This week's FHE lesson topic comes from the Come, Follow Me reading in Acts 16-21. Check out this week's Come, Follow Me study ideas on LDS Living for additional resources and suggestions.
Thought
"In today’s world, no matter where we live and no matter what our circumstances are, it is essential that our preeminent identity is as a child of God. Knowing that will allow our faith to flourish, will motivate our continual repentance, and will provide the strength to “be steadfast and immovable” throughout our mortal journey."
(Donald L. Hallstrom, “I Am a Child of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016)
Scripture
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device” (Acts 17:27-29).
Lesson
Show pictures of people from various professions. Try to pick images where the uniform clearly shows their career, like a doctor in her scrubs, football player in his gear, or police officer in his uniform. Ask family members to label who these people are based on their profession (i.e. “He’s a fireman. She’s a photographer.”). Then ask family members to describe what others have called them, which could range from their being labeled a sister to a student to a piano player. Ask, “Are these labels who they are?” Remind family members that, at the very core, who they are is a child of God, and then read this quote from Elder Donald L. Hallstrom:
“Here on earth, we identify ourselves in many different ways, including our place of birth, our nationality, and our language. Some even identify themselves by their occupation or their hobby. These earthly identities are not wrong unless they supersede or interfere with our eternal identity—that of being a son or a daughter of God.” (Donald L. Hallstrom, “I Am a Child of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016)
Read Acts 17:27-29 and discuss what it means to be God’s offspring. Prompt discussion with the following questions:
What does it mean in vs. 27 when it says “though he be not far from every one of us”? What do we expect offspring, or children, to grow up and be like? Labels usually describe what people do (i.e. “A photographer is someone who photographs.”) What does being called a child of God suggest that we do? How can knowing we are a child of God affect the other things we call ourselves?
Story
Read Boyd K. Packer’s story about the pattern of our parentage:
Some years ago I returned home to find our little children were waiting in the driveway. They had discovered some newly hatched chicks under the manger in the barn. When they reached for them, a protective hen rebuffed them. So they came for reinforcements. I soon gathered a handful of little chicks for them to see and touch. As our little girl held one of them, I said in a teasing way, “That will make a nice watchdog when it grows up, won’t it?” She looked at me quizzically, as if I didn’t know much. So I changed my approach: “It won’t be a watchdog, will it?” She shook her head, “No, Daddy.” Then I added, “It will be a nice riding horse.” She wrinkled up her nose and gave me that “Oh, Dad!” look. For even a four-year-old knows that a chick will not be a dog, nor a horse, nor even a turkey. It will be a chicken. It will follow the pattern of its parentage. She knew that without having had a course in genetics, without a lesson or a lecture.
(Boyd K. Packer, “The Pattern of Our Parentage,” Ensign or Liahona, November 1984)
Lead image from Shutterstock
