Family Home Evening Lesson # 54: STANDING FOR SOMETHING--OPTIMISM

1. Opening Prayer

2. Sing "Smiles" Children's Songbook pg. 267

3. Read 2 Nephi 2:25  Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

4. Read and discuss the following from Gordon B. Hinckley:

Let us not partake of the negative spirit so rife in our times. There is so much of the sweet and the decent and the beautiful to build upon. We are partakers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel means “good news!” The message of the Lord is one of hope and salvation! The voice of the Lord is a voice of glad tidings! The work of the Lord is a work of glorious accomplishment!

In a dark and troubled hour the Lord said to those He loved: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

These great words of confidence are a beacon to each of us. In Him we may indeed have trust. For He and His promises will never fail.

I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we “accentuate the positive.” I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort.

What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears.

5. Closing Prayer

Additional Resources: Words of the Prophet: The Spirit of Optimism (New Era, July 2001)
Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time (Ensign, Nov. 2008)
Sense of Humor (FHE Resource Book)