Getting the most out of General Conference

General Conference is next weekend.  This is an amazing opportunity for each of us to receive some personal spiritual guidance in our lives.  There are many ideas out there that we can use for general conference to be a teaching aid to our children.  We are counseled to have our children watch general conference with us too.  There are many activities we can do with our children and grandchildren to keep them engaged during conference.  Here are a few suggestions:

1.  GENERAL CONFERENCE BINGO---Make bingo cards with pictures of the apostles.  When that apostle comes to the pulpit, they get to mark it off their card.  You could also do this with certain words.  When a certain word is said (such as testimony, faith, baptism, etc.) you get to mark it off your card. 

2.  KNOW THAT VOICE—Make a CD of the prophet and apostles voices from their General Conference talks at www.lds.org.  Play only a few seconds of each one and have everyone in the family write down who they think is speaking.  The player with the most correct answers wins a prize!

3.  PROPHET AND APOSTLES FRUIT BASKET—Sit in a circle with one person standing in the middle with a rolled-up newspaper.  Everyone chooses a name of an apostle.  Start by calling out one of the apostles’ names that a player has chosen.  The person in the middle tries to “bump” that player’s head before s/he can call out someone else’s name.  If s/he calls a name that has not been chosen, s/he is automatically in the middle.

4.  COLOR THAT TIE---Find a printable online (sugardoodle.net is a good place to look) of the apostles. Every time a new apostle gets up to speak have the children pay attention to what color of tie he is wearing and color it in on the paper you have printed out.  They will be excited to see who is coming up and be more alert to who the apostle is and what they look like.

5.  CONFERENCE TREAT BUCKETS---Find a container that would work to put your kid's favorite treat in (such as M&Ms).  Write words that will most likely be said over and over again throughout conference such as temple, family, scripture, prayer, etc.  Every time they hear the word they get to go and get a treat out of the bucket.

6.  WHO’S WHO—Lay the pictures of the prophet and apostles on the floor with their names covered up.  Read each name and have a family member find the picture.  This can be a fun timed game in which the person with the fastest time gets a prize.

7.  PROPHET SENIORITY—Lay the pictures of the prophets and apostles on the floor scrambled up.  Have a family member put the pictures in order of seniority.  This can be a fun timed game.

8.  GENERAL CONFERENCE JENGA---Make a list of certain words that you feel will be said (for example temple, testimony, church, missionary, prophet, etc.)  When a word is said you take turns taking a block out of the Jenga pile in order until the pile falls over.  When it falls over set it back up and start over again.

9.  Write down what topics you think will be talked about during general conference and whoever has the most right topics gets a treat.

10.  TREASURE HUNT---Ask a question about a general authority at each stop.  If they get the right answer, you read them the next clue.  Make sure to have a treat at the end!

11.  If one of the general authorities is shown on T.V. and one of the kids knows his name, s/he gets a treat (during conference).

12.  If kids can tell you what the speaker talked about after s/he talked, the child gets a treat (during conference).

13.  GENERAL CONFERENCE BAGGIES---Have a special treat or activity in a baggy that kids get to open when that apostle gets up to speak.

14.  If a child takes notes on a speaker, s/he gets a treat (during conference).

15.  Read Mosiah 2:5-9 and talk about it.  Set up a tent in your T.V. room during conference like they did in King Benjamin’s time.

16.  CONFERENCE PENNIES---Have children listen to conference carefully.  Have specific words be worth a certain amount of pennies (could also use tickets).  Every time they hear the word said they get that many pennies or tickets.  At the end of conference they can use their pennies to go to the "conference store" to get some fun prizes.  The more they listened to conference and the more pennies they earned, the more fun things they can get.  Could buy fun dollar store prizes making them worth different amounts.

AFTER CONFERENCE: During conference, mom keeps good notes on the speakers’ messages. The Monday after conference, mom writes the topics of the talks on paper and tapes them on the wall. Pass out pictures of the apostles and first presidency to family members. Have each one name the person in their picture and pick the topic that matches their person. Then have them tell what they learned from that talk. You have the opportunity to become a member of an exclusive club called the A.U.C. Challenge family to act upon those things that they learned in conference for the next 6 months. You can even make up business type cards with A.U.C. (see below) for them to put in their wallets, on their mirror, in their locker, etc. to remind them to act upon conference. A.U.C. = Act Upon Conference Buy each family member their own conference issue of the Ensign and use it as your FHE manual for the next 6 months.

 

“Members of the church are entitled to personal revelation as they listen to and study the

inspired words spoken at general conference” (President Uchtdorf, Liahona, Sept. 2011).

Conference is a wonderful time where we can receive wonderful inspiration in our lives.  We can be good examples to our children and grandchildren by listening and watching conference with them. 

If you have any fun traditions that you do with your children or grandchildren for general conference please leave a comment on here and we will be sure to add it to our list!!!

Remember general conference is April 6 and 7 at 10:00 and 2:00 with the priesthood session on the 6th at 6:00 p.m.