Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 ” The Family: A Proclamation to the World”
- Help the children think of things that are so important that they would want to tell everyone about them. Show the children a copy of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” and explain that prophets and apostles wrote it to tell everyone how important families are to Heavenly Father. Ask the children why they think families are so important to Heavenly Father. Share something from the proclamation that you feel everyone needs to know about.
- Ask the children if they know who wrote the family proclamation. (In his message “The Plan and the Proclamation” [Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 28–31], President Dallin H. Oaks described how it was written.) Help the children understand what the words “solemnly proclaim” in the opening paragraph mean. Ask them to share their thoughts about why the prophets and apostles want to “solemnly proclaim” truths about the family in our day.
Friend October 2009 “Coloring Page” “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” teaches me about families.
Marriage is Ordained of God.
Families are Central in Heavenly Father’s Plan.
Friend December 2021 Scripture Time Fun for Little Ones
Trace each family member’s hand on paper. Then cut them out. Line up all the hands. Talk about how the family is part of God’s plan. Help your little ones say, “Our family is important!”
Come Unto Christ “Families Are Central to God’s Plan” Lesson Ideas
For additional teaching ideas see Teaching Children the Gospel “Family” and Resources for Teaching Children “Family”
I am a “Beloved Spirit Son or Daughter of Heavenly Parents.”
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 ” The Family: A Proclamation to the World”
The family proclamation teaches that we are all children of Heavenly Parents and we are here on earth to become more like Them.
- Sing together “I Am a Child of God” (Children’s Songbook,2–3). Then toss a ball or soft object to a child as you say, “I know a child of God named [child’s name].” Ask the child to toss the object to another child, saying the same words and inserting that child’s name. Repeat the activity until everyone has had a turn. Testify that each child is a “beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents.”
- Consider ways you could illustrate that because we are children of Heavenly Parents, we can become like Them. For example, show pictures of animals and their babies, or of yourself and your parents or children, and help the children see similarities. Testify that just as babies grow up to be like their parents, we can someday become like our Heavenly Parents.
For additional teaching ideas see Teaching Children the Gospel “Child of God” and Resources for Teaching Children “Heavenly Father”
In the Premortal Life We Accepted Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation
For additional teaching ideas see “Plan of Salvation” and Resources for Teaching Children “Plan of Salvation / Plan of Happiness”
Temple Ordinances Allow Family Relationships to Continue Beyond the Grave
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 ” The Family: A Proclamation to the World”
- Show the children a picture of a temple and a picture of a family. Let the children hold the pictures while you read the last sentence of the third paragraph of the family proclamation. Ask them to point to the correct pictures when you read the words “temples” and “families.” Testify that because of the ordinances of the temple, our families can be united forever. Sing together a song about eternal families, such as “I Love to See the Temple” (Children’s Songbook, 95), and help the children listen for words like “temple” and “family.”
For additional teaching ideas see Teaching Children the Gospel “Temples” and Resources for Teaching Children “Temples”
God’s Command to Multiply and Replenish the Earth are Still in Force
Procreation only to Occur Between Man and Woman Lawfully Wedded
Parents Have a Sacred Duty to Raise Their Children in Love and Righteousness
Families are Happiest when They Follow Jesus Christ.
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 ” The Family: A Proclamation to the World”
- Draw a large outline of a heart on the board, and invite the children to read paragraph seven of the proclamation. Ask them to look for things they can do to help their families be happy, and write their answers inside the heart. Invite the children to pick something that they can work on to make their homes happier.
- Invite the children to share experiences when they felt loved by a family member. Help the children identify principles from paragraph seven of the proclamation that can help family members feel loved. How should our knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ affect the way we treat our families?
- Ask the children what we can do to make various things strong—such as our teeth, our bodies, or a building. What can we do to make our families strong? Help the children understand the principles that lead to happiness in family life, found in paragraph seven of the family proclamation(see also this week’s activity page). Help the children plan ways they will strengthen their families.
Friend June 2004 “Strengthening My Family” Think about what principle or action each picture might represent and how it could strengthen your family. Glue or tape each picture to a strip of paper, and form a paper chain from the strips. (See article for additional lesson ideas.)
Friend October 2014 ““The Family: A Proclamation to the World” Came from God to Help My Family”
For the Strength of Youth December 2021 “How to Strengthen Your Family” Explanation for how each of the proclamation items helps strengthen the family.
Friend December 2021 “Scripture Time Fun”
- Sing “I Will Follow God’s Plan” (Children’s Songbook, 164–65).
- Families are an important part of God’s plan. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” says, “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.” We can make our families happier by following Jesus.
- Now play a game! Sit in a circle. Toss a ball or crumpled sheet of paper from person to person. When you throw the ball to someone, tell them one way you have seen them follow Jesus to help someone in your family feel happy.
Liahona December 2021 “How can you strengthen your family through compassion?:
To discuss how to achieve more “happiness in [your] family life,” you could sing together a song about families, such as “Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth” (Hymns, no. 298). What do we learn from the song and from the family proclamationthat would bring more happiness to our family? How can we make sure our family is “founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ”? Consider picking one teaching you want to work on this week.
Disintegration of Family Brings Calamities
“Strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”
How is Satan trying to weaken families in the world? How can we do our part to strengthen families? For ideas, see President Bonnie L. Oscarson’s message “Defenders of the Family Proclamation” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 14–17).
Additional Teaching Ideas and Resources
Teaching Children the Gospel “Family”
Resources for Teaching Children “Family”
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 ” The Family: A Proclamation to the World”
- Share a few statements from the family proclamation that are especially meaningful to you. Invite the children to share their feelings about those truths. How would our lives be different if we did not know these things? Sing together a song that relates to truths found in the proclamation, such as “I Will Follow God’s Plan” or “Families Can Be Together Forever” (Children’s Songbook, 164–65, 188).
- Show the children pictures (or invite them to draw some) portraying truths found in the family proclamation. These could be pictures of a temple, a family praying or playing together, or a couple getting married. Invite the children to find sentences in the family proclamation that relate to the pictures. What do these sentences teach us?
- Prepare some questions that can be answered in the family proclamation, such as “How does God feel about marriage?” and “What makes a happy family?” Let each child pick a question, and help them find answers in the proclamation.
- Invite a mother and father of one of the children to share with the class how they “help one another as equal partners” in their “sacred responsibilities” in their family. Invite the children to discuss what they can do now to prepare to be righteous wives and husbands, mothers and fathers.
- Ask the children what they would say if a friend asked them why getting married or having children is important. How could we help this friend understand how important families are to Heavenly Father? Help the children find statements in the family proclamation that could help; see also the video “What Is the Purpose of Family?” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
“The divine plan of happiness.”
To help your family see the importance of families in Heavenly Father’s plan, you might write premortal life, mortal life,and life after death on three sections of a piece of paper. Search the proclamation together, and write on the paper what you learn about each of these parts of God’s plan. Why are families so important to God?
Latter Day Kids “The Family Proclamation“ Lesson ideas
Memorize the Proclamation Pictures that go with each line or paragraph.
Resources for Teaching Children “Teaching the Proclamation to Kids”
Come Follow Me with Living Scriptures “The Family” Lesson ideas
Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” This is about when it was introduced to the world
Friend October 2009 “We Believe the Family Is Ordained of God” (See more lesson ideas at link.)
- “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” is modern-day revelation. Have the children listen for how many times they hear the words “reveal” or “revealed” as they repeat the ninth article of faith together. Teach that God continues to reveal His will to His children. This communication from God is called revelation. Give a copy of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” to each child, and explain that the proclamation is revelation given in our day through God’s chosen servants. Have the boys read the title while the girls listen for what this proclamation is about (the family). Next, have the girls read the title while the boys listen for whom the revelation is to (the world). Tell the children that the proclamation teaches us what Heavenly Father wants us to know about families. It teaches us how we can strengthen our families and how to prepare to live in an eternal family.Provide each class with a different sentence or phrase from the proclamation with some words missing. Have them work together to fill in the blanks with the correct words. You may want to include the paragraph number and provide the answers in scrambled order. For example: “The _____ is _____ to the Creator’s _____ for the eternal destiny of His children” (paragraph 1: plan, family, central). Invite each class to stand and recite their completed phrase or sentence. Sing the first verse of “The Family Is of God” (Friend, Oct. 2008, 28–29). Emphasize that the proclamation on the family is revelation from God and that we need to understand and live its teachings.
A Year of Family Home Evening “Lesson 14: A Proclamation to the World & Family Goals”
Church of Jesus Christ. Org Library Gospel Topics “Family”
Liahona April 2024 “A Firm Foundation: Teaching Children the Family Proclamation” Ideas for helping children learn the proclamation.