Using The Book of Centuries

I created and use a Book of Centuries in our home and my cottage school class "Leap into the Love of Learning." Today, we created our Book of Centuries for the school year. A Book of Centuries takes the study of history beyond the memorize and forget approach often seen in schools. This approach is hands on!  Children create a timeline of what they want to remember about each person and event studied.  A Book of Centuries helps organize history studied into an easy to use and understand format, and puts that information into an easy to retrieve format.

When we have larger groups we even add other steps:
"Stepping into Character." This is where the student comes as a character of history to teach others about them. "News Reporter."When the person being reported on is evil, the children can be a reporter, telling about the evil person. 

I recently changed the pages of the Book of Centuries to be a one page spread instead of a two page spread. I printed the Time/ Place grids on to card stock.  Each card stock page becomes an index page and content referenced on the index page is expanded and placed behind that page. 

We created our own tabs:
* Green for Creation– Ancient Times–1 AD
* Deep Burgundy Red for the Birth of Christianity, the Apostasy, and Medieval Times– 1 AD–1500 AD
* Blue for the Age of Discovery and Foundations of Liberty– 1500 AD– 1800 AD
* Yellow for the Fullness of Time–1800 into the future. 

When we begin the Book of Centuries, we have the children add their information, their parents' information, when their parents married, when their brothers and sisters were born. I want children to grasp what history is and they are part of history.

Once the children see themselves as part of history, we begin our study with a discussion of Pre-Mortal life which culminates in the Creation and the Fall. In addition to scripture we use the Apostle Bruce R. McConkie's book, "Doctrines of the Restoration: Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie," Chapter Ten: Christ and Creation. The children create a page for each day of the creation.  We use McConkie because it is a restored Gospel view. McConkie places the Creation and Fall scenario found in scripture and the temple, side by side. Then they can more clearly understand what the scriptures say and do not say about the creation. My students are then prepared to further research and learn more about the 36 Noble Men and Women from church history, nine artists; nine musicians; 36 mathematicians, explorers, inventors, scientists;  36 statesmen; and nine poets found in the Family Hour that we study each year, then add them to their Book of Centuries. Each child's Book of Centuries will be a treasure of their own making. 

Helpful Resources mentioned above:
Book of Centuries
The Family Hour
Leap Into the Love of Learning Class

Inspiring Learning and Commonplace Books

In a world saturated with visual images, children and adults can often become spectators, stagnate in their learning, fail to grow and develop. Sometimes they just need to limit some stimuli and replace it with richer, more varied, and valuable stimuli, so they can inspire, grow, and expand their learning. Two ways to inspire learning is through exposure to new ideas and  homeculture. This can be done through home environment and parental example, such as the home and example Gordon B. Hinckley's parents set for him. If parents take the lead in taking notice, developing health curiosity, following through, then sharing it with their children, they will find ourselves inspired, and it can plant the seed of inspiration in their children. Inspiration to learn more can come as parents read aloud great literature, discuss current events, visit museums, attend plays, attend concerts, visit the library, take walks in nature, conversations with interesting dinner guests, and any number of experiences that enlarge our window on life. Through all this, we often have impressions to look something up, experiment, explore, and learn something. If parents do not write it down, the opportunity for learning may pass them up, as then the next impression captures their minds and swallows their interest. 

A Commonplace Book is nothing new, they have been used as a learning tools since at least the 16th Century. A Commonplace Book, is a common or central place to gather quotes, ideas, things one learns, and reactions to those things. I find it is a great place to record those thoughts that inspire us to want to learn more and expand our horizons. A great place to record what is learned when we pursue new ideas. Sharing these impressions and investigations can expand others interests, as well. I like to use plain marbled composition books. They are inexpensive and relatively durable. Their hard covers making writing easier when there is no table or desk near. During back to school time they can usually be found for 50% or more off at Walmart and Target. I like to purchase a case so we can use them to record things we want to study and what we learn when we follow through. They can also be used to annotate books we read, lectures we attend, and even as a simple journal.  Sometimes we leave them plain. Sometimes we glue scrapbook paper to the front and back cover, make a large paper pocket on the inside cover for loose notes, and add tabs to the page edges to separate annotations for different books.

Consider this wonderful learning tool!

MHA's Let Freedom Ring Devotional

"Let Freedom Ring: A Daily LDS Devotional for the month of July is now available. This LDS daily devotional is designed to celebrate freedom and Independence Day all July long with your family. The devotional was created to be used by families use the whole devotional or customize each year to the growing needs of family. Devotional includes for each day--Scriptures from the four standard works, quotes from church leaders, pictures, poetry, songs, documents, stories, excerpts from talks by church leaders, and more to select from.

Quote of the Day June 17th

"Gracias, danke, merci whatever language is spoken, 'thank you' frequently expressed will cheer your spirit, broaden your friendships, and lift your lives to a higher pathway as you journey toward perfection. There is a simplicity even a sincerity when 'thank you' is spoken." - Thomas S. Monson

Quote of the Day- June 16th

"Today, there are three kinds of people:  the have's, the have-not's, and the have-not-paid-for-what-they-have's." - Earl Wilson

Quote of the Day June 15th

"Children are like trees. When they are young, their lives can be shaped and directed, usually with ever so little effort. Said the writer of Proverbs, 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it' (22:6). That training finds its roots in the home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former United States president George Bush, spoke wisely when in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in 1990 she addressed the Wellesley College graduating class and said, 'Your success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house.' " - Gordon B. Hinckley

Quote of the Day June 14th

"I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people." -Mahatma Gandhi

Quote of the Day- June 13th

"Service to others deepens and sweetens this life while we are preparing to live in a better world. It is by serving that we learn to serve. When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves! In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of Jesus that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves!" - Spencer W. Kimball

Personal Progress-- Becoming a Mother Who Knows

I love my 13 year old. She has been setting her own goals and working on them. Reading her book of Mormon again and working on her own personal progress. My sweet daughter and I discussed requirement #2 for Faith, in her personal Progress book-- "With a mother, grandmother, or leader discuss the qualities a woman needs in order to teach her children faith and to base their decisions on gospel truths. How can these principles help you in your life today, and help you prepare to be a faithful woman, wife, and mother?"

Quote of the Day- June 11th

“God not only loves the obedient - He enlightens them.” -  Henry B. Eyring

Quote of the Day- June 10th

"A mother's arms are more comforting than anyone else's." - Diana, Princess of Wales

Quote of the Day- June 9th

“How I admire men, women, and children who know how to work! How the Lord loves the laborer! He said, ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,’ and ‘The laborer is worthy of his hire.’ He also gave a promise: ‘Thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you.’ Those who are unafraid to roll up their sleeves and lose themselves in the pursuit of worthwhile goals are a blessing to their families, communities, nations, and to the Church.” - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Quote of the Day- June 8th

"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." - Robert Lee Frost

Quote of the Day- June 7th

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”  - John F. Kennedy

Quote of the Day- June 6th

"I say that we need to teach our people to find their answers in the scriptures...But the unfortunate thing is that so many of us are not reading the scriptures. We do not know what is in them, and therefore we speculate about things that we ought to have found in the scriptures themselves. I think that therein is one of our biggest dangers of today." - Harold B. Lee

Quote of the Day- June 5th

"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." - Mother Teresa

Harvard Classics in Fifteen Minutes a Day? Continued!

I finished The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and am now reading The Journal of John Woolman in Vol. I of the Harvard Classics.  These are fascinating to read.  When I think of President Hinckley's father having bought the Harvard Classics and placing them in his own library, of President Hinckley reading them in college and re-reading them throughout his life, I begin to see how he was, in many ways shaped by what he read. 

Quote of the Day- June 4th

“The battle for self-discipline may leave you a bit bruised and battered but always a better person. Self-discipline is a rigorous process at best; too many of us want it to be effortless and painless. Should temporary setbacks afflict us, a very significant part of our struggle for self-discipline is the determination and the courage to try again....Eternal life in the kingdom of our Father is your goal, and self-discipline will surely be required if you are to achieve it.”  - Thomas S. Monson

Quote of the Day- June 4th

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” - Emily Dickinson

Quote of the Day- June 2nd

"Please don't nag yourself with thoughts of failure. Do not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. Simply do what you can do, in the best way you know, and the Lord will accept of your effort." - Gordon B. Hinckley

Sons of Adam: A LDS Daily Devotional for the Month of June

Begin a new tradition and celebrate the fathers, sons, and men in your lives with our Sons of Adam: A LDS Daily Devotional for the Month of June.

Enjoy!

Scholar Portfolio: My Assistant Brain

I love computers and hand held devices for expanding access to information. However, at the present I like a more traditional, tangible scholar record keeping system.  Having everything in the palm of my hand sounds wonderful, portable, quick, and light. However, after having lost important files, moved from one computer to the next, had hard drives fail, had connectivity issues, dying batteries, and a thumb drive die with my thesis on it, I have decided that binders are my friend. Who wants to collect years of notes, ideas, essays and other valuable information only to have it lost forever, or not be able to access it when I want it due to connectivity power power issues? 

Revisiting the Harvard Classics in Fifteen Minutes a Day? Doable!

I am finding that my 15 minutes a day reading in the Harvard Classics is both doable and enjoyable. My life is quite full as a wife, a homeschooling mother, a grandmother, co-owner of a school, co-owner of an organization, and ward primary president. Maybe my life is not as full a schedule as a mother of a newborn, a two year old, and home educating older children! However, a full life nonetheless. 

Daughters of Eve LDS Family Devotional for the Month of May

Our Daughters of Eve LDS Family Devotional for the month of May is a devotional that celebrates mothers and the women in our lives.

Harvard Classics in Fifteen Minutes a Day?

We live in a world where knowledge is increasing at an ever-accelerating rate. Drink deeply from this ever-springing well of wisdom and human experience. If you should stop now, you will only stunt you intellectual and spiritual growth. Keep everlastingly at it. Read. Read. Read. Read the word of God in sacred books of scripture. Read from the great literature of the ages. Read what is being said in our day and time and will be said in the future.
Gordon B. Hinckley Commencement Address, Brigham Young University 27 April 1995

 I try to read my scriptures daily.  Presently, I am personally reading my way through a paperback copy of the Book of Mormon. I am marking it as if to a friend. When I am finished I will place my testimony in it and send it to my missionary son to give out on his mission. As a family we study the scriptures, as well.

I am reading Anne of Green Gables aloud with my thirteen year-old daughter. 

I recently read Successward: A Young Man's Book for Young Men by Edward Bok, with my seventeen year-old son, it was his great grandfather's book, a family heirloom.

Each evening we have a devotional with scripture, quotes, poetry, and stories. So, yes, I am getting some reading in!  Between being a wife, a mother, homeschooling, co-owning two businesses with my daughter, and being ward primary president, I find extra time to read often slips through my fingers. I decided to do something about it. President Hinckley had often mentioned that he had and still read from the Harvard Classics that his father had bought: 

"I have in my home a library set of the Harvard Classics that originally belonged to my father. Though he was not a man of great financial means, he was an educated and thoughtful man who placed high priority on language and learning.  I still refer to this fifty-volume set of books, just as I did more than sixty years ago as a university student. It is a treasury of timeless literature, an encyclopedic presentation of great thoughts of men and women who, in their eras, struggled with serious problems, thought deeply, prayed mightily, and expressed themselves in ways both challenging and beautiful." Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That will Heal Our Hearts and Homes, page 60.

I must admit that I have often wanted to read the Harvard Classics, also known as the Five Foot Bookshelf, ever since I heard him fist mention the series. So, I did some research to find out abour the Harvard Classics. It is a 51 volume set, of which I had already read several of the works in my effort to gain a liberal arts education. I found that the editor of the Harvard Classics is Charles Eliot, and that he had served as President of Harvard for forty years, from 1869 to 1909. He had delivered a speech to working men stating that:

“In my opinion, a five-foot shelf would hold books enough to give a liberal education to any one who would read them with devotion, even if he could spare but fifteen minutes a day for reading.”

That was what I was aiming for-- "a liberal education." Liberal not in the political realm, but liberal as in generous, broad, and deep; liberal as in liberal arts-- the arts designed to help a person be free.

The publisher P. F. Collier and Sons, heard of Eliot's speeches and challenged Eliot, to put together a list of books they called "The Five Foot Bookshelf." When I read the quote suggesting as little as 15 minutes a day I must say I was intrigued. Could this really be true? Is it possible to get this kind of education in as little as 15 minutes a day? I thought that would be just wonderful for momculture, wherein a mom pursues increasing her education. I thought it would be great to have a class of busy moms (and others if they want to join us) moving forward with their education in as little as 15 minutes a day and discussing what they are reading once a week.;After all, the series came highly recommended by a modern prophet of God! This would definitely help with mooring us to the classics.

Before starting a class, I felt I needed to see how it works for me. Though I have read different works contained in the series, I have not read the set before. No, I do not need to read the whole series through before we start. I just need to see if I can develop the habit of setting aside 15 minutes a day for several months of busy life. I do realize that this series is not comprehensive and that there are so many things that have happened in the century since it was first published. Yet, it is a good place to start in getting a "liberal education." Could I, with my busy life, regularly read 15 minutes a day? I want to read just 15 minutes a day for the first 90 days; later I can read more in a day as time allows. So, I began my journey yesterday. I do not yet own the books, but I found them all digitized online-- here and here. Perhaps I will gather my own set, one at a time, as I read each book, kind of a reward for staying on track! Where did I begin? "I started at the very beginning, because, of course that is a "very good place to start." I should be able to finish the first volume in a month.

Quote of the Day- June 12th

"A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust." - Gertrude Jekyll

Icebergs in My Life?

April 15, 2012, besides being our annual federal tax day (will be the 16th this year because the 15th is a Sunday) is also the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic! On its maiden voyage, just four days out at sea, the Titanic hit an iceberg just 20 minutes before midnight, and just before 2:20 am on the 15th of April the Titanic broke up and sank. As I look at the state of the nation, I consider the icebergs we are dealing with.  A sobering thought!  Then as I look at my own life,  I see the need to remove the icebergs from my life or navigate around them, before I become their next victim!

What Books to Read Before Finishing High School?

I read this query and the thread that followed on TJEdMuse yahoo group.  I thought I would answer it on this blog.

"In a quest to form an  'Master Plan' for my kids' education and experiences before they leave high school, I'm compiling a list of the books I feel they should read before leaving home.  My list is very short though, and I wondered if you had any suggestions for books you were glad you read in middle school,  high school, or even elementary school, or books you want your kids to read while they're in school."

How Do You Use The Children's Hour for Homeschooling?

The Children's Hour (CH) is great for home educators who want to boost their cultural literacy, expand their breadth and depth of learning, and those who need to show a portfolio of work at the end of the school year. This is a simple system, it all adds up! This also saves the parent hundreds of hours compiling lists of people, art works, music, other resources and links for further study. CH has a yearly theme based on a cycle or era of time:

Quote of the Day- April 2nd

"If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer." - Martin Luther

Quote of the Day- April 1st

“It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are to be more than sanctuaries; they should also be places where God’s Spirit can dwell, where the storm stops at the door, where love reigns and peace dwells.” – Thomas S. Monson

Quote of the Day- March 31st

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” - Albert Einstein

I Testify of Christ: An Easter Devotional

We have had a family tradition for about two decades of an evening Easter Devotional. Two years ago we created an LDS Thanksgiving Devotional and an LDS 24 Days of Christmas Devotional- people loved them. So, people have asked if I was going to make available my Easter devotional. Yes! This is a Christ-centered devotional.

"I Testify of Christ: An Easter Devotional" is designed for Latter-day Saints and is a Christ Centered Anthology of  Scripture, Quotes, Hymns, Testimonies of Church Leaders, and family traditions. 

Quote of the Day- March 30th

"Tomorrow's joy or tomorrow's despair has its roots in decisions we make today. Perhaps some people think to themselves: 'I know I need to change some things in my life. Maybe later, but not now.' Those who stand at the threshold of life always waiting for the right time to change are like the man who stands at the bank of a river waiting for the water to pass so he can cross on dry land. Today is the day of decision." - Joseph B. Wirthlin

Quote of the Day- March 29th

“Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.” -  Henry L. Doherty

Quote of the Day- March 28th

"As parenting declines, the need for policing increases. There will always be a shortage of police if there is a shortage of effective parents! Likewise, there will not be enough prisons if there are not enough good homes." - Neal A. Maxwell

Quote of the Day- March 27th

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”  - Plato

Quote of the Day- March 26th

"Joseph Smith himself was a great friend to many. He said, 'Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of "Mormonism"; [it is designed] to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars and contentions to cease and men to become friends and brothers.'" - Kathleen H. Hughes

Quote of the Day- March 25th

“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?” -  Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Day- March 24th

“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. . . . If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve, even though it be small, you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts (emphasis added).” - The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Quote of the Day- March 23rd

"Until you have a son of your own... you will never know the joy, the love beyond feeling that resonates in the heart of a father as he looks upon his son. You will never know the sense of honor that makes a man want to be more than he is and to pass something good and hopeful into the hands of his son. And you will never know the heartbreak of the fathers who are haunted by the personal demons that keep them from being the men they want their sons to be." - Kent Nerburn

Quote of the Day- March 22nd

"When people are able but unwilling to take care of themselves we are responsible to employ the dictum of the Lord that the idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer." - Boyd K Packer

Quote of the Day- March 21st

“People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”  - Neil Gaiman

Quote of the Day- March 20th

"No matter what circumstances you sisters experience, your influence can be marvelously far-reaching. I believe some of you have a tendency to underestimate your profound capacity for blessing the lives of others. More often than not, it is not on the stage with some public pronouncement but in your example of righteousness and the countless gentle acts of love and kindness done so willingly, so often on a one-to-one basis." - James E. Faust

Quote of the Day March 19th

"Almost no one is foolish enough to imagine that he automatically deserves great success in any field of activity; yet almost everyone believes that he automatically deserves success in marriage." - Sydney J. Harris

Quote of the Day - March 18th

"There is no knowledge, no learning that can compensate the individual for the loss of his belief in heaven and in the saving principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. An education that leads a man from these central truths cannot compensate him for the great loss of spiritual things." - Doctrines of Salvation, 1:321-322.

Quote of the Day- March 17th

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy

Quote of the Day- March 16th

"I believe it is by divine design that the role of motherhood emphasizes the nurturing and teaching of the next generation." - L. Tom Perry

Quote of the Day- March 15th

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." - Mother Teresa

Quote of the Day- March 14th

"The Word of Wisdom does not promise you perfect health, but it teaches how to keep the body you were born with in the best condition and your mind alert to delicate spiritual promptings." - Boyd K. Packer

Quote of the Day- March 13th

“If a child is to keep his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” - Rachel Carson

Quote of the Day- March 12th

"Patience may well be thought of as a gateway virtue, contributing to the growth and strength of its fellow virtues of forgiveness, tolerance, and faith."-Elder Robert C. Oaks

Quote of the Day- March 11th

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.”- Mary Anne Radmacher

Babylon or Zion?

One of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon is the beginning of the Book of Mosiah where King Benjamin gives his final address to his people. His sermon was a powerful testimony of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Yet, it is a simple scripture found before the sermon actually began in chapter two that has been on my mind lately.

Quote of the Day- March 10th

"[God] loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God's love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked. What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us."- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Quote of the Day- March 9th

“That discipline which corrects the eagerness of worldly passions, which fortifies the heart with virtuous principles, which enlightens the mind with useful knowledge, and furnishes to it matter of enjoyment from within itself, is of more consequence to real felicity than all the provisions which we can make of the goods of fortune.” – Robert Bridges

Nesting Day Anyone?

Nesting Day anyone? Some people are planning trips for spring break, others are nesting, otherwise known as spring cleaning!  Rather than taking a trip to escape, I want to spend time making a place I want to be.  I choose to clean the nest, rather than adding more feathers to it.

Quote of the Day- March 8th

"We must not lose hope. Hope is an anchor to the souls of men. Satan would have us cast away that anchor. In this way he can bring discouragement and surrender. But we must not lose hope. The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him. Though we may see that we have far to go on the road to perfection, we must not give up hope." - Ezra Taft Benson

Why Drink Water?

I have always been told that drinking water is important. I have also been told that if I am trying to loose weight and get into shape that drinking water will help. Yet, I have never understood why this is. It is probably due to my lack of understanding about water that has led to me always being slightly dehydrated.

Quote of the Day- March 7th

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”- Helen Keller

How Would You Teach Educational Technology in Home School?

This question was recently asked on Utah-LDS Yahoo Group:

I'm just wondering what everyone's opinion on this is...in the homeschool law for elementary you have to teach "educational technology".  What would you consider something that covers this?

Michele

I thought I would answer the question here:

Quote of the Day- March 6th

"There is great power in prayer. I strongly encourage personal and family prayer, which are important in building strong families. . . . I'm wondering if many of you parents, you couples, have lost that essential moment of kneeling together at the end of the day, just the two of you, holding hands and saying your prayers. If that has slipped away from your daily routine, may I suggest you put it back—beginning tonight!"- M. Russell Ballard

Quote of the Day- March 5th

“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.” - Henry David Thoreau

Quote of the Day- March 4th

"Remember that the mantle of leadership is not the cloak of comfort, but the robe of responsibility. Accountability is not for the intention but for the deed. You must continue to refuse to compromise with expediency. You must maintain the courage to defy the consensus. You must continue to choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong." - Thomas S. Monson

Teaching the Gospel in the Home

Today, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting at church. My assigned talk was Teaching the Gospel in the Home. I approached it from the angle of using "family work" to teach the Gospel in the home. I thought I would share the written version here... 

Quote of the Day- March 3rd

“Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other.  It is the place of confidence.  It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and where we pour out the unreserved communications of full and confiding hearts.  It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out without any sensation of awkwardness and without any dread of ridicule.” -Frederick W. Robertson

Quote of the Day- March 2nd

“Learning the lessons of the past allows you to walk boldly in the light without running the risk of stumbling in the darkness. This is the way it’s supposed to work. This is God’s plan: father and mother, grandfather and grandmother teaching their children; children learning from them and then becoming a more righteous generation through their own personal experiences and opportunities. Learning the lessons of the past allows you to build personal testimony on a solid bedrock of obedience, faith, and the witness of the Spirit.” -M. Russell Ballard