Commandment Goals

We have started a new little thing over here at my house. I call them Commandment Goals. I went to the Stake Relief Society Conference on a Saturday a few weeks ago. I sat through the Mission President’s talk TWICE. ( and I took notes) It was that good. It was about preparing your children to serve missions. In this presentation his wife said that one of the things we HAVE to teach our children about is repentance, too many missionaries do not fully understand the repentance process. Here is where she got my attention, she said we have to teach them HOW to APPLY repentance and use the sacrament each week as a tool to teach our children.

Now, when the word APPLY is mentioned I automatically perk up, and if anyone has IDEAS on how to APPLY Gospel Principals with my children I am all ears. As a teacher I KNOW that the BEST way to teach is to actually apply the knowledge. It is like every Sunday with my family and we begin to play a game. My sister tells us HOW to play the game and all the rules, which unfortunately for a learner like me it goes in one ear and out the other. Have you ever wondered why information GOES IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER??? Probably, because the person you are trying to teach is NOT and AUDITORY learner!!! SO, I always say let’s just play the game I will learn as I go at our Sunday Evening game fest. 

How does one teach a child the repentance process and use the sacrament each week as a tool? Each week a commandment is picked, our first week I picked love one another because my children were going at it like cats and dogs in the back seat of my Honda. I figured that would be a good one to start with. We discussed what it meant to love one another and then role played what loving one another would sound like. I then talked to them about the sacrament and how the repentance process works and that this week were going to set a goal to love one another. Throughout the week I made sure that I praised them when they were cooperating and being kind. When they were not being kind I asked them, ( In my teacher voice) Are we loving one another? To which Aydan would say, “No Mom.” Then Ellie would take the opportunity to sock Aydan in the side. Which would then require some more teaching about what LOVING ONE ANOTHER actually meant. On Sunday, actually in the car on the way to church we talked about the sacrament and how it makes us NEW again just like when we are baptized out sins are washed away. We get to renew our baptismal covenant each week when we take the sacrament and be JUST like we were after we were baptized, cleansed of our sins. I asked the kids to think about any times during the week that they did not love one another. I taught them that during the sacrament was when they could ask Heavenly Father for forgiveness and try to do better next week. This way they learn to APPLY the repentance process.

It has been a wonderful teaching tool.

This week after I got ALL ready for church the whole shabam, makeup hair, cute dress high heels, and a GIANT bag of props for my Sunday School Class. I walked carefully (5 inch heels man, you have to walk carefully) down the stairs. As I did, to my dismay it looked like a nuclear BOMB had gone off in my living room. I was not happy.

Sooooo….on the way to church we set our new Commandment Goal.

How to honor thy mother…………….

Try this! It is great and so easy, easy to work into your busy daily life but with GRAND benefits!

XOXO

The Sunny D