Purpose: To prepare the family for trials, afflictions, or adversity. Help them understand that they cannot always choose whether they will go through hard times or not, but they can choose how they will respond, and that can make all the difference.
Possible scriptures: Matthew 25:23; John 9:2-3; Romans 8:16-17; Hebrews 4:16; James 5:11; 1 Peter 3:17; Mosiah 23:21-22; Alma 7:11-12; Alma 36:3; Ether 12:6; Doctrine and Covenants 14:7; Doctrine and Covenants 50:5; Doctrine and Covenants 58:2-4; Doctrine and Covenants 98:3; Doctrine and Covenants 126:31; Abraham 3:25;
Possible Songs: Come, Come Ye Saints, Hymn 30; How Firm of Foundation, Hymn 85; Be Still, My Soul, Hymn 124; Where Can I Turn for Peace?, Hymn 129; God Speed the Right, Hymn 106; Cast Thy Burden upon the Lord, Hymn 110; Count Your Blessings, Hymn 241; Does the Journey Seem Long?, Hymn 127; I Am Like a Star, Children’s Songbook page 163; Can a Little Child like Me?, Children’s Songbook page 9; Smiles, Children’s Songbook page 267b; If you’re Happy, Children’s Songbook page 266;
Possible Materials: a fresh carrot, a raw egg, and a boiled carrot and egg, along with a pan and some water. These figurines of Liberty Jail and this story to go with it, along with this photo of the jail; A picture of Job (I dug and dug and there just isn’t a better one); a picture of Franklin D Roosevelt.
Preparation: Begin with prayer. Watch this video called “Men’s Hearts Shall Fail Them.” How would you have responded in that situation? How do you respond to your own trials? Is there improvement necessary? There will be times when we are really struggling. Watch “Mountains to Climb” and look for ways to survive hard times and hold on to any faith that we have. Read the suggested scriptures, including Doctrine and Covenants chapter 121-122 (click the arrow on the right to access 122). Also familiarize yourself with the story of Job. Read through the lesson, including any links, and carefully select the most relevant material for your family. Children: Watch this video about Job (or this one. The stories have 2 different vibes. This one will raise less questioning) and this video about Joseph in Liberty Jail. Then have a grownup help you collect 1 fresh carrot, some boiled carrots, 1 fresh egg (be careful with it) and one hard-boiled egg.
Lesson:
Discuss how last week’s challenge went.
Introduction: Hold up the fresh carrot. talk about it with your family. Ask them to describe the carrot to you. What color is it? is it hard or soft? What happens if we cook this carrot? Place the carrot in a pot with some water and pretend to boil it with your family. Bring out the cooked carrot. Ask your family what has changed about the carrot? It is soft, now! Now bring out the egg. If you can do it without making a mess or spreading bacteria, crack it. Ask your family if the insides are hard or gooey soft? What happens if we place the egg in the boiling water? Place the boiled egg in the pot and pretend to boil it. Use tongs to remove your egg from the water (we know it’s not going to burn you but you might as well teach that we don’t stick our fingers into boiling pots, right?). Peel it and ask your family what happened to the inside of the boiled egg? How did it become hard? We used the same water to boil the carrot and the egg, and yet the carrot became soft and the egg became hard! Tell your family that in Alma, the Nephites and the Lamanites had had a long war and were exhausted. Then read Alma 62:41. Explain that just like the same water can harden or soften some foods, the same trial can make or hearts hard or soft. All the Lamanites and Nephites had been part of the same war, but some hardened their hearts and some softened their hearts. Ask your family what that means. We cannot always choose whether we go through hard times or not, but we can choose how we will respond!
From the Scriptures: Hold up the picture of Job. Tell your family that Job was a righteous and happy man. But one day he lost all of his animals, all 10 of his children, his house and everything he had and loved. He was sad but he did not stop being happy. Then he got sick! His friends told him that God must be mad at him and that he deserved to be mad at God! But Job would not be mad at God. Read Job 13:15, 18. He knew that no matter what happened, if he lived righteously, he would return to Heavenly Father. He had an “eternal perspective.” Read Job 19:25-27. Heavenly Father was proud of Job for keeping his integrity and his faith. He could have chosen to be mad and grumpy, but instead, he let Heavenly Father teach him. Heavenly Father blessed Job with even more than he had and Job was happy. Read Job 42:12.
From Church History: Hold up the picture of Liberty Jail. Tell your family that this is liberty Jail. Some angry people did not like the early members of the church. They thought that if they threw Joseph Smith and some other leaders of the church into jail, they could hurt the church and its members. Hold up the figure of Joseph and the other leaders in chains. Say that some guards were mean. They said mean things about the saints and about Joseph. The food was rotten and it made the leaders sick. It was cold and dark. Joseph was really sad. He was worried about the people he loved and about the church. He felt so alone! One night, he prayed to Heavenly Father and told Him how he felt. Read Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-6 (For younger families it may suffice to read verses 1-3 and explain that Joseph is saying, “Heavenly Father, where are you? Why are you hiding? Why are you letting people hurt us? How long will we need to be in this hard place?”). Heavenly Father called Joseph his son, and told him that he would get through his struggles quickly. He was told that if he “endured well,” meaning if he didn’t give in and stayed strong, he would be blessed and honored. Read verses 7-9. Did Heavenly Father really hide from Joseph? Was He mad or upset with Joseph for feeling lonely? Heavenly Father knows how we feel and he can help us, even when we feel alone. He can help us get through our hard times and can teach us how to be stronger.
From World History: Now hold up this picture of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Tell your family that Franklin Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States. When he was 39 years old, he went on vacation with his family. When it was dinnertime, Franklin didn’t feel well, so he went to bed. When he woke up, he couldn’t feel his legs. In fact, that vacation was the last time he would walk without help ever again. He was diagnosed with Polio. Polio rarely affects grown adults, but it changed Franklin’s life in a day! He had many political aspirations and didn’t think people would ever look at him the same again. He could have just mourned his fate and slipped out of history. For a time, he even considered it. Instead, he decided to work diligently to still reach his goals, even in spite of his setbacks. He ran for president at a time that the country was hurting – the Great Depression was a very devastating time for our country. He was victorious in his presidential campaign and sought to bring strength and stability back to our country. Some say that his Polio actually made him a better president: more capable of compassion, slower to make rash decisions, and exercising diligence in improving himself and his health every day. We can choose to overcome our adversity like President Roosevelt. We can choose to work toward a goal no matter what setbacks we may face.
Further Discussion:
Pass out paper and pencils. Read the 6th and 7th paragraph of Adversity in True to the Faith. Ask your family to think of the struggles in their own lives, writing them on the provided papers. They can share if they’d like to, but is more of a personal reflection question. Ask them to contemplate what the proper response to their adversity might be. Then read the 8th paragraph. List as a family the ways we trust the Lord that are given in the paragraph.
Recent Conference talks to consider in your discussion: Click here for a list of talks on adversity.
Challenge:
Remind your family about the eggs and carrots. Ask them to pay special attention to their attitude this week when things don’t go as they want. As they see themselves struggling to keep a positive attitude, have them write down their feelings and ask them to shift their focus to the Savior. Have any who are willing share their experiences next week.
Giving due credit: as usual, I read and learned from the Nursery Manual lesson 19, Gospel Principles Chapters 2 and 47, and the Family Home Evening Resource Manual Lesson 17 and lesson 34, and Gospel Topics from Gospel Library on Adversity. I also gained quite a bit of insight from Job: The Man and His Message, from the March 1982 Ensign.
