This week’s family home evening lesson is loosely based on “The Miracle of the Holy Bible” by Elder M Russell Ballard. You may want to take time to read this talk and highlight any specific portions that you want to cover with your children. Additionally you may want to spend some time preparing your children for conference. You may want to emphasize that the stories and counsel given in conference are just the same as when the prophets in the Bible spoke to the people of their time. You may also want to ask your children to come prepared to share their favorite scripture story from the Bible.
You can open the lesson by reviewing the eighth Article of Faith with your family. You should then ask your children why it is important to study the scriptures. You may want to point out that by studying the scriptures we learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We also learn about the commandments and how to return to our Heavenly Father. Ask your children if there is every a time when they find it difficult to keep the commandments. Then share the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den or the story of Shadraq, Meshach and Abednego. These men chose to keep the commandments during times of great adversity, and were placed because they did so. You can ask each of your children to share their favorite story from the Bible. You can provide Gospel Art Kit pictures for your children to look through to help them remember the stories.
You can additionally teach your children that the New Testament is a record of Christ’s life and ministry on the earth. It is important to study it to learn what He taught. He used wonderful stories called parables to teach his lessons. You may want to review a few of the parables with your children. You should then point out to your children that the Book of Mormon also testifies of Christ. It is important to realize that the Book of Mormon does not replace the Bible but compliments it.
If you are teaching older children you may want to extend the challenge to your children to include the Bible in their personal scripture study. Additionally you may want to study it as a family. If you are teaching primarily adults you may want to focus on the teachings that have affected the adults as much as the stories. You can also challenge them to include the Bible in their personal scripture study.
Related Articles:
General Conference: “The Miracle of the Holy Bible”
Family Home Evening and Scripture Study Roadblocks
Teaching Scripture Stories to Young Children