Mosiah 4:2, Mosiah 5:2, Mosiah 5:5
From
Come, Follow Me :
Have you ever heard someone speak and felt inspired to change your life? Perhaps you decided, because of what you heard, to live a little differently—or even a lot differently. King Benjamin's sermon was that kind of sermon, and the truths he taught had that kind of effect on the people who heard them. King Benjamin shared with his people what an angel had taught him—that wonderful blessings were possible through "the atoning blood of Christ" (Mosiah 4:2). His message changed their entire view of themselves (see Mosiah 4:2), changed their desires (see Mosiah 5:2), and inspired them to covenant with God that they would always do His will (see Mosiah 5:5). This is how King Benjamin's words affected his people. How will they affect you?
We might also ask, how were our ancestors who were converted to the gospel inspired by those who first taught it to them? How were they affected by hearing about the Savior and His atonement? How are we inspired by their recorded testimonies? How did they grow in the knowledge of the glory of God and in the knowledge of that which is just and true? (see
Mosiah 4:12) Perhaps you are the first convert in your family and have the opportunity to share your personal experiences. We can all be inspired by the conversion stories in the scriptures and church history, and from our ancestors.
Discovering and Preserving Family Conversion Stories
One idea is to make a collection of the conversion stories of the
first converts in your ancestral lines.
- Make a book of these stories for your family (bind, put in a notebook, or share digitally).
- Send this collection of stories with your missionaries, as they are asked to bring family history stories with them.
- Give them as gifts.
- You may want to put these stories in your memories on FamilySearch and attach them to your tree. Find instructions in this FamilySearch article. in The Family History Guide gives step-by-step instructions for preserving your photos and stories, in Project 2: Memories.
See the Come, Follow Me Companion New Testament
Week #10 for ideas to have family members illustrate these conversion stories.
One sister shares:
"Frederick Christian Sorensen is my husband's second great-grandfather whose influence has now been felt by six generations of his posterity. My husband's niece illustrated it when she was a young girl which created a special bond between her and Grandpa Frederick. Many of our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and others have taken the opportunity to illustrate family stories that have been copied for gift-giving, shared for bed-time stories, used as coloring books, and helped us all make stronger connections to those who have gone on before. One of our nephews even gave drawing lessons to improve the skills of the illustrators!"
Read more in this blog post:
A Miracle In Denmark. Here is an examples of a child's illustration:
Watch
President and Sister Nelson's RootsTech 2017 presentation (story at 2:13) in which Sister Nelson describes the experience of creating a storybook illustrated by her great nieces and nephews, ages 3-18, about their 4th great grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth. Have fun discovering, illustrating, and sharing your own family history stories, including the conversion stories and the miracles in your family!
Mosiah 4:9–12
From
Come, Follow Me :
How can your family more fully "believe in God" (Mosiah 4:9) and "always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God"? (Mosiah 4:11)...How will remembering these things help us "always rejoice" and "retain a remission of [our] sins"? (Mosiah 4:12).
King Benjamin taught his sons the importance of sacred records so that they might remember "concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their fathers, which were delivered them by the hand of the Lord."
(Photo credit:
King Benjamin Addresses His People)
He reminds them that Lehi would not have been able to "remember all these things to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these [brass] plates ... that thereby they could teach them to their children..." (see
Mosiah 1:2-4,
Doctrine and Covenants 68:25,28). He admonishes his sons to search them diligently, and "also the plates of Nephi" that they may "profit thereby." He states, "and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers." (See
Mosiah 1:5-7.)
King Benjamin also taught these principles (and many more prophetic priorities) to his people, and did "reign over his people in righteousness." When he "waxed old" he asked his son, Mosiah, to gather the people together so that he could proclaim that Mosiah would be the next king and to also teach, warn, and admonish them, and to bear witness of Christ in this "farewell address." Mosiah did as his father commanded ... "the people gathered themselves together" and "pitched their tents ... every man according to his family ... every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple." Perhaps we could call this gathering "General Conference." (see
Mosiah 1-2 and King Benjamin's sermon in
Mosiah 2-5)
Gather and Listen
It might be fun to gather with your family in a makeshift "tent" to listen to the words of our current prophet, President Nelson ((with the TV, cell phone, or computer as the "high tower"). See
General Conference April 2020 or search for other sessions using the Conference tab on that link. This activity can be done during a certain bi-annual session of general conference or as a review anytime. You could focus on what was said about temple and family history work by President Nelson and others, and enjoy a correlated "King Benjamin" activity.
One idea is to prepare a "proclamation" to invite your family to gather as a family and create the "tent" for the occasion, with the door facing a picture of a temple. This would be fun with other families, with "every family being separate one from another."
You may want to discuss President Nelson's "prophetic priorities" and those of King Benjamin. Along with other counsel given, doing temple and family history work is definitely a priority of President Nelson!
"Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work." Revelation For The Church, Revelation For Our Lives General Conference April 2018
"While worshipping in the temple is presently not possible, I invite you to increase your participation in family history, including family history research and indexing. I promise that as you increase your time in temple and family history work, you will increase and improve your ability to hear Him." Hear Him, President Nelson April General Conference 2020
President and Sister Nelson share counsel, ideas, and promises in their presentation given at RootsTech 2017. Read or watch the full talk "A Sacrifice of Time"
here.
You may also want to review the promises outlined by Elder Dale G. Renlund in
Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing, General Conference April 2018, and do a search for "temple and family history work" on
churchofjesuschrist.org.
Plan together to make more time for temple and family history work and outline how you will do it!
More fun in the tent: see the following links and select what fits the situation. Make some memories doing family history activities!
The Come, Follow Me Companion for family history continues to provide weekly related family history activities, but any of them can be enjoyed anytime! For additional family history activity ideas, see The Family History Guide activities for
families,
individuals,
youth, and
children, the
BYU Family History Technology Lab, and the
In-home and Online Activities on FamilySearch.
Your Personal History
Write one story about your life as you study each Come, Follow Me lesson. By the end of the year, you will have 50 stories to preserve on FamilySearch memories. (You can also
audio-record them to preserve them on FamilySearch Memories). You can journal online
here.
This is an amazing time in the history of the church and of the world. Generations to come will want to know of your faith, courage, and how you are seeing the Lord's hand in your life and in the lives of those close to you.
You may want to write about general conference and how you felt. You also may want to write about your experiences during the coronavirus pandemic.
How is doing family history work blessing your life and the lives of those you love?
As you study the words of King Benjamin, what decisions are they helping you make?
What is it like to have the temples closed?
