OBEDIENCE: "Fishers of Men"

For FHE on April 14th, we continued our month of lessons on Obedience. That week was our week to learn about the Savior's life and how it relates to the monthly gospel principle that we are studying: Obedience. We talked about how Jesus chose his 12 disciples (apostles). We talked about how he told them to come follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. We also talked about the roles of the apostles as teachers, examples, etc. I was so surprised and pleased that the kids knew some of the answers to my questions! Bryson knew quite a bit about the story behind the scripture Matthew 4:19 "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men".

Megan was the lesson helper for this week, so she got to help me with the lesson display.

We talked about how the men just dropped their nets (gave up what they were doing), to follow Jesus Christ. What are we willing to drop-or sacrifice- to follow our Savior? They were obedient in what they did... and they were blessed for it tremendously. Wow! They got to be with the Savior, to learn from Him, and to be in His presence! Do we exercise the same kind of obedience? If we do, we too, have the opportunity to learn from our Savior, and to be with His spirit, and someday, we will live in His presence! But... we HAVE to FOLLOW Him!

Our activity was a little fishing game (which also incorporated our treat). We put a blue blanket up for the pond and busted out the fishing poles. Jason has been waiting for the lake to thaw so that he could take the kids fishing! So, after all of the talk about it, it was fun to do an activity with them that they got to go fishing for! They each got 2 tickets to go fishing. The first ticket, they fished for a missionary necktie that said "I am a disciple of Jesus Christ", which on the back listed ways that we can be disciples of Christ (through our example, by teaching, etc.) The second ticket, they fished for a fishy bag filled with goldfish crackers and gummy bugs with the scripture from Matt 4:19. Needless to say, fishing was great FUN!

Tyler & Dad fishing for his necktie...

... Slight difficulties with the hook (lost its bate!)

Kimberly & Dad fishing... ... Notice the hook is gonna get Emma's nose!

Bryson... thinkin' he's an old pro at this! Kimberly... thrilled with her catch!

... And then there's Tyler! It's all about the food for him!

... Our weekly FHE reminder for the fridge!

Hopefully we are reiterating to the kids the importance of obedience in ALL that we do. Just as obedience is a necessary part of the gospel, so it was in the time of our Savior. Without obedience, we cannot receive the blessings that are promised to us and we give Lucifer the opportunity to have control over our lives. A good friend of mine describes herself as a "rule-keeper", which couldn't describe me better (and I am sure my husband would agree). I am one that tries to keep the rules, and I know that in doing so, I will receive the blessings that are promised to me. I cannot afford to live my life any other way. Our challenge to each other, is to be better fishers of men, to follow our Savior's example, and strive to be more like Him. All of which takes daily effort. But, we can all Do it... if we strive to be obedient... and FOLLOW HIM!