One of the songs we have been learning in the primary program this year is Nephi’s courage. I just love this primary song, and honestly, it gets stuck in my head after every single Sunday. The chorus, “I will go. I will do. The things the Lord commands. I Know the Lord provides a way, He wants me to obey” is very catchy.
So, we had a special family home evening at a local retirement home that is in our ward boundaries. Members of our ward take turns doing a FHE with them. Our little family has been asked a couple of times, but has never been able to make it because of my husband’s work schedule until last night. We talked to the kids about where we were going, and we wanted to keep our lesson simple, and light hearted. We decided that since Nephi’s courage has hand actions, we would teach the elderly people that song. The FHE was supposed to be conducted as we would at home, which always makes things interesting when you have a 6 year old, 3 year old, and a baby.
We started out by talking about how music is beautiful in the church, but it also teaches us things too. We talked to our kids about how the Child of God teaches us that we are all Heavenly Father’s children. We talked about how Nephi was a prophet that had a lot of faith and courage. Then, we pulled out a flip chart that we have used in primary, and showed them pictures, while I demonstrated the hand motions. We sang one verse at a time, and worked our way up to singing all 3 versus. They seemed to love it.
Afterward, they complimented our children on how well behaved they were (it seems they were shocked to silence by their new surroundings) and said they loved the song and had never heard it before. This would be a great song to teach young children in your family, and a great FHE to incorporate and invite elderly people over in your ward. If you can, find a retirement home in your area that might have members of the church and consider conducting an FHE with your young family and them. It was a great experience!