With general conference fast approaching, I really wanted my family, especially my children, to find enjoyment and understanding in this wonderful event. I remembered back when I was a child watching or listening to conference. I know that it was hard for me to remember and understand everything that conference represented. I do remember, though, the feeling we had in our home during conference weekend. It was a happy, wonderful, peaceful feeling. I really want my children to know that learning and participating in the gospel can be fun and enjoyable.

I have come up with some ideas I feel will make general conference family friendly:- Have a family home evening prior to conference to talk about conference. Maybe have each family member prepare to choose a speaker that has inspired him/her in some way in the past. Then have a follow-up family home evening to share feelings about speakers or other experiences that made conference rewarding.

- Prepare little ones for conference in positive ways. Suggest how lucky we are to listen to such great leaders and wonderful music. Let them play quietly or color pictures in the same room the whole family is in. Create family togetherness centered around conference. Play a matching game with the children. Have them match a speaker's face to a similar face found on a General Authority chart. Participate in the conference by joining in singing, reading scriptures and praying. Doing these things can create a more enriching experience and a happy environment, building uplifting memories to cherish.

I would like my family to remember the feelings of what was shared at general conference each time and to remember our family being together on those special days. - Tylyne Chamberlin, Bountiful, Utah

Learned obedience

We wanted our children to get into the habit, while young, of attending general conference but were a little apprehensive of how we could get them to enjoy being at Church all day to watch both delayed and live sessions at our stake center.

We have taken our children since they were tiny to conference, and now they look forward to it and benefit by:

- Learning obedience to the commandment to attend conference and enjoying the blessings that come from it.

- Having association with a worldwide Church.

- Becoming acquainted with General Authorities.

As it is an all-day event, it has become our "picnic" conference with the children choosing our food for the day. We arrive early so the children get a clear view of the screen. They participate in all prayers, songs and sustainings just as in normal meetings. - Janickyj family, Nottingham, England

Personal message

A bright young Sunday School class recently came up with its own solution. Instead of squirming in their seats, each thought of a problem he/she personally had or was trying to solve. The next Sunday they were to report back to the class.

The results were exciting and heartwarming. Many of them felt they had been personally touched, guided and helped. One teenager summed it up for the class: "No more squirming, no more clock watching for me. I'm going to be tuned in, waiting for my message." - Bernice Ostvig, Buffalo, Minn.

`Taking notes'

As a single parent with two young children I found it both important and difficult to attend general conference, until I started having the children "take notes." Just as I took paper and pencil for recording what I heard, I gave each child a notebook of unlined paper and a couple of pencils. The children were instructed that they could draw as many pictures as they wanted to, but each picture had to be about something they heard while listening to conference. They enthusiastically listened until a story struck their little minds, and then they would draw it. When one picture was done, they would listen for another story that would give them something else to draw. Later at home, they colored their pictures as we reviewed and shared what we had each learned while listening to the speakers and while "taking notes." - Virginia A. Bailey, Grass Valley, Calif.

Gather together

Just as King Benjamin commanded his son Mosiah to prepare the people to be taught by him in his final days, we too, can prepare our children to receive the messages given at general conference.

Prior to general conference, study, as a family, King Benjamin's address in the Book of Mormon. Discuss what it must have been like for the people to "

pitchT their tents round about, every man according to his family." (Mosiah 2:5.) Confirm the importance of a living prophet today by gathering your immediate and extended families together to listen to the words of our living prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, and other wise Church leaders on general conference weekend. If you have prepared yourselves, it will bring a greater feeling of family unity and love as you listen to Heavenly Father's message to all of us in these latter days. - Teresa Lauritzen, Coburg, Ore.

Start when young

Everyone in the family has his/her own personal "conference book." We encourage our children when they are young to draw pictures of special words they hear while listening to the talks (i.e. Jesus, sacrament, prayer, etc.), then to make a tick mark by the picture every time they hear the key word. As they get older, their pictures are accompanied by words and then eventually note-taking that describes the content of the entire talk.

The key to making the above happen is, after the final session of conference, we meet together as a family and individually "report" on what we have learned. These post-conference gatherings have been a very uplifting way to conclude each conference. It is especially humbling to listen to our children so accurately and sincerely teach us what they have learned. We hope that by providing the opportunity for our children to listen to each conference session and then report on it, they will come to know, recognize and respond to the voice of the Lord through His appointed leaders. - Holly Tuttle, Yokohama, Japan

Family tradition

Our children have made up games, such as a word search with gospel terms they expect to hear. Little candies are the playing pieces which serve as motivation. Our favorite tradition at conference time is that each member choose one of the "Twelve" and one from the other General Authorities. If their choice gives a talk, they get to choose a family activity. They are also responsible to give a short report at a family home evening about what their General Authority said.

We have six living children, ages 13 to 4. We let the younger ones color quietly in the room where the whole family watches all four sessions. - Lurlynn Warren, Kaysville, Utah

How to checklist:

1. Make listening to, attending conference sessions a habit while children are young.

2. Focus family home evenings on conference; review talks.

3. Help children look forward to conference; create family traditions, make memories.

4. Teach them to look for personal messages, report back.

Write to us:

April 19 "How to break the habit of being late."

April 26 "How to organize your finances and the paying of bills."

May 3 "How to feed a family on a limited budget."

May 10 "How to cope with a compulsive disorder."

May 17 "How to be emotionally self-reliant."

May 24 "How to have an enjoyable family vacation."

May 31 "How to encourage reverence during Primary."

- Also interested in letters on these topics: "How to help young people show respect for authority in school," "How to unleash the personal impact of scripture study in your life."

Had any good experiences or practical success in any of the above subjects? Share them with our readers in about 100-150 words. Write the "How-to" editor, Church News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110, send fax to (801) 237-2121 or use internet E-mail: forum@desnews.com. Please include a name and phone number. Contributions may be edited or excerpted and will not be returned. Due to limited space, some contributions may not be used; those used should not be regarded as official Church doctrine or policy. Material must be received at least 12 days before publication date.