Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of April 26-May 2, 2021 covering Doctrine and Covenants 45. For personal and/or family study of the scriptures, geared towards families with teenagers.  

 

*This is a suggested outline that coincides with the Come, Follow Me manual. These are my own thoughts and testimony combined with other resources that I have gathered. Everyone should study the scriptures in a way that’s best for them, but I do hope you find these outlines helpful. 

*SCRIPTURE JOURNALS – I strongly suggest having a scripture journal. Many times my outlines will suggest writing 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. You can also 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. Suggestion for NON-SINGERS: Instead of singing, listen to the song suggested on Music for Latter-day Life and as you listen, write in our scripture journals how you have seen the hand of the Lord in your life or something you are grateful for. A great way to invite the Spirit to your scripture study.    

 

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 GOSPEL IS A STANDARD TO THE NATIONS    

BACKGROUND

SHOW IMAGE:  

*Used for educational purposes only 

PHOTO ON THE LEFT: The photo on the left is a photograph of six United States Marines raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during World War II at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima is a volcanic island. The Japanese used it as an early warning station, radioing warnings of incoming American bombers to the Japanese homeland. Three of the six Marines in the photograph were killed in action during the battle that happened there. The battle continued to rage for many days, and the island wasn’t declared “secure” until 31 days after the raising of the flag. It was the first Japanese homeland soil to be captured by the United Sates. (wikipedia.org) 

PHOTO ON THE RIGHT: The photo on the right was taken on September 11, 2001. The picture shows three New York City firefighters, raising the U.S. flag at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center, following the September 11the attacks. The September 11th attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the terrorist group Al-Qaeda against the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities and over 25,000 injuries. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in human history and the single deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States. The flag came from the yacht Star of America which was docked in the yacht basin in the Hudson River at the World Financial Center. (wikipedia.org) 

DISCUSS:

• What is the definition for ensign? (Google definition: a flag or standard, especially a military or naval one indicating nationality)
• Could we call the American flag an ensign?
• What does the American flag stand for?

Another word for ensign is standard.

QUOTE BY ELDER BENJAMIN DE HOYOS: “In a scriptural context an ensign, or a standard, is a flag around which people would gather in a unity of purpose. In ancient times a standard served as a rallying point for soldiers in battle.” (That Our Light May Be a Standard for the Nations)

In these pictures, did the American flag unify people together in purpose?

Instead of a flag, what do you think stands as an ensign or standard for the gospel?

• For help in finding an answer, look up ENSIGN in the Guide to the Scriptures
• GOSPEL LIBRARY>>SCRIPTURES>>STUDY HELPS>>GUIDE TO THE SCRIPTURES>>ENSIGN
• It says: “Symbolically speaking, the Book of Mormon and the restored Church of Jesus Christ are standards to all nations.”

SCRIPTURE/MINI LESSON

READ: D&C:45:9-10

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Book of Mormon bring people to Christ. They prepare the world for the Savior’s return. They unite all of God’s people with the same purpose – to love God, love our neighbor, and return to live with Him again.

Another meaning for standard is an example or rule that other things can be measured against. What standards has the Lord asked us to uphold?

*Click HERE for a list of Gospel Standards you may want to go over OR go over For the Strength of Youth 

 

PONDER & DISCUSS

 *Mention a time when you or someone in your family was outdoors at night and they needed a flashlight to light their way. Perhaps when your family went camping or when a daughter was at Girls Camp or a son camping with the YM. Talk about how without the light, they would have gotten lost and/or hurt themselves because they couldn’t see where they were going. 

DISCUSS:

• How could you compare standards to that of a flashlight? (Gospel standards give us safety, security, and direction just as a flashlight can when we are walking outside at night.)
• How can upholding these standards help us to be a light to others?  
• Which standards do you feel you could work better on?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)

CONFERENCE TALK: That Our Light May be a Standard for the Nations
CONFERENCE TALK: An Ensign to the Nations, a Light to the World by President Gordon B. Hinckley

 

 

THE LORD’S PROMISES WILL BE FULFILLED 

BACKGROUND 

*OPTIONAL – at the very beginning put something in the oven that the whole family would enjoy eating, perhaps some delicious muffins or Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast or cookies for later. Mention how you have some delicious food baking in the oven for everyone to eat when scripture study is over. 

VIDEO: Studio C Worst Teacher Ever (2:00), Click HERE

I’m sure we could all name a lot of things that are “worst ever” from movies, to foods, to songs. Many Christians would say that the worst ever events that will happen in history will be those leading up to the Second Coming of Christ.

SHOW IMAGE:

*Used for educational purposes

War, iniquity, and desolation will precede the Savior’s Second Coming but there are also many blessings the Lord has promised too. 

SCRIPTURE/MINI LESSON

(Adapted from Come Follow Me Through the Doctrine and Covenants)

READ: D&C 45:26-33, 40-43 and mark or highlight the calamities that will happen before the Second Coming of Christ.

• Discuss all the ones you marked.
• As a family, come up with 5 emotions that people may feel as they read about these conditions.

VIDEO: Men’s Hearts Shall Fail Them (3:24), click HERE

• How did the lady on the plane react when she thought she was going to die?
• How did President Nelson react?
• How can we compare this to those who follow Christ in the last days and those who don’t?

When Jesus shared these calamities with His original twelve Apostles days before His crucifixion, the scriptures say, “They were troubled” (refer to D&C 45:34). That’s a scriptural understatement! Jesus’s immediate response was…

READ: D&C 45:35

Now let’s read some verses from this section and instead of focusing on the troubling events, let’s focus on the blessings the Lord promises us. Try marking or highlighting the blessings in a different color than the calamities.

READ:

• D&C 45:28 (“The fulness of the gospel” will be a light to me when I sit in darkness)   
• D&C 45:32 (I can “stand in holy places”)
• D&C 45:54-59 *as a family see which blessings you can find

You may encourage your family as they study all of section 45 on their own this week to continue with their marking/highlighting of both the calamities but also the blessings.

PONDER & DISCUSS

*OPTIONAL – If you put something in the oven to cook as suggested at the beginning, discuss the following…

• How do you know if the food in the oven is ready to eat?
• What signs are there that let’s you know it’s fully cooked?
• When there’s been something delicious cooking in the oven, have you ever gotten so excited that you just couldn’t wait?  

Just as there are signs to know if our food is ready to eat, the Lord has given us signs to watch for when it comes to the Savior’s Second Coming. Just as we can get excited looking forward to eating something, if we will focus on the wonderful blessings the Lord has promised us, then we can also be excited for the Savior’s Second Coming and look forward to that day. 

**If you didn’t bake anything, you could also talk about an event that you or someone in your family is anticipating and share ways that you or they are “watching” for that event. Compare that to being excited and anticipating the Savior’s Second Coming. 

End with bearing your testimony of how we can find strength during these “worst ever” events in history if we will look to God and look forward to the blessings He has promised.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)

CONFERENCE TALK: Preparation for the Second Coming by Dallin H. Oaks
CONFERENCE TALK: Preparing for the Lord’s Return By Elder D. Todd Christofferson

 

 

STAND YE IN HOLY PLACES AND BE NOT MOVED

BACKGROUND

GAME: Have a staring competition.

How to play: Start with 2 people. Have the two people stare at each other until one person blinks, laughs, or looks away. The first person to do this loses. The winner of the first 2 people then plays a new person. The winner of those 2 people then plays a new person and so forth until everyone has had a chance to play. The last person to win is then declared the Ultimate Winner of the Staring Competition.

ASK: In the staring competition you weren’t allowed to move your eyelids, laugh, or look away, you basically had to sit still and not move. In the scriptures, when has the Lord ever told us not to move?

SCRIPTURE

READ: D&C 45:31-32

LESSON

The Lord has told us to “stand in holy places” and “not be moved.”

Where are “holy places”?

QUOTE BY SISTER SHARON G. LARSEN:

“Holy places can be wherever you are – alone, in a crowd, with strangers, with friends. The road to Jericho was treacherous and formidable. Thieves infiltrated the bushes and trees waiting to ambush any traveler. It took a kind and courageous Samaritan to change that road from a haunted place to a holy place” (“Standing in Holy Places” Conference Talk)

What does that quote mean to you? How did the Samaritan change the road to Jericho?

QUOTE BY KEVIN J. WORTHEN: 

 “In today’s world, more will be expected of you than to just stand in holy places. My plea is not just that you stand in holy places but that you make holy the places in which you stand.” (Kevin J. Worthen, President, BYU, “Holy Places,” Devotional given at BYU-Hawaii)

 

Be thinking of ways you can make the places where you stand a holy place as you watch the following video. 

VIDEO: Stand Ye in Holy Places – Bloom Where You’re Planted (4:36), click HERE

PONDER & DISCUSS

• What stood out to you in that video?
• How can you make the places where you stand more holy? 
• How can we make our home a more holy place? 
• What does the Lord mean when he says “not be moved”? (You may point out that just as the staring contest took effort, standing in holy places and not moving also takes effort.)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)

CONFERENCE TALK: Standing in Holy Places by Sharon G. Larsen
CONFERENCE TALK: Your Holy Places By Ann M. Dibb
BYU SPEECH: Holy Places by Kevin J. Worthen, President, BYU

 

 

GENERAL CONFERENCE DAY

Study a recent General Conference talk. A great way to study a conference talk is to read along and highlight the parts that stand out to you. Then after the talk, review and discuss what you have highlighted.    

THIS WEEK’S TALK: Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution By President Dallin H. Oaks

 

 

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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