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.
Have members of your family seen someone be baptized or confirmed a member of the Church? What did family members feel?
Baptism Memories
Take turns telling about your baptismal day. Where were you baptized and by whom? Who was there to share your baptism? What do you remember about that day? How did you feel when you were baptized? Help younger children and others who have not yet been baptized express their feelings about looking forward to that day. What does baptism mean to you?
Capture these stories as they are being told, using the FamilySearch Memories App, or use Record My Story (see this blog post). You might want to create a folder, book, or digital file of baptism memories of family members. When and where were you baptized? Who baptized you? How did you feel when you were baptized? Who attended? How did making covenants change your life? Upload the photos to FamilySearch Memories. This would be a beautiful gift for anyone of any age preparing for baptism or just a wonderful way to share memories with those you love.
The Baptism Experiences of Ancestors
You and your family may enjoy reading a printed baptismal program or searching for other documents about an ancestor's baptism. Where was he or she baptized? At what age? Who performed the baptism and confirmation? How is your child related to this person? If they are related, can you find the person in Family Tree? For help finding baptismal records, see the Research Projects in FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, or Findmypast.
Learn about the very first proxy baptism in the church by watching the following video about Jane Neyman.
Conversion Stories
You may also want to consider creating a collection of the stories of the first converts in your family lines. If you don't have many stories from the lives of your ancestors available, you could learn from conversion stories and other stories from the lives of our church leaders. These collections would be wonderful to send with missionaries.
Find family history stories using the suggestions in 10 Ways To Discover, Gather, and Share Ancestor Stories. Read more here. You may want to put these stories in your memories on FamilySearch and attach them to your tree. Find instructions in this FamilySearch article. The Family History Guide gives step-by-step instructions for preserving your photos and stories in Project 2: Memories. Share these stories and upload them to FamilySearch, with instructions from The Family History Guide found here.
See Week #4 for more ideas for sharing stories of the first converts in your family lines.
When have we felt that God has been pleased with us? What can we do as a family to please God?
Serving in the Temple
"What a marvelous thing that is that you ... can stand in the place of some great man or woman who at one time lived upon the earth but who is now powerless to move forward without the blessing that you can give to him or her. … There is no greater blessing. ... And it will be your privilege and your opportunity and your responsibility to live worthy to go to the temple of the Lord and there be baptized in behalf of someone else." (Gordon B. Hinckley, Baptism for the Dead)
President Russell M. Nelson: "My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, the most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing.
This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth."
So my question to you is "Are you willing to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel?" Worldwide Youth Devotional
Elder Bednar: "I invite the young people of the Church to learn about and experience the Spirit of Elijah. I encourage you to study, to search out your ancestors, and to prepare yourselves to perform proxy baptisms in the house of the Lord for your kindred dead (see D&C 124:28–36). And I urge you to help other people identify their family histories.
As you respond in faith to this invitation, your hearts shall turn to the fathers. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be implanted in your hearts. Your patriarchal blessing, with its declaration of lineage, will link you to these fathers and be more meaningful to you.
Your love and gratitude for your ancestors will increase. Your testimony of and conversion to the Savior will become deep and abiding. And I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary." (General Conference October 2011, The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn)
The Challenge Given By Elder Andersen
Elder Neil L. Andersen invites you to accept the following invitation, accomplish it, and share it:
