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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.
Acts 1:1–8, 15–26; 2:1–42; 4:1–13, 31–33
Jesus Christ directs His Church through the Holy Ghost.
From Come, Follow Me
As members of Christ’s Church today, we each have a responsibility to participate in the work of salvation and exaltation—to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, care for those in need, invite others to come unto Christ, and unite families for eternity (see General Handbook, 1.2).
As members of the Church, we are all responsible to help God gather His children. Here are a few of President Nelson’s specific invitations:
To the brethren:
After some 4,000 years of anticipation and preparation, this is the appointed day when the gospel is to be taken to the kindreds of the earth.This is the time of the promised gathering of Israel. And we get to participate! Isn’t that exciting?
To the sisters:
My dear sisters, we need you! We “need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices.”4 We simply cannot gather Israel without you.
To the Millennials:
"Spend more time on your knees in prayer, more time in the scriptures, more time in family history work, more time in the temple. I promise you that as you consistently give the Lord a generous portion of your time, He will multiply the remainder."
To the youth :
"You—my dear, extraordinary youth—were sent to earth at this precise time, this most crucial time in the history of the earth, 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."
"Now, participating in the gathering of Israel will require some sacrifice on your part. It may even require some changes in your life. It will definitely take some of your time and energy and your God-given talents. Are you interested?"
"As you pray about this sacrifice of time, you will be guided to know both what you can give up that week and what you can do instead to help gather Israel."
“When we speak of gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, we are referring, of course, to missionary, temple, and family history work. We are also referring to building faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve. Anytime we do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.” Let God Prevail
Our ancestors are being taught the gospel in the spirit world, and they need our help. Enjoy a discovery experience by finding those who need ordinance work done (sign up for a free FamilySearch account first if needed):
When you exercise faith, you will receive inspiration to find the information needed for the temple. As Quentin L. Cook taught, you should not "underestimate the influence of the deceased in assisting your efforts." (See more on this topic in Week #14 2020)
See the activity ideas below to help gather Israel on this side of the veil.
See also:
Many people who do not know about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints desire to know of their heritage. As they learn about those who went before them, they may become interested in knowing about eternal families and what the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches about sealing families together. Thus, teaching about temple work and helping with family history can be a successful finding, teaching, and retention tool.
Elder Bednar explains: "Missionary work and family history and temple work are complementary and interrelated aspects of one great work, 'that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him'" (Ephesians 1:10) "... The artificial boundary line we so often place between missionary work and temple and family history work is being erased; this is one great work of salvation." Missionary, Family History, and Temple Work
Creating a role-play is a fun way to practice using family history in introducing someone to the gospel.
Divide into companionships and practice door approaches with this guidance from Preach My Gospel: "Talk to people about their families. Help them see how the restored gospel can be a blessing to their families. Offer to help them find the names of grandparents, great-grandparents, or other ancestors. Enlist the help of ward temple and family history consultants."
From RootsTech 2017:
President Nelson: “If I were a missionary today, my two best friends in the ward or branch where I served would be the ward mission leader and the ward temple and family history consultant.
People have an inborn desire to know something about their ancestors. That becomes a natural opportunity for our missionaries. As missionaries learn to love the people they teach, they will naturally ask about their families. “Are your parents living? Are your grandparents living? Do you know your four grandparents?” Conversations flow easily when those who are drawn to speak with the missionaries are invited to talk about the people they love.
At that point it can be natural for the missionaries, including member missionaries, to ask, “Do you know any of your great-grandparents? Do you know their names?” The probability is that investigators will not know the names of all eight of their great-grandparents.
Then the missionaries can make this suggestion: “I have a friend at our church who can help. If we could find the names of some or maybe even all of your great-grandparents, would it be worth a couple of hours of your time to find out who your great-grandparents are?” That friend at church, of course, is the ward temple and family history consultant.
Sister Nelson: I think it can be comforting for missionaries to know that they are never alone when they are finding and teaching those who are receptive to the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. President George Q. Cannon (1827–1901), who served as a counselor to four Presidents of the Church, taught that in these latter days, those who are joining the Church are joining precisely because their ancestors have been praying for one of their posterity to join the Church so that they, the ancestors, can receive their essential ordinances by proxy. Open the Heavens through Temple and Family History Work
Practice using The Family History Guide as a resource to explain how to find and record information about ancestors. Practice what you might say to new converts about the temple blessings available to them, their families, and their ancestors. Share how the temple has blessed your life and the lives of your loved ones.
As shown in the following video, rely on the Holy Ghost to know how to help others learn to do and love temple and family history work.
Make a collection of the conversion stories of the first converts in your ancestral lines, even if the first convert is you!
See Week 2, 2021 for more ideas, including illustrating conversion stories.
Acts 3:12–26; 4:1–21; 5:12–42.
From Come, Follow Me
What impresses you about the faithfulness of Peter and John? (see also the video “Peter Preaches and Is Arrested” on ChurchofJesusChrist.org). How can we be bold in our testimonies of Jesus Christ? Consider helping younger children practice sharing their testimonies.
See Week 26, 2023 for “testimony sharing” activity ideas and ways to record what you know to be true for generations to come.
