Weekly Family History Activities

Week 7: February 6–12 New Testament

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.

Week 7: John 2-4

"Ye Must Be Born Again"

John 2–4

From Come, Follow Me :

As your family reads these chapters this week, pay special attention to how the Savior used everyday things—birth, wind, water, and food—to teach spiritual truths. What items in your home can you use to teach spiritual truths?

Create a Digital Family Museum

In The Family History Guide Activities for Youth page, you'll see how to create a digital family museum to document your heirlooms and share them with others, courtesy of the Make History website. Talk with your parents and grandparents to discover the stories behind each one, and find out why they are important. What spiritual truths do they represent that can be passed on?

What about you—what are your most treasured possessions and why? Historical objects can turn the past into a physical reality. When we touch things that our ancestors used and when we learn the stories, we can connect with those who used and treasured the heirloom.

Upload photos and stories to FamilySearch to preserve the memories (see Project 2: Memories in The Family History Guide for instructions).

See why one family created a digital museum and watch how this simple activity created a sacred opportunity for them to share the spiritual family history stories associated with special artifacts. See time code 4:13 - 5:52 in the video below:

John 3:1–21

I must be born again to enter the kingdom of God.

From Come, Follow Me :

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, "Being born again, comes by the Spirit of God through ordinances" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007]

Jesus Christ opened the doors for the preaching of the gospel in the spirit world (see 1 Peter 3:18–20; D&C 138:16–19). While the gospel may be accepted by spirits in the spirit world, the ordinances of salvation must be performed for them here on earth. Latter-day prophets have revealed that many in the spirit world are anxious for those ordinances to be performed in their behalf. As you study the material in this chapter and renew your efforts to help in the work of salvation for the dead, contemplate the blessings and joy that accompany the work of bringing others to Christ (see D&C 18:15–16). Read more in The Spirit World and Redemption of the Dead.

President Russell M. Nelson declared, "Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that." (Russell M. Nelson, Hope of Israel)

Find Ancestors Needing Baptism and Confirmation

To find those persons in your family tree without the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, find step-by-step instructions in the Church of Jesus Christ section of The Family History Guide. Here you will find links to the following and more:

Also check out Youth: Latter-day Saints and FamilySearch In-Home Activities.

Record Your Temple Experience

Consider creating a digital or bound “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. See Week 10, Weekly Family History Activities 2021 for more ways to document, remember, and share your experiences with your own baptism, being baptized for the dead, and finding your ancestors who need proxy work done.

Preparing For The Temple

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:

Explore Ordinances Ready

Elder Bradley D. Foster shows the Ordinances Ready feature available in the Family Tree app. Ordinances Ready helps you and those you serve find family ordinances that are ready for the temple. If you have not done so yet, you could fill out your four generations on FamilySearch, and then discover what ancestors have not been baptized yet. Make plans for a family trip to the temple if possible to give them this gift.