We LOVE
General Conference weekend. It's kind of like the "Mormon Superbowl" (as
my friend says). Haha! Not really, but it's THAT BIG... actually, it
really is MUCH BIGGER. These inspired messages are intended not only for our church members, but for the entire world...
Here are some things we like to do as a family as we participate:
(If you don't have cable, you can watch
GENERAL CONFERENCE live online)
WHY CONFERENCE MATTERS VIDEO -is a great little message you can share with your family to add to your FHE as you prepare for General Conference.
Saturday Morning Session-
Conference Packets- Sugardoodle.net always has free, (Oct 2012) printable activity packets for youth of all ages. We usually put these together the Monday night before General Conference as part of our FHE. I like to make our packets big so they can last through at least two sessions.
Secret Word- Choose one or two words that will most likely be heard frequently during the session. You could choose: scriptures, Book of Mormon, family, love, hearts, choice, service, baptism, faith, mission, commandments, joy, obedience, obey, prayer, service, promise, tithing, children, mission, eternal, parents, sheep/lamb, holy ghost, sin, heaven, earth, gospel, life, patience, challenges. Sometimes, I'll randomly pick the words, and other times I'll write a whole bunch down and let one of the kids pick from a hat. When the word(s) is (are) chosen, I'll teach what each word means (before the session). That way, as they listen for and hear these words, they'll have a better understanding of what is being taught.
Saturday Afternoon Session-
Stat Guess- *** Before the session starts, have each person in your family fill out this "What's Your Guess" sheet below. Have them make a guess of how many temples there are, how many members of the church there are, how many converts and baptisms, how many missionaries, etc. You can even give a little prize for whoever made the closest guess. This works best if you can DVR the session and pause as each answer is revealed.
Sustaining our Leaders- Make sure everyone participates in these church sustainings. Talk about the importance of doing so. THIS talk from lds.org may help you.
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To use this sheet- 1) Right-click on it, 2) Save picture as... 3) Open a
Word document, 4) Insert Picture or just copy & paste into document
5) Print. |
Feast Upon the Words- Make a list of 3-5 words that will most likely be heard less frequently during the session. You could choose the words: opposition, potential, salvation, mortality, obedience, protection, angels, perspective, fulfill, glory, testament, covenant, heed, potential, abundance, establish, priesthood, treasure, celestial, accountable, example, influence, principles, believe, inspire, testimony, atonement, modesty, revelation, administer, fundamental, worship, privilege, standards, mistakes, mortal, desire, pride. We make sure everyone understands what similar words are acceptable, such as: mortal- (immortal, mortality, immortality). When the words have been chosen, we have 3-5 bowls of treats. Each word is assigned to a certain type of snack.
For instance:
OBEDIENCE (obedient, obey) = PRETZELS
ATONEMENT (atoning, atone) = APPLE SLICES
TESTIMONY (testimonies, testify, testament) = M&M'S
Here's another example:
When the word is spoken, everyone grabs a piece of the corresponding treat. My family LOVES this one!
Clean up- I use the upcoming activities as incentive for my kids to help me straighten and clean up the house. We want to be able to enjoy our lady's/kid's night (while the guys are at the Priesthood Session) and Sunday sessions in a nice, tidy home!
Saturday Night Priesthood Session-
While the men are gone, a serious lady's/kid's night is in order!
Here are 11 fun ideas: (THESE ARE ALSO FUN TO USE FOR FHE ACTIVITIES)
1) Have a "modesty" fashion show- Create a runway (down the hall) for your kids to strut down. Give them a few quick words on modesty. Review the
Article of Faith #13. I love
THIS talk and
THIS sharing time idea (specifically #2) from
lds.org.
THIS Modesty Checklist from the Friend May 2010 is also quite helpful. You can bring out the Halloween dress-up and let them come out in anything from Batman to Tinkerbell (you can show them how to make an immodest outfit modest by putting a shirt or leggings underneath). You could also let them wear your husband's suit, old prom dresses, maybe even your wedding gown if you dare! Get out the scarves, ties, hats, jewelry, etc. It's so fun to see the combinations they come up with-- so silly. Don't forget the music. MAKE SURE TO TAKE PICTURES.
2) Primary Song Karaoke- WE
LOVE KARAOKE at our house. This is something we do anyway at least once a week. If you don't have a karaoke machine, you can simply go
HERE (at
lds.org) to find any song in the Children's Songbook or Hymn Book. It has lyrics and music to every single song. This is probably the best way to go. If you don't have a mic, use a toy microphone or just pretend with a flashlight or something. It's such a fun way to teach your kids new primary songs. Just follow the words and sing your hearts out!
You could also go do a you-tube karaoke. Go to you-tube and type in "
Children's Songbook", the song name, then the word "lyrics" on the end. Some have lyrics, some don't. This way is kinda iffy. There's a lot of anti-mormon stuff out there (and other stuff) and you sort of have to sift through it to find what you're looking for. Here are some I've already found and have used for previous FHE's:
I am a Child of God,
My Heavenly Father Loves Me,
Teach Me to Walk in the Light,
Love is Spoken Here,
I Love to See the Temple,
He Sent His Son,
I Know That My Savior Loves Me,
If the Savior Stood Beside Me,
Follow the Prophet,
I Will Follow God's Plan,
If I Listen with My Heart,
Nephi's Courage,
If the Savior Stood Beside Me,
When I am Baptized,
Choose the Right,
Choose the Right WAY,
As a Child of God,
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man,
Praise to the Man,
Scripture Power,
The Lord Gave me a Temple,
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,
Beautiful Savior,
I Lived in Heaven,
Jesus Once Was a Little Child,
Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam,
The Books in the Old Testament,
Latter-day Prophets,
Stand For the Right,
3) Family Video Flashbacks- Nobody appreciates these like your own family. Once in a while, we'll find our funniest videos and do a mock America's Funniest Videos. My kids LOVE to watch their cute little younger-selves. We love to add our own silly commentary as we watch & giggle the whole way through.
4) Spiritual Scavenger Hunt- Make a list of topics we've just learned about from conference. Give out your lists and start searching! When each person has found their items, have them explain how each one relates to their topic. For instance, one could grab a tie for the word
mission, a kitchen sponge for the word
service, a baby doll for the word
family, jeans for the word
modesty, etc.
5) Mormon Mad Gab- I found yet another gem on
Sugardoodle.
This game was used for Primary Singing time, but I thought it was perfect for this fun little night. This was based on the activity, "Say What?" from the
June 2009 Friend which is awesome, too.
6) Friend Magazine on-line games- CLICK HERE. My family loves this site! They especially love having the stories automatically read to them on there!
7) Secret Service/Sweet is the Work- Once in a while, we'll plan ahead to do a little service. We've done things like: weed someone's yard, bake treats and doorbell-ditch a neighbor, bring in a garbage can, give someone a "heart attack", sweep a neighbor's porch, etc. The first time we did this, I'll admit that my kids really resisted. They hadn't yet "tasted the sweetness" of the blessings that come from service. Remember to keep it anonymous!
8) Scripture Read-a-thon- Okay, I'm sure you're thinking,
this won't fly with my LITTLE kids. But remember that the
Ensign, The New Era, The Liahona, and
The Friend are all considered to be doctrine, in addition to the scriptures (all can be found
HERE). If you have little ones who can't read, set them up to the
Friend website with headphones. They can choose the story they'd like to have read to them. Don't forget the treats!!! We've also recently discovered scripture stories put to video straight from
lds.org. Here are the links to
THE BOOK OF MORMON,
THE NEW TESTAMENT,
THE OLD TESTAMENT, and
THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS videos. These are SO GREAT for supplementing actual sit-down scripture reading as a family. Especially for young children who have a hard time understanding the scriptures. Sometimes when we've finished a story segment of scripture (such as the Tree of Life), we'll watch it on here so the kids really grasp it. I can't tell you how excited I was to find this. It's made such a huge difference in our very young family's scripture studies.
9) Preparedness Party- I got this idea from my friend, Mary. You could replenish your 72-hour kits with all your favorite snacks & food items. Remember it's a good idea to do this every 6 months anyway (to keep it fresh) which is perfect for doing at each General Conference. You could eat the food from your old one for dinner, too. Mary's family actually uses the older kits as one of their meals to eat during one of the sessions of conference. Isn't that fun? Plus, that's one less meal you have to fix and clean up from. Great idea, huh??? Thanks, Mary!
10) Dessert & a Movie- Let your family help you make a
Scripture Cake. Eat it as you watch your favorite family-friendly movie--preferably one that teaches a good moral. Talk about what you've learned, relating it to principles that were taught during the sessions earlier that day.
11) Articles of Faith Gameshow- Teach your family this fun little
ARTICLES of FAITH Chant/Ditty/Song to help them learn what each one is about. My kids have it memorized now. I love to quiz them by setting up a game show-type table with buzzers or bells (we use buzzers from the game, Taboo). We divide the family into two teams and I'll ask questions like, "Which Article of Faith teaches us that we should obey the laws of the land?" Answer- #12. "Which one tells us how our church was organized?" Answer- #6, etc... The winning team gets to choose and make the family treat.
Sunday Morning Session-
King Benjamin Tents- I got this idea from this talk in the Friend a few years ago and have done it ever since! We let the kids build tents the whole morning (while we sleep in) up until conference starts. Before the session begins, we remind them of King Benjamin's speech from the tower and how the people listened with the doors of their tents facing him. To make the tents, my kids use sheets, blankets, chairs, and sometimes cushions. Occasionally, I'll even have my husband move the kitchen table into the family room the night before so the kids can build from there. Usually, I set out sheets and other items for them to use (and make sure they know they are limited to those) so they don't make a huge, crazy mess. We lay a blanket down on the floor, and as they listen from inside their tents, I let them eat a simple picnic-style breakfast such as: muffins, fruit, bagels, breakfast hot pockets, pop tarts, sausage corn dogs, breakfast burritos, sausage corn muffins, (or whatever you eat) prepared the night before and finish what's left from their Conference Packets.
Ours turned out to be a triple-decker tent this year (My husband and I helped them with the 3rd level--adding a bungee-secured bench and attaching it to my drapes and the ceiling fan with safety pins and clothespins. ;)! My kids are soooo excited!
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| Our 3-story conference tent! They're so proud! |
Sunday Afternoon Session-
General Conference Bingo- This is the session my family usually tends to fall asleep during, so I use this game to try to help keep their interest and attentiveness. Print off your favorite General Conference Bingo cards---a different one for each family member. Use your favorite bite-size snack as the token chips. When one of the words or topics is said by one of the speakers, place your token on the corresponding square. Award small prizes for whoever gets 5 in a row and calls out BINGO! These cards HERE (at my heart and home) are one of my very favorite versions! Pop over to her blog and check them out! She's really gone to a lot of work for these! She's made 24 different printable cards! They're beautiful!
HERE and
HERE's another great bingo version.
After Conference- Make sure to keep your General Conference recordings protected on the DVR the whole year! We plan to take one talk a week to study as part of our FHE. If you're unable to record them, you can find all the general conference talks
HERE.
Check
HERE,
HERE, and
HERE for tons more fun ideas!
