The Blessings of Family Home Evening

In June 1915 the First Presidency urged members to hold family home evening regularly. They promised that great blessings would result if the Saints obeyed this counsel. President Gordon B. Hinckley recalls how his own father accepted the prophets’ counsel: “My father [Bryant S. Hinckley] said we would [hold home evening], that we would warm up the parlor where Mother’s grand piano stood and do what the President of the Church had asked.

“We were miserable performers as children. We could do all kinds of things together while playing, but for one of us to try to sing a solo before the others was like asking ice cream to stay hard on the kitchen stove. In the beginning, we would laugh and make cute remarks about one another’s performance. But our parents persisted. We sang together. We prayed together. We listened quietly while Mother read Bible and Book of Mormon stories. Father told us stories out of his memory. …

“Out of those simple little meetings, held in the parlor of our old home, came something indescribable and wonderful. Our love for our parents was strengthened. Our love for brothers and sisters was enhanced. Our love for the Lord was increased. An appreciation for simple goodness grew in our hearts. These wonderful things came about because our parents followed the counsel of the President of the Church. I have learned something tremendously significant out of that” (“Some Lessons I Learned as a Boy,” Ensign, May 1993, 54).

Parents today are also encouraged to follow the prophets’ counsel and enjoy the blessings of family home evening (see First Presidency letter, 11 Feb. 1999). Quorum leaders may find it helpful to review and discuss President Hinckley’s experience during a first Sunday quorum meeting. Quorum members may also find it helpful to discuss ways to improve their own family home evenings.