February 17-23, 2020
2 Nephi 12:2-3
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Opening Song (I Love to See the Temple?)
Opening Prayer
Scripture Reading Option 1: Read 2 Nephi 12:2-3 as a family. Ask your children if any lines stuck out to them or if there were any phrases that didn’t make sense. If anything stuck out to them, have them share why. If there were any questions, do your best to answer them. Better yet, seek out the answer together as a family. Check footnotes, the institute manual for The Book of Mormon available on the gospel library app, or Google the question. Google has answered a great many of my questions.
Scripture Reading Option 2: Help a child read 2 Nephi 12:3. Explain that when the Lord uses the word “mountain,” He is referring to His temple.
Watch: “Temples Are a Beacon” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73jY8xH_vhc
Bear a short testimony on the temple. Go on to remind your family that President Nelson has asked us to study the Restoration before next conference. Many people think of the restoration as the First Vision, but the Restoration is continuing in our day through the prophet we listen to now. Recently, in this past October General Conference, the restoration continued as God revealed new temple recommend questions through His modern day prophet.
Discussion/Activity Option 1: Cut out small pieces of paper with the numbers 1-15 on them. Reverent children can pick a piece of paper with one of the numbers on it. There are 15 temple recommend questions. The number on the piece of paper will tell you which question to discuss. Pick as many questions as you have time for. You can even return to this same lesson on another night. Here is a link with the new temple recommend questions.
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/october-2019-general-conference-temple-recommend
You can also scroll to the bottom of the post for ideas to prompt discussion about the different questions.
Discussion/Activity Option 2: Show your children your temple recommend. Explain to them that in order to go to the temple, you have to go and meet with your bishop and stake president and answer questions. Have “temple recommends” cut out of paper for each of your children. Ask them some simplified versions of the questions from the actual interview. After answering the questions, they can have their “temple recommend” to go visit the temple grounds (if one is near). If one is not near, explain to them how important it is to stay worthy to go to the temple even when you cannot attend often.
Examples of these questions can be: Do you believe in Heavenly Father? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe in the Holy Ghost? Do you listen to the prophet and try to follow him? Do you repent? There are a great many simplified questions you can ask.
Testimony: Invite one of your children (or your spouse) to prepare a small testimony about temples and eternal families.
Closing Song
Closing Prayer
Temple Recommend Interview Discussion Ideas
- Do you have faith in and a testimony of God, the Eternal Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost?
What does faith in God look like? How do our actions reflect faith in Them? What does it mean to have a testimony? How do we receive a testimony?
- Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of His role as your Savior and Redeemer?
Have you ever prayed about receiving a testimony of Jesus Christ? What did Jesus do so that we could live with God again? What might our lives be like if Christ had chosen to not perform the atonement? How can we show gratitude for the Atonement of Jesus Christ?
- Do you have a testimony of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
What is the Restoration exactly? Why did we need a Restoration? What blessings do we have because Jesus Christ restored His church? Why does Jesus Christ call prophets?
- Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer, and revelator and as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys?
Do you sustain the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators?
Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local leaders of the Church?
To sustain means to strengthen or support; what does it look like to “sustain” our leaders? What is the difference between a revelator and a seer (check out a regular dictionary and the bible dictionary)? What can we do this week to sustain our bishop and his family?
- The Lord has said that all things are to be “done in cleanliness” before Him (Doctrine and Covenants 42:41).
Do you strive for moral cleanliness in your thoughts and behavior?
Do you obey the law of chastity?
Why is the law of chastity so important? How does the law of chastity promote real and lasting love? Does moral cleanliness only apply to romantic feelings? How can we make our home more spiritually clean? How do we control our thoughts?
- Do you follow the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ in your private and public behavior with members of your family and others?
How can we, as your parents, follow Jesus Christ more as we try to raise you? How can you, as our child, better follow Jesus Christ as you strive to be part of this family? What is a goal that we can make as a family to be more like Christ? What is a fun activity we could do together to promote happiness and love between us?
- Do you support or promote any teachings, practices, or doctrine contrary to those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
What can we do when we don’t understand something that the church teaches? Is it okay to have questions about the church? Where should we go when we have questions? How can we recognize what the Spirit tries to teach us? Are there any teachings or practices that you don’t understand? How can we help YOU learn about that teaching?
- Do you strive to keep the Sabbath day holy, both at home and at church; attend your meetings; prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament; and live your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel?
Are there any activities that draw us away from Christ on Sunday? What if another family keeps the Sabbath day holy differently than we do? How can we prepare for the sacrament? How can we make our home more peaceful on Sunday mornings so that we’re better prepared for the sacrament? How can the Sabbath day be a delight?
- Do you strive to be honest in all that you do?
What can honesty give us? Why is it hard to be honest sometimes? How can we, as your parents, make it easier for you to be honest with us? How does it make you feel when someone is dishonest with you?
- Are you a full-tithe payer?
For new members seeking a limited-use recommend: Are you willing to obey the commandment to pay tithing?
What blessings come from paying tithing? We are asked if we are “full” tithe payers; how can paying tithing make us “full?” Where do our tithing funds go?
- Do you understand and obey the Word of Wisdom?
What are some new foods that we can try that are healthy? What are some recreational activities we can do to be more active? Are there any foods that we should eat less of? What can we learn to cook together?
- Do you have any financial or other obligations to a former spouse or to children?
If yes, are you current in meeting those obligations?
This question may not apply to some families, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t explain why this question exists. Why is it important to take care of our families? Why is it important to be responsible and reliable?
- Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple, including wearing the temple garment as instructed in the endowment?
What are some covenants that you have already made? What are some covenants that you are preparing to make? A lot of the covenants we make in the temple are similar to other covenants; how can wearing special clothing help us to remember our covenants?
- Are there serious sins in your life that need to be resolved with priesthood authorities as part of your repentance?
How can repentance make us feel? How do we feel inside when we are repenting? How do we feel inside when we are done repenting? Why does Heavenly Father use priesthood leaders to help us repent?
- Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord’s house and participate in temple ordinances?
What does it mean to be worthy? What can we do to feel more worthy? How would we feel going to the place where God lives? How do we want to feel when we get there? How can Jesus Christ help us feel excited for that time?
Autumn Dickson 