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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.
Disciples of Jesus Christ share their testimonies boldly
From Come, Follow Me
Consider the opportunities you have to share your testimony. For example, do your friends know how you feel about Jesus Christ? Or when was the last time you told your family how you gained your testimony of the gospel?
"Generations are affected by the choices we make. Share your testimony with your family; encourage them to remember how they felt when they recognized the Spirit in their lives and to record those feelings in journals and personal histories so that their own words may, when needed, bring to their remembrance how good the Lord has been to them." (Ronald A. Rasband, Lest Thou Forget, General Conference, Oct. 2016
Hand-write, type, or video or audio your testimony and testimonies of family members.
You can preserve your testimony using the FamilySearch Memories Audio App, the "Record My Story" feature on FamilySearch Discovery, or from FamilySearch memories on your computer (see this link). You can also make an appointment to visit a FamilySearch Center if you have one nearby, and use their story room if they have one.
You can also visit the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake cCity, Utah, where they have many story rooms in which to record.
Elder Uchtdorf explains how to gain, nourish, and share personal testimony. See Lest Thou Forget.
Sharing will leave no question about what you know and love. What a blessing for generations to come to hear your voice sharing the message you want them to know and remember! Read more here.
See these ideas for journaling and recording:
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Read or retell your ancestors' stories. Preserve them (see the activity above for ways to save and share).
Find stories in FamilySearch Memories or on your fan chart, and share them. Check out the All The Stories site to see a searchable list of all the stories anyone has placed on your branch of the FamilySearch tree. Check out 10 Ways to Find Ancestor's Stories.
For those without many (or any) stories in your branch of an online family tree, an idea is to find church history stories that coincide with the timeline of your ancestors’ lives to read and record. When you record any story, you have created a family history moment--you have shared something dear to you. Your posterity and other loved ones will know that you cherished the things that you recorded.
You can organize your ancestors' stories on FamilySearch by creating albums in your memories gallery for each surname and other categories such as “Adventure Stories,” “Conversion Stories,” etc. You may want to create individual books about a person, or a collection of stories (see below).
Create a collection of the stories of the first converts in your family lines. This is a wonderful way to send ancestor stories with your missionaries, or for a birthday or Christmas gift. It is also a great way to strengthen the testimonies of living family members.
See this page for suggestions to have younger children illustrate conversion stories and make them into a coloring booklet for children.
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Plan a “Gathering” activity to share the recorded testimonies and photos of your ancestors (see above). Have a prayer of gratitude together for the legacy they have given you.
Consider sharing your testimony and inspirational stories along with those of your ancestors on social media, as our leaders are doing. Be sure to copy your posts elsewhere to make them part of your preserved personal history.
In an August 2014 talk, Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, counseled church members to share "messages that are authentic, edifying and praiseworthy—and literally to sweep the earth as with a flood."
General authorities and general auxiliaries for the church are becoming increasingly involved by posting to their official Facebook and Twitter pages. See LDS Church leaders share testimonies of Jesus Christ on social media, President Nelson encourages Latter-day Saints to Share joy of the Savior, and LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson on Instagram, possibly oldest user on app - Russell M. Nelson (@russellmnelson)
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Acts 23:10–11; 27:13–25, 40–44
The Lord stands by those who strive to serve Him.
From Come, Follow Me
As Paul’s ministry clearly shows, difficulties in our lives are not a sign that God disapproves of us or the work we are doing. In fact, sometimes it is during the difficulties that we feel His support most strongly. It might be interesting to review what you’ve read recently about Paul’s ministry and list some of the things he endured (see, for example, Acts 14:19–20; 16:19–27; 21:31–34; 23:10–11; 27:13–25, 40–44). How did the Lord stand by him? How has He stood by you?
"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 Audio 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?
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things…”.
From Come, Follow Me
In these verses, what did the Lord call Paul to do? What opportunities do we have to do similar things?
During RootsTech 2020, our leaders focused on how temple and family history resources 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. Here is a clip:
There is always a great family history activity that you can do with those you visit. Many will lead to further discussion, strengthening friendships, and teaching opportunities. See 5-Minute Ideas for Latter-day Saints for ideas and the list below to see what might be applicable to those to whom you minister.
See more ideas on The Family History Guide Youtube channel (activities playlist. You could help families learn about their family name, or about their ancestral homelands or have a myriad of other experiences! See the Activities Overview.
Additional family history ministering resources:
See more activity ideas and a list of the promised blessings of temple and family history work here: Week 30 Come, Follow Me Companion 2021.