Building a House of God

FHE Lesson
by Kim Simkins, Digitized and adapted by Lara Goold

Materials needed: Scriptures, Velcro or tape to put the house together, rice krispie treat ingredients

Purpose: A lesson designed to teach family members how we can make our home a house of God.

Scripture: “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of
prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of
order, a house of God; .” Doctrine and Covenants 88:119

Opening song(s) and prayer:

“The Wise Man and the Foolish Man,” Children’s Songbook, page 281

Lesson:

Wise Man and Foolish Man Parable:

Using the summary and visuals included, tell the story of the wise man and foolish man.

Ask if anyone knows the meaning of the parable.

Explain that the rock symbolizes the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we have the gospel as a
foundation in our lives, then we will be able to stand in times of adversity and not fall, just as the
wise man’s house withstood the rain and floods.

Ask: What should we do to make the gospel a foundation for our ‘house’?:

Display the outline of the house and read Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 (display magnet
included).

Put the house part labeled “prayer” in its proper place on the house.

ASK: “How can we have a house of prayer?” (By having family prayers and personal prayers)
Optional: Read 3 Nephi 18:21 and 2 Nephi 32:9

Now put the house part labeled “fasting” in its proper place.

ASK: “How can we have a house of fasting?” (By observing Fast Sunday, bearing our
testimonies, and paying fast offerings.) Optional: Read 3 Nephi 12:16-18

Next is the label of “faith”.

ASK: “How can we have a house of faith?” (By praying, attending church, and studying the

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 scriptures.) Optional: to learn the blessings of faith, have someone read Ether 12:28-30

Now add “learning”.

ASK: “How can we have a house of learning?” (By reading good books, having family home
evenings, working hard on our school work, and studying the scriptures.) The scriptures say we
should not only learn of Christ, but of languages, tongues, and people.
Optional: read Doctrine & Covenants 19:23 and Doctrine & Covenants 90:15.

Next is the label of “glory”. The dictionary defines glory as the “splendor and perfect happiness
of Heaven.”

ASK: “How can we achieve that kind of happiness in our own home?” (By living the
commandments of Heavenly Father and by treating one another with love and respect) Optional:
read Mosiah 2:41 to learn about the blessings of living the commandments.

Now add the label of “order”.

ASK: “How can we achieve order in our home?” (By fulfilling individual responsibilities,
following rules or guidelines, and showing respect for each other.) The scriptures tell us that our
homes should be clean and free of confusion (both physically and spiritually). Optional: Read
Doctrine and Covenants 90:18 and Doctrine and Covenants 132:8.

Finally, add the label of “God”.

ASK: “How can we have a house of God?” (By showing kindness, patience, love, and respect
for one another [and by doing all of the other things previously talked about]) In the Book of
Mormon we learn that when the people had a love for God, there was no contention in the land
(4 Nephi 1:15). If our hearts are filled with the love of God, then our homes will have less
contention and more peace and happiness.

Optional: Conclude by reading Doctrine and Covenants 124:55.

Display the house during the week and challenge every family member to strive to establish a
“house of God.”

Bear Testimony

Closing song: “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus,” Children’s Songbook, page 78-79
“Love is Spoken Here,” Children’s Songbook, page 190

Closing Prayer:

Refreshments: See below for a yummy recipe

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Enrichment: Based on the ages and attention spans of your children, choose one or more of the following enrichment
activities to enhance the message of the lesson. Enrichment activities do not necessarily need to be completed on the
same night as the lesson. We often use them as reinforcement/reminders during the week.

Enrichment ideas :

House Demonstration: Demonstrate how a house on a rock remains standing. Make two simple houses
out of lightweight cardboard. In a large dishpan, put one house on a pile of sand and securely tape the
other house to a rock. Pour a “flood” of water into the pan and show that the water will wash away the
sand but that the house on the rock will be safe.

Testimony building blocks: Label rocks of building blocks with ways to build your testimony. Place
around the room and have the children find them. Discuss why each is important.

Group Activity: Exploring D&C 88:119: Explain that D&C 88:119 is a blueprint for building our
homes and personal lives (see Ensign, Oct. 1999, pp. 2–5). Have the children divide into pairs or groups
(or together as a family) to discover some things we can use to build stronger homes and lives, then
present their information. Prepare the following lists, one for each group:

• Prayer—learn the steps in prayer by learning part 2 of “I Pray in Faith” (p. 14).

• Fasting—discover what Jesus Christ taught about fasting by reading and discussing Matt. 6:16–18.

• Faith—tell a scripture about someone who showed faith (brother of Jared—see Ether 1–3; Esther—see
Esth. 1–7; Daniel—see Dan. 1; etc.).

• Learning and Glory—recite an article of faith, from memory if possible. Discuss why it is important to
study and learn.

• Order—tell the order of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel by reciting the fourth article of
faith. Pick a law of the land and discuss why obeying it helps build your community. Pick a rule in your
family and explain why it helps to build your family.

As the groups finish, have them learn part 1 of “I Pray in Faith” (p. 14). When all are done, sing both
verses, then divide the Primary into two groups and have them sing the parts simultaneously.

Give one piece of paper and one pencil to every two children. Have them sit with the paper and pencil
between them, each holding a pencil. Ask them to draw a house. Show some of the drawings. Point out
that it is easier to do if they cooperate. Explain that parents want their homes to be houses of prayer,
fasting, faith, learning, glory, and order. Parents can’t do it alone. Parents and children have to work
together to build such a home. Testify that as we live these principles, our temples, our homes, and our
lives will be places of order and strength.

Coloring page: print off enough coloring pages for each member of the family and use it as an
opportunity to review some of the ways you can apply this scripture/lesson to your every day life.

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Rice Krispie Treats (with ties to lesson)
Idea from Jeanette Baron of Sugardoodle.net

The ingredients:
3 Tbs. butter
1 pkg. (10-oz) regular size marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies

In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from
heat. Add Rice Krispies. Stir until well coated. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into
13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.
Enjoy!

**Relate to lesson** Compare the ingredients in the treat to the temple sealing power. Explain that we are all a
part of families that we love very much. The Lord makes it so that we could be together forever through temple
blessings. The rice krispies (put in a bowl) are like all our family members (mom, dad, brother, sister, grandma,
grandpa…) and the marshmallows/butter mixture (put in a bowl) is the sealing power of the temple (picture of
temple on microwave.) When we go to the temple and partake of these blessings (mix all together) we will stick
together forever as families.

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“The Wise Man and the Foolish Man,”
Friend, Jul 1999, 47

While He was in Galilee, Jesus Christ gave the Sermon on the Mount.* In it, he taught His disciples the
Beatitudes and to be a good example to the world. He taught them that it was wrong to be angry with or hate
anyone, even their enemies. Not only should His disciples do what is right, but their thoughts should be
righteous, too. He taught the principles of prayer, forgiveness, and seeking “first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness” (Matt. 6:33).

Jesus said that to live with Him in the kingdom of heaven, His disciples needed to learn the gospel and to live it.
He explained: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a
wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for
it was founded upon a rock.

“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man,
which built his house upon the sand:

“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and
great was the fall of it.” (Matt. 7:24–27.)

We have many opportunities to learn the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can show that we have faith that the gospel
is true by choosing the right each day. If we do, we will be like the wise man—building our lives upon the solid
foundation of the gospel and preparing ourselves to live again with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

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For
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Display for week: Cut out, laminate, and affix with magnet on back.
NOTE: This is not an exact quote of the scripture.

Image is from: http://allthingscheryl.blogspot.com/2009/11/by-wisdom-house-is-built.html

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Ignore the blue/purple part and cut out the individual colored pieces to affix during the lesson. Use Velcro or tape to affix.

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Coloring page—print off enough for each member to color

For
more
ready‐to‐print
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