Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of September 28 – October 11, 2020 covering 3 Nephi 17-19. 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. OR you can add Melanie’s Library to your mobile device home screen by following these instructions, click HERE
****SONGS – For a list of suggested songs for each day of the week, be sure and check out the blog called Music for Latter-day Life by clicking HERE
FHE DAY
Start the week off right with a Family Home Evening that is focused around the upcoming week’s Come, Follow Me. 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 SAVIOR TAUGHT US HOW TO PRAY
BACKGROUND
VIDEO: Jesus Christ Teaches and Prays with the Nephites (2:31), click HERE
SCRIPTURE/MINI LESSON
(Taken from Scripture Study for Latter-Day Saint Families)
ACTIVITY:
- Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper.
- Label one side “What we usually pray for and when.”
- Ask your family to tell when they usually pray and suggest things that are usually mentioned in their prayers. Write them down in the first column.
- Next, label the other side “What Jesus taught the Nephites to pray for.”
- As a family read the following scripture verses and look for the principles that Jesus taught about prayer. Help your family discuss what Jesus taught by asking the questions below. Write what they learned in the second column on your paper.
READ: 3 Nephi 18: 15-23
QUESTIONS TO ASK:
- When did Jesus say we should pray? (verses 15, 18-19, 21, 23)
- What kinds of things should we pray for that would help us overcome the devil’s temptations?
- Whose example should we follow when we pray? (verse 16)
- Why do you think the Lord told us three times to “pray always”?
- What can we do to make certain we get what we pray for? (verse 20)
- Besides our personal prayers, where else should we pray? (verses 21-23)
- How can family prayers and Church prayers be an important source of strength?
PONDER & DISCUSS
Go to the Bible Dictionary and look up “Prayer.” Read together the seventh paragraph, which begins, “As soon as we learn the true relationship…”. Ponder and discuss what everyone learned about how to get the most out of our prayers.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer by Richard G. Scott
PODCAST: Episode 9: The Lord’s Prayer
PARTAKING OF THE SACRAMENT
BACKGROUND
SONG: Sing As Now We Take The Sacrament (or any favorite Sacrament song), click HERE
SCRIPTURE
**For this activity you will need small candy pieces**
ACTIVITY: Give everyone a big piece of paper. Have them write the following words/phrases on their paper as spread out as possible. (Read on and you’ll understand why)
Commandment(s)
Filled
Blessed
Repent
Baptized
Spirit
Remember/Remembrance
Shall not cast him out
Put a bowl of small candies where everyone can reach them. Read the following scripture verses. As you read, each time a person catches one of the words being read that is on their paper, they can take a candy and set it on that word.
READ: 3 Nephi 18: 1-14, 28-32
Then eat the candies on your paper AND using the words listed, what truths did you learn about the Sacrament?
MINI LESSON/PONDER & DISCUSS
FILLED SPIRITUALLY
(Taken from CFM manual)
How can taking the sacrament help you to be spiritually “filled”?
In your scripture journals, make a list of questions to prompt personal reflection when you take the sacrament, such as “How do I feel about the Savior and His sacrifice for me?” “How is His sacrifice influencing my daily life?” or “What am I doing well as a disciple, and what can I improve?”
These words from President Henry B. Eyring may help you ponder one way the sacrament can help you be spiritually filled:
“As you examine your life during the ordinance of the sacrament, I hope your thoughts center not only on things you have done wrong but also on things you have done right—moments when you have felt that Heavenly Father and the Savior were pleased with you. You may even take a moment during the sacrament to ask God to help you see these things. … When I have done this, the Spirit has reassured me that while I’m still far from perfect, I’m better today than I was yesterday. And this gives me confidence that, because of the Savior, I can be even better tomorrow” (“Always Remember Him,” Ensign, Feb. 2018, 5, CFM manual).
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PARTAKE OF THE SACRAMENT WORTHILY?
Referring to 3 NEPHI 18: 28-32, what does it mean to partake of the sacrament worthily? How do we know if we are unworthy?
Elder Groberg answered these questions in a General Conference address. He said…
QUOTE BY ELDER GROBERG:
If we desire to improve (which is to repent) and are not under priesthood restriction, then, in my opinion, we are worthy. If, however, we have no desire to improve, if we have no intention of following the guidance of the Spirit, we must ask: Are we worthy to partake, or are we making a mockery of the very purpose of the sacrament, which is to act as a catalyst for personal repentance and improvement? (The Beauty and Importance of the Sacrament by John H. Groberg)
SHALL NOT CAST HIM OUT
What happens to those who aren’t worthy? Do we cast them out? How do we minister to them?
SHARE QUOTE BY EMILY BELLE FREEMAN (Taken from Don’t Miss This)
I have a good friend who is gay. Our family has walked through life with him, and we have had many deep and heartfelt conversations. Many of those conversations have been discussions about God, and church communities, and love. One afternoon he texted to say he was struggling. We talked about his life and his circumstances. I asked where he felt he was lacking. He knew immediately what it was – he missed feeling spiritual things. I asked what his spiritual practices looked like. “Do you pray? Read scripture? Do you see the hand of the Lord working in your life?” We talked about what that might look like. Then I suggested maybe he needed to find a church community. “What if they don’t accept me?” he wondered out loud. I prayed they would.
After our conversation, I reflected on one of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon: “Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye shall minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my name;…ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not by what they will return…and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means” (3 Nephi 18:30-32). It is how the family of God is meant to love. We receive, and minister, and pray, and as we learn to do that well, it allows the Lord to do His work – healing hearts. These verses remind us that He will heal the hearts, but we can be the means.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: Always Remember Him by Henry B. Eyring
CONFERENCE TALK: The Beauty and Importance of the Sacrament by John H. Groberg
DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST SEEK THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST
BACKGROUND
Think about a prayer you said recently. What do your prayers teach you about your deepest desires? After spending a day in the presence of the Savior, the multitude “did pray for that which they most desired,” any guesses on what that was? It was the gift of the Holy Ghost. (CFM manual)
SCRIPTURE/PONDER & DISCUSS
The companionship of the Holy Ghost is granted to us as we desire it and are worthy of it.
READ: 3 Nephi 19: 6-14
- Why would these Nephites desire the Holy Ghost more than anything else?
- What could the Holy Ghost add to their lives?
- What did the people do in order to receive the Holy Ghost?
(The following is taken from Book of Mormon Institute Manual for teachers)
Write the word Advocate on a big piece of paper.
- What is an advocate? (A person who pleads the cause of someone else.)
READ: 3 Nephi 19:15-23
- How was Jesus being an advocate for the Nephites in these verses?
- How does Jesus Christ act as our Advocate?
QUOTE BY PRESIDENT JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH:
“An advocate is one who defends or pleads for or in behalf of another. … That is part of [the] great mission [of Jesus Christ]. … When he was upon earth, he prayed frequently for his disciples, pleading with his Father in their behalf, and he has been pleading ever since” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 1:26–27).
- How do you feel when you think about Jesus continuing as your Advocate with the Father?
MINI LESSON
(Taken from Come Follow Me Through the Book of Mormon)
SHARE THE FOLLOWING:
“On February 23, 1847…Brigham wrote about a dream in which the Prophet Joseph appeared to him. Brigham Young told Joseph about how much he missed his companionship, and asked Joseph why he could not come with him. Joseph told him he would have to wait. Brigham then asked if Joseph had a message for the Saints. Joseph responded-“
PAUSE!
If the Prophet Joseph Smith visited you in a dream, what do you think he would want you to know? If you could ask him one question, what would it be? How do you think he responded to Brigham Young?
RESUME READING:
“Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and do not turn away the small still voice; it will teach [you] what to do and where to go….Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits; it will take malice, hatred, strife, and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the Spirit of the Lord, they will go right.” (“Secretary’s Journal,” 17 August 1845, Brigham Young Papers, MS, Church Archives Manuscript History of Brigham Young, February 23, 1847)
Are you surprised? How is this message consistent with what President Nelson is teaching today?
OPTIONAL – Print out and go over “How to Discern the Influence of the Spirit” by Elder Groberg. Click HERE
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CES DEVOTIONAL FOR YOUNG ADULTS: The Unspeakable Gift of the Holy Ghost
VIDEO: Having the Holy Ghost (2:55)
BYU SPEECHES: Gifts of the Spirit for Hard Times
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: Hosanna and Hallelujah—The Living Jesus Christ: The Heart of Restoration and Easter By Elder Gerrit W. Gong, click 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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