In our family gatherings we have always tried to combine the spiritual aspects with an emphasis on allowing the children to express themselves in creative ways as they explore and discover the wonderful gifts imparted to them by the Lord. We attempted to make available as many tools as possible to entice young minds to experiment with wholesome activities: puppet theaters, handmade art easels and equipment, musical instruments of all kinds, plaster-of-paris mold sets for making creative figures, dress-up wardrobes for aspiring young actors, sewing paraphernalia for the girls, outdoor equipment, family service-and-kindness charts, and game settings where active expression was encouraged and gospel principles reinforced. Every family can apply innovation to establish an environment where family members can gather to explore and enhance their capabilities and talents in a supportive and edifying context.
We have felt joy and gratitude as we’ve witnessed the flowering of talent among our children and grandchildren in manifold ways—through art, music, crafts, acting, computer skills, and performance skills of all kinds. Where family members gather together to encourage one another, self-confidence grows and the quality of perseverance is cultivated. President Gordon B. Hinckley has stated: “In the increasingly frantic rush of our lives it is so important that fathers and mothers sit down with their children, pray together, instruct them in the ways of the Lord, consider their family problems, and let the children express their talents” (“Family Home Evening,” Ensign, Mar. 2003, 4).
Extended-family gatherings and reunions provide the perfect setting of hospitality and encouragement for the display of such talents. We shall never forget the occasion when one of our sons—perhaps ten years old at the time—stepped up to a small portable keyboard in the midst of a hundred or more relatives assembled in a park for a family reunion and amazed the crowd with his performance of a Bach composition. The appreciative feedback and applause confirmed in a young heart the presence of a God-given talent that can be used to bless the lives of others. Similar occasions have given encouragement to our older daughter when she performed at family gatherings with her flute, and to our younger daughter for her theater abilities. When he was but a year or two old, our grandson was famous for his top-of-the-lungs rendition of “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission” performed to rave reviews at family gatherings. Every family gathering or reunion in Zion can be blessed with an outpouring of creative expression—which goes hand-in-hand with the celebration of the goodness of God in endowing our youth with talents and gifts to enrich the family experience and send praises heavenward to the Almighty.
By listening to their children, watching them perform, and responding in an accepting and non-judgmental way, parents can impart a priceless gift of self-respect and self-confidence to their children. Every child has one or more God-bestowed talents and gifts that can be cultivated and used for the benefit or others and the enrichment and ennobling of human relationships.
There is an old saying that “Children should be seen, not heard.” To test such a misguided hypothesis, we need only recall the famous event from the life of the Savior: “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them” (Mark 10:13–16; compare Matthew 19:13–15; Luke 18:15–17; 3 Nephi 17:11–25). Such was the pattern of gathering that the Savior demonstrated for all to see and emulate. (Richard J. Allen)