A Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Home Evening

I truly hope that Mormons around the United States (and elsewhere!) will make use of the fortuitous confluence of the (U.S.) national holiday commemorating the work and memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Monday evening Family Home Evening program that we enjoy in the Church.

My own investigation of the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. has led me to believe that he truly was a prophet for our day, preaching a message that we as a nation urgently needed to hear. He was, in effect, the Samuel the Lamanite of our times.

One possible format for such a “MLK FHE”

Use the Mormon Lectionary Project resource available through BCC:

– Use some of the scriptural foundation from the Martin Luther King, Jr. entry in the Mormon Lectionary Project. These scriptures include the following: Exodus 3:7-12, Isaiah 40:3-8, Psalm 77:11-20, Psalm 98:1-4, Luke 6:27-36, Helaman 13:25-29. Select one or two to read with the family, preferably shorter verses if you have young children. If you have older children who are interested in scripture study or history, consider reading all of the lectionary verses.

– Watch the entire “I have a Dream” Speech:

“I Have a Dream Speech,” August 28, 1963, Washington, D.C.

Another idea

“Fiery Furnace” (2011) by Chris Cook (http://tinyurl.com/lvgwfvk)

– Explain that while in jail in Birmingham, Alabama for his work to end segregation he wrote the letter to religious leaders in the South who had expressed concern about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work in the area of civil rights for black people and against segregation, and his use of civil disobedience as one method of pursuing that goal (in addition to his inspired sermons and personal work with religious and political leaders).

– Read selected portions of the Letter, including possibly this section:

We have waited for more than three hundred and forty years for our God-given and constitutional rights. . . .

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, it is rather strange and paradoxical to find us consciously breaking laws. . . .

Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was seen sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar because a higher moral law was involved. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks before submitting to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience.

We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal. If I lived in a Communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws. . . .

I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are presently misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with the destiny of America. Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson scratched across the pages of history the majestic word of the Declaration of Independence, we were here. . . . If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands. . . .

– Read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from Daniel 3:8-28.

* * *

When he wrote that “I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal,” I believe him because he was practicing what he preached at that very time in Birmingham, Alabama and across the South. He acted in the face of the consternation and outright outrage of whites in the South and across the nation, and across all religious lines and denominations.

Many of us would confidently say the same — that in Hitler’s Germany we would have come to the aid of the Jews — but I think that we are only flattering ourselves by saying so. In all likelihood, we would not have. To our shame, neither our religion nor our inner moral compass would have been enough for us, ordinary people, to overcome our fears in the face of tyranny, torture, and death and stand up to the regime to succor God’s chosen people as they collectively suffered the fate of the scapegoat at the Day of Atonement. Some were strong-willed enough to disobey, to be sure (and many of those paid with their lives, though some only with their careers), but I suspect that many of us who claim we would have done so would not have.

Of course, one could think of many other ways to constitute such a wonderful Family Home Evening to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s inspired work and message! But let’s not miss this opportunity to teach our children about this great man and his inspired work.