The Family is Central to the Creator’s Plan – The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Links to free resources for children, youth, and adults to enhance the Come, Follow Me reading of The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Choose one thing a day to do with your children or choose a couple to do for family home evening. All links are to church websites or websites approved for further gospel study.

Everyone

Article – The Family: A Proclamation to the World – Read the entire document with your family.

Video – The Family: A Proclamation to the World – Watch as Gordon B. Hinckley read the proclamation.

Video – The Plan of Salvation: We are Still a Family – A young man shares how the plan of salvation has helped him to see the blessings that can come through trials. (4:47 minutes)

Video – What Matters Most – Thomas S. Monson counsels us to spend time with, cherish, and express love to the people we hold dear. (1:35 minutes)

Video – Defenders of the Faith – Marie Madeline Cardon and her family were holding a Church service in their home in Italy when an angry mob of men gathered and began shouting for the missionaries to be brought outside. It was Marie who marched out of the house to confront the mob. (6:56 minutes)

Video – What is a Purpose of Family? – The family is the divine building block of society. (1:17 minutes)

Video – Home and Family – The family is the most basic and important unit in society and the highest priority for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Visit Latter-day Saints homes throughout the world and hear members talk about why family matters so much and what they are doing to strengthen home and family by focusing on the teachings of Jesus Christ. (5:55 minutes)

Video – Life’s Drama – In matters both temporal and spiritual, the opportunity to assume personal responsibility is a God-given gift without which we cannot realize our full potential. (6:31 minutes)

Video – Fortifying Families –

Children

Activity – 15 Ways to Strengthen Your Family” – This word games gives ideas on how to strengthen family.

Activity – “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”: 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!” From Scripture Time Fun for Little Ones.

Activity – Faith, Prayer, Repentance and Forgiveness Strengthen Me and My Family – Coloring Page

Activity – I Came to Earth as Part of a Family – Coloring Page

Activity – Counting on Family – An activity that allows young children to count how many family members they have.

Activity – Different Families – Follow the lines to match the kids with the adults in their family.

Activity – The Family – A crossword puzzle with clues from “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

Activity – I Can Help My Family Be Happy – A simple visual activity for young children.

Activity – Families are Important in Heavenly Father’s Plan – As you color each picture, discuss ways you can live that principle to help make your family strong.

Article – Am I a Child of God? – Chloe D., age 14, shares how she wondered if she was a child of God since her first parents were not “kind and dear.” 

Article – Be a Family Builder” – An illustrated guide of the different families we belong to—immediate, extended, future, and ward.

Article – Families Are Part of Heavenly Father’s Plan” – Just like Captain Moroni made a banner to remind his people of the importance of families, we have the family proclamation to remind us.

Youth

Article – How to Strengthen Your Family – You can make a bigger difference in your home than you might suspect.

Article – The family proclamation talks about the roles of fathers and mothers, but what about sons and daughters? – Your role in your home as a son or daughter is important, but what is it, exactly?

Video – Our True Identity – Dieter Uchtdorf retells the story of the ugly duckling and urges us to reflect on who we really are—sons and daughters of a glorious Heavenly Father. (3:43 minutes)

Youth & Adults

Article – Stand Strong Against the Wiles of the World – Read the talk Gordon B. Hinckley gave when he first read The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Watch for the warnings he gave!

Article – Faith and Families – A CES fireside address by Russell M. Nelson given just six days before Dantzel Nelson died.

Article – The Plan and the Proclamation – The family proclamation is the Lord’s reemphasis of the gospel truths we need to sustain us through current challenges to the family. A General Conference talk by Dallin H. Oaks

Article – The Teachings of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” – The family unit is fundamental not only to society and to the Church but to our hope for eternal life.

Article – How Can You Strengthen Your Family Through Compassion? – Come, Follow Me Insights

Video – What Does it Mean to Be Human? – Book of Mormon Central (3:26 minutes)

Video – The Family: A Proclamation to the World – Book of Mormon Central (6:55 minutes)

Adults

Article – The Sacred Responsibility of Parenthood – God will give you strength beyond your own as you strive daily to fulfill the most sacred mortal responsibility He gives to His children. A BYU devotional by M. Russell Ballard.

Article – The Proclamation on the Family: Transcending the Cultural Confusion – Permanent commitments to marriage and parenthood are like two anchor threads running through the design of our social tapestry.

Article – Unlocking the Door to the Blessings of Abraham – These blessings of greater happiness, peace, and rest are the blessings each of us receive as we make covenants in holy temples and form eternal families. Your patriarchal blessings help you understand your personal lineage to Abraham. A BYU devotional by Julie B. Beck.

Podcast – Audio Roundtable: The Family: A Proclamation to the World – from The Interpreter Foundation

Podcast – Follow Him Podcast: The Family: A Proclamation to the World Part 1 (video link) – Our attitude toward, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” is a test for this generation. Dr. Jenet Erickson joins us to discuss gender, the importance of Christlike characteristics, and the importance of familial ideals, and how we often don’t meet them yet, the Atonement covers all of our Heavenly Parents’ children. We discuss how we all belong to the eternal family of God. Find the audio of this episode here.

Podcast – Follow Him Podcast: The Family: A Proclamation to the World Part 2 (video link) – Dr. Jenet Erickson returns to examine “The Family: A Proclamation to the World ” and how social science, psychology, and spirituality intersect in this aspirational and inspirational document that galvanizes Saints to become better stewards in their families, wards, neighborhoods, and communities. Find the audio of this episode here.

Podcast – Abide: The Family: A Proclamation to the World (video link) – President Hinckley considered the proclamation a “reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family.” While not canonized as scripture, the proclamation holds an important place in Latter-day Saint thought, practice, and belief. From the Maxwell Institute

Video – Come Follow Me Insights: The Family: A Proclamation to the World – In this powerful episode, Taylor and Tyler bring on guest, Jenet Erickson. They explore The Family: A Proclamation to the World read by President Hinckley in the Women’s Session of General Conference in 1995. This is an episode you won’t want to miss as it tackles some of the big issues we are facing in the world today regarding families. (1:19:09 minutes)

Video – Act in Doctrine: The Family: A Proclamation to the World – We focus on these doctrinal takeaways: Takeaway 1: The family proclamation is evidence of continuing revelation through prophets Takeaway 2: Our communities and the world are blessed by righteous families. Takeaway 3: Families can thrive when they live Christlike principles. Book of Mormon Central (24:32 minutes)