Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of April 20-26, 2020 covering Mosiah 4-6. For personal and/or family study of the scriptures, geared towards families with teenagers, single adults, and empty nesters.
*This is a suggested outline that coincides with the Come, Follow Me manual. There is not just one right way when it comes to studying the scriptures. Everyone should study in a way that is best for them, but I do hope that you find these outlines helpful.
**I highly suggest getting a scripture journal. Throughout the year there will be several times that I will suggest jotting something down in your scripture journal. These are also great for writing down any impressions or “Aha” moments that you might have as you study the scriptures.
***A free PDF DOWNLOAD of the Study Guide is available at the bottom of this post. Making it easy for those who’d like to print out a copy.
****SONGS – For a list of suggested songs for each day of the week, be sure and check out the new blog called Music for Latter-day Life by clicking HERE
FHE DAY
Start the week off right with a Family Home Evening that introduces what you’ll be studying during the week. Sign up for the Teach Me FHE email group and receive an FHE outline delivered right to your inbox every Sunday morning. Sign up at the bottom of this post.
RUNNING FASTER THAN YOU HAVE STRENGTH
BACKGROUND/SCRIPTURE
POEM: Share the following poem found on this post, The Tortoise and the Hare, by clicking HERE.
In this fable, the hare and the tortoise both have the same goal – they are both working towards the same finish line. But the hare runs ragged while the tortoise moves along steady and slow.
Like the tortoise and the hare, we could compare this to each of us reaching for the same ultimate goal of returning back to our Father in Heaven. We could also compare this to how the Lord has commanded us to work. We can’t just stand around. We have got to be working and moving forward in order to reach the finish line. But the great comparison here that teaches us the most valuable lesson is that we should not confuse work with workaholism or a frantic compulsion to be constantly busy.
READ: Mosiah 4:27
We shouldn’t be running faster than we have strength but we should be diligent. The hare was totally running faster than he had strength – he stops in the middle of the story to rest and he falls asleep. Who is the diligent one here in the story? The tortoise was. And who ended up winning the race? The tortoise did.
Another comparison we can make is that at the beginning of the story the Hare is bragging to his friends about how fast he is – MAN, is he fast! But what if we substituted the word “fast” with “busyness”. It is so easy to get caught up in today’s fast-paced world that we sometimes find ourselves constantly just going, going, going and to some, the busier they are, the more important they feel.
QUOTE BY DIETER F. UCHTDORF: “Isn’t it true that we often get so busy? And, sad to say, we even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life. Is it? I think of our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, and His short life… I have tried to imagine Him bustling between meetings or multitasking to get a list of urgent things accomplished. I can’t see it.”
MINI LESSON
VIDEO: Good, Better, Best (5:18) by clicking HERE
(*Dallin H. Oaks gave this talk in October 2007. It is interesting to note that he gave this talk over ten years before the church implemented the home-centered church-supported Come, Follow Me curriculum and yet he said in his talk, “Suppose Church leaders reduce the time required by Church meetings and activities in order to increase the time available for families to be together. This will not achieve its intended purpose unless individual family members—especially parents—vigorously act to increase family togetherness and one-on-one time.”)
PONDER & DISCUSS
Take time to ponder on your current activities. Are you being diligent but also wise with your time?
QUOTE: Elder Uchtdorf once said, “Slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials.” What do you think he meant by essentials? Do you make time for the essentials? *Optional, write down in your scripture journal something you’d like to do better on and make a plan or list ideas on how you could make that possible.
QUOTE: President Nelson has said, “…Examine your life meticulously and regularly. As you do so, the Holy Ghost will prompt you about what is no longer needful, what is no longer worthy of your time and energy.” (Spiritual Treasures, By President Russell M. Nelson)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
ENSIGN ARTICLE: All Things in Wisdom and Order By Elder John C. Taggart
CONFERENCE TALK: Good, Better, Best By Dallin H. Oaks
CONFERENCE TALK: O Be Wise By M. Russell Ballard
QUOTE: “Brothers and sisters, be wise with your families. Be wise in fulfilling your Church callings. Be wise with your time. Be wise in balancing all of your responsibilities. O be wise, my beloved brothers and sisters. What can I say more?” Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “O Be Wise,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2006, 20.
A MIGHTY CHANGE IN MY HEART
BACKGROUND
(Taken from Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families)
OBJECT LESSON: Show a picture of each family member from several years before.
Ask the following questions:
In what ways do you think you have changed the most?
What kinds of changes have you experienced since then that aren’t so visible?
What does it mean to say a person has changed for the better?
What might cause a person to change?
How can you tell if a person has really changed?
Do you think it would be easier to notice a change in another person or in yourself? Why?
SCRIPTURE
It is actually not uncommon for people to say, “I can’t change. That’s just the way I am.” In contrast, the experience of King Benjamin’s people shows us how the Spirit of the Lord can truly change our hearts.
READ: Mosiah 5: 1-5
QUOTE: President Russell M. Nelson taught: “We can change our behavior. Our very desires can change. … True change—permanent change—can come only through the healing, cleansing, and enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. … The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of change!” (“Decisions for Eternity,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 108; CFM manual pg 63)
MINI LESSON
VIDEO: A Change of Heart (4:38), click HERE
PONDER & DISCUSS
Have there ever been any “mighty” moments in your life that have led you to a change of heart? Or has your conversion happened more gradually?
QUOTE BY JOSEPH SMITH: “The nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin.”
Would you like to be so converted that you no longer had a desire to sin?
How much easier would it be to live the commandments if you had “no more disposition to do evil but to do good continually”?
What do we need to do to obtain and maintain such a desire?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: Born Again By Elder D. Todd Christofferson
CONFERENCE TALK: Preserving the Heart’s Mighty Change By Dale G. Renlund
VIDEO: A Mighty Change: Conversion (2:47)
TAKING UPON MYSELF THE NAME OF CHRIST WHEN I MAKE COVENANTS
BACKGROUND
One reason King Benjamin wanted to address his people was to “give this people a name.” Some were Nephites and others were descendants of Mulek, but these weren’t the names he had in mind. He invited the people to take upon themselves “the name of Christ” as part of their covenant of obedience to God. (CFM manual, pg 64)
SCRIPTURE
READ: Mosiah 5:7-12
MINI LESSON
Here are 3 ways we can keep the Savior’s name “written always in [our] hearts”:
(Taken from Ensign article)
1.Covenant through Baptism
At baptism, we covenant with God to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. What do you think that means?
READ: Mosiah 18: 8-9
What does taking the name of Christ upon us suggest about our relationship with Him?
It might help to talk about why people sometimes write their names on their belongings.
*May show the backpack you are going to use for the object lesson and have someone’s name written on the backpack
How can our behavior show others that we “belong” to the Savior?
2.Partake of the Sacrament
We are commanded to partake of the sacrament worthily each week. During the sacrament, we recommit to our covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
OBJECT LESSON: Share The Backpack by Hilary Weeks, click HERE
How can handing our sins over to Christ and experiencing the feeling of forgiveness each week help us to recommit to our covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ?
3.Act as a Disciple of Christ
Our covenants require us to keep the commandments. Our actions should reflect our desire to follow Christ and become like Him. In doing so, we can continue to be called by His name. This is how we retain Christ’s name written in our hearts.
SONG: I Will Walk with Jesus, click HERE
PONDER & DISCUSS
What do you do each day to ensure that you retain the name of Christ written in your heart?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ by Dallin H. Oaks
CONFERENCE TALK: Converted unto the Lord By Elder David A. Bednar
CONFERENCE TALK: Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins By Elder David A. Bednar
CONFERENCE TALK: The Power of Covenants Elder D. Todd Christofferson
ENSIGN ARTICLE: Understanding Our Covenants with God
NEW ERA ARTICLE: Taking His Name upon Me
VIDEO: Daily Bread: Change (3:00)
GENERAL CONFERENCE DAY
Study a recent General Conference talk. A great way to study a conference talk is to have your own conference issue of the Ensign and a highlighter. Listen to the talk and as you listen, highlight the part(s) that stands out to you. Then after the talk, review and/or share and discuss what you have highlighted.
**I will start using April 2020 Conference Talks next month**
THIS WEEK’S TALK: Covenant Belonging By Elder Gerrit W. Gong, click HERE
SUMMARY: “Covenant belonging is to make and keep solemn promises to God and each other, through sacred ordinances, that invite the power of godliness to be manifest in our lives.” Covenant belonging centers in Jesus Christ. Every promised
blessing comes to those who remain faithful to the end. “As we honor our covenants, we may sometimes feel we are in the company of angels.” Loved ones on both sides of the veil will be those angels. Even if one stumbles and falls or loses faith in God, He will always be there to help His children and invite them “to come or return to the covenants that mark His path.” The Book of Mormon is evidence of covenant belonging. It is the promised instrument for the gathering of God’s children prophesied as a new covenant. The Book of Mormon invites everyone to enter into a covenant with the Lord to serve Him and keep His commandments. “When we want to change for the better … we can become open to direction, help and strength. We can come by covenant to belong with God and a community of faithful believers, and receive the blessings promised in the doctrine of Christ — now.”
*For a list of discussion questions that go along with this talk, check out these from Chicken Scratch n Sniff by Clicking HERE
CATCH UP DAYS
Do one of the days that you missed OR any of the additional resources listed.
Yours Truly,
P.S. For more Come, Follow Me resources, check out my post Your Ultimate Guide to Come, Follow Me. It lists over 100 Come, Follow Me resources that are available online starting with the church’s resources at the top. You can find it by clicking HERE.
P.P.S. Sign up here for the Teach Me FHE email group and receive FHE outlines delivered right to your inbox every Sunday morning.
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