Latter-day Saint Family has Record-Breaking 3-Minute-Long FHE

PRESTON, Idaho – In an unprecedented move that definitely doesn’t happen every week, the Gardiner family managed to hold their entire Family Home Evening in just 180 seconds, sources say.

A traditional Latter-day Saint Family Home Evening might consist of an opening/closing prayer, song, a short lesson and at least one heated argument.

“Yeah, we did all of that,” Brother Jared Gardiner, 43, said. He added that FHE is about more than spending time with the family.

“The important thing is that we’re consistent,” he said. “A lot of families think it’s about the quantity of time you dedicate to family, but we Gardiners focus more on quality. Take our last FHE, for example – best three minutes of my day.”

Sister Alice Gardiner, 41, reports that her husband paused his Monday night football game at 8:57 PM, three minutes before the kids’ bedtime, and yelled “FAMILY NIGHT!” as per usual.

Jared, Alice and their four children gathered together in a spirit of peace, unity and obligation.

The family reports that the first 73 seconds were dedicated to the opening prayer and one verse of their favorite hymn, Softly Now the Light of Day (No. 160).

For the following 51 seconds Brother Gardiner taught the children about “Uh, ask them, I’m sure they remember”.

Brother Gardiner then punctuated an 11-second argument concerning Mutual with “I don’t care if you play basketball every week – you’re going.”

The closing prayer comprised the final 45 seconds, followed by a selfie.

The Gardiner family will occasionally extend their FHE by several seconds with a wholesome family activity. Sister Gardiner says that some past activities have included:

• A round of rock-paper-scissors
• Taking out the trash
• And admonitions to their four children to “go to bed, it’s a school night”.

 

[Like/Follow The Sunday Pews on Facebook here.]

---

For a good example of what a Family Home Evening could look like, take a look at this FHE with Elder O. Vincent Haleck of The Quorum of the Seventy that was recently broadcast via Facebook Live.

 

Bishop Calls for Pew to be Cut in Two After Sac. Mtg. Territory Dispute

DETROIT – Two families from the local Latter-day Saint congregation clashed Sunday, both claiming that the fourth row on the left side of the chapel was “their pew,” sources say.

The Edmondson family claims to have occupied the pew in question every Sunday since 1953. “It’s been passed down through generations in my family. It’s ours. Everybody in the ward knows it,” Paul Edmondson, 71, said.

The Harrison family disagrees, alleging that the Edmondson family has a history of Alzheimers and in fact usually sit in the fourth row on the right side of the chapel every week. “It’s an honest mistake, but one that our family cannot tolerate,” Steve Harrison, 67, said.

Members say the bishop, Carl Hughes, intervened when the situation began to escalate. Bishop Hughes approached the pulpit and asked the Executive Secretary to fetch a chainsaw and cut the pew in half, leaving one half with each family, sources say.

Just before the pew was to be cut, members report that Sister Sheila Harrison, 62, threw herself on the cushioned bench and begged Bishop Hughes to spare the pew and to let the Edmondson family sit there.

 

 

[Contributor credit: Rich Hunter]