Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of January 27 – February 2, 2020 covering 1 Nephi 16-22. For personal and/or family study of the scriptures, geared towards 8 years old and older. 

 

*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. 

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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.

 

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. 

 

THE LORD GUIDES ME THROUGH SMALL AND SIMPLE MEANS

BACKGROUND/SCRIPTURE

When God led Lehi’s family into the wilderness, He did not provide them with a detailed travel plan to the promised land. But He did give Lehi the Liahona to guide his family daily toward their destination.

READ: 1 Nephi 16:10–16, 23–31 and 18:11-12, 21–22

Although Nephi and his family had the Liahona to guide them, we see that it only worked according to their faith in God. Because of this, it gives some explanation as to why it took them so much longer to travel to the Promised Land than it should have. Alma gives us some insight into this also.

READ: Alma 37:39–43

MINI LESSON/PONDER & DISCUSS

Why do you think the Lord didn’t just give them a detailed travel plan in the beginning but instead gave them the Liahona that would only work as long as they were faithful?

How can we relate this to our own lives? Why is it important that we are faithful on a daily basis instead of just performing one grand good deed?

What do you think it means that “by small means the Lord can bring about great things”? To help answer this question, do the following object lesson. 

OBJECT LESSON: By Small and Simple Things, click HERE 

What has Heavenly Father given you to provide guidance and direction? What are some of our Liahonas?

One of the greatest Liahona’s we have today is the Book of Mormon.  Check out this Nissan commercial by clicking HERE. I think we could compare the Nissan with the Book of Mormon and confidently say, “The Book of Mormon is the Lord’s protection in a world of distractions.”

What would happen if we treated our Book of Mormon like we treat our cell phones? Check out this cute handout from Don’t Miss This. Print it out and put it in your scripture journal. 

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)

NEW ERA ARTICLE: Building My Testimony Day by Day (Feb 2020 New Era)
VIDEO: Compass of the Lord (8:32)
VIDEO: That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us (16:33)
VIDEO: Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light (18:49)
VIDEO: With All the Feeling of a Tender Parent: A Message of Hope to Families (18:27)
QUOTE: “Cellular phones are used for much of the communication in our time. Occasionally, however, we find dead spots where the signal coming to a cell phone fails. This can happen when the cell phone user is in a tunnel or a canyon or when there is other interference. So it is with divine communication. The still, small voice, though still and small, is very powerful. It ‘whispereth through and pierceth all things’ [D&C 85:6]…Perhaps something in our lives prevents us from hearing the message because we are ‘past feeling’ [1Nephi 17:45]. We often put ourselves in spiritual dead spots – places and situations that block out divine messages. Some of these dead spots include anger, pornography, transgression, selfishness, and other situations that offend the Spirit” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2004, 67-68; or Ensign, May 2004, 67)

 

LOVE WITHIN THE FAMILY    

BACKGROUND/SCRIPTURE

Many times throughout Nephi’s life, his older brothers treated him unkindly, such as…

READ: 1 Nephi 17:17–22

WATCH: Nephi’s brothers binding him with cords as they travel by boat to the Promised Land (3:17), click HERE

DISCUSS: What are the consequences of jealousy, contention, and complaining in a family? How can we overcome these problems?

MINI LESSON

SHARE: The following is adapted from the book “Love is a Choice” by Elder Lynn G. Robbins (The book is available on Amazon. For resource, click HERE)

Can one choose to love, or is love something you fall into? Is agency involved, or is love something that just happens to you? If love is something you fall in, how can you act rather than be acted upon?

Romantic movies today would have you believe that love is governed by some uncontrollable, ungovernable force—like fate or serendipity. But this simply isn’t reality. Falling in and out of love is no more real than Cupid or Prince Charming.

While the expression “to fall in love” is a beautiful idiom, there are inherent risks involved in using the verb fall because it implies that love is accidental or involuntary, with no choice involved. This mentality can also lead many to believe the distressing corollary, “we fell out of love”—an all-too-common phrase used nowadays to explain failed marriages.

Falling in love and falling out of love makes it seem as if love were something that cannot be controlled—as though, in matters of love, we are all being acted upon more than choosing to act for ourselves.

Too many believe that love is a condition pertaining solely to the heart, something that happens to you. They disassociate love from the mind and, therefore, from agency.

We know that any commandment of God involves agency. We can obey or disobey, but there is always a choice. Therefore, when the Lord puts love in the command form, like when He said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” He is not saying, “I hope you fall in love with your neighbor” (Matthew 22:37, 39). The command is a directive, an appeal to the mind to make a conscious choice.

PONDER & DISCUSS

Choosing to love someone is a choice. Do you think Nephi still loved his brothers regardless of how they treated him? Loving our own siblings is a conscious choice. It is a choice that we will be blessed for in the end. A choice that is worth it. 

A mother once said that they have a standing rule in their home: If you cannot treat your sister or brother like your best friend, then you cannot play with other friends.

In your scripture journal jot down qualities of a true friend. Think of different people in your family that demonstrate some of those qualities. Share what you wrote with your family. Then ask yourself, “Which quality can I work better on?” Make a goal to work on developing that quality so that you can build a stronger relationship with your family. (*Be sure and check out “Simply Siblings” in Feb 2020 New Era, a great example of siblings choosing to be friends.) 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)

NEW ERA ARTICLE: Simply Siblings (Feb 2020 New Era)
ENSIGN ARTICLE: 6 Ways to Strengthen Family Love
ENSIGN ARTICLE:  Ten Ideas for Mastering Strong Emotions at Home (Feb 2020 Ensign)
CHURCH BLOG: Navigating Family Differences with Love and Trust
CHURCH NEWS ARTICLE: How to Overcome the Negative Feelings and Effects of Jealousy
CONFERENCE TALK: Fundamentals of Enduring Family Relationships
CONFERENCE TALK: A Home Where the Spirit of the Lord Dwells by President Eyring
VIDEO: Nurturing Marriage by President Nelson
STORY: Parable of the Spoon

 

THE LORD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU

BACKGROUND

Pull out baby books, scrapbooks, or pictures on your phone and talk about what mothers do for their children. You may ask: Do mothers love their children because they are always so easy to care for and they always do the right things? Do mothers love their children because children give back more than their mothers give to them?

In 1 Nephi we read of how God’s love is like the love of a mother.

SCRIPTURE

READ: 1 Nephi 21:14-16 *Nephi is quoting Isaiah in this chapter

What do you think the Lord meant when he said, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands”?

How might this suggest that there are some ways in which the Lord’s love for us is greater than the love of a mother?

MINI LESSON

SHARE THE FOLLOWING STORY BY DAVID BUTLER: 

A few years ago, my friends told me a story of loading all their kids into the car to head to Grandma’s house. The dad carried their newborn baby out in the car seat and set it up on the roof of the car while he buckled in the rest of the kids. After wrestling to get them all in their spots, he shut the door, hopped into the driver’s seat, and started the car, forgetting about the baby.

They pulled out of their driveway and stopped at the stop sign that was just at the corner of their street when his wife looked up in horror and yelled, “The baby!” He quickly put the car in park, and they both flew out of their seat belts, got out, and looked up to find the car seat gently rocking back and forth with an oblivious and happy baby cooing in it. The parents exchanged glances. Dad swallowed hard, reached up, got the baby, opened the side door, and clicked the baby in before they started on the rest of their trip in thankful relief and silence. 

Can a mother or father forget their newborn baby? Yes, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. You are engraved in the palms of my hands. The truth is, even parents and dear friends can fail us in our lives – but not Jesus. After all that He has done for us – including and especially dying for us on Calvary’s cross – the Lord will never be able to forget us. We are always before Him. And He will always be for us. (Taken from Don’t Miss This, 1 Nephi 21:16)

PONDER & DISCUSS

Discuss and/or write in your scripture journal how these scripture verses can help you when you feel alone and forgotten.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)

CONFERENCE TALK: The Lord Has Not Forgotten You by Linda S. Reeves
OBJECT LESSON: Show a wristwatch and ask them to pretend that the watch cost $10 or less. If the watch stopped working, would they pay to have it repaired at the jewelry store? Why not? On the other hand, if the watch were worth $400, would they be more likely to have it fixed? Why would they pay to fix the $400 watch but not the cheaper one? Ask them how that is like the Lord’s love for us. (Taken from Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families, The Book of Mormon)

 

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.   

THIS WEEK’S TALK: Holiness and the Plan of Happiness By President Henry B. Eyring, Click HERE

SUMMARY: Lasting happiness is something all are eager to find, but such happiness can be found only through the plan of happiness that Heavenly Father has laid out for His children. As Alma taught in the Book of Mormon, “increasing in holiness (is) the only path to happiness.” The scriptures teach that one becomes more holy by exercising faith in Christ, being obedient, repenting, sacrificing for Him, receiving ordinances and keeping covenants with God. “Qualifying for the gift of holiness requires humility, meekness and patience.” The calming, quiet influence of the Holy Ghost can help individuals become more holy as they strive to continually be worthy of the Spirit’s guidance and presence. Some may wonder, though, “Why do I not feel the peace and happiness promised to those who have been faithful? I have been faithful through terrible adversity, but I don’t feel happiness.” In such instances, it is important to remember that change does not merely come by asking for it. “Greater holiness … will come by doing what is needed for God to change us,” and that often means through times of adversity. Holiness is a gift from God that must be sought after each day through repentance and increasing people’s faith in the Savior, allowing Him to transform them.

*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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