Conference Talk:
For more information on this topic read “Teaching After the Manner of the Spirit,” by Matthew O. Richardson, Ensign, Nov 2011, 94.
Thought:
While we are all teachers, we must fully realize that it is the Holy Ghost who is the real teacher and witness of all truth.
(Matthew O. Richardson, “Teaching After the Manner of the Spirit,” Ensign, Nov 2011, 94.)
Song:
“The Holy Ghost,” Children’s Songbook, p. 105.
Scripture:
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:5)
Lesson:
Ask your family members to close their eyes and sit quietly and listen. After about ten seconds ask them to tell one thing they heard. (They will likely mention the most obvious noises.) Now ask them to be very quiet and listen more carefully for sounds they missed the first time. After 15–20 seconds let them tell what they heard. (Perhaps they will have heard the ticking of a clock, the hum of a light, the sounds of birds, or traffic outside.) Ask them what they did the second time to hear things they missed the first time.
Show your family a picture of Samuel (such as Gospel Art Picture Kit, 111) and explain to your family that the boy Samuel had an experience like this listening activity. Take turns reading 1 Samuel 3:1–18 and discuss the following questions as you read:
• What clue is there in verse one that revelation from God was not common then?
• Why do you think Samuel did not know it was the voice of the Lord? (He was young and inexperienced.)
• Who had even more trouble hearing the voice than Samuel did? (Eli.)
• How do you think disobedience affects our ability to hear the voice of the Lord? (For examples, see 1 Samuel 3:11–14 and 1 Nephi 17:45.)
Remind your family of the listening experience at the beginning of your scripture study and point out that it wasn’t disobedience that kept them from hearing all the sounds. Share the following statement from President Boyd K. Packer, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve:
“The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting or shaking us with a heavy hand. Rather it whispers. It caresses so gently that if we are preoccupied we may not feel it at all. . . . “Occasionally it will press just firmly enough for us to pay heed. But most of the time, if we do not heed the gentle feeling, the Spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening and say in our manner and expression, like Samuel of ancient times, ‘Speak [Lord], for thy servant heareth’” (Ensign, Jan. 1983, 53).
Share your experiences of when you have been most able to hear or feel the Spirit and let family members share any experiences they have had.
Make a list of things your family members can do to be more in tune with the Spirit (such as prayer, pondering, improving personal worthiness, diligently seeking, etc.).
Read together 1 Samuel 3:19–21 and ask:
• How do you think this lesson may have helped Samuel when he later became a prophet?
• How did the Lord support Samuel in this calling? (Verse 19.)
Read together Alma 37:35–37 and bear your testimony of the blessings that come from listening to the voice of the Lord.
(Dennis H. Leavitt and Richard O. Christensen, Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families: The Old Testament, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009], p. 105.)
Story:
Helen Patten
[I received this letter from my pen pal.]
“I just had to write this to you. I absolutely had to. I guess if I did not I would burst. Oh, the marvelous happening all because of being a Mormon. I must tell you from the beginning or I’ll get too mixed up.
“You see, in Scotland we have no LDS schools, so when I was baptized I stayed at the school I
had been attending previously, the Harris Academy. This is a Presbyterian school, where pupils of all Protestant faiths attend (Methodists, Episcopalian, and all that). In school we have one period each week for instruction in religion, and this is in the Presbyterian faith. Well, when I was baptized, there was little change since all we did was read the Bible. But this year our teacher decided that our religion period should be informal and should be a period for debate, so he said he would ask us to write one question that he would try to answer and that the class would discuss.
“I didn’t ask one question—I asked six! I knew all the answers, but I wanted to explain our teachings and doctrine to him.
“I asked: (1) the interpretation of Rev. 14:6; (2 the meaning of 1 Cor. 15:29 (baptism for the dead); (3) which is the true church of Jesus Christ; (4) the nature of the Godhead (if they were three in one or three separate beings); (5) the correct method of baptism; (6) the reason for baptism.
“None of my friends had questions, so mine were all copied. Well, a fortnight later (yesterday)
the teacher decided that we would discuss the question concerning the personality of our Father in heaven. He blithered on for a wee while about heathens and atheists. Then we got down to business. I brought up the belief of some that our Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three in one. Since we don’t believe that, I told him so. He asked me for proof, and was he surprised when I rattled off a list of scriptures! You see, I had sat up the night before reading the books I was given when the elders were teaching me. I read scriptures concerning our Father being separate from Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. After I had proved my point that they were not three in one, my master went on to another subject, saying, `Of course, we all know God is a spirit,’ and I read more scriptures about our Father in heaven having a body, hair, eyes, and back parts. It was marvelous. One thing led to another, and soon I was deep in telling the class the Joseph Smith story. I was inspired, and I know I had the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of the Lord within me as I talked. At the end I took over the class and was answering questions. Now twenty-one people know about Joseph Smith and heard my testimony as I bore it to them. They also saw the Book of Mormon.
“May God bless you always,
Love,
Charlotte”
(Leon R. Hartshorn, Inspiring Stories for Young Latter-day Saints, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975].)
Activity:
One person holds an object hidden is his hand and as he describes it the other players have to draw a picture of it.
(Alma Heaton, The LDS Game Book, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968], p. 51.)

Refreshment
Lemon Cake
“This is a family favorite. Simple, but good!”
1 (18.25-ounce) package yellow cake mix 1 (3-ounce) package lemon Jell-O®
1 cup water
1⁄2 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
grated rind of 1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
With an electric beater, mix cake mix with Jell-O®, water, oil, and eggs in large bowl. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake 50 minutes. Punch holes in cake with meat fork when baked. Make glaze of powdered sugar, lemon rind, and lemon juice. Pour over cake and place in oven with the heat turned off. Let glaze set in oven 5 minutes.
Serves 12.
(Janet Peterson, Remedies for the “I Don’t Cook” Syndrome, [Salt Lake City: Eagle Gate, 201], p. 267.)