Wisdom

Tonight I was in charge of the Family Home Evening lesson. For the past several years my husband has always been in charge of giving the lesson, but mostly because of my laziness and my enjoying being a listener. Last week we adopted a more structured Family Home Evening (FHE for short) task schedule. Here are the responsibilities:

Conducting
Opening Hymn
Musical Number
Lesson
Activity
Refreshment

We've always had these things included. It's just that now somebody is in charge of each one and and we all know a week ahead of time.

The past few weeks we've focused each lesson on a gift of the Spirit. Tonight's gift was the gift of wisdom. I bought a pomegranate this weekend out of curiousity and because of an article I saw in Better Homes and Gardens (BHG for short). I decided to try and incorporate it into my lesson. First I explained that the gift of wisdom is being able to understand things, especially spiritual things. We can pray and ask our Father in Heaven for understanding if we earnestly desire it.

I asked my audience of midgets to pretend the pomegranate represented wisdom. Bradley was confused as to how a pomegranate is wisdom, but my husband told him to just keep listening. It was an analogy. I handed the fruit to Emily and told her that I just gave her wisdom because she asked for it. Then I asked her to put the pomegranate on the cutting board. I proceded to cut the fruit as my BHG magazine instructed me to. Inside were hundreds of little juicy seeds. I explained that these seeds were further knowledge and wisdom. I explained that wisdom can continually be poured out to us if we seek it. The kids were so excited to pick the seeds out and taste them. Sarah exclaimed, "Look at all this wisdom!"

(Unfortunately I have no picture to show.)

Thankfully they enjoyed the taste of the juicy seeds and hopefully will have a desire to seek the real deal. I think it may have actually been a successful lesson. And it was all because I was curious to see and taste a pomegranate. Without the lesson, the fruit would've surely sat on my kitchen counter and rotted over the next couple of weeks and I would've missed out on all that wisdom.

James 1:5-7
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

I just think it's really cool that we can ask in faith and receive understanding. We can pray to understand specific gospel principles and come to know that they are true and real. It works.