Teaching Youth Better Morals

Treasure Maps-- Character Education Activities for Kids

Tonight's Dinner Talk Builds Tomorrow's Heroes. Parents, SEE WHAT TREASURES are in it for YOU

HOW TO:
BUILD CHARACTER IN YOUR KIDS starting NOW

Character Education Activities for Kids: New! Work Ethic Activities

How to Make a Conversation Wheel

Epic Literature Tutorial

Table Talk

Character Building for Young Adults

Guest Book: Tell us about yourself.

Treasure Maps

Inspirational Quotes about Family

ATTITUDE. The currents that determine our dreams and shape our lives flow from the attitudes we nurture every day.*

Ideas are God's Capital.~B. Dohrmann

Potent Proverbs

1. Give God what’s right— not what’s left.
2. Man’s way leads to a hopeless end — God’s way leads to an endless hope.
3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.
4. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.
5. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma— but never let him be the period.
6. Don’t put a question mark where God puts a period.
7. Are you wrinkled with a burden? Come to the church for a face-lift.
8. When praying, don’t give God instructions— just report for duty.
9. Don’t wait for six strong men to take you to church.
10. We don’t change God’s message— His message changes us.
11. The church is prayer-conditioned.
12. When God ordains, He sustains.
13. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.
14. Plan ahead— It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.
15. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.
16. Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.
17. Exercise daily— walk with the Lord.
18. Never give the devil a ride— he will always want to drive.
19. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.
20. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.
21. He who angers you controls you.
22. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.
23. Give Satan an inch and he’ll be a ruler.
24. Read the Bible — it will scare the hell out of you.
25. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
26. Be ye fishers of men— you catch them and He’ll clean them.

Other Treasures. . .
Hidden Manna
More Quotes
Riddles

Links

***Great News for Writers!

For quotes from Jim Rohn, and to receive a free newsletter, go to www.jimrohn.com

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Epic Literature Tutorial

This is to train you and prepare you to read a type of literature that you may not be accustomed to. But once you learn how to read Lord of the Rings, all other quality literature, including the Holy Scriptures, will be easier for you to read and enjoy. Ready? Let’s get started.

If you have a copy of Lord of the Rings, with the three books in one, it is over a thousand pages. Look at that big book, sitting on the table, and think of the effort it will take to read it and really learn from it. It’s a pretty big job, isn’t it? Now think of your life as a big book— a long story that you don’t know yet how it’s going to end, or a journey. Our lives are like a journey, and many things happen along the way that we don’t understand. We run into problems that are not solved in thirty minutes, or even months or years. We have to think very hard to figure out how to solve those problems. Then, if we are smart, we will also think about the experiences we’ve had and learn from them.

To be truly enriched by literature, it is important to see parallels between the literature and our own lives. Although Lord of the Rings is classified as a fantasy, Professor Pierce, of Ann Arbor, Mich., says of Tolkien’s books that “Calling them fantasies is a misnomer because there is so much truth in them.”

The overall theme of Lord of the Rings is Good vs. Evil. That is the theme of our life here on earth as well. First we are here to learn from our experiences to distinguish good from evil. You will find in LOTR that sometimes characters who you know are evil act very nice, and enticing, almost to convince you to go along with them. Then sometimes the “good guys” will be weak and disappoint you.

After discerning good from evil, we must learn what to do with that knowledge. LOTR is the story of how people respond to trial, temptation, and challenge. It defines character.* How we respond to events and circumstances defines our character.

Meet Some Principal Characters

Frodo Baggins seems an unlikely candidate for an epic hero. He’s kind of a mousey little guy, but he’s very humble. This very humility is what actually gives him the capacity to carry out his dangerous quest.

Gandalf is like a prophet, or a type of Christ figure. He instructs Frodo to do what is right. Part of Frodo’s humility is that he is willing to submit to Gandalf’s guidance.

Gollum is a wicked character. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that his pathetic weakness drove him to make evil choices. “You have this feeling Gollum is a Judas figure,” says Julia Duin, journalist for the Washington Times. “Judas was necessary for the passion of Christ to happen, but it was his free will that brought it about.”

That does it for your brief introduction. Have you seen the movie? It sticks to the book pretty faithfully. But it has nothing of the depth that the book does. As often happens in movies, the real point gets lost in the special effects. If you watch the movie and never read the book, you will miss a lot. When you read the book, you have to think. That in itself is an enriching experience.

Don’t try too hard. Just enjoy the story, but keep looking for parallels. By so doing, you will discover little gifts of wisdom that are like hidden treasures. Ready? Then jump in and start reading.

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Table Talk: Questions

1. In literature, which is more important— character or action?

2. Which is more important— circumstances, or how we respond to them?

3. Is submitting your will to the will of God a sign of strength or weakness? Why?

“I decry the great waste of time that people put into watching inane television. I believe their lives would be enriched if, instead of sitting on the sofa and watching a game that will be forgotten tomorrow, they would read and think and ponder.”
— Gordon B. Hinckley

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Character Building for Young Adults

1. Give equal time to Television Viewing vs. Reading and Thinking. See which enriches you more.

2. Start a journal. Don’t feel compelled to write each day, trivial things like what time you ate breakfast. But try to write something at least once a week. Write down your thoughts, things that you have learned from experiences, or insights you gain from reading scriptures or good books. Take time to ponder. Write down feelings you have at such times.

Family Video: Sarah Plain and Tall

The Ghosts of Dickens' Past "Getting beyond our own needs," a good friend tells Charles Dickens, "takes thought and effort and, above all, an unselfish heart."

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*Quotation From At-A-Glance Calendar, 2001.

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