Sunday Night Testimonies & Dance Off!

There have only been a handful of times since becoming a mother that I have received VERY specific instructions from the Lord on raising my children. One Sunday I was sitting in Sacrament meeting on a Fast Sunday and Dylan leaned over to me and asked me if he could go to the Pulpit and share his testimony. I said SURE. Well he got up to the front of the congregation and panicked. It was a lot of people starring at him and he didn't feel prepared or confident enough to do it.

I was still very proud of him for having the desire to share his testimony, but it left me with such a nagging feeling. Many Scriptures and quotes started filling my mind and I desired to be able to help my children grow and cultivate their own testimonies so that they would have the faith and strength to withstand the darkness that this world has to offer.

I had the impression before the end of the meeting that as a family we should start holding a regular testimony meeting. Nothing big or fancy, but just an opportunity to give our children a short slot of time to reflect on what spiritual truths they know to be true. I also had the impression that this would be a great tool to unify our family and help us love each other more fully.

I decided that we would do this every Sunday night before we put the kids to bed and that we would make it something that they looked forward to.

Each Sunday night we sit down together, nothing to formal, but we always start in prayer. Then each person takes a few seconds to share their testimony. We do not draw this out and we do not instruct our children on what to say. We let them discover their sweet testimonies on their own.

As a reward each Sunday night after our testimony meeting we turn on music and have a Dance Off. The only rule is that everybody has to dance. This is the kids favorite part. We have so much fun. We have had injuries and a few bloody noses from dancing to close to each other, but for the most part it is PURE FUN!!! And I can't help but laugh at some of the insane moves that Scott & Dylan come up with.

We have been doing this for a few years now, sometimes more consistently than others, but I still feel the Holy Ghost confirm to me each week that I am doing my part, that my children are growing in faith, and righteousness, and that our family is being strengthened. We have had many visitors participate with us too and while some of them are a bit shy in sharing their dance moves, I know they still enjoy it.

I have photographed our Sunday Nights many times, but I don't remember sharing any of the photo's on my blog.

Here are a few photo's from Sunday Night's Testimony meeting.

 Some of the Quotes that I love are the following...

“To meet the difficulties that are coming, it will be necessary for you to have a knowledge of the truth of this work for yourselves. …

“The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how can you stand?” (quoted by Orson F. Whitney inLife of Heber C. Kimball, 3rd ed. [1967], 450).

President Harold B. Lee said: “Testimony isn’t something you have today, and you are going to have always. A testimony is fragile. It is as hard to hold as a moonbeam. It is something you have to recapture every day of your life” (quoted by J. M. Heslop in “President Harold B. Lee Directs Church; Led by the Spirit,” Church News, 15 July 1972, 4).

Elder George Q. Cannon wrote: “It is not enough that we knew of the truth of this work yesterday or the day before or a week or a month or a year ago; we ought to and must, in order to be happy, know it to be true to-day. … We can only retain the testimony of the truth in our heart by living near unto God” (Gospel Truth, sel. Jerreld L. Newquist [1957], 1:343).