List of LDS Sunday Activities for Families
Improving Sabbath Observance with Children
For Latter-day Saints, keeping the Sabbath day holy is an important commandment from the Lord. In theory it should be easy, but with small children it can easily turn into a very long and difficult day.
Here are thoughts and suggestions on improving Sabbath observance, plus 25 LDS Sunday activities for families with kids.
Attend Church as a Family Every Sunday
Parents may come home some days feeling that they haven't gotten much out of church, having walked the halls with a fussy baby during most of the three-hour block.
Learn ways to keep children occupied in sacrament meeting, but don't be discouraged by challenging days and stop attending. Church attendance is a major part of Sabbath observance and setting the mood for the rest of the day.
Pay Attention to Sunday Dress
Instead of coming home from church and changing into grubby play clothes or even pajamas, remember that the Sabbath lasts all day. Elder L. Tom Perry cautions that "our actions seem to follow the type of clothing we wear."
Maybe expecting children to wear their Sunday best all day isn't practical, but wearing nice clothes instead of play clothes or casual wear reminds even young children of the specialness of the day.
Hold a Family Home Evening about Keeping the Sabbath
In a special family home evening or family council, talk about the importance of the Sabbath day. When children reach preschool age they are better able to understand the "why" behind what the family does on Sunday.
Reading from the scriptures and the words of general authorities helps the whole family to better understand the purpose and appropriate spirit for the Sabbath day. The family could also brainstorm a list of appropriate LDS Sunday activities and put them in a special "Sunday box."
LDS Sabbath Activity List
Families could introduce this list of appropriate Sabbath day activities to kids, or at least use them as a springboard for generating their own Sunday activity ideas:
- Read church magazines
- Take a family nature walk
- Write letters or make phone calls to extended family
- Browse a book of LDS art and discuss the pictures
- Hold or prepare family home evening
- Talk about lessons from church in the car or at the dinner table
- Have one hour of "quiet time" where older family members can read scriptures and younger children can play quietly
- Play "don't eat Pete" with small treats and a picture of the first presidency and apostles
- Read the illustrated children's scriptures (available from the LDS Distribution Center)
- Assemble a "church box" of LDS-themed books, toys, and games that only come out on Sunday
- One-on-one family interviews or family counsels
- Dress up and act out scripture story
- Cut up magazines or use photos to make a collage of blessings to be thankful for
- Color to music (hymns, children's songbook, or similar)
- Make cookies or bread for someone else
- Look at family pictures or videos
- Play board games to music
- Watch church videos (available to check out from the church library)
- Visit temple grounds and have a picnic
- Work on duty to god or personal progress requirements together with older children
- Journal writing (younger kids can draw pictures while adults write captions for each)
- Family scripture study, and everyone can write their thoughts on a whiteboard until the next week
- Visit friends or family members who are in a hospital or nursing home
- Have the missionaries (and a non-member friend, if possible) over for dinner
- Go around the family and let everyone choose a favorite primary song to sing together
These 25 Sabbath appropriate ideas can be done as a family at any time during the day to keep it holy. Help children to see all that they can do on Sunday, rather than focusing on the things they can't do.
Finding good LDS Sabbath activities for families isn't easy sometimes, but keep trying and don't give up. There are plenty of things to do on Sunday that are in keeping with gospel teachings about the Sabbath day.
Readers might also be interested in "An LDS Guide to Beginning Food Storage."
Sources:
- L. Tom Perry, "And Why Ye Call Me, Lord, Lord, and Do Not the Things which I Say?" Ensign, November 1984.
Parents Teach Young Children to Keep the Sabbath
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