Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of March 1-7, 2021 covering Doctrine and Covenants 20-22. 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. 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.

**SCRIPTURE JOURNALS – I highly suggest getting a scripture journal for each person. 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. Composition books found at the Dollar Store work great!   

**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

**OPENING SONG SUGGESTION FOR NON-SINGERS – We are not big singers in our family but I know how powerful music can be when it comes to inviting the Spirit. Instead of singing, we have begun listening to the song suggested on Music for Latter-day Life and as we listen we each write in our scripture journals how we have seen the hand of the Lord in our lives or something we are grateful for. It has been a wonderful way to get everyone in the right mindset and to invite the Spirit for our family 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. 

 

SACRED ORDINANCES ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE RESTORED CHURCH

BACKGROUND 

(Adapted from MeckMom)

OBJECT LESSON: The Special Handshake

You can do one of three things:

1. If any two people have a special handshake have them show it to the rest of the family. 
2. Before you even start scripture study, make up a special handshake with another family member and then begin scripture study by showing the rest of the family your special handshake.
3. As a family, come up with a special family handshake. 

Special handshakes can be a lot of fun. Why do some people have special handshakes? (It’s a way to silently communicate they have a bond. It gives them a connection.) 

A special handshake is a step by step process just between two people. An outsider can’t come in and do the handshake. They may throw something in that’s not in the handshake and that would mess everything up. You have to do the handshake at the right time, with the right steps, in just the right order.

Did you know we could compare this to ordinances?

Ordinances are a physical manifestation of something that has a deeper, spiritual meaning. When we go through the motions of getting baptized, getting confirmed, partaking of the sacrament, or going through the temple, like a special handshake, we are doing something physically that is tying us closer together to our Father in Heaven. It can be a way to build a special bond between you and Him. Similar to a handshake, ordinances involve a certain series of actions that we take, many times happening in a certain place, always by a certain priesthood authority, and you can’t do them out of order. You can’t do the sacrament prayer a different way, you can’t get baptized and not go all the way under. There are certain steps you must do and in a certain way. There’s a reason for that and it’s because there is a symbolic meaning behind all of them.

When the Church was organized, the Lord taught His Saints about sacred ordinances, including baptism and the sacrament. Baptism and the sacrament are what we’re going to touch on today.

SCRIPTURE/MINI LESSON/PONDER & DISCUSS

(Parts of the following were taken from Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families)

BAPTISM

VIDEO: The Baptism of Jesus (2:54), click HERE

What are the requirements for baptism?

READ: D&C 20:37 and do the following…

• Imagine yourself as a missionary interviewing someone for baptism. Using verse 37 as a guide, what are some questions you would ask that would help you know if the person is ready for baptism? 
• Think of your own baptism.
• Did you have any of the feelings described in this verse?
• Do you have them now?
• What can we do to keep vibrant our determination to serve Jesus Christ to the end?

READ: The Section Heading of D&C 22 and look for the circumstance that led to this revelation. 

Before reading the section, what do you think the Lord’s answer will be?

READ: D&C 22 and see if you were right

 

SACRAMENT

VIDEO: Sacrament: A Bible Story for Children (2:59), click HERE

READ: D&C 20:75-79

• What do you think are the two or three most important words or phrases in the sacrament prayers?
• What do we promise to do when we partake of the sacrament, and what does God promise us in return?
• Is it worth doing what we promise to receive what the Lord promises?
• Why do you think Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said that sacrament meeting is “the most sacred, the most holy, of all the meetings of the Church”?
• What can we do to prepare ourselves for meaningful, reverent experiences with the sacrament? 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)

CONFERENCE TALK: That I Might Draw All Men unto Me by Elder Dale G. Renlund
CONFERENCE TALK: As Now We Take the Sacrament by L. Tom Perry
CONFERENCE TALK: Behold the Lamb of God by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

 

 

PRIESTHOOD SERVICE BLESSES CHURCH MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

(Parts of the following were taken from Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families)

BACKGROUND 

Ask a priesthood holder (or another member of the family) to briefly explain the duties of a deacon, a teacher, a priest, and an elder.

SCRIPTURE

Tell your family that a more detailed list of duties is found in D&C 20:38-59. 

ACTIVITY: For this activity you will need four strips of paper with the 4 assignments listed below. Write one assignment on each strip of paper. You will also need four pieces of paper and 4 pens/pencils.   

Divide your family into 4 groups (if there’s not enough for groups, you can assign each individual). 

Write the following assignments on separate pieces of paper if you haven’t already. Give each group an assignment and a piece of paper with a pencil/pen. Then have each group find and make a list of the duties of the priesthood office they were given. Let them know when they are done, their lists will be used to play the game “Who am I?” so they should write their answers in “Who am I” fashion. Such as: “I am to watch over the church and strengthen them.” or “I take the lead if no elder or priest is here.” 

1. Elders (Verses 38-45)
2. Priests (Verses 46-52)
3. Teachers (Verses 53-57)
4. Deacons (Verses 57-59)

When each group has finished their completed list, collect all the papers. Randomly pick a paper to read. After you read everything on a piece of paper, ask, “Who am I?” See who can guess which priesthood office is being described. 

MINI LESSON

Is everyone – men, women, and children – blessed by the work we just described that is done by those who hold the priesthood?

OBJECT LESSON:

Have one person (preferably a priesthood holder if there is one) hold an opened umbrella. Ask two other family members to stand under it with the person holding it.

Compare the umbrella to the priesthood and the person holding it to a priesthood holder. Point out that if it were raining, everyone under the umbrella would receive the blessing of staying dry, not just the one holding it. Similarly, God has provided, through His priesthood, a way for all His children to be blessed. Through the priesthood we receive the ordinances of salvation that allow us to return and live with God again. (Church manual)

HOW ARE PRIESTHOOD LEADERS CHOSEN?

In D&C 20 it explains how priesthood leaders are chosen.

*Ask the following questions and then have family members search the answer in the accompanying verse.

1.Who calls priesthood leaders and how are they ordained? (verse 60 also refer to Articles of Faith 1:5)

2.What meetings are we commanded to hold besides our weekly sacrament meetings? (verses 61-62) *We hold conferences. These verses are particularly in regards to stake conferences which for many years were held quarterly, now they are held every six months.

3.What do we do in our Church meetings and conferences to be obedient to the instructions in verses 63-64? *Every Aaronic priesthood holder must be sustained by the vote of his ward or branch before he can advance within the Aaronic priesthood. Those receiving the Melchizedek priesthood must be sustained by the vote of his stake, whether at stake conference or high councilmen receiving the sustaining votes in each of the wards within the stake. 

4.Can someone be ordained to any office of the church without the vote of the church? (verse 65) *No one can be ordained without first being sustained. It is an important safeguard against apostasy. For example, many break-offs from the Church have claimed that their leaders were secretly ordained.

PONDER & DISCUSS

SHARE QUOTE:

The following quote is by James E. Faust that he gave at a Priesthood session of General Conference. 

“The Lord said, ‘For many are called, but few are chosen.’ We are called when hands are laid upon our heads and we are given the priesthood, but we are not chosen until we have demonstrated to God our righteousness, our faithfulness, and our commitment.”

What do you think is important for priesthood holders to understand from this quote?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)

CONFERENCE TALK: Called and Chosen by James E. Faust
CONFERENCE TALK: The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood By Elder Dallin H. Oaks

 

 

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST IS LED BY A LIVING PROPHET 

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

BACKGROUND

OBJECT LESSON: You will need 3 cups that are not clear. Gather small snacks for everybody, such as Tootsie Rolls, Skittles, or Goldfish. Put all the snacks in one cup, but don’t let anyone look inside.

SAY: “Everyone is going to vote for whichever cup they think has the snacks inside. If you get it right, you get the snacks. If you get it wrong, you go hungry.”

Just before the vote, have one person come up and look inside the cups, but tell them they can’t say anything, they can only vote. Let them vote first. Then have everyone else vote for which cup they think has the treats. 

• Did everyone get it right?
• What was the benefit of having someone who could see?
• What did it do for the confidence and hope of the group, knowing someone could see?
• Did the group trust the one person who could see? Why or why not?
• How does this help us to understand the role of having a seer on the earth? 

SCRIPTURE

READ: D&C 21:1-2 and 4-9

What does it mean to receive the prophet’s words in patience and faith? (verse 5)

MINI LESSON

VIDEO: Continue in Patience (2:41), click HERE

OR

VIDEO: Follow the Prophet (4:15), click HERE

How does this analogy help us as we sometimes struggle with current prophetic teachings?

SHARE QUOTE BY CAROL F. MCCONKIE:

“According to the world’s standards, following the prophet may be unpopular, politically incorrect, or socially unacceptable. But following the prophet is always right.”

 

PONDER & DISCUSS

In D&C 21:6 what are the 3 blessings we are promised if we follow the prophets with patience and faith?

With each one…

• Ask what they think it means or their interpretation of that promise and have them write it in their scripture journals.
• Share what I have noted the interpretation could be along with a scripture to cross-reference.
• Ask if anyone has experienced this in their own lives.

1.”The gates of hell shall not prevail against you.”
An interpretation could be: This is a promise of protection and hope for a way out. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

2.”The Lord God will disperse the power of darkness from before you.”
An interpretation could be: This is a promise of a more Christlike vision and also a promise that we will be less likely to believe Satan’s lies. (1 Nephi 15:24)

3.”The heavens to shake for your good.”
An interpretation could be: This is a promise of divine support, hope, encouragement, and revelation. (2 Kings 6:15-17)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)

CONFERENCE TALKS: Talks on the topic: Prophets
ENSIGN ARTICLE: We Believe in Following the Prophet
CHURCH BLOG: Why It’s Important for You to Follow the Prophet and the Apostles

 

 

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: Sustainable Societies By Elder D. Todd Christofferson, 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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