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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.
Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47
Ezekiel 1–3 “Thou shalt speak my words.”
From Come, Follow Me:
Reading about Ezekiel’s call to the ministry in Ezekiel 1–3 might prompt you to think about opportunities God has given you to “speak with [His] words” to others (Ezekiel 3:4). In Ezekiel 2–3.
“I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord.” (Psalm 40:10–11) Quoted by D. Todd Christofferson, The Voice of Warning.
Your posterity is one of the greatest, most precious “congregations” that you can serve by sharing the “lovingkindness and truth” of the Lord that has been manifest in your life (see Psalm 40:10–11).
Elder Christofferson: "’And we write according to our prophecies' suggests the wisdom of making a permanent record of our testimony of Christ. We understand that the testimonies we bear are 'recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over [us]' (D&C 62:3). Our own descendants and others may look upon and rejoice over our witness of Christ written or recorded for their benefit." (Becoming a Witness of Christ, Ensign, Mar. 2008)
Write your testimony down. Consider scanning or taking a photo of hand-written testimonies to preserve in Memories on FamilySearch, or type it in.
President Henry B. Eyring relates why he began writing things down and the blessings of recognizing the Lord's hand in his life. Consider keeping a gratitude journal. Watch this video for inspiration.
You could also read or give your testimony as an audio message using the Memories Audio App, or the "Record My Story" feature on FamilySearch Discovery, or here. Sharing in many ways will leave no question about what you know and love. What a blessing for generations to come to hear your voice sharing the message you want them to remember!
As children and grandchildren record your words, they are hearing you share what means the most to you. Read more here.
The Lord invites me to feed His sheep.
From Come, Follow Me:
In Ezekiel 34, the Lord refers to leaders of His people as “shepherds.” As you read, consider what this title suggests to you about what it means to be a leader. Who are the “sheep” the Lord wants you to feed? How can you follow the example the Savior sets as our shepherd? (see verses 11–31).
The Mission Of The Church is to “help all of God’s children come to Jesus Christ through learning about His gospel, making and keeping promises with God (covenants), and practicing Christlike love and service. Members of the Church believe in helping individuals and families fulfill the commandments to love God and to love your neighbor. Members do so by living the gospel of Jesus Christ, caring for those in need, inviting all to receive the gospel, and uniting families through family history and temple work.”
In the RootsTech 2021 Leadership Conference, and in the 2020 conference, church leaders teach about ministering through temple and family history work. Elder Bednar encourages us to watch the full 2020 presentation (see intro below):
Additional family history ministering resources:
See the activities below for some ways to minister through family history:
You could help others set up a FamilySearch Account, fill in four generations on FamilySearch's global family tree, and view alternate views on the fan chart.
Check out Where Are My Ancestors From? and watch this video to discover ways to explore ancestral homelands:
More ideas:
You can bless the lives of others by helping them (and those they love) take the next step in their progression toward learning about and serving in the temple. Teach about Temple Baptism and Confirmation for the Dead, Temple Endowment, and Temple Sealings.
Help them understand the promised blessings of temple and family history work.
When they are ready, help them prepare names for ordinance work. See Family Tree Mobile App, this article and Ordinances Ready. Read how to verify names and relationships here.
You could take someone to visit a temple (if you live close enough), or enjoy watching videos of temples and seeing pictures. Share stories from your family history about the temple. Talk about blessings on both sides of the veil.
The Lord is gathering His people and giving them new life.
From Come, Follow Me:
The gathering of Israel is portrayed in Ezekiel 37… ponder what you learn about gathering Israel on both sides of the veil (see also Ezekiel 36:24–30).
President Nelson: "As you continue to read daily from the Book of Mormon, you will learn the doctrine of the gathering, truths about Jesus Christ, His Atonement, and the fulness of His gospel not found in the Bible.
The Book of Mormon is central to the gathering of Israel. In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur." (Worldwide Youth Devotional)
See also: 12 Facts about the Gathering of Israel, The Book of Mormon, the Gathering of Israel, and the Second Coming, and Let God Prevail.
As a family, and as individuals, you may want to commit to beginning or continuing daily reading of the Book of Mormon. It would be fascinating to mark all references to the gathering of Israel as you read.
From Come, Follow Me:
These verses describe Ezekiel’s vision of water flowing from the temple and healing the Dead Sea—a sea so salty that fish and plants cannot live in it. Children might enjoy drawing a picture of this vision. What could the water flowing from the temple symbolize? (see the video “And the River Will Grow,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org). How does the temple help heal us? (see Ezekiel 47:8–9, 11).
"... as we participate in family history and temple work today, we also lay claim to 'healing' blessings promised by prophets and apostles. These blessings are also breathtakingly amazing because of their scope, specificity, and consequence in mortality. This long list includes these blessings:
If you have prayed for any of these blessings, participate in family history and temple work. As you do so, your prayers will be answered. When ordinances are performed on behalf of the deceased, God's children on earth are healed. No wonder President Russell M. Nelson, in his first message as President of the Church, declared, 'Your worship in the temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the covenant path.' “ Dale G. Renlund, Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing
Discovering Military Records
Learn more about finding and using military records in Goal E1 of the United States page in The Family History Guide.