The family is ordained of God and is central to His plan for the eternal destiny of His children. This divine plan makes it possible for individuals to return to His presence and for families to be united eternally.

Here is a video I put together about the Proclamation, you might be able to use it:

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Why is family important - August 2 smWhy is family important - August sm

 

Here are some great Mormonad's that could go with this lesson:

2013-06-mormonad-youre-covered-eng

https://www.lds.org/new-era/2013/06/mormonad-youre-covered?lang=eng


2010 May

https://www.lds.org/new-era/2010/05/mormonad-love-grows?lang=eng


2003 June

https://www.lds.org/new-era/2003/06/new-era-poster?lang=eng


Prepare yourself spiritually

Why is your family important to you? Why do you think families are central to Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation?

What messages are the young women receiving that contradict what the prophets have said about the importance of the family? How can you help them understand the eternal significance of the family?

Prayerfully study these scriptures and resources. What scriptures and other resources will help the young women understand the importance of family?

The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 129

Romans 8:16–17; Hebrews 12:9 (We are children of Heavenly Father)

Genesis 2:18–24; D&C 131:1–4; 138:48 (Gospel truths about the family)

Mosiah 4:14–15; D&C 93:40, 43, 48–50; 68:25, 27–29 (Children learn the gospel from their parents)

L. Tom Perry, “Becoming Goodly Parents,Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 26–28

  1. L. Andersen, “Children,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 28–31

Julie B. Beck, “Teaching the Doctrine of the Family,” Ensign, Mar. 2011, 12–17

Family,” For the Strength of Youth (2011), 14–15

Videos: “Families Can Be Together Forever”; “The Home Is a Divine Institution”

Teaching in the Savior’s way

The Savior asked questions that caused His followers to think and feel deeply, and He rejoiced in their expressions of faith. What questions might you ask the young women to help them think and feel deeply about the importance of family? Could these questions encourage expressions of faith?

Share experiences

At the beginning of each class, invite the young women to share, teach, and testify about the experiences they have had applying what they learned in the previous week’s lesson. This will encourage personal conversion and help the young women see the relevance of the gospel in their daily lives.

Introduce the doctrine

See other learning and teaching ideas.

Choose from these ideas or think of your own to introduce this week’s lesson:

  • Invite the young women to imagine that a friend asks them, “Why are families so important in your Church?” How would they respond?
  • Write on the board “The _________ is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal _______ of His ________.” Invite the young women to read the first paragraph of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” and complete the sentence. Discuss as a class why this statement is true.

Learn together

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Each of the activities below can help teach the young women the importance of the family. Following the guidance of the Spirit, select one or more that will work best in your class:

  • Draw a circle on the board. Invite a young woman to draw a family inside the circle. Around the circle, write premortal life, mortal life, and postmortal life. Ask a young woman to read the third paragraph of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” and look for ways the family fits into each of these parts of the plan of salvation. Invite the young women to share their feelings for their families and why they want to be united with them after this life.
  • Invite the young women to read the last eight paragraphs of Elder L. Tom Perry’s talk “Becoming Goodly Parents,” looking for answers to the question “Why are families important?” Invite them to share what they find. What can the young women do to show that they understand how important families are? How will their understanding of the importance of families affect the way they treat their family members?
  • As a class, read the story about Elder Mason visiting with Elder Spencer W. Kimball (in Elder Neil L. Andersen’s talk “Children”). What does the world teach about families? What does the Lord teach? What priorities do some people place above raising a family? What blessings will the young women receive for making family a high priority in their lives?
  • Assign each young woman one of the scriptures in this outline. Ask the class to search “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” and look for a passage that relates to their scripture. Invite each young woman to share her scripture and the part of the proclamation it relates to. Ask them to share any experiences they have had that illustrate the importance of families.
  • Show one of the videos suggested in this outline, and ask the young women to listen for reasons Heavenly Father has given us families. Ask the young women how they would respond to someone who says something like “I don’t think I want to have children when I get older” or “I don’t see why I should get married.” With permission from the bishop, invite one or more sisters from the ward who have a strong marriage to share with the class their feelings about marriage and family. What would they say to someone whose family situation is not ideal right now? (See “Family,” For the Strength of Youth, 15.) What would they say to someone who doesn’t see the need to get married and have children? Encourage the young women to ask any questions they have about preparing for marriage and family.
  • Divide the class in half. Give one half a copy of the section titled “Threats to the Family” from Julie B. Beck’s talk “Teaching the Doctrine of the Family.” Give the other half a copy of the section titled “This I Know.” Ask each group to teach the other what they learn from their section. What specific things can the young women do to defend the family?

Ask the young women to share what they learned today. Do they understand why the family is important? What feelings or impressions do they have? Do they have any additional questions? Would it be helpful to spend more time on this doctrine?

Teaching tip

“If several people have comments about a subject, you may want to say something like, ‘We’ll hear your comments first and then yours.’ Then those you teach will remain orderly because they know that they will have an opportunity to speak” (Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 69).

Videos: “Teach Each Other from the Scriptures”

Watch more

Live what we are learning

See other learning and teaching ideas.

Invite the young women to consider how they will live by what they have learned today. For example, they could:

  • Think of a righteous family they admire and write down specific ways they can emulate that family.
  • Visit the mormonnewsroom.org or the youth website and search for articles and videos about temple marriage and families (this could be done as a Mutual activity).

Share with the young women what they will be studying next week. What can they do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to next week’s lesson.

Information 06/25/2023

The time has come for me to be honest with myself,  that I just can't keep up with this site any more. I am working full time now and loving on my grandkids.  I will still be adding great quotes I find and things from General conference etc. Never fear, I am still here for you. If you need something please reach out to me, and I will See what I can do. You can reach me at theideadoor@gmail.com

Thanks for your understanding! Liz from the Idea Door

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