100 Sabbath Day Activity Ideas




Due to the developing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, gatherings of church members were temporarily suspended worldwide and leaders asked members to hold Sunday meetings in their homes. We know that the Sabbath is a special day and we want it to be a spiritual day amidst these trying times. We know we will reap blessings of stronger family relationships, kinder communication, spiritual depth, and more family fun. Our family has carefully gathered the following activity ideas after the Sunday service at home:

1. Make a family storybook: Everyone picks a memory, draws their version of it, and writes a short summary about it. Share your memories with each other.

2. Create a family mailbox to keep inside your home that you fill with sweet letters to each other.

3. Make a wall of favorite quotes from the general conference and leave it up for 6 months until the next conference.

4. Book of Mormon Puzzle: Draw your favorite scene or character from the Book of Mormon and cut it up into pieces. The smaller the pieces the harder it will be to put it back together. Then have fun putting it back together.

5. As a family, invent a design, crest, emblem, or logo to display on a family banner. When it is complete, unfurl it during family home evenings or other special family occasions.

6. Construct an "I'm Grateful For..." poster to hang in children's rooms.

7. Make a goal collage out of pictures from old magazines.

8. Draw pictures of members of your family.

9. Create a gospel quote book.

10. Do science experiments to understand God’s fascinating world. Study how the Lord used scientific principles in the scriptures.

11. Lookup for contact numbers of government leaders especially the community frontliners. Send them a message and thank them for the good they are doing.

12. Take a short nap.

13. Write about a spiritual experience.

14. Testimony Memories: Create a book, blog, or video log on YouTube, DVD, or online video channel filled with testimonies from your family.

15. Make up fictitious stories together. Sit in a circle and begin a story. Each person gets to say five sentences to contribute to the plot. This goes around the circle with each person adding plot twists or details.

16. Memorize “The Living Christ” and recite it as a family.

17. Identify all the temples on a world map using pins or markers.

18. Have a Book of Mormon read-a-thon.

19. Take family photos to save in Family Search Gallery.

20. Show home movies or slides of when everyone was younger. Tell stories of when parents were young and what things were like then, etc.

21. Have a Scripture Chase event! Use scriptures that your family already knows or is working on, or use the selected scriptures from Seminary.

22. Watch from Living Scriptures Streaming (Free until 6th April, no cc needed)                    \

23. Study the general conference addresses as a family. Determine what you are going to do in your home as a family to implement their counsel.

24. Pair children up in separate rooms together with games or books, etc. This allows each child time to build a one-on-one relationship with each of his/her brothers and sisters. Partners are rotated each Sunday.

25. While children are spending a special time together, Mom and Dad can spend time alone together.

26. Have an object lesson contest in your family. Pick one or two items around the house and have everyone come up with a story about how that item can illustrate a gospel principle.

27. Your Wedding Day: If your kids have never seen your wedding pictures or videos, look at them together. Tell them about your dating story and what that day was like for both of you.

28. Listen to music or a podcast on the Latter-Day Saints Channel (formerly the Mormon Channel, an over the air and Internet radio station owned and operated by the church). Visit

29. Read “Gospel Classic” talks on https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org

30. Make phone calls to loved ones to let them know you're thinking of them.

31. Get to bed early on Saturday night. A family can worship better on Sunday if its members have gotten enough rest the night before.

32. Select a talent you would like to develop. Set some goals to help you achieve the talent and then work toward developing it.

33. Prepare any future talks or lessons.

34. Prepare family home evening lessons for the next day.

35. Minister online.

36. Set missionary goals as a family.

37. Learn about our current and past Prophets in a couple of short minutes with the LDS Kids Video App.

38. As a family, read the first three paragraphs of President Henry B. Eyring’s talk “Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady.” What are some “spiritual disasters” or trials that we might face? What can we do to prepare spiritually? Read the remainder of President Eyring’s talk, and ask them to look for answers to these questions. Invite them to share what they find.

39. Read “Grateful Heart” by James E. Faust (Friend, May 1994, inside front cover). Talk about simple, daily blessings in our lives and help children realize that each day we receive many small blessings for which to be thankful.

40. Talk about the importance of temples. Watch the wonderful video “Only a Stonecutter” about John Moyle who walked 22 miles every week to work on the Salt Lake Temple. Discuss what your family can do to make temple attendance a priority when it opens again.

41. Discuss the 11th article of faith and how each person is responsible for his or her choices. Why should we not try to force someone to believe the gospel? Why should we expect others to let us worship God as we desire?

42. Read D&C 58:26–28, and ask the following questions: What does it mean to be “agents unto [ourselves]”? How can we become more “anxiously engaged in a good cause”? What do these verses teach us about self-reliance? Discuss the answers.

43. Read the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in Alma 24 and talk about how you could bury your own weapons of rebellion.

44. Discuss with children the consequences of the following decision made by President Spencer W. Kimball: “I made up my mind while still a little boy that I would never break the Word of Wisdom. … I knew that when the Lord said it, it was pleasing unto him for men to abstain from all these destructive elements and that the thing I wanted to do was to please my Heavenly Father. And so I made up my mind firmly and solidly that I would never touch those harmful things. Having made up my mind fully and unequivocally, I found it not too difficult to keep the promise to myself and to my Heavenly Father” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1974, p. 127; or Ensign, May 1974, p. 88)

45. Have family scripture study. Younger children may want to draw representational pictures beside their favorite scriptures. This will enable them to find the same scripture and remember what it was about in the future.

46. Rest and reflect on what was taught during the Sunday home service.

47. Read church magazines and other materials that are Church-oriented or uplifting.

48. Label and catalogue the family picture journal (photos, slides or videotapes of family.)

49. Have a simple and short music lesson. Familiarize children with music symbols and words. Teach them how to lead music.

50. Prepare stories about your children to tell them. Tell children stories of when you were their age.

51. Call grandma or grandpa to tell stories about themselves or the lives of other relatives. Record these personal profiles for Book of Remembrance or journals.

52. Decorate special jars for tithing and mission funds. 

53. Decorate a Sunday "Things to Do" box and fill it with ideas. Draw one out each Sunday to do.

54. Plan and rehearse a family musical recital. Perform the recital and record to share with friends. 

55. Make shadow portraits or silhouettes of family members or of the prophets. Include them in scrapbooks or use them to decorate cards.

56. Help set goals to accomplish the Children and Youth program.

57. Chart your success each Sunday.

58. Compose an original song expressing a lovely thought or deed. 

59. Develop greater love and appreciation for music by listening to great works.

60. Practice a skill such as knitting, etc.

61. Produce a family puppet show depicting a historical Church event. 

62. Dramatize events from the Bible and the Book of Mormon with family members. Be sure to dress for your parts.

63. Form a rhythm band to help younger children learn the music to hymns and Primary songs.

64. Take turns role-playing and acting out stories.

65. Make a set of paper dolls representing the members of your family. Use them in flannel board stories or at Family Home Evening to demonstrate proper reverence, manners, and attitudes.

66. Have each family member make a personal scrapbook. Include pictures, important letters, certificates, school and Primary papers.

67. Make some kind of book. Write a story inside with a good moral. Illustrate it and then make a video recording, complete with sound effects and music. Younger children may then look and listen to the book themselves.

68. Make a recording or a  letter. Have children set goals for the year and share feelings or testimonies. Save the recordings and letters for a year and then listen and/or read them.

69. Compose some poetry or write a story.

 70. Write letters, thank-you cards, get-well, and thinking-of-you notes.

71. Make family progress charts, achievement cards, and award certificates.

72. Use salt dough or clay or construct a nativity scene, Liahona, or other Church artifacts. Use your imagination.

73. Learn the Preach My Gospel (you never know when you may need them).

74. Clip and file favorite articles from Church publications for future reference.

75. Expand your collection of visual aids for lessons and talks by removing pictures from old Church magazines and mounting them.

76. Make personalized, handmade cards for birthdays, I love you, thinking-of-you or get-well cards.

77. Remember birthdays for the upcoming week of ward members, Church leaders, relatives, etc. Mark them on a calendar as a reminder to call or mail a personalized card.

78. Plan a family service project.

79. Invent a Church-related game or play one you may already have.

80. Study religious history.

81. Make dot-to-dot pictures of objects like the golden plates or the star of Bethlehem to keep little ones quietly entertained.

82. Memorize scriptures, hymns, stories, or poems.

83. Read a good play as a family. Have each member assume one or more parts.

84. Have each member of the family take turns reporting on a General Authority, prophet, bishop or other Church leaders.

85. Tell stories and display or draw pictures.

86. Have a story swap. Each member of the family must have a story of courage or valor to swap about a relative, Church leader or famous person.

87. Listen to records of conferences or talks of the General Authorities. 

88. Practice playing or singing hymns.

89. Look at books containing great works of art with children. Discuss each painting with them.

90. Set genealogy goals. Do family history and temple work

91. Have personal family interviews.

92. Write a family song or cheer.

93. Write a digital family newsletter to send to friends and relatives.

94. Make a picture book for each family member. Include pictures of themselves at different ages, other family members, and special events.

95. Take a few minutes to plan next Sunday's activities. Decide what must be done during the week to prepare for it.

96. Play the Scripture Hunt game. Each player takes a different page of scriptures. After reading that page, each player then writes a one sentence question, the answer to which is found somewhere on the page. At the signal, swap pages and questions. The first player to locate the correct answer to his question is the winner.

97. Play Hang Man, or Word Scramble on chalkboards. Use Church-related words.

98. Learn some new fingerplays with the children.

99. Have a memory jolt (quiz) contest. See what is remembered from last Sunday.

100. Select a talent you would like to develop. Set some goals to help you achieve the talent and then work toward developing it.

Do you know any other interesting Sabbath Day activity ideas? Share them in the comment section below. 


Comments

  1. This is the best day to REFLECT on our thoughts, words and actions and REVISIT our life's mission, purpose and direction. REPENT if necessary. Understand the deeper meaning of the atonement.

    ReplyDelete

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