FHE: Work

Topic: Work

“Be Anxiously Engaged” by Elder M. Russell Ballard in General Conference October 2012

Lesson

For young children:

Honeybees work together to make honey.  They work very hard.  One bee produces a very little amount of honey but every bee is very important.

Why is each honey bee so important? When the honeybees work together they can make a lot of honey. 

Show a container of honey.  If one bee had to make all of this honey he would get very tired.  But if lots of honeybees worked together each one only has to work a little but to make all of this honey.

As a family we can get a lot done by working together.

In what ways do we work together as a family?

Have children color a picture of a honeybee. (example)

For teenagers and adults:

Have someone read the following quote:

“We read of the service Church members provide around the world and especially the humanitarian service given in times of crises – fires and floods and hurricanes and tornadoes.  These much-needed and much-appreciated emergency responses should certainly continue as a way of bearing one another’s burdens.  But what about our everyday lives? What would be the cumulative effect of millions of small, compassionate acts performed daily by us because of our heartfelt Christian love for others? Over time this would have a transformative effect upon all of our Heavenly Father’s children through the extension of his love to them through us.  Our troubled world needs this love of Christ today more than ever, and it will need it even more in the years ahead.”

Talk about service performed by family members.

·         Church service projects

·         Scouts

·         YM/YW

What are some things we can do daily to help others?

Elder Ballard says there is one simple thing we can do to make daily service a habit. 

“In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children.  Then go throughout the day with your heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help.  Stay focused, just like the honeybees focus on the flowers from which to gather nectar and pollen.  If you do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible.

President Spencer W. Kimball said: “God does notice us, and he watches over us.  But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.  Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 82).

Activity

Beehive jar:

What you will need:

·         Glass jar or vase

·         Yellow or cream strips of paper (larger squares for younger children)

Explain how we just learned that by small daily acts of service each member of the family can help improve the atmosphere in the home.

Take a strip of paper and write down an act of service a member of the family has performed in the home.  Ask other family members to do the same thing.  Younger children can draw a picture of service. Have older kids and parents help younger children think of acts of service. Keep doing this until the jar is filled.

If we all pitch in and do a few little things we can fill this jar and fill our home with love and happiness.