Home Evening

Home Evening

Home Evening, a remarkable movement among the Latter-

day Saints, gives parents an opportunity to spend an evening

a week under the sweet influence of home in family reunion and

pleasure. All church workers are exempt that evening from

other duties. On this evening fathers and mothers gather their

boys and girls about them in the home, pray with them, teach

them the word of the Lord, learn their special needs and re-

quirements, become more familiar with them, sing hymns, listen

to instrumental music, have scripture reading, give instructions

on the principles of the gospel and on ethical problems, and

teach the obligations of the children to parents, to the home,

the Church, to society and the Nation. Appropriate recita-

tions, songs, stories, games, and other entertainments and ex-

ercises, according to the ingenuity of the father, mother, and

children, are also enjoyed, not forgetting light refreshments. It

is one of the most pleasant and agreeable of gatherings, growing

more and more interesting and attractive to every member of

the family as the home influence spreads.

When the First Presidency promulgated the order, in 1915,

they requested that the Presidents of stakes and Bishops of

wards, also officers of auxiliary organizations throughout the

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Church, support the movement and encourage the young people

to remain at home that evening to make it agreeable, instructive,

profitable, and entertaining. They promised that if the Saints

would obey this counsel, great blessings would result; that love

at home and obedience to parents would increase; that faith

would be developed in the hearts of the youth of Zion, thus en-

abling them to combat evil influences and temptations. It is

the general verdict that their promises have come to pass in

every home that has tried the experiment.

The Era presents above a "home evening" scene in the

home of President E. Frank Birch of the Tintic stake of Zion, at

Silver City, Utah. Little daughter is reciting; little brother

is coaching her; sister is at the piano ready to play music;

father has the scriptures ready to expound; mother is listening

and at the same time knitting for the soldiers; big brother, be-

hind little sister, is evidently waiting to use his violin, but all,

for the moment, are interested in little sister's exercise. Can

you picture anything more beautiful than a happy home like

this? Can you think of a movement among the people more

beneficial to both old and young?

"We are all here:

Father, mother,

Sister, brother,

All who hold each other dear.

Each chair is filled, we are all at home;

Tonight let no cold stranger come;

It is not often thus around

Our old familiar hearth we're found.

Bless, then, the meeting and the spot,

For once be every care forgot:

Let gentle peace assert her power,

And kind affection rule the hour,

We're all — all here."

— Sprague.