Songs: I Believe in Being Honest, pg. 149 in Children's Songbook

Scriptures: Proverbs 12:22, Ephesians 4:25 and Article of Faith #13

Lesson Ideas: 

Read "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".  Note: This may be Esop's most famous fable, and for a good reason.  The fastest way to lose what we call our "good character" is to lose our honesty.

There once was a shepherd boy who tended his flock of sheep just outside of a little village.  He was a naughty little boy, and he decided to play a trick on the people in the village.  So he ran towards the village, crying out with all his might; "Wolf, wolf! Come and help!  A wolf is eating my sheep!"

The kind villagers left their work and ran to help the shepherd boy.  But the boy hid behind a tree and laughed at them because there was no wolf at all.

The next day, the naughty boy tried the same trick and cried in his loudest voice: "Wolf, wolf! Come and help!  A wolf is eating my sheep!"  And when the villagers came running again, the boy hid and laughed at them.  "Ha, ha, those silly villagers will believe me every time!" he said.

The next day a big, mean wolf really did break into the boy's flock of sheep and began to eat them.  The boy was terrified and ran to tell the villager to come and help.  "Wolf, wolf!  Come and help!" he screamed.  "There IS a wolf in the flock!  Help!"

The villagers heard him but they thought it was just another mean trick.  No one went to help him.  No one paid him any attention at all.  They went right on working.  And the shepherd boy lost all of his sheep to the wolf. 

That is the kind of thing that happens to people who lie: even when they do tell the truth, they will not be believed.

Ask each member of your family to give a definition of a lie.  Then compare your definitions to Elder Marvin J. Ashton's: "A lie is any communication given to another with the intent to deceive." (Conference Report, April 1982, p. 10).  Discuss Elder Ashton's definition.  Explain that we can effectively communicate a lie without ever speaking a word.  A nod of the head or just keeping silent can deceive. 

What are some ways we can deceive?  (Recommending a questionable business investment, pretending not to hear your mother call, using flattery to get your way, or withholding important facts...)

Explain that Satan has many names. At least one of them tells us something about him. Have your family look up the following scriptures to find names for Satan: Moses 4:4, 2 Ne. 9:9, Ether 8:25, John 8:44. Explain that the scriptures also help us understand that God does not lie. Discuss the following scriptures: D&C 62:6, Enos 1:6, 3 Ne. 27:18, Ether 3:12, Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18. Help them understand that God is honest and Satan is dishonest. “Who is the source of all truth?”

For the next activity, you will need to have asked one member of your family in advance to answer each question you will ask falsely.  Ask that member a simple question...for example..."Where were you just before we began Family Night?"  As he answers falsely, wrap a long string or yarn around him once.  Then ask him another question, "Why were you there?"  As he answers again, wrap the string around him one more.  Continue to ask him follow-up questions, wrapping the string around him each time he gives a false answer.  Explain that you asked the person to give wrong answers to show how one lie leads to another and how quickly we can become trapped in lies.

Write the letters H, O, N, E, S, T on separate pieces of paper and hide them in the room. Have your family find them and decide what word they spell. For each letter, share a story of someone whose name begins with that letter and who was honest and true. H—Helaman (Alma 56:1–10, 45–48), Hezekiah (2 Kgs. 18:1, 3–5), Harold B. Lee (Valiant B manual, pages 219–220); O—Obadiah (1 Kgs. 18:3–4); N—Noah (Gen. 6–8), Nephi (1 Ne. 3:7; 1 Ne. 16:18–26, 30–31); E—Enoch (Moses 7:13), Enos (Enos 1:26), Ezra Taft Benson (Valiant B supplement, page 2); S—Samuel (1 Sam. 15:1–28), Spencer W. Kimball (Valiant B manual, pages 221–224); T—Timothy (“Timotheus” in Philip. 2:19–22), Teancum (Alma 50:35; Alma 51:30–37).

Treat: Ziplock Fudge.  "There's no room for fudgin' it...tell the truth!"