold our heads up, our arms out, and walk with him. What a great blessing to be created in his image and know of our true potential in and through him!”
(in Conference Report, Apr. 1973, 21; or Ensign, July 1973, 24).
When we have attributes like Heavenly Father, we are being like Him. Explain that we should try to become more like Heavenly Father every day. Discuss what qualities we would need to develop for us to be more like our Father in Heaven.
From Church History: Hold up the picture of Joseph F. Smith. Tell your family that when Joseph F. Smith was the prophet there was a lot of confusion about where people came from and how we got to earth. Joseph F. Smith felt that he needed to explain to church members what has been revealed about where we came from, so he and the rest of the First Presidency wrote a statement for the church magazine. Older family members will benefit from this video. For younger members, read Genesis 1:26-27 and the excerpt below:
Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable… of evolving into a God.
Improvement Era, Vol. 13, (November 1909), pg. 75-81
Ask your family what it means to them to hear that they are created to be like God? How does that change the way they make choices? Young children would enjoy making a simple crown (you could use this one from The Friend) and writing the words I am a child of God on it. Let everyone color the crowns.
From the Scriptures: using the scripture figures found in the June 2014 friend, Read Moses 1:1-22, or read the summary from the friend for younger children. Point out how many times God says, “My son.” Was this an important concept? Explain that Heavenly Father has important things for us to do while we live on the earth, such as being a mother or a father, a missionary, a teacher, a helper at church, or a helper in the community. What important work might Heavenly Father want you to do? As you discuss the idea of worth and potential, have your family members analyze Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 and Moses 1:39 so that they will get a feeling of how important we are to our Heavenly Father as his children. Explain to everyone that because they are God’s children, they are worth very much. Emphasize to them that it does not matter what we look like or where we live, His love is unconditional and very real. What is it about us that Heavenly Father would love so much? (First of all, he loves us because we are his spirit children; we are his family. Secondly, he loves us because of what we are capable of doing and becoming.) Explain that Heavenly Father knows about each child’s admirable characteristics. For example, you could say, “Heavenly Father knows that Emily is a loving daughter.” How does your knowledge that you are a child of God influence your thoughts, words, and actions?
From World History: Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom were sisters during World War II. They saw that the Jews were being treated unfairly. They tried to help the people who were being hurt. They knew that the Jews were good people and were children of God. Eventually, they were caught trying to help others and were taken to prison. When they were in prison they had many chances to be angry but they chose to forgive the people that were hurting them. They asked God to help them forgive the people who kept them trapped in prison. God filled them with forgiveness and they remembered that even the people hurting them were still Heavenly Father’s children. Help your family remember that not only are each of them specifically children of God, but also the annoying kid from school, their teachers, and their family members. How does that knowledge affect the way we treat one another. Briefly bear your testimony or share a personal experience about how remembering to treat others as the children of God has changed or affected you (or the other person).
Further Discussion:
Have your family sing each verse of I Am a Child of God and find which phrases they feel are the most important to them. By breaking the hymn up in this way, it allows them to think about each word and why it was chosen in the song. Think about the principles of the gospel that we learn when we sing this beloved song.
Recent Conference talks to consider in your discussion: The Personal Journey of a Child of God, by Neil L. Andersen; Room in the Inn, by Garrit W. Gong; Poor Little Ones, by Jorge T. Becerra; God Loves His Children, by Taniela B. Wakolo To Be a Follower of Christ, by Elder Alfred Kyungu; Invite Christ to Author our Life, by Camille N. Johnson; Trust Again, by Garrit W. Gong; Remember Thy Suffering Saints, O Our God, by Anthony D. Perkins
Challenge:
Give each family member a note card with the sentence “Because I am a child of God, I can become more _____.” Invite your family members to place it where they say their prayers. Each morning before prayer the family member can look at the card and identify a godly quality he could develop to fill in the missing word, such as loving, forgiving, educated, or accomplished. He should use whatever quality he may feel he needs to develop at the time. Encourage family members to seek the Lord’s help in being true to their capacity to become like him. In the evening, they should ponder the chances they had during the day to work on their potential. Challenge each person to examine the experiences he has had each day and share with his Heavenly Father what he, as one of God’s children, has learned from them.
Giving due credit: It was pretty hard to actually find the text for the origin of man, but it was pretty fascinating to read it in its entirety (along with other references to the same material). It can be found in BYU archives. I drew insights from Chapter 1 of the Sunbeams manual (it is a long-time fav for true gospel principles!) and the Nursery manual. I also pulled parts of this lesson from the Family Home Evening Resource manual (another important tool to have in teaching simple gospel principles) lesson 5 and Gospel Principles Chapter 2. Also, we have this book by Rachel Ann Nunes that I will sometimes add to this lesson. It’s a cute book and worth adding to your library. No affiliate link, just really like it.
