Weekly Family History Activities

April 18–24

Exodus 18–20

“All That the Lord Hath Spoken We Will Do”

Exodus 19:10–11, 17

Sacred experiences require preparation.

From Come, Follow Me:

The Lord told Moses that the children of Israel needed to be prepared before they could “meet with God” (Exodus 19:10–11, 17) and keep a covenant with Him (see Exodus 19:5). What do you do to prepare for sacred experiences in your life, such as attending the temple or partaking of the sacrament? What can you do to more fully prepare for these experiences? Think of other spiritual activities that require preparation, and ponder how your preparation can affect the kind of experience you have.

“The temple is a place of holiness. It is the most sacred and holy place on earth and should be treated with the greatest degree of reverence and respect. Reverence in the temple is an expression to the Lord that we consider it to be sacred and that we recognize it to be, indeed, His holy house." L. Lionel Kendrick, Enhancing Our Temple Experience

Elder David A. Bednar stated, “Please consider how the principle of ‘home centered and Church supported’ applies to our individual preparation and worthiness to receive sacred ordinances and covenants in the house of the Lord. Indeed, temple preparation is most effective in our homes.” (Prepared to Obtain Every Needful Thing)

President Russell M. Nelson encouraged us to prepare spiritually for the temple. He said, “Individual worthiness to enter the Lord’s house requires much individual spiritual preparation. But with the Lord's help, nothing is impossible. In some respects, it is easier to build a temple than it is to build a people prepared for a temple. Individual worthiness requires a total conversion of mind and heart to be more like the Lord, to be an honest citizen, to be a better example, and to be a holier person." (Closing Remarks, General Conference October 2019 

Review, explain, and discuss the temple recommend questions as a family. What preparations might you make individually and as a family to be better prepared to attend the temple?

Preparing Youth for the Temple: Seven Simple Steps gives you some ideas on ways to help prepare your youth for the temple:

1. Instill a love for the temple.
2. Teach the commandments.
3. Teach temple prep in the home.
4. Help youth find temple names.
5. Attend the Temple and Priesthood Preparation meeting.
6. Prepare youth for the limited-use temple recommend interview.
7. Ready youth for the ordinances.

You may find some additional insights in the following:

Prepare for the Temple 

Personal Preparation for Temple Blessings 

Prepared to Obtain Every Needful Thing 

Prepared in a Manner That Never Had Been Known 

Honorably Hold a Name and Standing 

Enhancing Our Temple Experience 

Temples 

”I have come to understand better the protection available through our temple covenants and what it means to make an acceptable offering of temple worship. There is a difference between church-attending, tithe-paying members who occasionally rush into the temple to go through a session and those members who faithfully and consistently worship in the temple." David A. Bednar, (Honorably Hold a Name and Standing)

The video above depicted a young woman reflecting on the blessing of walking the covenant path as she made her journey to the temple. Discuss as a family:

• What blessings have you enjoyed by attending the temple?
• What does it mean to you to make "an acceptable offering of temple worship?"
• What changes will you make individually and/or as a family to seek an "acceptable offering of temple worship?"
• How can you better prepare to attend the temple?

Exodus 20:1–7

It is important to put the Lord first in my life.

From Come, Follow Me:

Reading Exodus 20:1–7 might prompt you to think about the priorities in your life—you could even write them down in a list. What are some possible “gods” or “graven image[s]” (Exodus 20:3–4) that you might be tempted to put before God? How can putting the Lord first help you with the other important things in your life? What are you inspired to do to increase your focus on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

President Russell M. Nelson has said, “I invite you to increase your participation in family history, including family history research and indexing. I promise that as you increase your time in temple and family history work, you will increase and improve your ability to hear Him.” (Hear Him)

Learn how to sign in and navigate FamilySearch in FamilySearch Project 1, Goal 1 in The Family History Guide). Continue with FamilySearch Goals 2-14. Read how Projects, Goals and Choices enable your continued learning. Use The Family History Guide Online Tracker to document your progress. The Tracker will enable you to study for as little or as long as time allows and then you mark where you left off so you know exactly where to begin the next time.

Start or continue indexing as a family or individual. You will be helping others and yourself be able to find ancestors in the records you index. To learn how to begin, see How to Get Started with Indexing Online. If you prefer, find a specific project by looking at Find an Indexing Project or Get Involved in the 1950 US Census at FamilySearch.

You can also review FamilySearch Project 5 in The Family History Guide to find out how to get started, manage batches, and set goals. Need some additional help? Read FamilySearch Indexing: Easier Than Ever or Overview • Get Involved • FamilySearch 

Exodus 18:8–12.

From Come, Follow Me:

What effect did Moses’s testimony of God’s deliverance have on Jethro? What great things has the Lord done for our family? Who can we share our experiences with? How can we preserve those experiences for future generations?

“Testimony grows gradually through experiences. No one receives a complete testimony all at once. It grows as individuals show willingness to serve in the Church and to study, pray, and learn. It increases as individuals obey God’s commandments. Testimony grows as it is shared.” (Testimony)

What effect does listening to President Nelson’s testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ have on you? What effect might your testimony have on your family and others?

Discuss as a family what a testimony is. You may want to share your personal testimonies as a family or you may prefer to do it individually. You can use the FamilySearch Memories Audio app to audio-record, or the Record My Story feature or you can write in your journal. Consider sharing your testimonies with other family members or friends. It may be just the thing to strengthen their own testimony. You may want to consider some of the following ideas in your discussion and testimonies.

• Our Heavenly Father and being children of God
• Our Savior Jesus Christ
• Joseph Smith as a prophet
• Doctrines of the gospel
• Blessings of the restoration
• Scriptures
• Eternal families

See additional ideas on sharing your testimonies from prior weeks: week 1 and week 16. 

Learn about Sources - When you add or change ancestor information in FamilySearch Family Tree or other places, it’s important to add sources that let others know where you found the information that you are including. To learn more about family history sources and how to use them, see Project 1: Family Tree, Goal 8, Choice A.