Heather Berube and her husband Eric, find joy in their five children and one grandson. As a travel consultant for almost 20 years, she loves to travel and explore with her family and help others do the same. Heather grew up on the West Coast and has served in various music and teaching capacities as well as Young Women, and Relief Society presidencies, and ward and stake Primary presidencies. She also loves learning and currently serves as a Relief Society President with a “positively deviant” Bishop in South Jordan, Utah.

Enter Heather…

President Russell M. Nelson firmly grabbed my attention when he stated:

“It is time for a home-centered church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.”

Ever since, I have sought and studied to understand what “home-centered, church-supported” means in terms of what we actually DO in our homes and in church. I studied Handbook 2, conference talks and other resources, and while informative, I found the most exciting visuals and explanations in the newly released guide, Children and Youth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: An Introductory Guide for Parents and Leaders.

There, on pages 6-7, we see specifically listed what we as members do at home, and what leaders and members do at church. It seemed to reach beyond just the new youth program and be quite applicable to the ongoing implementation of home-centered and church-supported.  To study this further, I put them all together, side-by-side into a simple info-graphic and found it very enlightening.

Gospel Learning

At first glance under gospel learning, there’s an obvious difference in the number of things listed under home-centered compared to under church-supported. Perhaps this is the area with the greatest sense of shift to “home-centered.” Interestingly though, gospel learning, including prayer and scripture study has been home-centered since the beginning of mortality (see Moses 6:4-5). So has family home evening (see Moses 5:12), which was reinforced over 100 years ago when it was “advised and urged” by The First Presidency in the June 1915 Improvement Era.

While the doctrine of Sabbath day observance isn’t new, a notable focus on it over the last several years has hopefully renewed our devotion. Even more recently, our prophet and general authorities have emphasized family history and “gathering Israel on both sides of the veil”. David A. Bednar makes clear that “the ultimate missionary training center is in our homes;… [and] family history centers now are in our homes.”

All that leaves only Sabbath instruction and seminary listed under church-supported gospel learning. Both are sizeable endeavors as seminary is a global educational program, and Sabbath instruction encompasses everything we do in the second hour of church – from Primary to Sunday School, Young Women, Aaronic Priesthood, Elder’s Quorum, and Relief Society. The recent realignment of the seminary course of study, and the upcoming alignment of Aaronic Priesthood and Young Women curriculum with our Come Follow Me – For Individuals and Families course of study, encourages even more church-support for home-centered gospel learning and deepening conversion.

Elder David A Bednar shared Elder Craig C. Christensen’s suggestion;

“that instead of returning to our homes after Church meetings on Sunday and asking, ‘What did you learn about the Savior and His gospel today at church?’ we should ask in our Church meetings, ‘What did you learn about the Savior and His gospel this week in your home?’ Proper Sabbath-day observance, the new curriculum, and the adjusted meeting schedule all help us to learn the gospel both in our homes and at church.”

Personal Development

Returning to the info-graphic, centering personal goals and family goals in the home is ideal. Parents know and love their children and can best help them develop their unique talents and adjust and adapt to their needs.

I found the cross-over and duplication of guidance and encouragement listed under both home-centered and church-supported to be beautifully significant. While essential in our homes and families, both are also now focused functions of our ward/branch family!

On the church-supported side, the introductory guide tells us that the new gospel living mobile app will have “tools for goal setting” and goal ideas and that the children and youth website will provide resources for us all. While there are no details on what ward resources mean, it seems generic enough to open the door to inspiration and innovation by ward leaders and members to assist with personal and family goals while we “keep it simple and do what works.”

Service & Activities

This is the only area on the graphic where church-supported items outnumber home-centered. I find it interesting that home evening is repeated from gospel learning above and that family activities are also listed separately. I’m not sure why, except maybe to emphasize the importance of both. Family service is also listed there.

I especially loved seeing ministering included as home-centered and ministering assignments as church-supported. Ministering interviews also play an important part in helping leaders to learn of strengths, needs, and how to best assist individuals and families.

I appreciate that the ordinance of the sacrament is listed to help us be mindful of the service behind its weekly administration by the Aaronic Priesthood. In addition to the community resource of JustServe (JustServe.org), the November 17, 2019, Face to Face event with Elder Gerrit W. Gong will introduce new resources to help parents and leaders in planning meaningful and fun activities at home and at church. Multiday activities, often provided at stake levels, will continue to provide opportunities for further growth and development.

Implementation Through Revelation

Thinking deeply about this info-graphic has helped me to see the greater whole of individual, family, and congregational gospel living, and it invites new questions. The danger in putting this all together in list form, and perhaps a big reason why the Church hasn’t, is that it may be tempting to see it simply as a “check-list”, which I must confess, is probably what I was initially seeking to find.

But as I personally strive to grow away from a task-oriented mentality and towards a more Christ-centered and Spirit-led mentality, I appreciate this counsel from Elder Uchtdorf: “Some may be tempted to say, ‘Just tell us what to do, and we’ll do it.’ While we commend a righteous desire to be obedient, there is more to leadership in the Church (and more to life) than simply checking items off an assigned to-do list.”

Michelle Craig stated it perfectly:

“The Church’s new program for children and youth is built on the foundation of learning to seek revelation, discovering what the Lord would have us do, and then acting on that direction.”

I believe that our implementation of current and future home-centered, church-supported learning, development, and service likewise needs to grow beyond structured programs and culture, through revelation and direction from the Lord. That way we can simply focus on how and what He would have us DO.