5 Min. FHE: My Choices Have Consequences

 5-Minute prep Family Home Evening Ideas

Lesson: "My Choices Have Consequences"

By Heidi Doxey

From Tiny Talks Vol. 13

Opening Song: Choose the Right Way (Children’s Songbook #160) 

Opening Prayer: By Invitation

Scripture: D&C 58:28 

Art: “The Sermon on the Mount”

Lesson: Jesus told a story about two builders. One built his house on a rock, and the other built his house on sand. Then a storm came along. The house on the sand fell down, but the house on the rock stayed standing.

This story teaches an important lesson about choices. Heavenly Father has given us a gift called agency. Agency means that we have the power to choose for ourselves. But the choices we make still have consequences.

A consequence is something that happens because of something you have chosen. In the story about the builders, the choice was between a strong, rocky foundation or a weak, sandy one. And the consequence was having a house that stayed firm or one that fell down in the storm.

Every choice has a consequence. That’s why you need to think carefully before you choose. If you try to make good choices, you’ll be blessed with good consequences.

Activity: Give each of the younger children a sheet of paper with a circle drawn on it to represent a face, and have them draw the eyes, nose, ears, and hair. Give each child a colored, crescent-shaped piece of paper to put on the face to represent a smile or a frown, showing how they would feel in the following situations: (1) Your mother asks you to clean up your toys, and you do; (2) you draw a picture of your grandmother, and she puts it on her refrigerator; (3) you eat some of your brother’s candy without asking him. Make up more situations as time permits.

Closing Song: The Wise Man and the Foolish Man (Children’s Songbook #281)

Closing Prayer: By Invitation

Refreshments: Homemade Oreo Cookies 

From Favorite Family Recipes

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

2 packages Devils Food Cake Mix

¾ cup shortening or margarine (softened)

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese-softened

1 cube butter or margarine-softened

1 to 1½ lbs powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Mix together into cookie batter texture, roll into balls as big as desired (walnut size). Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not over-cook. Leave cookies on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes after removing from oven. Cool and assemble cookies with cream cheese frosting in the middle.

*For grasshopper cookies add a little mint extract and green food coloring to the frosting.

Download the lesson pdf (includes the dessert recipe) here.

5 Min. FHE: Missionary Work

5-Minute prep Family Home Evening Idea

Lesson: Missionary Work

By Trina Boice

From Dad's Night

Opening Song: We'll Bring the World His Truth (Children’s Songbook #172)

Opening Prayer: By Invitation

Quote: “For the Savior's mandate to share the gospel to become part of who we are, we need to make member missionary work a way of life” (Quentin L. Cook, “Be a Missionary All Your Life,” Ensign, Sept. 2008).

Art: Missionaries Teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Video: "Why Mormons Send Missionaries around the World”

Supplies: yummy treats (such as the s'mores bars below), dominoes

Principle: The most meaningful gift we can give to others is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The majority of people on the earth do not have an understanding of the Savior and His precious Atonement. We have been given the knowledge of saving ordinances as well as the divinely commissioned authority to provide them to the nations of the earth. Many people in the world are pure in heart and would embrace the fulness of the gospel if they were given the opportunity. As members of the Church, it is our privilege and duty to share the knowledge of salvation that we have been blessed with.

Lesson: Display a bowl of ice cream or plate of goodies (like the s'mores bars below) and begin to eat from it, expressing great delight. Ask the family why they love the gospel so much. Continue snacking and then explain that when we enjoy the blessings of the gospel without sharing it with others, it's like you're having a yummy treat that you love and not sharing it with the family. Provide some for the family and see if they take a treat, eat it right away, or want to save it for later. Explain that doing missionary work is similar—even when we share the sweet gospel with others, some people will accept and embrace it, some won't at all, and others might, but not until after many years.

Activity: Take turns doing “door approaches” by knocking on a door in the house and presenting a gospel message to pretend investigators. You'll be amazed at how innovative they'll be.

Game: Set up a row of dominoes on the front table and then watch the chain reaction as you knock the first one down. Compare that to all of the lives that are touched for good by just one member of the Church being a good missionary. Invite the kids to create more domino chain reactions in the house.

Refreshments: from Laura Powell’s blog

Easy S'mores Bars

• 1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 4 ½ cups miniature marshmallows

1. Heat oven to 375 F and line a 13x9 inch pan with foil.
2. In large bowl, stir the cookie mix and graham cracker crumbs together. Then stir in melted butter until soft dough forms.
3. Press the dough evenly into your foil lined 13x9 inch pan.
4. Back for 18 to 20 minutes or until set, I made sure it passed the toothpick test. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand for a few minutes until chocolate begins to melt. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over crust.
5. Sprinkle marshmallows over melted chocolate. Broil on the center rack of your oven until marshmallows are puffed and toasted to a golden brown. Watch closely because the marshmallows will brown quickly, it can take less than a minute. Cool a minimum of 10 minutes. Carefully remove from the pan using the foil. Cut into bars using a knife sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. They are best served warm but are still excellent at room temp. store any remaining bars tightly covered. Makes 12-16 bars.

Download the lesson pdf (includes the recipe) here.

5 Min. FHE: Heavenly Father’s Plan Is a Plan of Happiness

5 Min. FHE: "Heavenly Father’s Plan Is a Plan of Happiness"

5-Minute prep Family Home Evening Idea
Lesson: "Heavenly Father’s Plan Is a Plan of Happiness"
By Kimiko Hammari
From I Am a Child of God 

Opening Song: He Sent His Son (Children’s Songbook #34) 

Opening Prayer: By Invitation
 
Art: Jesus the Christ, Creation—Living Creatures 

Scriptures: Acts 4:12, 1 John 1:2

Lesson: When we lived in heaven before we were born, Heavenly Father presented a beautiful plan to us. It is called the plan of happiness because we will find great joy if we follow it. Heavenly Father loves us very much and wants us to live with Him eternally (forever). In order to fulfill the plan of happiness, we had to come to earth to receive a physical body like Heavenly Father’s. Here on earth we have families and make choices. Doing these things helps us become more like Him. If we live righteously, we will return to live with Heavenly Father after we die. But we won’t always make the right choices. Sometimes we will sin. Because Heavenly Father loves us, He provided a way for us to repent and be forgiven. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become clean from sin and return to live with Heavenly Father someday.

Read and discuss John 3:16.
Who is Heavenly Father’s only begotten son?
Why is Jesus Christ at the center of Heavenly Father’s plan?

Activity:  Younger Children: color the plan of happiness diagram below.
Older Children: Cut out the pictures and arrows from the diagram below. See if you can put them back in order.

Challenge: Teach the steps of the plan of happiness to someone this week.
 
Closing Song: I Will Follow God’s Plan (Children’s Songbook #164) 

Closing Prayer: By Invitation

Refreshments: Coconut Brownies from Laura Powell’s blog  

• 1 package fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)

• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

• 1 cup coconut-pecan frosting

• 2 eggs

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, combine the brownie mix, sour cream, frosting, eggs and water just until moistened.
2. Pour into a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until center is set (do not overbake).
3. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand for 5 minutes. Spread chips over brownies to frost.   Allow to cool.  I recommend cutting the brownies while the chocolate is still soft on top.  Yield: 2 dozen.

Download the lesson pdf (includes the activity pages) here

5 Min. FHE: We are to Feast Upon the Words of Christ

5-Minute prep Family Home Evening Idea

Lesson: We are to Feast Upon the Words of Christ

From I Know the Scriptures are True

By Kimiko Hammari

Opening Song: As I Search the Holy Scriptures (Hymn #277)

Opening Prayer: By Invitation

Art: Joseph Smith Seeks Wisdom (Gospel Art 89)

Scriptures: Isaiah 34:16, Mosiah 1:7, Doctrine and Covenants 11:22

Lesson: Imagine you are outside playing all day and when you come inside, you are very hungry. But instead of feeding you a nice dinner, your parents decide that you can only look at all your favorite foods they have put on the table. How would you feel? Imagine that they sent you to bed after that and when you woke up the next morning, you were even hungrier, but your parents only gave you a small bite of toast.

Luckily, parents love their children and understand that they need to eat. And luckily, Heavenly Father understands that our spirits need a type of food as well and has given us the scriptures. When we read our scriptures, we feed our spirits with power—power to choose the right, power to carefully listen to the Holy Ghost, and power to love those around us. But we must study the scriptures carefully in order to feed out spirits with this power. Nephi called this feasting upon the words of Christ. Just as we need to eat more than just a bite of food to keep our bodies alive, we need to do more than just read a few words from the scriptures. We need to ponder them and think about how they apply to our lives. Then put them into action.

Read and discuss 2 Nephi 4:15.

What does it mean to ponder the scriptures?

What can we learn from the scriptures?

Activity:  Print out the word search below for older children. Print out the drawing activity page below for younger children.

Challenge: Memorize your favorite scripture

Closing Song: Search, Ponder, and Pray (Children’s Songbook #109)

Closing Prayer: By Invitation

Refreshments: No-Bake Key Lime Pie Cheesecake from Wendy Paul

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups Key Lime Pie fruit filling (I like Private Selection from Smiths’)
1 80z. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature

In your mixer, combine all ingredients on low, until combined. Increase speed to high and mix for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.

Pour cheesecake mixture into a prepared graham cracker shell. Scrape the side and you can have a little taste if you want. Smooth out the top and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

Remove from the fridge and top with your Private Selection Key Lime fruit filling.

Top with whipping cream and grated lime zest. It’s also perfect the next morning for breakfast if you have any leftovers…

Happy No-Baking!

Download the lesson pdf (includes the activity pages) here.