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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.
(Photo: "Return Unto Me" by Annie Henrie Nader - used with permission
2 Corinthians 1:3–7; 4:6–10, 17–18; 7:4–7
My trials can be a blessing
From Come, Follow Me:
Think about ways your trials can be a blessing.
"Saints can be happy under every circumstance ... When the focus of our lives is on God's plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy.” President Russell M. Nelson, Joy and Spiritual Survival
You can learn about the lives and faith of those who have gone on before you to give you hope and even joy even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
Church members have a shared heritage of all pioneers who forged and followed the trail to Zion.
William Clayton
Concerned about his wife Diantha, who had remained in Nauvoo because she was expecting her first child, William Clayton, a musician in the first pioneer company to enter the Salt Lake Valley, wrote the words to "Come, Come, Ye Saints" after finally receiving news of the birth of his healthy baby boy on April 15, 1846. Although his wife was suffering from illness, he wrote soon afterwards: "This morning I composed a new song—'All Is Well.' I feel to thank my heavenly father for my boy and pray that he will spare and preserve his life and that of his mother and so order it so that we may soon meet again." William Clayton first wrote the hymn 103 miles from Nauvoo at Locust Creek on the plains of Iowa. This hymn has inspired both members of our church and non-members since it was written.
Read more about William Clayton and "Come, Come Ye Saints:"
Find and share stories:
Writing a letter of gratitude to an ancestor, living relative, to yourself, or to an early saint. See instructions for preserving your letters as recordings on FamilySearch Memories.
Read about a pioneer trail reenactment in Week 32, 2022.
Check out The Pioneer Database and Relatives Who Were Pioneers.
You may be the pioneer in your family! "By being the first in your family to accept the gospel, you become the first generation, a chosen generation through which generations past, present, and future may be blessed." Paul B. Pieper, The First Generation
Record, preserve and share your conversion story!
Consider making a collection of the conversion stories of the first converts in your ancestral lines.
You can sign up to receive notifications from FamilySearch. See How do I unsubscribe or subscribe to email notifications and newsletters? Check "My Ancestors - personalized campaigns and information about your ancestors" to receive emails such as the one received in the story below.
Anita shares: "My dad was a convert from a family of Baptists. As far as my mom ever knew, she was the first active member in a family where she believed there was "maybe" a member on her grandmother's side. Well, thanks to Family History Activity Ideas and the 21-day Challenge, I looked at the notifications from FamilySearch, and one of them led me to find a four-year-old ancestor who made the trek to Salt Lake City by handcart! Her father was close boyhood friends to Joseph Smith, and he was a nephew to Martin Harris. It was noted that though Martin drifted away from the church for a while, Dennison, the four-year-old's father, and his family remained faithful to Joseph Smith and the gospel. All my life I wished for a pioneer heritage and finally found it!"
Note: In this photo, Anita's ancestor who made the trek as a four-year-old is the beautiful lady standing on the left on the back row.
You can also find out if you had ancestors who crossed the plains as children here. You will discover your relationship to them, the dates they were on the trail, their age at departure, which company they were in and when it departed, and how many days each child traveled. You can also take an interactive quiz to see what character traits you share with pioneer children as you explore "Walk a mile In their (small) shoes."
See Nauvoo Family Search Records to discover your Nauvoo relatives.
Forgiveness is a blessing I can both give and receive.
Why do we sometimes fail to “confirm [our] love toward” a loved one who has offended us?
Read or watch the story of forgiveness in the talk by Elder Gerritt W. Gong, Happy and Forever.
(Click to enlarge)
From Elder Renlund’s talk, "Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing."
See also this related family history activity:
"Family relationships can be some of the most rewarding yet challenging experiences we encounter. Many of us have faced a fracture of some sort within our families. Such a fracture developed between two heroes of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. Parley and Orson Pratt were brothers, early converts, and ordained Apostles...During the Nauvoo era, their relationship became strained, culminating in a heated, public confrontation in 1846. A deep and prolonged rift developed. Parley initially wrote to Orson to resolve the rift, but Orson did not reply. Parley gave up, feeling that correspondence was over forever, unless initiated by Orson. Several years later, in March 1853, Orson learned about a project to publish a book on the descendants of William Pratt, the brothers' earliest American ancestor. Orson began to weep "like a little child" as he glimpsed this treasure trove of family history. His heart melted, and he determined to repair the breach with his brother.
Orson wrote to Parley, 'Now my dear brother, there are none among all the descendants of our Ancestor, Lieut[enant] William Pratt, who have so deep an interest in searching out his descendants as ourselves.' Orson was one of the first to understand that Latter-day Saints have an obligation to research and compile family histories so that we can perform vicarious ordinances for our ancestors. His letter continued: 'We know that the God of our fathers has had a hand in all this. ... I will beg pardon for having been so backward in writing to you. ... I hope you will forgive me.' Despite their unshakable testimonies, their love for their ancestors was the catalyst to heal a rift, mend a hurt, and seek and extend forgiveness.”
Think about ways to connect with living relatives to share your family stories of forgiveness.
Perhaps simply making a family history connection with family members will be the beginning to healing troubled relationships. Think of any ways you may have offended another family member and ask for forgiveness. Make a call, write a message online, or write a letter. Pray as a family for help to clear up any misunderstandings, and become closer to those you love.
Rely on the Promises Elder Renlund lists in the above talk. See also: The Promised Blessings of Temple and Family History 1, and The Promised Blessings of Family History 2.
Watch the following video to see how one family found ways to forgive. The story is at time stamp 8:44.
Read about another example of forgiveness extended to a family member on the other side of the veil in this address by Kristin Yee: Beauty for Ashes: The Healing Path of Forgiveness.