Scripture
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
Hymn
1. There is beauty all around
When there’s love at home;
There is joy in ev’ry sound
When there’s love at home.
Peace and plenty here abide,
Smiling sweet on ev’ry side.
Time doth softly, sweetly glide
When there’s love at home.
Love at home, love at home;
Time doth softly, sweetly glide
When there’s love at home.
2. In the cottage there is joy
When there’s love at home;
Hate and envy ne’er annoy
When there’s love at home.
Roses bloom beneath our feet;
All the earth’s a garden sweet,
Making life a bliss complete
When there’s love at home.
Love at home, love at home;
Making life a bliss complete
When there’s love at home.
3. Kindly heaven smiles above
When there’s love at home;
All the world is filled with love
When there’s love at home.
Sweeter sings the brooklet by;
Brighter beams the azure sky.
Oh, there’s One who smiles on high
When there’s love at home.
Love at home, love at home;
Oh, there’s One who smiles on high
When there’s love at home.
Lesson
*For Children*
Begin by reading this story from the Friend:
“Elisabeth!” Mom called from her room. “Someone rang the doorbell a little while ago. Can you see if there’s anything on the porch?”
A few moments later Elisabeth carried a plate of cookies into Mom’s room, where she was in bed with a lingering illness.
“Someone brought us cookies!” Elisabeth said.
“Who are they from?” Mom asked.
“I don’t know, but here’s a note.”
Mom took the note. “ ‘Hope you’re having a great day,’ ” she read. “ ‘From someone who cares.’ ” She smiled at Elisabeth. “It’s really nice of someone to surprise us with cookies.”
“Can I have one?” Elisabeth asked.
“Yes, you can. And will you please put the note in my love drawer?”
Elisabeth took the note. “What’s your love drawer?” she asked.
“It’s the little drawer in that table by my bed. Open it and I’ll show you.”
Elisabeth opened the drawer and found a pile of letters, notes, and cards.
“I’ve been saving all the good wishes people have given me since I’ve been sick,” Mom explained, pulling a few papers from the drawer. “Grandma sent this letter. And this is the card the Garcias gave me when they brought us dinner. Here is the note I discovered in the kitchen when I came home from the doctor and found the whole house cleaned. And the Primary children made this card for me.”
Mom handed the cards, notes, and letters back to Elisabeth. “All these remind me how nice people have been to us. Each one is from someone who is trying to be like Jesus. When I feel sad I can look at them and remember that lots of people care about me. And that helps me remember that Heavenly Father and Jesus care about me too.”
Elisabeth put everything back in the drawer and closed it carefully.
“Now will you take these cookies into the kitchen?” Mom said. “The other kids will want to have one when they get home from school.”
Elisabeth carried the plate of cookies into the kitchen, and then sat down at the table with her crayons. After a while she went back into Mom’s room. “Mom, I brought you something.” She held out the picture she had made.
“Elisabeth, this is beautiful! I love the rainbow and the smiling people. You worked very hard on this.”
“You can put it in the love drawer,” Elisabeth said. “It will help you remember that I love you and that I want to be like Jesus.”
Mom smiled and hugged Elisabeth. “You make me very happy,” she said. “I will put this in the love drawer—later. Right now I want to keep it out where I can see it!”
Ask: Why did Elisabeth’s mom keep all of the notes and cards in her love drawer? How does it make you feel when someone says or gives you something nice?
Read aloud: This week, we’ll be celebrating Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is a holiday where we do our best to show the people we care about how much they mean to us. This is often done by giving gifts or cards. While it is fun to celebrate the holiday, we can also find a way to bring the Spirit in our home this Valentine’s Day. Heavenly Father loves it when we love each other, and Jesus Christ tells us in the scriptures that when we love others, we are loving God too. The most important people we can love is each other, our family.
Ask: Can you think of a time when someone in our family made you feel really good about yourself?
Read aloud: Heavenly Father has given us families so we can learn to love as He loves. At Valentine’s Day, we make boxes to put our Valentine’s Day cards in. In the story, Elisabeth’s mom fills up a drawer with love notes and letters. Just as we fill up the boxes and drawers with love, we want to fill our home with love.
Ask: What do you think it means to fill our home with love? How can we do so?
Finish the lesson by discussing different ways you can show your family you love them, sharing any personal experiences along the way. Then, complete the fill our home with love activity at the bottom of the page.
*For Teens and Adults*
Begin by watching this video:
Read aloud: This Valentine’s Day, we want to remember that filling our homes with love should be our highest priority. Sometimes, it is easier to serve strangers or give a Valentine’s Day card to friends over the internet. However, the Lord would have us express our love consistently in word and deed to those in our family. By doing so, we ensure that the words of Elder L. Tom Perry occur:
“In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities. Families lie at the center of our Heavenly Father’s plan.We need to make our homes a place of refuge from the storm, which is increasing in intensity all about us. Even if the smallest openings are left unattended, negative influences can penetrate the very walls of our homes.”
By filling our homes with as much love as we can, we help close up those small openings and stop negative influences from coming in to our home.
Ask: What are some negative influences that can come into our home? What do you think it means to fill our home with love? How can we do so?
Finish the lesson by discussing different ways you can show your family you love them, sharing any personal experiences along the way. Then, complete the fill our home with love activity at the bottom of the page.
Other resources you can utilize include this video on enduring love and this Mormon Message about sharing love and kindness.
Related Products
Treat
TreatChocolate Covered Strawberry Hearts or Strawberry Creme Truffles
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Hearts
Ingredients:
-Strawberries
-Chocolate melts or chocolate chips
-Red melting chocolate
-Nutella (optional)
Directions:
1. Wash your strawberries and cut off the stem, and slice the strawberry in half.
2. Optional: If you plan on filling the strawberry with Nutella, or some other yummy filling, slice out a small triangle of the strawberry insides.
3. Cut off a small portion of strawberry to help with the heart shape. Take a toothpick and poke it through both strawberry halves to get the shape.
4. Take a paper towel, and dry the strawberries on both sides. The chocolate will have a hard time sticking if the strawberries are too wet. For a yummy extra, add some Nutella to the bottom of the strawberries.
5. Melt your chocolate and spread a layer onto the strawberries. Allow the bottom the dry, then flip them over and repeat. Try to keep your chocolate fairly thin. If necessary, add a few drops of oil.
6. To dress them up, drizzle on some melted red chocolate.
(Courtesy of One Little Project)
Strawberry Creme Truffles
Ingredients:
For the filling:
-1 cup coconut butter
-1 cup sliced strawberries
-2 tablespoons maple syrup
For the chocolate:
-1 cup dark chocolate chips
-3 tablespoons milk or almond milk
Directions:
1. In a food processor, mix the filling ingredients together very well.
2. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, drop small balls of the filling onto a lined baking sheet. If the filling seems to soft, stick it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
3. Stick the baking sheet, with all the formed balls in the freezer to firm up.
4. While the balls are firming up, melt the chocolate.
5. Using a double boiler method, melt the chocolate chips and the milk.
6. Stir constantly until all the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth.
7. Working quickly, using two forks, roll the balls into the chocolate and place them back onto the lined baking sheet.
8. Stick the finished balls back in the freezer to firm up. It should take about 30 to 60 minutes.
(Courtesy of My Whole Food Life)
Activity
Fill Your Home With Love Boxes or Candy Heart Minute to Win It
Fill Your Home With Love Boxes
Either before FHE or as part of the activity, make little houses as Valentine’s Day boxes. You can find great and easy tutorials here and here. You are also free to use any sort of decorated box that your family will enjoy. Pass out pieces of paper or hearts made from construction paper, and tell your family to think of nice things to say to each person of the family. Have them do a couple and fill up the boxes. Decided on a place to put the boxes and leave more paper and pens out. The goal is to have all of the boxes full by Valentine’s Day with words of love and kindness.
Candy Heart Minute to Win It
Enjoy these minute to win it games!
Heart Stack
For the Heart Stack, they had one minute to stack conversations hearts as high as they could. If the stack tipped over, they could start over. At the end of the minute, whoever had the tallest stack received a point for their team.
Candy Pick Up
For the Candy Pick Up, there were two plates full of different shapes and sizes of Valentines candy and two empty plates. Each kid would use chopsticks to move as many candies to the empty plate as they could in one minute. Whoever had moved the most candies at the end of the minute received a point for their team.
Heart Relay
For the Heart Relay, there were two cups full of conversation hearts and two empty cups a few feet away. They had one minute to move as many hearts from the full cup to the empty cup using a spoon. At the end of the minute, the team that moved the most conversation hearts received a point.
See more ideas here, courtesy of Makoodle.
