Daniel 1–6

“There Is No Other God That Can Deliver”

From Come, Follow Me:

Elder Richard G. Scott explained that recording inspiration “shows God that His communications are sacred to us. Recording will also enhance our ability to recall revelation” (“How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 46).

"One of the ways we can enhance our personal revelation is to write down and record spiritual insights and impressions when they come. When we do so, we show the Lord we value His counsel and are ready for more." (Tad R. Callister, Record Spiritual Insights to Receive More Revelation in Your Life) 

Elder Callister also taught that recording spiritual promptings results in the following blessings: 

1. It preserves the integrity of the message. 
2. It preserves the feelings of the moment.
3. It facilitates future sharing.
4. It enhances future sharing. 
5. It enhances future revelation.

Keeping a journal can be fun and exciting. Memories and thoughts may be preserved in any number of ways. In order to be consistent, you should select a method that matches your personality and style. You may choose one or several methods. Tara Walker in her July 2014 Ensign article Keeping a Journal Your Way identified several options for maintaining a journal, such as written, online, photo, audio, video, blog or scrapbooks.

The most important thing is to just start. You can begin or restart at any age. Keep your journal in any format you decide. Parents can help children begin their own journals. Even young children can journal their experiences with drawings or audio recordings, or by having a parent or older sibling write down their words. You are helping to instill in them an invaluable habit.

Have family members look through their journals or find stories of ancestors for experiences of when they have felt the promptings or have received personal revelation. (See the Week 22 activity for details.) Share some experiences and discuss some of the following questions. (Again remember, spiritual experiences are very personal and should only be shared as family members feel comfortable.)

• Describe the experience. (When, where, why, and how did it occur?)
• Was there any preparation before the experience?
• How did you feel or how do you think your ancestor felt?
• What can you do to have other experiences?

Record any new impressions or promptings you have.

If you think of your life experiences as "nothing much to write about," consider the words of President Spencer W. Kimball who cautioned us about discounting our uneventful lives: "People often use the excuse that their lives are uneventful and nobody would be interested in what they have done. But I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through the generations" (President Kimball Speaks Out on Personal Journals, New Era, Dec. 1980, 27).

• Set a goal to begin or resume writing your personal journal.
• Obtain a journal. Another idea is to keep an online journal such as this one provided on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Read Learn How to Start and Keep a Journal.
• Write! Need some ideas of what to write about? Write about the funniest thing that ever happened to you, the saddest, the happiest, and the scariest, and document your amazing life. Click here for some Ideas on What to Write in a Journal.
•  If keeping a journal seems a little overwhelming to you, you may decide to Keep a 30 Day Journal to start out. It may be easier to begin if you think about writing for just 30 days. At the end of the 30 days, read through your entries. What have you learned about yourself? How exciting is it to remember things you may have forgotten? Then, keep writing!

“Often we think of journaling as writing down the daily happenings in our lives—and that’s one type of journaling. But did you know there are many other types of journals? Here are 11 types of journals you can use to enhance and document different aspects of your life.” (11 Types of Journals for Capturing Your Life) What type of journal are you keeping? If you need help starting, read Learn How to Start and Keep a Journal and Ideas on What to Write in a Journal.

1. Travel Journal
2. Gratitude Journal
3. Health and Wellness Journal
4. Baby Book
5. Food Journal
6. Anxiety Journal 
7. Talent Journal
8. Bullet Journal
9. Learning Journal
10. Scripture Journal
11. Dream Journal

Daniel 2

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth.

From Come, Follow Me:

Through revelation, Daniel saw that Nebuchadnezzar’s dream foretold future worldly kingdoms, as well as the future kingdom of God, which “shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44). “The Church is that prophesied latter-day kingdom,” Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught, “not created by man but set up by the God of heaven and rolling forth as a stone ‘cut out of the mountain without hands’ to fill the earth” (“Why the Church,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 111). Think about God’s latter-day kingdom as you read the descriptions of the stone in Daniel 2:34–35, 44–45. What similarities do you see between the stone and the kingdom? How do you see God’s kingdom filling the earth today?

“In the Old Testament, Daniel, a Hebrew slave in Babylon, was given the opportunity to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. After praying to God to reveal to him the interpretation of the king’s dream, Daniel explained how a stone that was cut out of the mountain ‘without hands’ would roll forth, gradually growing in size, until it had filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:34–35).

“He further explained that God’s kingdom would come forth, ‘and it shall stand for ever,’ never to be destroyed (Daniel 2:44)....

“Our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, witnessed the growth of the Church with each stop on his world tour….each member he met along the way is part of the gospel rolling forth in the last days.

“‘The Lord’s message is for everyone,’ President Nelson said in a Church News article released at the beginning of his world tour. ‘This is a global work. … We need to bring them the message of the Savior. … To invite all of God’s children on both sides of the veil to come unto their Savior and enjoy the blessings of the temple, have enduring joy, and qualify for eternal life. And that will bring hope, help, and lift to all people.’” (Viewpoint: Joseph Smith's Prophecy of Church Growth Fulfilled - Church News and Events)

You can help the gospel roll forth by performing ordinance work for family members. Use "Ordinances Ready" to find family names for the next time you are able to attend the temple. Print out these names so you are ready to go. Find joy in accepting the challenges given by Elder Neil L. Andersen and Elder Dale G. Renlund "to find as many names for the temple as ordinances performed in the temple." If you need additional help, check out these blogs: Ordinances Ready on the FamilySearch App and Request Temple Ordinances for Family Names.

Ordinances Ready can also be a tool to help find new people to research; however, there is no requirement to do any verification on the records found. It is simply taking this information an optional step further in order to help your research. Read Using Ordinances Ready to Discover New Research Opportunities to see how this tool can help and learn How to Verify Family Names for the Temple.

Search Cemeteries Online

Searching large databases for cemetery photos and other information is easy to do online. Sites such as Find A Grave and BillionGraves and others have links for cemeteries around the world. Learn more about finding cemetery records in Goal B6 in the United States page, or the corresponding Goal in the country page you’re using.