Have you ever been the parent sitting in sacrament meeting not hearing a word from the pulpit because you’re on behavior patrol? You take on the role as entertainer and referee just to get through the meeting without one of your clan of mini-creatures screaming at a sibling. As the shushed voices start rising and the endless picking at each other worsens, you notice the lone Cheerio rolling down the aisle ominously like a tire rolling away from a car crash. All reverence is lost. You don’t feel the presence of the Holy Ghost anymore in your frustration. The members around you are politely facing forward even though they can no longer hear the speakers. Have you had one of those days? I have. Too. Many. Times.

Music is one of the biggest conveyors of the Spirit. In every ward of the church, there is a music person called who selects the hymns for every week. What if you ask for that information and teach your children the hymns that will be sung during the week? Would they be more excited to participate if they knew the melody and the words? How about adding a devotional during the week regarding the message of the hymns to be sung? The kids will be better prepared to feel the Spirit and to hear its voice as messages are delivered from the pulpit.

During the week, you might tell stories about one or two ancestors and ask your kids if that ancestor were sitting next to them in church, what would they appreciate most about what is being taught? Is there a gospel principle being given that could have blessed that person in their life? Draw a picture of the ancestor and what blessings the gospel could bring them.

If you really want your kids to focus during Sacrament meeting, have training times during the week where your kids sit quietly for a little while and listen to a conference talk or sacred music. Prepare them for reverence by practicing and make sure you let them know just what is expected of them and how much it means to you when they start doing it during church. They will notice how the feeling in the home changes on the Sabbath day when everyone returns home well nourished.book.

For younger children, put The Friend magazine to use. I created a binder with plastic page protectors and filled them with articles, games, puzzles, and activities from older issues. I used dry erase markers that you could wipe right off the page. I also made copies of paper coloring pages and kept a zippered pocket of crayons tucked inside. You can change these out as often as you’d like to keep it “new”.

Sacrament meeting “blackout”. You can easily create a Bingo board of many gospel topics or words. When the children hear the word, they get to mark the square and extra points if they can write something about what was taught. Perhaps something special later in the day would be appropriate for anyone who chooses to listen with their hearts.