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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.
Haggai; Zechariah 1–3; 7–14
“Holiness unto the Lord”
From Come, Follow Me:
What blessings did the Lord promise [the Israelites] if they finished building His house? You might take this opportunity to “consider your ways”—to think about your priorities and how you could align them with the Lord’s.
What are the Lord’s priorities in these latter days? In What has President Nelson invited us to do?, our prophet’s invitations from throughout his ministry are listed. Among these “prophetic priorities” are many centered on family history and temple work.
President Russell M. Nelson has invited all church members to “focus on the temple in ways you never have before.”
“My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God,”
“Let Him know through your prayers and your actions that you are serious about overcoming the world. Ask Him to enlighten your mind and send the help you need. Each day, record the thoughts that come to you as you pray; then follow through diligently. Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.” What has President Nelson invited us to do?
Consider creating a “Temple Book” to share feelings and experiences you and your family members have had in attending the temple and doing temple and family history work. This will become a treasure for generations to come.
Because youth as young as 11 can enter the temple, parents and leaders have an even greater responsibility to prepare them early for temple service. In addition, others who are preparing for the temple can benefit from meeting with those who love the temple to learn more, get their questions answered, and to find family names for proxy temple work once they have received their own temple ordinances.
Resources for temple preparation activities:
From Come, Follow Me:
Note the things the Lord asked Israel to do so He could make them holy. How is He helping you become more holy?
Elder Renlund outlines how we can become more holy through temple and family history work:
“As Church members, we do have a divinely appointed responsibility to seek out our ancestors and compile family histories. This is far more than an encouraged hobby, because the ordinances of salvation are necessary for all of God’s children. We are to identify our own ancestors who died without receiving the ordinances of salvation. We can perform the ordinances vicariously in temples, and our ancestors may choose to accept the ordinances. We are also encouraged to help ward and stake members with their family names. It is breathtakingly amazing that, through family history and temple work, we can help to redeem the dead.”
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"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
“Our need to be in the temple on a regular basis has never been greater. I plead with you to take a prayerful look at how you spend your time. Invest time in your future and in that of your family. If you have reasonable access to a temple, I urge you to find a way to make an appointment regularly with the Lord—to be in His holy house—then keep that appointment with exactness and joy. I promise you that the Lord will bring the miracles He knows you need as you make sacrifices to serve and worship in His temples.” Russell M. Nelson Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints
As you counsel and plan together as a family about how to make time for this crucial and rewarding work, remember that there are many ways to participate. Check out 5-Minute Ideas for Latter-day Saints and see what fits your family. Consider setting a regular time for temple and family history activities and temple attendance.
Here are some sample activities from the above list:
To introduce these verses, you could share the story of the Provo City Center Temple, which was rebuilt from a beloved tabernacle that had burned down… As your family reads Haggai 2:1–9, you might ask family members to think of something in our lives that might be like the work of rebuilding the temple that had been destroyed. How does the Lord rebuild us after tragedy or adversity?
“Think of your own life. Over the years, I have listened to thousands of profoundly spiritual experiences from Latter-day Saints all across the world, confirming to me beyond any question that God knows and loves each of us and that He eagerly desires to reveal Himself to us. These experiences may come at pivotal times in our lives or in what may at first seem as uneventful happenings, but they are always accompanied by an exceptionally strong spiritual confirmation of the love of God.
Remembering these spiritually defining experiences takes us to our knees, declaring as did the Prophet Joseph: “What I received was from heaven. I know it, and I know that God knows that I know it.” (see Joseph Smith—History 1).” Neil L. Anderson Spiritually Defining Memories
Record the stories of how you have been “rebuilt” after tragedy or adversity in your life to process the experiences, express gratitude for what you learned and for how you were helped, and preserve your feelings and counsel for generations to come.
Use the Memories Gallery to preserve photos, stories, documents, and audio recordings. Read more here and watch Uploading to FamilySearch Memories.
Help children record their experiences also.
In addition to recording how you have been “rebuilt” after tragedy or adversity in your lives, how have your ancestors overcome challenges in their lives? Perhaps you could create an experience like the one illustrated in the following video in which an ancestor’s journal influences his posterity:
Trace Your Female Ancestors - Finding the female ancestor in your family lines can sometimes be a challenge, due to maiden names, inheritance customs, etc. Find useful tips for tracing the women in your ancestry in Goal B4 of the United States page, Choice C.