COME FOLLOW ME Doctrine and Covenants – DECEMBER (week 3) Lesson 51 “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” (December 13-19, 2021) – Activities and Song Visuals for Primary and Home, family home evening (individual families), Sunday School, Seminary

• Help the children think of things that are so important that they would want to tell everyone about them. Show the children a copy of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” and explain that prophets and apostles wrote it to tell everyone how important families are to Heavenly Father. Ask the children why they think families are so important to Heavenly Father. Share something from the proclamation that you feel everyone needs to know about.

• Show the children a picture of a temple and a picture of a family. Let the children hold the pictures while you read the last sentence of the third paragraph of the family proclamation. Ask them to point to the correct pictures when you read the words “temples” and “families.” Testify that because of the ordinances of the temple, our families can be united forever. Sing together a song about eternal families, such as “I Love to See the Temple” (Children’s Songbook, 95), and help the children listen for words like “temple” and “family.”
  DOWNLOAD I Love to See the Temple song visuals (HERE or below)
  

• Ask the children what we can do to make various things strong—such as our teeth, our bodies, or a building. What can we do to make our families strong? Help the children understand the principles that lead to happiness in family life, found in paragraph seven of the family proclamation (see also this week’s activity page). Help the children plan ways they will strengthen their families.

  DOWNLOAD lesson-match activities and song visuals (below)

The family proclamation teaches that we are all children of Heavenly Parents and we are here on earth to become more like Them.

The family proclamation was issued to reaffirm eternal truths about the family. Consider how you will help the children deepen their testimonies of these truths.

• Draw a large outline of a heart on the board, and invite the children to read paragraph seven of the proclamation. Ask them to look for things they can do to help their families be happy, and write their answers inside the heart. Invite the children to pick something that they can work on to make their homes happier.

• Invite the children to share experiences when they felt loved by a family member. Help the children identify principles from paragraph seven of the proclamation that can help family members feel loved. How should our knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ affect the way we treat our families?

• Ask the children what they would say if a friend asked them why getting married or having children is important. How could we help this friend understand how important families are to Heavenly Father? Help the children find statements in the family proclamation that could help; see also the video “What Is the Purpose of Family?” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org).