FHE: Diligence
by Shauna Gibby
Conference Talk:
For more information on this topic read "Act in All Diligence," by Henry B. Eyring, Ensign, May 2010, 60-63.
Thought:
We are to learn our duty from the Lord, and then we are to act in all diligence, never being lazy or slothful.
(Henry B. Eyring, "Act in All Diligence," Ensign, May 2010, 60-63.)
Song:
"I Will Be Valiant," Children's Songbook, p. 162
Scripture:
But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Joshua 22:5)
Lesson:
If possible, find a picture of a sloth and show it to your family.
Share the following story from A. Theodore Tuttle, a former member of the First Quorum of Seventy:
"One day in South America we had the interesting experience of seeing in a hot jungle area a small brownish gray animal hanging upside down in a tree. It had rather long front paws and short back legs. Its movements were so slow that it was hard to know whether it was alive or dead. We were told that it was a sloth. I was intrigued because reference to the sloth appears in scripture."
"The Lord used it [the word] with disdain, referring to those who were
slow to act. . . . The word sloth or slothfulness appears in scripture twenty-five times, generally to condemn those who were slow to act. As we watched that sloth hanging in the tree, it reached out ever so slowly to pull off a leaf, then slower still brought it back and put it into its mouth. As we watched it we could understand the Savior's reference to the sloth and slothfulness of a person who is slow to act, who is slothful." (Ensign, May 1978, 87-88.)
Invite your family to read and mark D&C 107:99–100. Ask:
- Where can a person go to learn his or her duty?
- Why is it important to be diligent in our responsibilities?
- What will happen if we don’t learn our duties and perform them with diligence?
(Dennis H. Leavitt and Richard O. Christensen, Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families: The Doctrine and Covenants,
[Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004], pp. 120, 240.)
Story:
I have seen many shepherds who feed their flocks. One was the president of a deacons quorum. One of his quorum members lived near my home. That neighbor boy had never attended a quorum meeting nor done anything with the members of his quorum. His stepfather was not a member, and his mother did not attend church.
The presidency of his deacons quorum met in council one Sunday morning. Each week they were fed the good word of God by the fine adviser and teacher. In their presidency meeting, those 13-year-old shepherds remembered the boy who never came. They talked about how much he needed what they received. The president assigned his counselor to go after that wandering sheep.
I knew the counselor, and I knew he was shy, and I knew the difficulty of the assignment, so I watched with wonder through my front window as the counselor trudged by my house, going up the road to the home of the boy who never came to church. The shepherd had his hands in his pockets. His eyes were on the ground. He walked slowly, the way you would if you weren't sure you wanted to get where you were headed. In 20 minutes or so, he came back down the road with the lost deacon walking by his side. That scene was repeated for a few more Sundays. Then the boy who had been lost and was found moved away.
Now, that story seems unremarkable. It was just three boys sitting in a room around a small table. Then it was a boy walking up a road and coming back with another boy. But years later, I was in a stake conference, a continent away from the room in which that presidency had met in council. A grayhaired man came up to me and said quietly, "My grandson lived in your ward years ago." With tenderness, he told me of that boy's life. And then he asked if I could find that deacon who walked slowly up that road. And he wondered if I could thank him and tell him that his grandson, now grown to be a man, still remembered.
(Henry B. Eyring, Ensign, May 2001, 38–39.)
Activity:
In the dark, have everyone hide except for one person who has a flashlight. When everyone has had time to hide, the person with the flashlight goes out to search. When the person with the flashlight finds someone and can see him well enough to call out his name, the two trade places. The person who was found takes the flashlight and the former searcher hides.
(George and Jeane Chipman, Games! Games! Games!, [Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 1983], p. 116.)
Refreshment
Snowballs
- Vanilla ice cream
- Toasted coconut or chopped pecans
- Chocolate, caramel, or other favorite topping
- Maraschino cherries
Scoop ice cream with large ice cream scoop into desired size balls. Make balls as rounded and smooth as possible. Drop ice cream balls into bowl of chopped pecans or toasted coconut and roll around until well coated. Place on cookie sheet that has been lined with wax paper or plastic wrap. Make an indentation on the top of each snowball with your thumb. (This is to put the maraschino cherry in before serving.) Place pan in freezer until time to serve. At serving time, place snowballs in
individual serving bowls. Pour a small amount of chocolate, caramel, or other favorite topping on top of snowball and top with a stemmed maraschino cherry. To toast coconut: Place desired amount of coconut on a cookie sheet and put in the oven at 350° F for 3 to 5 minutes or until light golden brown. Coconut will continue to brown a little after you remove it from the oven.
Note: Snowballs can be made up to one week ahead, if they are well covered after they are frozen solid.
