April 2020 General Conference

Hear Him

April 4-5

Here are some of the things we do in our family to make General Conference meaningful and fun!

I was trying to figure out how long we have been doing our General Conference activities. I found this picture from April 2013. My babies were 1 and 3. I wanted so badly to listen to the prophet and apostle and make it fun for my family too. I even recorded what website inspired me in 2013… and the inspiration came from: http://welovebeingmoms.blogspot.com/2012/03/general-conference-with-kids.html.

This is what I wrote about our first experience:

“Overall I think that the girls liked it. At the beginning of the afternoon session on Saturday Allie asked “Why are we still watching this?” But after the session was over and there were still apostles and activities to do she asked “Can we just watch the rest of it?” I don’t think that it helped the girls to listen and pay attention to conference but it did help so that we could.” I love the last sentence. So true!

But I will tell you that they have grown to love it and I’ve been impressed over the years how they have been paying more attention than I would have originally given them credit for.

So this is what I’ve found that works for us. The activities will change depending on your children, their ages, and what they are interested in. Use things that you already have. Don’t feel like you have to go and get all new activities.

I usually do like to go to the dollar store and get a few activities that are new. You don’t have to do this though. There are so many things you can print at home or use that you already have.

Gathered Mountains (https://gatheredmountains.com/) has an awesome free printable for you and your family to use for General Conference. We have added it to our General Conference routine. I love that they have pictures of all of the General officers of the church and blank cards for the members of the Quorum of the Seventy with a space for you (or your kids) to write a thought you had while they were talking or the topic. After each speaker speaks we grab the picture (or draw one for one of the 70) and then write a little of what we learned.

I print out pictures of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve from the Gospel Media Library. You can print them for home or church use only. You can do this from home or send them to your favorite place to print. I used to use Costco and now we live too far from one so we use CVS. Once you print them you can just put them in a safe place and keep them until the next conference.

I like to set up at least a week before conference to get my family excited for it.

We set up on our mantle, but you can put it on a table, in a basket, or whatever works for you and your family.

With our current need to use social distancing from those we love and minister to, I thought it would be fun to set up a few activities and pictures of the apostles in a box to give to them. I printed off a few sheets and grabbed some things around the house and I hope they can use it for conference or to help them to pass the time during the quarantine.

What do you do in your families to make General Conference something that your family looks forward to?