Weekly Family History Activities

Week 21: May 15–21 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.

Matthew 21–23; Mark 11; Luke 19–20; John 12

“Behold, Thy King Cometh”

Matthew 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–11; Luke 19:29–44; John 12:1–8, 12–16

Jesus Christ is my King

From Come, Follow Me:

How can you honor and receive the Savior as your Lord and King?

Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of the last week of His life. The people shouted the word hosanna, which means “save now” (Bible Dictionary, “Hosanna”). Imagine that you are one of the people among the multitude. Read Matthew 21:9, and imagine calling out this salutation along with them.

“The royal and messianic title “Son of David” (Matthew 21:9) was reserved for the heir to the throne of David. By saying this the people were declaring that Jesus was the Messiah chosen and sent by God to deliver and lead His people.” (Read more here).

What thoughts or feelings might you have had as you witnessed the Savior’s triumphal entry?

The Savior’s Last Week

One way to focus on the blessings of the Savior’s Atonement this week is to spend time each day reading about the last week of Jesus’s life (a possible reading schedule follows). What do you find in these chapters that helps you feel the Savior’s love? Ponder what these chapters teach you about how He can deliver you from sin, death, trials, and weaknesses. How are you exercising faith in His power of deliverance?

Sunday: Triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:6–11)
Monday: Cleansing the temple (Matthew 21:12–16)
Tuesday: Teaching in Jerusalem (Matthew 21–23)
Wednesday: Continued teaching (Matthew 24–25)
Thursday: The Passover and Christ’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26)
Friday: Trial, Crucifixion, and burial (Matthew 27:1–61)
Saturday: Christ’s body lies in the tomb (Matthew 27:62–66) while He ministers in the spirit world (Doctrine and Covenants 138)
Sunday: Jesus Christ’s Resurrection and appearance to His disciples (Matthew 28:1–10)

See Week 15: April 3–9 2023 New Testament for an activity which is adaptable and can be experienced by groups or families. You could decide to dress up like the people of Jerusalem, or simply sit together and talk. You may want to prepare food that would have been eaten back then. The idea is to “re-enact” or “role-play” what it might have been like to live in Jerusalem during the last week of the Savior’s life, and to have heard of the events going on, or to have been a witness to them.

Resources for follow-up discussion and activities:

The Savior's Last Week
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent…Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19.
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
"The facts of Jesus' death and Resurrection are hailed by those of Christian denominations as fundamental tenets. [John 20:17]. However, what Jesus' immortal spirit did after His death and before His Resurrection is a mystery to all but the Latter-day Saints. And the significance of what He did during those hours provides the doctrinal foundation for building temples across the earth." Spencer J. Condie, The Savior's Visit to the Spirit World
"By which also he [Jesus Christ] went and preached unto the spirits in prison." While the gospel may be accepted by spirits in the spirit world, the ordinances of salvation must be performed for them by those who are living here on Earth (1 Peter 3:18 -19 and.D&C 138:16–19). Read more here.

You could video or audio record this experience. Write about it and share your feelings with each other. Make a photo album or book of the event. Plan together how you will make temple and family history work more a part of your life and serve those on the other side of the veil who will then have an opportunity to accept the vicarious ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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:

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

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 related, can you find him or her on the family tree?

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.

Matthew 21:12–14

From Come, Follow Me:

How do Jesus’s words and actions in Matthew 21:12–14 show how He felt about the temple? How do we show how we feel about the temple?

Promised Blessings

“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

Counsel together and plan as a family about how to make time for this crucial and rewarding work. Find a way to keep track of the miracles that come into your lives as you increase your temple and family history activities. Keep a digital history also to pass on to future generations.

“It is my testimony that however fabulous your life is right now, or however discouraging and heartbreaking it may be, your involvement in temple and family history work will make it better. What do you need in your life right now? More love? More joy? More self-mastery? More peace? More meaningful moments? More of a feeling that you're making a difference? More fun? More answers to your soul-searching questions? More heart-to-heart connections with others? More understanding of what you are reading in the scriptures? More ability to love and to forgive? More ability to pray with power? More inspiration and creative ideas for your work and other projects? More time for what really matters? I entreat you to make a sacrifice of time to the Lord by increasing the time you spend doing temple and family history work, and then watch what happens. It is my testimony that when we show the Lord we are serious about helping our ancestors, the heavens will open and we will receive all that we need.” Open the Heavens Through Temple and Family History Work, President Russell M. Nelson