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“All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World, paragraph two).
Thought: “We know that gender was set in the premortal world. ‘The spirit and the body are the soul of man’ (D&C 88:15). This matter of gender is of great concern to the Brethren, as are all matters of morality. A few of you may have felt or been told that you were born with troubling feelings and that you are not guilty if you act on those temptations. Doctrinally we know that if that were true, your agency would have been erased, and that cannot happen. You always have a choice to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost and live a morally pure and chaste life, one filled with virtue.” —President Boyd K. Packer
Song: “I Am a Child of God,” Hymn #301
Scripture: “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High” (Psalms 82:6).
Lesson:
Read the second paragraph together.
Watch the Mormon Messages clip “I Am a Child of God” below.
Ask family members what they learned and felt from watching the video.
Ask the following questions: How does it make you feel to know you are a child of God? Why is it important to know that we are the children of heavenly parents? What do children of God do and say? Since everyone around you are also children of God, how should you treat them? How would your life be different if you didn’t have this knowledge?
If you have young children, have them draw a picture of themselves and write “[Name] is a child of God” on the top.
Bear testimony that God is our father and that He loves us.
Activity: Nonstop
This game will remind the family that each family member is a unique child of God. You will need paper, a bowl, and a timer.
1. Select one of the family to be the official timer. The timer could be changed after each round.
2. Put the names of all family members in the bowl.
3. Have a person draw one of the names out of the bowl. When the timer is set for thirty seconds, the person drawing the name out must start talking as fast as he can, nonstop, without hesitating, about the person whose name was drawn out.
4. Immediately after the timer stops, the person who was talking points to someone else in the family and they must start talking about the person who just finished talking. When thirty seconds is up, that person then points to someone else. Everyone in the family must take a turn talking before a person can be pointed at again. If a person hesitates or stops talking during the thirty seconds, he is out. Also, if a person points at someone who has already had his turn, the person who points is out.
5. The round ends at the end of five minutes or when everyone has been talked about. Begin a new round by drawing another name from the bowl. The game ends when all the names have been drawn out of the bowl.
[Fun for Family Night: Book of Mormon Edition, Allan K. Burgess and Max H. Molgard; 1990; Bookcraft, Inc.]