Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of August 10-16, 2020 covering Alma 53-63. 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.
ARMED WITH HEAVENLY POWER
(The following is mainly taken from Come, Follow Me Through the Book of Mormon)
BACKGROUND
After the difficult battle, the stripling warriors faced a different but still deadly trial – starvation. They responded the way you think they would have: they poured their hearts out to God. As they were slowly starving to death, they got word that the Lamanites had regrouped and were coming again to battle. I think of all the ways God could have answered their prayer. They surely knew the manna-from-heaven story. But no manna came. God could have provided them with superior weapons. But no weapons came.
SCRIPTURE
READ: Alma 58: 7-12
What would your reaction be?
I often wonder how many times God has answered my prayer in a way I didn’t like, so I simply rejected the gift. Has that ever happened to you?
QUOTE BY ELDER GENE R. COOK:
“It may be that the Nephites hoped for a miracle. Maybe they wanted angels to come to deliver them, as had happened a time or two in the Old Testament. But what did they receive? The Lord gave them assurance, peace, faith, and hope. He didn’t directly destroy their enemies, but he did give them the gifts they needed so they could deliver themselves. …
“In other words, the Lord put inside these men the will and the power to do what they desired—to begin with a strong resolve and then to see it through. After their prayer was answered, the Nephites went on to secure their liberty.
“When the Lord instills hope and faith and peace and assurance in people, they can bring great things to pass. This, then, is often what we should look for when we ask for help—not a miracle to solve our problem for us, but a miracle inside, to help us come to the solution ourselves, with the Lord’s help and the Lord’s power” (Receiving Answers to Our Prayers [1996], 156–57).
How could this statement affect what we look for as answers to our prayers?
MINI LESSON
*The following you may want to cross-reference in your scriptures and/or make a list of the similarities in your scripture journal.
READ: 1 Nephi 14: 12-14 – This is part of Nephi’s vision of the last days. Notice the similarities between the Church of the Lamb of God and the story of the stripling warriors.
SIMILARITIES
- Both are few in number.
- Wickedness eventually surrounds them on every side.
- Heavenly power is given to the covenant members to survive.
- They are armed, not with swords or shield but with heavenly gifts of deliverance.
- Both prevail and prepare the way for peace (those of us in today’s Church of Jesus Christ are preparing the earth for millennial peace).
What other similarities can you find?
PONDER & DISCUSS
READ: D&C 109:22 to see where we get armed with heavenly gifts (or endowments) in the last days.
How does President Nelson’s focus on temple covenants help me know he is a true prophet?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need
CONFERENCE TALK: The Power of Covenants
CONFERENCE TALK: Sweet Power of Prayer
SHORT STORY: Lost Keys and an Answer to Prayer
STUDY HELPS: Power
DO YOU BECOME “HARDENED” OR “SOFTENED” DURING TRIALS?
BACKGROUND
*The following object lesson comes from the Come, Follow Me manual. Be sure to have water boiling before you start your scripture study. As soon as you start, put the potato and egg in boiling water and while they are cooking (which should take 12-15 minutes) do the rest of the lesson. At the very end, cut open the potato and crack the egg to show that the same “trial” softened the potato and hardened the egg.
OBJECT LESSON: Place a raw potato and a raw egg in a pot of boiling water. Explain how the potato and the egg represent us, and the water represents the trials we face.
Discuss what are some of the trials your family faces and what are some different ways to react to trials like these.
SCRIPTURE
READ: Alma 62:39-41
- In verse 41, what is the meaning of the word hardened? What is the meaning of the word softened?
- Why do you think some Nephites were hardened because of the war while others were softened?
Something to note here is that Mormon didn’t say that the war humbled the people. He said that because of the war, many people “did humble themselves.” We have a choice.
MINI LESSON
When we are faced with the trials and tests that come our way, we have a choice on how we will react. Some people become hardened, selfish and scared while others are softened and face their challenges with humility, patience, and love.
QUOTE BY NEAL A. MAXWELL:
“…Partaking of a bitter cup without becoming bitter is…part of the emulation of Jesus” (“Apply the Atoning Blood of Christ,” General Conference, October 1997).
How we react could change our lives and the lives of those around us, for better or worse.
VIDEO: Reflections (4:21), click HERE
Discuss the different reactions the man had in the video and how it not only impacted him but those around him.
PONDER & DISCUSS
OBJECT LESSON CONTINUED: After the potato and egg are fully cooked, cut open the potato and crack open the egg to show that the same “trial” softened the potato and hardened the egg.
What can our family do to be sure that our trials humble us and bring us closer to God?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES(optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: “Apply the Atoning Blood of Christ” by Neal A. Maxwell
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: Consider the Goodness and Greatness of God By Elder Dale G. Renlund, 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 starting with the church’s resources right 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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