Memorize "The Living Christ" - Part 1: The Inspiration

Years ago, I read an article from the September 2010 Ensign called "Bringing Christ into Our Home." In the article, Cynthia Green described how she and her family (including kids from ages 4-11) made it a family project to memorize "The Living Christ" together.

As the Green family worked, over a period of four months, to accomplish this great task, they saw many blessings come to them for their effort. Cynthia wrote, "Family prayers became more meaningful because the children gave more thought to Him in whose name they were praying. The Spirit filled our home. We felt like Nephi when he wrote, 'We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ' (2 Nephi 25:26). Our home became a place of greater peace."

Wow! I began to wonder if my family could do it, too. It seemed like a LONG and daunting project, but worth the effort. So, we talked about it in Family Home Evening and decided to set a goal to memorize "The Living Christ" together as a family in the twelve weeks before Christmas. We've even talked Grandma, Grandpa, and an uncle into doing it with us!

The next few months were so interesting! I learned a lot about my kids - they are amazing memorizers, they work hard to reach a goal, they are smarter than I am, the list goes on. In December (after twelve weeks of studying), we were able to recite most of "The Living Christ" by memory. My four year-old (he's the cute one with the cheeky smile in the picture above) managed to memorize almost half of it - despite the fact that he was mostly running circles around the living room and pinching his little brother while we worked on it! In fact, I hadn't planned on having him memorize at all until one day when we were reciting in the car and he corrected his big sister! I had no idea he had been listening (and learning). After that, I worked with him to memorize as much as he could using pictures as cues. I was so proud of him when he gave a Primary talk in December and was able to recite what he had learned!

Over this last year, I have seen my children draw on what they learned during those months. In writing talks and giving prayers, the words from "The Living Christ" come naturally to their minds. For the Primary program this month, when the four-year-old (now five) was asked to tell why he loved Jesus he said, "He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead." Words right from "The Living Christ." We haven't worked on it for eight months - but those words were still in his mind. Success!

This year, for Christmas, we are re-memorizing "The Living Christ." For those of us in the Keogh family that didn't finish is all the first time (that would be mom and dad), it's a chance to finish what we started. For those who finished last year, it's a great chance to review and relearn. For all of us, it will be a time to think more about Jesus Christ and what He means to each of us.

So - why not join us? Twelve weeks, 716 words, one great experience!

So why not take the "Memorize the Living Christ for Christmas 2011 Challenge" with us? If you'd like to memorize "The Living Christ" with your family, check out the memory helps below! » Download study helps from Discover the Scriptures

"Memorized scripture becomes an enduring friend that is not weakened over time." Richard G. Scott