Lehi's vision offers an invitation to reflect on where you are—and where you are going—in your personal journey to know the Savior and feel His love ... One way to study 1 Nephi 8 could be to fill out a chart like the one shown here [sample of chart below]. To understand the meaning of the symbols, it is helpful to refer to the vision that Nephi had when he prayed to understand his father's vision—see especially 1 Nephi 11:4–25, 32–36;12:16–18; and 15:21–33, 36. As you study Lehi's vision, consider what the Lord wants you to learn.
The symbols in Lehi's vision offer an invitation to reflect on where we are—and where we are going—in our personal journey to know the Savior and feel His love. In addition, these symbols (and others) can also help us remember our family heritage and the faith of our ancestors who have walked the path to the tree before us.
Symbols are a powerful way to communicate without language. What symbols speak to your soul and inspire you to walk in the footsteps of your forebears? Perhaps you have a family coat of arms or crest that you could display and use as a tool for teaching (read this article to find out how to check for authenticity).
Family Crest
Consider creating a crest or coat of arms for a specific family line, for your current family, or consider designing a collection of symbols that simply inspire you personally. See this article for ideas to help children create a family coat of arms, and check out more instructions here. Find information about ancestors' home lands and what symbolizes these places in The Family History Guide countries section. Discover many Latter-Day Saint symbols and their meanings here and in this article. Learn about symbolism in gospel ordinances here.
The Lord's "wise purpose" in having Nephi create two records became clear centuries later. After Joseph Smith translated the first 116 manuscript pages of the Book of Mormon, he gave the pages to Martin Harris, who lost them (see Doctrine and Covenants 10:1–23). But Nephi's second set of plates covered the same time period, and the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to translate these plates rather than retranslate what had been lost (see Doctrine and Covenants 10:38–45).
When doing family history work, adding "paper witnesses" or sources to an ancestor's profile helps others see the evidence for the dates and other information that exist there. 2 Corinthians 13:1: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." Have some fun reviewing and using record hints (shortcuts designed to help you easily find information and actual records about your family) to establish correct data. This is a great activity for individuals, groups, and families.
Record Hints
Find record hints on your tree by signing into your FamilySearch account with the information found here, or you can a) access the fan chart on the FamilySearch Tree, b) click the "Research Helps" option and c) use the "Record Hint" option that appears on the right side.
For more information on using the new fan chart options in FamilySearch, read this blog article.
Add Sources
Add sources to the profiles of your ancestors with help from The Family History Guide, FamilySearch Family Tree Project 1, Goal 8: Adding Sources. You just may be astounded by the wealth of information you can gather and attach to your ancestors! If you need help setting up an account and starting your pedigree chart, see FamilySearch Project 1.
Ancient prophets knew about Jesus Christ's mission and testified of Him
The account of Lehi's vision surely made an impression on his family, but he still had other eternal truths to teach them about the Savior's mission. As you read 1 Nephi 10:2–16, think about why the Lord would want Lehi's family—and all of us—to know these truths. Consider what you could tell your loved ones to invite them to turn to the Savior ...
One idea is to have every member (who would like to take part) participate in reading one or more paragraphs of "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles" out loud. Record this activity and preserve it on FamilySearch. See excerpts below:
You could share portions of your testimony along with memes, quotes, and church videos on social media. You may want to follow President Nelson and the apostles on Facebook and Instagram. Consider also sharing family history messages, photos, and stories with your family members and others on social media (see Nine Ways To Use Technology to Share Your Beliefs, which includes the video below). You may also want to read Hashtags, Tweets, and Blogs: the New Language of Family History for ideas to get started.
Elder Bednar: "I believe the time has come for us as disciples of Christ to use these inspired tools appropriately and much more effectively to testify of God the Eternal Father and His plan of happiness for His children, of His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Savior of the world, to proclaim the reality of the Restoration of the gospel in the latter days, and to accomplish the Lord's work." (David A. Bednar, BYU Education Week devotional, August 19, 2014)
Elder Bednar's message to the youth (video below): "This is the work of salvation. See, it's not just indexing. It's not just researching names. These are people, sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. We are here to participate in the work of salvation in inviting all of these people to come unto Christ and receive the saving ordinances of the gospel. That's who we are. That's why we're here on the earth. With the technology capability that you young people have, you were prepared for this day. The time is now."
A wonderful service for others is to record their testimonies and help them preserve their words for generations to come.
Preparing for April 2020 General Conference
President Russell M. Nelson closed the October 2019 general conference with an invitation for Latter-day Saints to prepare for the subsequent April 2020 general conference, 200 years since Joseph Smith's First Vision. The year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. "General conference next April will be different from any previous conference. In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel."
In addition to sharing what you believe person-to-person, or by creating an audio or written record, consider sharing your testimony of the restoration by posting on social media during the next few months before April Conference. See the activity above: Sharing Testimonies on Social Media: 1 Nephi 10:2–16. You may want to include links to articles and videos about the restoration and share President Nelson's posts about it and how to prepare. One idea is to make a collection of the testimonies of living family members (including your own) along with testimonies of your ancestors to share with your family as you prepare.
Your Personal History
Write one brief story about your life as you study each Come, Follow Me lesson. By the end of the year, you will have compiled 50 stories to add to your personal history. Save as a story (also consider audio-recording it) and add it to your FamilySearch memories to preserve it. Use your own questions or those from (or inspired by) the #52 Stories Project below. For example:
In addition to recording your testimony of Jesus Christ and his gospel, share a time when you felt you helped someone else strengthen theirs.
Describe one of your favorite ancestor stories about gaining a testimony. How does that story strengthen your own testimony?
Do you have a personal symbol of your faith, and if so, how did you select it and how does it continue to inspire you?
