Our New Family Scripture Teaching Tool

We recently purchased a dry erase board for our family scripture study.  It was at the recommendation of a friend whose dad used something similar for their family scripture study.  When she first suggested it I couldn't think of anything that could be drawn, except for the Plan of Salvation.  But after I gave it some thought I came up with a lot more ideas:

1. Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life
2. Allegory of the Olive Tree (Jacob 5-6)
3. How God's word is like a seed (Alma 32)
4. Nephi's explanation of why we need baptism in 2 Nephi 31 (pictured above)
5. Creating lists: like names of Christ, attributes of Christ, prophesies, or lies of the devil
6. The Pride Cycle
7. The kids can illustrate what we have read and discussed
8. We can write an Article of Faith, a verse, or a new Primary song that we want to learn as a family
9. We can issue a scripture challenge and have them mark off a box as they complete it
10. Illustrating Christ's parables for greater understanding
11. A character study (for example: drawing Nephi and then writing all of his good qualities as we read through First and Second Nephi)
12. Contrasting Alma the Younger before and after his conversion in Alma 36 and Mosiah 27
13. Keeping track of the different groups of people after King Noah dies
14. The Armor of God
15. Playing Scripture Pictionary at Family Home Evening
16. And of course, the Plan of Salvation  

I hope that a couple things will happen as we use this new tool.  First, that our children will better understand what we are discussing and that it will be more permanently imprinted in their minds since they will have heard it and seen it and sometimes drawn it.  Second, that they will be more excited and prepared to create their own scripture journals since they will have seen how ideas and words can be illustrated and organized to teach a principle of the gospel.

I'm still brainstorming.  I'd love suggestions!

The Armor of Righteousness

Yesterday morning, as the kids were getting ready to walk to school we heard sirens outside.  We couldn't see where they were since they had turned the corner, but they had come to take a neighbor's son to the hospital.  During the night he had overdosed on drugs, which is a problem that he has struggled with for years.  My heart hurts for his family.

I spent yesterday worrying about him.  How cruel addiction is!  One or two really bad choices as a teen and his life took a course that he hasn't been able to change.   As the afternoon wore on, and I worried about how to protect my own kids from danger like this I sat down with the Book of Mormon to prepare our scripture study for dinner.  (We talk about a chapter or two, I read a couple of verses, we ask questions to liken it to us, all while the kids are eating.)  We are starting 2 Nephi.  As I read chapter one, where Lehi is counseling Laman and Lemuel before his death, I found two concepts that really spoke to me.  First, in verse  13 Lehi reminds us that sin becomes the chains that bind us and drag us captive to hell.  I thought about this young man and his addiction.  Certainly he was being dragged against his will.  No one would choose to live like this.  Second, in verse 23 Lehi implores his sons to "put on the armor of righteousness".  Following the commandments of God is our great protection, and it is the great protection we can offer our children.  They have to understand that the commandments, more than a set of rules and restrictions, are the armor that will protect them from the attacks of the devil.

We talked about this at dinner.  I hope that they understand.  I pray that their hearts will always walk in the light of His love.  To really drive home the message we watched this video.  It is old, but it had enough action to hold the boys attention.

I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon.  Today I needed a lesson in arming my children and I found it in Lehi's words to his sons.