Certain ingredients are needed to make a science experiment or recipe work successfully. Consider doing an experiment or making a favorite recipe as a family before reading Mormon 9:16–24. As you read the verses (especially verses 20–21), look for the necessary "ingredients" that make miracles possible.
What are some necessary "ingredients" for a happy family? "Being part of a family is a great blessing. Your family can provide you with companionship and happiness, help you learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and help you prepare for eternal life.
"Strong families require effort. Your family will be blessed as you do your part to strengthen it ... Show love for your family members each day. Share your testimony with your family through words and actions. Your righteous example can make a difference in strengthening your family ....Participate in wholesome family activities and traditions. Join your family in family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evenings. Keeping these commandments strengthens and unifies families." (For the Strength of Youth-Family)
"Food is a perfect way to connect to your culture and heritage - your ancestral homeland - and, because food provides such powerful memories, it seems to be part of some sort of genetic memory as well….Perhaps you recall your grandmother's fluffy yeast rolls on the Sundays of your childhood, or can still taste the soft, giving sweetness of your Aunt Maudie's graham and marshmallow slices. Maybe you'd pay real money for a handwritten copy of your mother's artichoke soup recipe, or are thrilled to have been long ago entrusted with the secret ingredient in your dad's chili.
"If you're in possession of beloved or long-forgotten family recipes, I encourage you to make good use of them….Don't let them be lost forever; keep them alive and every bit as current as they ever were." (Food is Family History)
In her blog article The Power of Family Recipes, Angelle Anderson states: "Cooking recipes from our heritage can bring a sense of togetherness that spans generations by strengthening ties with the living and the dead. Family recipes are a way of keeping our loved ones alive while we dice, stir, simmer and bake! Food appeals to all five of our senses. For some of us, just the smell of a favorite family dish cooking on the stove can transport us back to the kitchen of our youth, and we can almost taste the anticipation again of gathering for a family meal without a single empty chair. Preserving and using family recipes can open the door to sweet emotions from the past that are accessible anytime. Baking with family recipes can make any occasion into a magical family history moment!"
Learn a Family Recipe
Choose a family recipe to make and make it together. "By learning a family recipe you are also carrying on a tradition. You're learning from the past, continuing the act in the present, and creating the ability to pass your knowledge onto the future." (Learn a Family Recipe)
Create a Family Cookbook
Baking family recipes can help you feel close to your ancestors who are no longer with you. Create a family cookbook to share with family members. It would also make a great Christmas gift. See below for ideas.
This Heritage Cookbook can be done for family reunions or anytime. Simply ask family members to submit their favorite family recipes—"from their own family or one passed down from a distant ancestor. Ask them to include details on, memories of and a photo (when available) of the family member best known for the dish. The collected recipes can then be turned into a wonderful family cookbook. This also makes a great fundraising project for the following year's reunion."
Read Family Cookbooks for inspiration on preserving and sharing recipes. This family gathers their favorite recipes every three years to compile a cookbook to hand out at their family reunion.
Younger children may enjoy this Cooking Together coloring page as you work on cookbook details.
Experience Some International Recipes
Foods are not only a part of your family, but they are often a part of where you live. Food may hint at your cultural heritage and maybe your ancestry. Often, cooking techniques and recipes are passed down through generations.
Entertain your family by serving some tempting dishes that your ancestral family might have eaten, such as Danish dumplings, lasagna, sauerkraut, sushi, lox and bagels, johnnycakes, smoked dried jerky, or French pastry. What items were on your ancestors' menu? See some other ideas on how to share and Savor your Family's Story or try some of the recipes below:
Write one brief story about your life as you study each Come, Follow Me lesson. By the end of the year, you will have compiled 50 stories to add to your personal history. Save as a story (also consider audio-recording it) and add it to your FamilySearch memories to preserve it. Use your own questions, those from (or inspired by) Come,Follow Me, or the #52 Stories Project. See below for ideas:
What does your taking upon you the name of Jesus Christ mean to you?
What is a favorite recipe made by your grandmother? Where did she get that recipe?
Does your family have a recipe that has been passed down generation to generation?
