Come, Follow Me is a resource offered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is designed to be used in the home to support personal and family scripture study to build faith in Heavenly Father and His plan of salvation and in the Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Come, Follow Me is self-contained and adequate, when used properly. Products and materials designed to supplement this resource, though they may be helpful in some instances, are not necessary for a successful home study program.
Doctrine and Covenants 60-62: "All Flesh Is in Mine Hand"
The Lord is pleased when I open my mouth to share the gospel.
From Come, Follow Me :
We've all had experiences when we could have shared the gospel with someone, but for some reason, we didn't. As you read the Lord's words to early missionaries who failed to "open their mouths," think about your own opportunities to share the gospel. How is your testimony of the gospel like a "talent," or a treasure from God? In what ways do we sometimes "hide [our] talent"? (Doctrine and Covenants 60:2; see also Matthew 25:14–30).
The Lord corrected these early missionaries, but He also tried to inspire them. What encouraging messages from Him do you find in sections 60 and 62? How do these messages build your confidence in sharing the gospel? In the days ahead, look for opportunities to open your mouth and share what God has entrusted to you.
What opportunities have you had to share family history with someone? Are there ways you can take better advantage of opportunities that present themselves? A first step would be to listen for interests that an individual might have. "Some common interests may include things like:
Finding an ancestor needing temple ordinances.
Discovering, preserving, or sharing a personal story, photo, or memory.
People enjoy learning about their own family. "With the FamilySearch Family Tree App and a conversation, you can help a friend begin to discover their family history. You might ask:
Which of your ancestors do you feel most connected with? Why?
Who's the oldest relative you remember? What do you remember about him/her?
What stories do you know about your ancestors?
What traits do you have in common with your family? Who did those come from?
Have you visited an ancestor's homeland? What was it like?
After discovering a family member that your friend is interested in learning more about, search Family Tree and share the information you find. For more information, check out Resources for Helping with Temple and Family History.
Ancestral Homelands
Learn about the culture in the countries of your ancestors. View the Countries page in The Family History Guide. Most countries will have a Geo/Culture/History goal. Select a country such as the example of Slovakia, above. You can see the last Goal (11) is Geo/Culture/History. Click on it and explore websites and videos about the country or countries of your ancestors. If the Ducksters website is available for your country, it is a great option for kids.
Read more about different heritages and cultures around the world:
What reasons do we see in these verses to "be of good cheer"? (see also John 16:33). Perhaps your family could write or draw pictures of things that bring them joy and collect them in a "good cheer" jar...Throughout the week when family members need a reminder of reasons to be happy, they could choose something from the jar.
Many people throughout your life have helped you be happy, overcome a challenge, learn a new skill, make a difficult decision, set a good example or shared the gospel with you. Parents, grandparents, and ancestors before have helped you become the person you are today. What are memories you have of them that could help you be happier? What memories can you share with them that might bring them "good cheer?"
Memory Jars
Select one or more of your parents or grandparents that you would like to bring "good cheer." Create a memory jar for each person you select. Work on memories for just one individual at a time. This would be a great birthday gift idea. Give family members about 10 slips of paper. Have them write a short favorite memory about the selected person on each slip of paper. After all family members have written their memories, fold or roll the papers and place them in a jar. (You can Google "memory jars" if you would like some creative, decorative ideas.) Present the jar with its "good cheer" memories to your loved one.
Additional ideas:
These memories could also be included in a book with all the memories about a particular topic categorized together and a photo or two to go along with them.
Check out FamilySearch Memories and discover some possible new options you were unaware of or want to know more about. Visit FamilySearch Memories to learn more about how you can:
Organize and share photos and memories with Topic Tags
Create a slideshow
Add memories to an album, and choose the best order. Then share the album.
Bookmark important memories
Enjoy your family memories in one place with the Memories Gallery.
Use the Memories App on your phone to add photos, stories, and audio to FamilySearch.
Maybe you could have a family testimony meeting after reading this verse. To explain what a testimony is, you could share portions of President M. Russell Ballard's message "Pure Testimony" (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2004, 40–43). Why is it good to record our testimonies?
Record Your Testimony
Discuss as a family what a testimony is. You may want to share your personal testimonies as a family or you may prefer to do it individually. You can use the FamilySearch Memories Audio app to audio-record, or you can write in your journal. Consider sharing your testimonies with other family members or friends. It may be just the thing to strengthen their own testimony. You may want to consider some of the following ideas in your discussion and testimonies.
Our Heavenly Father and being children of God
Our Savior Jesus Christ
Joseph Smith as a prophet
Doctrines of the gospel
Blessings of the restoration
Scriptures
Eternal families
Fulfillment of Promises in Your Life
Note: President Nelson encouraged us to do the following for six months, but it may be a wonderful opportunity to carry this invitation through your study of the Doctrine and Covenants this year:
"As you study your scriptures during the next six months, I encourage you to make a list of all that the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel. I think you will be astounded! Ponder these promises. Talk about them with your family and friends. Then live and watch for these promises to be fulfilled in your own life." (President Russell M. Nelson, Let God Prevail, October 2020 General Conference)
