Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of May 17-23, 2021 covering Doctrine and Covenants 51-57. 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.
LET EVERY MAN DEAL HONESTLY
BACKGROUND
GAME: Play one of the following two games.
Option #1: Go Fish
Pair up and give each pair one cup of Goldfish crackers and an empty cup. Partners choose who’ll be the Fisher and who’ll be the Pond. Give each Pond a cup of Goldfish crackers and each Fisher an empty cup. Have partners stand two feet apart and face each other. On go, the Fisher holds the cup on his/her head while the Pond tosses the Goldfish crackers into the cup. Set a timer for two minutes and see who can get the most Goldfish in their empty cup.
Option #2: Stick Up
Pair up and give each pair a notepad of sticky notes. In each pair, one person is the Sticker and one is the Stickee. On go, the Sticker places sticky notes on his/her partner, trying to cover the Stickee with sticky notes. The pair to use up all their sticky notes first, wins. Play a second round by having pairs work backward to remove the sticky notes from the Stickee’s body to recreate the sticky notepad.
(Games taken from childrensministry.com)
When you have finished playing, ask…
- How would this game had gone differently if someone had cheated?
- Would it had been as fun?
- How do you think the cheater would have felt?
- How do you think others would have felt about the one who had cheated?
SCRIPTURE
READ: D&C 51:9
- Why is it important to “deal honestly” with each other?
- How does honesty help us “be one”?
MINI LESSON
A part of being honest is always keeping our promises. How does it make us feel when people break their promises or don’t do what they say they will?
When someone breaks their promise or doesn’t do what they say they will, it can be very hurtful and frustrating.
SHOW IMAGE:
Used for educational purposes.
This is a picture of Leman Copley’s land.
A group of poor converts from Colesville, New York, arrived in Kirtland, Ohio. The Lord told the Saints in Ohio to share their land with the people from New York. Leman Copley had a lot of land (refer to picture) and promised to share it. Many of the Saints from New York moved onto the land and promised to develop it and earn wages to get them on their feet financially. In fewer than two months, Leman Copley broke his promise. He decided he didn’t want the Saints from New York to have his land. He made them move even though they had no where else to live.
- Has there ever been a time when someone else’s actions caused a serious hardship for you?
- What did this experience teach you about forgiveness?
- What did this experience teach you about agency?
- How do you think you would have reacted towards Copley if you were one of the Saints that got kicked off his land with no where to go?
- Would your first initial reaction be anger?
QUOTE BY THOMAS S. MONSON: “No one can make us angry. It is our choice.”
- There’s also a saying that goes, “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
- How can holding on to anger towards another person affect you more than the other person?
- Can we have the spirit with us if we are filled with anger or other negative feelings towards someone else?
VIDEO: President Uchtdorf: Forgiveness (3:39), click HERE
PONDER & DISCUSS
Being affected by someone else’s poor choices can be a tribulation, just as it was a tribulation for the Saints to be kicked off of Copley’s land and have no where to go.
READ: D&C 54:10
How can this verse give us comfort during tribulation?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
VIDEO: See Others As They May Become (0:59)
VIDEO: Honesty: You Better Believe It! (4:46)
VIDEO: Hidden Wedges
VIDEO: Chapter 21: A Revelation to Settle in Missouri (1:27)
COMMITTED TO GOD’S WORK
*If you have a family member who can sing or play an instrument, you may ask them ahead of time to be prepared to sing/play the hymn “The Spirit of God.”
BACKGROUND
GAME: Play “Name that Tune” using one or more hymns written by William W. Phelps.
To find the songs written by W.W. Phelps using the church’s website, click HERE
OR using a device go to the GOSPEL LIBRARY APP>>MUSIC>>USING THE HYMNBOOK>>AUTHORS AND COMPOSERS then scroll down to “P” for Phelps, William W. If you click on a page number by his name, a song will come up. For example, click “2” and “The Spirit of God” should open up. You can then hit the Audio button (blue circle with an image of headphones) and it will begin to play the music for that song. To play the game, only let the first note or two play before stopping and seeing if anyone can guess what song it is. If they can’t guess it, then you start the song over and play three to four notes – each time adding a few more notes until someone can guess the song.
ASK: Does anyone know what all of these songs have in common? They were all written by William W. Phelps.
SCRIPTURE
SHOW IMAGE:
Used for educational purposes
This is William W. Phelps. He was very talented and the Lord called him to use his talents to help build the Kingdom of God.
READ: D&C 55 and 57:11-12
How did the Lord use William Phelps’s abilities as a writer and a printer?
MINI LESSON
MUSIC:
- If you have a family member who can sing or play an instrument, have them sing/play “The Spirit of God,” one of the songs written by William Phelps.
- OR you can also have the family sing the song together
- OR play one of the following music videos
Spirit of God (Official Music Video) Nashville Tribute Band, click HERE
The Spirit of God like a Fire is Burning, click HERE
INSIGHT BY EMILY BELLE FREEMAN: (Taken from Don’t Miss This)
William W. Phelps’s heart was with the Church as soon as he became acquainted with the Book of Mormon, and from that moment forward he was committed. He was a close friend to the Prophet until there was a small moment when William and Joseph had a falling-out. William was excommunicated, and he became a bitter enemy of the Prophet for a time. After he repented, he wrote to Joseph as the prodigal son. Joseph wrote back, “friends at first are friends again at last.” W.W. Phelps remained true to the Church for the rest of his life…Every time I sing [“The Spirit of God”], I think of the passion and commitment of W. W. Phelps.
William was ordained to do the work of printing, of selecting, and of writing. He was told to take his journey, and the Lord told him it was so he could do this work. Reading that made me want to contemplate my own journey, my cause, and my work.
Do I have passion and commitment to the cause to which I have been called? Am I willing to repent when I get off course? Am I devoted to the work?
I want to feel the Spirit of God like a fire, burning…I want to be part of this great work until the moment Jesus descends with His chariot of fire.
PONDER & DISCUSS
- What talents has the Lord called you to use to forward His work?
- Perhaps there have been talents that you didn’t know you had until after the Lord called you to do something.
- What is your cause, your journey, and your work?
- How could you be more committed to that work?
- What can we do if we are unsure what work the Lord is wanting us to do?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: The Word Is Commitment by Marvin J. Ashton
BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART
BACKGROUND
VIDEO: I Don’t Need Nothin’ But You – Studio C (5:00), click HERE
SCRIPTURE/LESSON
In D&C 56 the Lord speaks both to the rich and to the poor. Read the following verses and compare His counsel to these two groups. *You may note the differences in your scripture journal.
READ: D&C 56:14-20
Discuss what you found along with the following questions.
(The following is taken from Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families)
- What does it mean to “counsel in your own ways” in verse 14? (To do what you want rather than what God has commanded.)
- Why do we sometimes do what we want rather than what God wants?
- Why does the Lord chasten the rich in verse 16?
- What is a “canker sore” and how does it feel?
- How can riches cause spiritual “canker sores” on our souls? (verse 16)
- Why do you think some rich people refuse to help the poor?
- What are some reasons the Lord chastens the poor in verse 17?
- Why do people steal?
- What does verse 18 say the poor need to do to receive the Lord’s blessings?
SHORT STORY:
Andrew Workman, an acquaintance of Joseph Smith, shared the following story:
“I was at Joseph’s house; he was there, and several men were sitting on the fence. Joseph came out and spoke to us all. Pretty soon a man came up and said that a poor brother who lived out some distance from town had had his house burned down the night before. Nearly all of the men said they felt sorry for the man. Joseph put his hand in his pocket, took out five dollars and said, ‘I feel sorry for this brother to the amount of five dollars; how much do you all feel sorry?'” (Best-Loved Stories of the LDS People, 405-6.)
PONDER & DISCUSS
- Take a moment and do a self-evaluation.
- How do you feel about riches?
- Do you work hard to earn money?
- Do you dwell often on the nice things that you own or the nice things that you wish you owned?
- Are you the first to help someone in need?
- Would you do as Joseph Smith did even if that was your last $5 until your next pay check?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: Greed, Selfishness, and Overindulgence by Joe J. Christensen
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: Bishops—Shepherds over the Lord’s Flock By Elder Quentin L. Cook, 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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