TEMPLES
TEMPLES
Family Home Evening
Lesson
OPENING SONG:
“I Love to See the Temple,”
Children’s Songbook, page 95
Link to the music:
OPENING PRAYER:
INTRODUCTION:
Show a picture of the temple closest to your family and ask
young children: “What is this?” “How is it different than a school, a store,
or even a church?” “What does sacred mean?”
Help children understand the following ideas:
Temples are
sacred buildings
Each one is
called “The House of the Lord”
In the
temple we learn many things about Heavenly Father’s plan for us
In the
temple we make special promises to Heavenly Father, and He
makes
promises to us
WORTHINESS:
Explain that not just anyone can go inside the temple. Those who go must be old enough and must live
a righteous life. Discuss temple
recommends. Show your children your
temple recommend, or if you are working to get one ask someone to come and show
your children theirs. Explain how we
must continue to make righteous choices and be approved by the bishop every 2
years for another temple recommend.
How can you prepare to go to the temple?
Use the chart, “I Will Prepare Myself to Go to the Temple.”
Use the circles to attach to the board as you answer the
following questions:
1.
What should we do when we earn money?
(pay tithing)
2.
What should we do on Sunday? (go to church)
3.
How can we make our parents and Heavenly Father happy? (obey
parents)
4.
What does it mean to tell the truth and not steal? (be honest)
5.
How can we take good care of our body? (eat good foods)
6.
How can we keep close to Heavenly Father (pray)
7.
How should we treat others? (love one another)
SEALINGS:
Nobody’s family is
perfect. We all have problems. But we can help our family become
better. What can we do to help? We need to help each other to become worthy
so we can be a FOREVER FAMILY.
Besides keeping the commandments, what else must we do to be
with our family forever? (Be sealed in
the temple)
What power seals us as a family? (the priesthood)
The priesthood power to seal is eternal – even after people
die. Those who are sealed in the temple
will be together forever if they keep the promises they made with Heavenly Father.
OBJECT LESSONS:
Using a Ziploc bag, fill it with little people toys or
things to represent the family. Don’t
zip it up. Turn it upside down and show
what happens to our family when we are not sealed. Then show how we stay together when the bag
is sealed.
Use strips of paper and write the names of each family
member on a strip. Staple or tape each
strip into a ring and hook them together to make a chain showing that we are
all linked or sealed together.
OTHER PURPOSES OF
TEMPLES:
If possible, use the magazine/booklet published by the
church titled “Temples”.
Show pictures of the temple baptismal fonts, endowment rooms
and sealing rooms.
Explain to children that there are four aspects of
ceremonial work performed in the temple:
1. Baptism for the dead
2. Ordination and associated priesthood
endowments
3. Marriage ceremonies
4. Other sealing ordinances
With older children, discuss the seven purposes of temples
given by John A. Widtsoe:
1. The temple is a
house or home of the lord. Should the
Lord visit the earth, He would come to His temple.
2. the temple is a
place of instruction. Here the
principles of the gospel are reviewed and profound truths of the kingdom of God
are unfolded.
3. The temple is a
place of peace. Here we may lay aside
the cares and worries of the outside world.
4. The temple is a
place of covenants, which will help us live righteously.
5. The temple is a
place of blessing. Promises are made to
us, conditioned only upon our faithfulness.
6. The temple is a
place where ceremonies pertaining to godliness are presented. The great mysteries of life, with man’s
unanswered questions are here made clear:
a) Where did I come from?
b) Why am I heare? C) Where do I go when life is over?
7. The temple is a
place of revelation. The Lord may here
give revelation, and every person may receive revelation to assist him in life.
TEMPLES ALL OVER
THE WORLD:
Because the Lord wants all families to have temple
blessings, He has directed the prophets to build new temples all over the world
so people will note have to travel so far to go to a temple. It used to require great sacrifice for some
saints to afford to travel to a temple, and for some, it still is a great
sacrifice.
Read attached story: “70
Cents a Month for the Temple”
PLAY: TEMPLE BOUND GAME:
Use game board and cards
MAKE SALT LAKE TEMPLE MODEL:
Color, cut, fold and tape to make a model of the Salt Lake Temple.
CLOSING SONG: “Familes
Can be Together Forever”, Children’s Songbook, pg 188
Link to the music:
TREAT IDEA: bubble
gum – it lasts forever!!
We Lived on 70 Cents a Month for the Temple
“We
had to do some extra things to accomplish our goals,” Brother Vaha’i Tonga
simply stated. More than anything else Brother Tonga and his wife wanted to be
in New Zealand for the dedication of the temple, but it was not easy for a
Tongan Saint to save enough money for such a journey. It took months of
preparation and saving, but finally the money was gathered and plans were made.
But
the Lord’s church had other needs, and mission President Fred Stone approached
the Tongas with a request. “Brother Tonga,” President Stone said, “I want you
to get all the money you have saved to go to the temple and bring it over to
me. We want to build a chapel in your branch, and if you don’t contribute the
money, the building program will pass by your branch and you will have to wait
a couple of years to build a chapel.”
“I
will do it. Tomorrow I will get the money,” replied Vaha’i Tonga. But it was
difficult to give up their dream of seeing the new temple. He related that after
President Stone left, “My wife and I talked about our decision. She said,
‘Okay, we’ll do it, but you know I have told my friends and my family
that we are going to go to the temple dedication.’ I will never forget what I
was prompted to say at that moment. I said, ‘Let us close the door on Satan and
keep him out. We will do what the Lord tells us to do.’
“Wednesday
morning I went over to the government bank and drew out all of the money. I
gave it to my wife and told her to give it to President Stone.
“That
night we had a little talk. I said, ‘Honey, the Lord has promised us through
our leaders that if we keep his commandments he will prepare some way that we
will be able to go to the dedication. We have cows, pigs, and some horses,
besides furniture and mats. Let’s sell it all so that we may be able to receive
the blessings of the dedication.’
“We
began to tell people that we wanted to sell our livestock, but when they came,
they said, ‘No, too much money, too dear for us to buy those things.’ This was
on Thursday, and Friday was not successful either. On the following Monday the
ship, the Tofua, was to leave.
“On
Saturday morning three families came who needed some cows, pigs, and other
things, and we received between $500 and $600 in about half an hour. I told my
wife that we had the money and would be able to go.
“I
went over early Monday morning to Nuku’alofa to give President Stone the money.
In surprise he asked, ‘Where did you get the money?’
“‘We
sold some of our things so that we may go to the dedication.’
“‘Brother
Tonga,’ he said, ‘the Lord will bless you.’
“At
the temple we realized many blessings. We were the first witness couple and the
first couple to be sealed in the New Zealand Temple. I was the leader of the
Tongan chorus and President McKay had me lead the entire congregation in the
closing hymn of
the dedicatory service.
“When
my wife and I were sealed to each other, something touched my heart. Our
children were not with us, and tears came to my eyes. When we arrived home I
promised our four children that if they would help, we could go to the temple
together. I thought to myself, ‘How can you say, be a good boy or be a good
girl, if I am not sealed to them in the temple?’ I had the feeling that they
were not mine.
“For
two years we sacrificed almost everything. I divided my pay from school for
each one of us, and we saved that. But we paid our tithing and fast offerings.
We were left with 70¢ in our hands each month. This is how I lived with my
family, on 70¢ a month for two years. We lived on what we could grow and
gather. I remember my wife would wake up early in the morning to make our
salads with bananas and coconut milk. My children could not buy candy or shoes
or go to movies because they were saving to go to the temple.
“In
addition to my regular teaching job at Liahona High School, I did some other
work as it came along. To save on transportation costs I also rode my bicycle
to district meetings in Nuku’alofa, seven miles away. I was a counselor to the
president of the mission MIA and had to travel from branch to branch. I rode my
bike on these assignments. Most of our district meetings began at 6:00 A.M. so I had to leave home very early in the morning.
“When
the deadline came for getting our money in, my five-year-old said, ‘Dad, let me
go and count my money.’ She counted it and said, ‘I’m through, I’ve got enough
money to go to the temple.’ The two oldest boys said they had about $235. After
saving for two years the little one had saved $65. I had saved almost $1,300
for my family.
“Through
sacrifice we were able to take our family to New Zealand to be sealed in the
temple. We had to do some extra things to accomplish our goals, but it was a
great blessing to us.”
R. Lanier Britsch, associate professor of
history and Asian studies at Brigham Young University, serves as second
counselor in the Orem Utah Sharon Stake presidency.
JoAnn Murphy Britsch serves as first counselor
in the Orem 31st Ward Primary presidency. The couple have five children.
You
stole candy from the grocery store
MOVE BACK 2
|
You waited until you were 16 to begin
dating!
MOVE AHEAD 3
|
You followed
the prophet and had a picture of the temple in your home.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You told your
teacher the truth.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You said “NO”
when the neighbor asked if you wanted to try a cigarette.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You left your
friend’s house when they turned on an inappropriate movie.
MOVE AHEAD 3
|
You accepted
a mission call from the Lord, and served faithfully!
MOVE AHEAD 5
|
You bore your testimony at church.
MOVE AHEAD 1
|
You didn’t
choose good friends.
MOVE BACK 2
|
You lied to
your friend that you were sick because you didn’t want to go with him/her.
MOVE BACK 1
|
You repented
after you made a mistake.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You studied the Book of Mormon with your family.
MOVE AHEAD 3
|
You picked a fight with your little sister.
MOVE BACK 2
|
Sing or say the words to “I Love to See the
Temple.”
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You slept in
and missed church.
MOVE BACK 2
|
You were
respectful to the bishop.
MOVE AHEAD 1
|
You helped your friend to be honest.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You looked at your neighbor’s test for
answers.
MOVE BACK 2
|
You got too hungry, so you didn’t fast.
MOVE BACK 3
|
You paid our tithing before buying a new
game.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You are modest while dressing and
undressing.
MOVE AHEAD 1
|
You attend every church activity you could.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You chose a modest swimsuit at the store.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You remembered your morning prayers for four
days in a row!
MOVE AHEAD 4
|
You didn’t have courage to choose the right
and follow Jesus.
MOVE BACK 4
|
You forgot to say your personal prayers.
MOVE BACK 4
|
You gave money back to the cashier when she
made a mistake in your favor.
MOVE AHEAD 3
|
You listened
in Primary.
MOVE AHEAD 1
|
You skipped your friend’s birthday picnic on
Sunday.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
You apologized
to your sisters.
MOVE AHEAD 1
|
You spoke kindly to your friend.
MOVE AHEAD 1
|
You talked back to your father.
MOVE BACK 2
|
You surprised your brother by making his
bed.
MOVE AHEAD 1
|
You followed
the prophet and had a picture of the temple in your home.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
Sing or say the words to “Families Can Be
Together Forever.”
MOVE AHEAD 1
|
You made fun
of a church leader.
MOVE BACK 3
|
You are a
full tithe payer.
MOVE AHEAD 3
|
You told a
lie.
MOVE BACK 2
|
You are loving and cooperative at home.
MOVE AHEAD 1
|
You resisted temptation – you obeyed the
Word of Wisdom.
MOVE AHEAD 2
|
