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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.
Week 11: March 6–12
From Come, Follow Me:
Word of Jesus’s healing miracles was spreading quickly. Multitudes followed Him, hoping for relief from their sicknesses. But when the Savior looked upon the multitudes, He saw more than their physical ailments. Filled with compassion, He saw “sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). “The harvest truly is plenteous,” He observed, “but the labourers are few” (Matthew 9:37). So He called twelve Apostles, “gave them power,” and sent them to teach and minister “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:1, 6). Today the need for more laborers to serve Heavenly Father’s children is just as great. There are still twelve Apostles, but there are more disciples of Jesus Christ than ever before—people who can declare to all the world, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7).
President Russell M. Nelson invites us all to "focus on things that matter," by being involved in the gathering of Israel.
"My beloved brothers and sisters, thank you for your faith, your devotion, and your love. We share an enormous responsibility to be who the Lord wants us to be and to do what He wants us to do. We are part of a great movement—the gathering of scattered Israel. I speak of this doctrine today because of its unique importance in God's eternal plan...We are among the covenant people of the Lord. Ours is the privilege to participate personally in the fulfillment of these promises. What an exciting time to live!" (President Russell M. Nelson, The Gathering of Scattered Israel
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.
In the “Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction” held during the RootsTech 2021 Conference, church leaders teach about temple and family history work and share ways we can all serve and minister more effectively through these efforts. In 2020, our leaders focused on how temple and family history can be used to minister to all of God’s children—and emphasized that "all" really means "all." Elder Bednar encourages us to watch the full presentation, which you can read or watch here. Watch an introduction below:
There is always a great family history activity that you can do with others. Many activities will lead to further discussion, strengthening friendships, and teaching opportunities.
See the Activities Overview, and more ideas shown in videos on The Family History Guide Youtube channel “activities playlist.”
Additional family history ministering resources:
See also the activities below which work well for ministering through temple and family history work:
The Family History Fun Basket is a great activity because you can select the questions to fit the group. See the list below for questions that can be used with unrelated participants:
The video below shows how this activity can work with those who are related to each other. Questions for this group can include questions about your family.
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.
You could help families learn about their family name, and ancestral homelands. Check out Where Are My Ancestors From?
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. See The Promised Blessings of Temple and Family History Work 1 and The Promised Blessings of Temple and Family History Work 2.
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.
When I am in the Lord’s service, He will inspire me with what to say.
From Come, Follow Me:
The Lord foresaw that His disciples would be persecuted and questioned about their faith—something similar to what disciples today may experience. But He promised the disciples that they would know by the Spirit what to say. Have you had experiences when this divine promise was fulfilled in your life, perhaps when you bore your testimony, gave a blessing, or had a conversation with someone? Consider sharing your experiences with a loved one or recording them in a journal. What do you feel inspired to do so that you can have such experiences more often?
"Embrace your sacred memories. Believe them. Write them down. Share them with your family. Trust that they come to you from your Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son. Let them bring patience to your doubts and understanding to your difficulties. I promise you that as you willingly acknowledge and carefully treasure the spiritually defining events in your life, more and more will come to you. Heavenly Father knows you and loves you!" Neil L. Andersen, Spiritually Defining Memories (See also: Week #36, 2020.)
You might want to consider creating a collection of your spiritual experiences, and the spiritual experiences of your family members that they would like to share.
This book can be a beautiful and meaningful gift for siblings, children, parents, grandparents, and other family members. You may also record your spiritual experiences using the FamilySearch Memories Audi o app or the "Record My Story" feature on FamilySearch Discovery.
When recorded and preserved on FamilySearch Memories, you have the option of placing them in an individual album. See How do I create an album in Memories?