The Book of Mormon begins with an account of a real family experiencing real struggles. It happened in 600 BC, but there are things about this account that might sound familiar to families today. This family was living in a world of wickedness, but the Lord promised them that if they would follow Him, He would lead them to safety. Along the way they had good moments and bad moments, great blessings and miracles, but they also had arguments and contention. Rarely in scripture is there such a detailed account of a family trying to live the gospel: parents struggling to inspire faith in their family and worrying about their safety, children deciding if they will believe their parents, and brothers dealing with jealousy and contention—and sometimes forgiving each other. Overall, there is power in this imperfect family’s examples of faith.
How are you and your siblings the same? How are you different? How are you like your parents? How are you different? What things do you like to do together? Try some fun activities and see how much you have changed over the years. How about your parents and siblings?
Recreate Childhood Photos
Recreate childhood photos, for a blast from the past. See this blog post from The Family History Guide to get started.
Compare-a-Face
What ancestors do you look most like? Try out Compare-a-Face on FamilySearch to see which ancestors you resemble. Then click on "Learn More" to see if there are any stories to check out for other similarities, and maybe add more memories. See ideas in this blog post.
When the Lord commanded Lehi and his family to obtain the plates of brass from Laban, He did not give specific instructions on how to accomplish this commandment. This is often true of other commandments or personal revelations we receive from God, and this might lead us to feel like He has required "a hard thing" (1 Nephi 3:5). What inspires you about Nephi's response to the Lord's command, found in 1 Nephi 3:7, 15–16? Is there anything you feel impressed to "go and do"?
Like Nephi, we have opportunities every day to "go and do" what the Lord commands. Nephi and his brothers were commanded to go back to Jerusalem for the brass plates. What do we learn from this scriptural passage about the importance of records? These young men risked their lives to attain the brass plates. How important are our family records and what are we willing to give to create and preserve them? How can we "go and do" more to discover and preserve our family history this year?
Re-enact 1 Nephi 1-5
You might want to do some re-enactments from 1 Nephi 1-5 complete with costumes, props, and a spiritual wrap-up. This is a fun and memorable way to create an atmosphere in which family members can begin to feel what it must have been like for Nephi to "go and do" what the Lord commanded.
Look in FamilySearch to see what your family tree looks like. You could look for photos of your ancestors or read stories about them. You might also have some stories or photos of your own to add.
Decide which photos you would like to share on your Family Tree and upload them. For additional help, read:
You can make meaningful progress learning about family history in as little as 15 minutes a day. Check it out here.
President Nelson and his wife Wendy at RootsTech 2017 Discovery Day encouraged us all to prayerfully consider where we could make a sacrifice of personal time to the Lord by increasing the amount of time that we spend doing temple and family history work. As we do so, Sister Nelson said, "Watch what happens!" You can watch a short video clip below, or read or watch the full talk "A Sacrifice of Time" here.
Each week, you will find activities to help gather Israel (on both sides of the veil) in Weekly Family History Activities. Also, check out 5-Minute Ideas for Latter-day Saints.
Consider the "add-on" method as you plan family history activities. Make a routine by adding an activity to a meal, bed-time, travel time, family prayers or scripture reading, etc. Check out Need a Time Filler? Think Family History!
You may also want to join the Facebook group for The Twenty-one Day Family Connections Experiment to do family history (gathering on both sides of the veil) for 21 straight days, and select a plan to follow for ideas and motivation. Read more about it here.
These verses could inspire your family to keep a record of important events and experiences from your lives. Maybe you could start a family journal, similar to the records Nephi and Lehi kept about their family's experiences. What might you include in your family record?
Discuss with your family or ponder how you individually would like to keep a record of important events and experiences in each of your lives. Here are some ideas:
Keep a written account, or maintain it online.
Video your activities, or create a photo account or timeline.
Decide how often you will update your record. Perhaps an older child could take the responsibility to help it happen.
Whatever you decide, keeping it simple will help you be consistent. Remember: Have fun with it!
One idea is to review one or more of these documents—Gospel Topics Essay: Accounts of the First Vision, Primary Accounts of the First Vision—and watch these videos—First Vision: Now You Know, Church History: First Vision Resources. You could discuss how each account of the First Vision by Joseph Smith and his contemporaries has its own history and context that influenced how the event was recalled, communicated, and recorded. As you read the stories, details, and accounts of your ancestors who lived during the time period of the restoration, consider the historical context that may have influenced their lives at that time and how the stories and events are recalled, communicated, and recorded.
Check out the FamilySearch update Historical Events Your Ancestors Lived Through. This helps you to understand more about them by adding historical events to their timelines. For help using the timeline feature, see Using the TimeLine and Map in Family Tree.
Your Personal History
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 or those from (or inspired by) the #52 Stories Project below. For example:
I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father... (1 Nephi 1:1) What do you know of your parents or your early education?
How did your parents meet and fall in love? What about your grandparents?
What was your first introduction to formal education--preschool, kindergarten, homeschooling? What do you remember about those first few years?
In what ways did your parents informally teach you?
How did your parents teach you the gospel and correct principles?
