Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of January 25-31, 2021 covering Doctrine and Covenants 6-9. 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.
HEAVENLY FATHER SPEAKS TO ME THROUGH “THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH”
BACKGROUND
In spring 1829 Oliver Cowdery traveled to Harmony and volunteered to be Joseph Smith’s scribe as he translated the Book of Mormon. Oliver now had a close view of the revelatory process of translation. The experience thrilled him.
Oliver Cowdery described the translation process this way: These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, “Interpreters,” the history or record called “The Book of Mormon.” (JSH)
Oliver wondered if he could also be blessed with a gift to translate. The Lord allowed him to attempt to translate, but receiving revelation was new for Oliver, and his attempt did not go well. D&C 6,8, and 9 show that the Lord was willing to teach him. From these teachings, we learn great wisdom in what it means to receive personal revelation.
SCRIPTURE/MINI LESSON
VIDEO: Studio C Here to Help (3:21), click HERE
- When we are in need of help, how important is it that we receive help from the right source?
- When we are in need of spiritual help who should we turn to, the Savior or the world?
- Are we open to receiving help from the Lord if we are solely focused on the world?
SHARE THE FOLLOWING STORY IN YOUR OWN WORDS: A Better Choice, click HERE
The Lord has said that He will answer all our prayers, not just some of them, all of them. But there are things that we need to do in order to receive those answers.
ACTIVITY: As a family, using a white board or large piece of paper, write down the answers that you find to the following questions. (You could also write these in your scripture journals.)
What does the Lord require of you before He will reveal His will? (Read the following passages to find your answers.)
READ: D&C 6:5-7, 8:1, and 9:7-8
What are the different ways revelation might come? (Read the following passages to find your answers.)
READ: D&C 6:14-17, 8:2-3; 9:8-9
PONDER & DISCUSS
What if you’re doing everything you know to do but you still feel like you have not received an answer from the Lord?
SHARE QUOTE BY ELDER BOYD K. PACKER:
It is good to learn when you are young that spiritual things cannot be forced. Sometimes you may struggle with a problem and not get an answer. What could be wrong? It may be that you are not doing anything wrong. It may be that you have not done the right things long enough. Remember, you cannot force spiritual things. (Ensign, November 1979)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
LIAHONA: Unlocking the Door to Personal Revelation
LIAHONA: God Speaks to Us Today
LIAHONA: The Power of Personal Revelation
BE NOT TROUBLED
BACKGROUND
(If you haven’t listened to the story from the Saints, Vol. 1 that was in the FHE outline, I encourage you to listen to it now. Go to: GOSPEL LIBRARY>>RESTORATION AND CHURCH HISTORY>>SAINTS, VOL 1>>CHAPTER 6. Listen from the 6 minute mark to the 8:33 mark.)
SHARE THE FOLLOWING BY STEVEN C HARPER: (Taken from Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants)
Imagine what it was like to be Oliver Cowdery. He had interviewed Joseph’s parents about the plates, received answers to his prayers about Joseph and the marvelous work, including a vision that changed the course of his life by giving him a determined resolve to assist Joseph. Oliver had great expectations. Then his toe froze on the cold trip to Pennsylvania. There was no money to be made scribing. Could the painstaking scribing that went on “day after day,” as Oliver put it, in a tiny house near the Susquehanna River have disillusioned him somewhat? Would not doubts and fears come naturally? When they did, Oliver knew where to turn. He had successfully asked the Lord to grant his desires previously, and now he did again.
SCRIPTURE
SHARE: Share the following image while reading the following scripture passage.
READ: D&C 6:33-37
How might Oliver and also Joseph have felt after hearing these words?
Fear is not new. Everyone feels fear. The Lord knows our concerns and He invites us to “look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not”.
MINI LESSON
VIDEO: Be Not Troubled (4:31), click HERE
PONDER & DISCUSS
What are some things we can do when we feel afraid?
What does it mean to “look unto [Christ] in every thought”? (D&C6:36)
Oliver Cowdery was counseled to remember the vision that he had had when praying about Joseph Smith (Refer to D&C 6: 22-23). Perhaps that is one of the things we can do also; remember the tender mercies and answers to prayers that God has given us in the past.
What are some examples of people who turned to the Lord to overcome doubt and fear? (see, for instance, Esther 4; Alma 26:23–31).
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: Be Not Troubled by Elder Ronald A. Rasband’s
CONFERENCE TALK: Do Not Fear by Boyd K. Packer
WHAT DESIREST THOU?
BACKGROUND/SCRIPTURE
READ: John 21:21-23
While translating the Book of Mormon in April 1829, Joseph and Oliver were reading these verses in John. They wondered about the meaning “that disciple should not die”? Did that mean John was still alive? Joseph and Oliver disagreed on its meaning. Yet rather than debating the topic with each other, they sought clarifying revelation through the interpreters Joseph used to translate the Book of Mormon. Joseph was shown a parchment written by John himself. Joseph’s translation of that parchment is D&C 7.
READ: D&C 7:5-8
SHARE QUOTE BY EMILY BELLE FREEMAN: (Taken from Don’t Miss This)
At first glance, after reading this section, you might think that the Lord is saying that John is doing a greater work than Peter, which doesn’t sound like what we know of the Lord. If we read the entire phrase, we realize that John has asked to do “a greater work…than what he has before done” (D&C 7:5; emphasis added). This teaches an important lesson. The Lord does not want us to measure our work or our worth compared with someone else’s. He wants us to measure it against the measure He gives each of us for ourselves. John wanted to do more than what he had done before. He wasn’t finished. He felt there was a greater work for him to do.
This section reminds us that Peter’s choice was not wrong just because it was different from John’s. The Lord’s response to these two different choices is so insightful: “Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desire” (D&C 7:8).
MINI LESSON
(Adapted from Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families)
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
If you could be granted one special wish, what would it be and why?
Would that wish change if the Lord were the one granting your wish? Why or why not?
By a raise of hands, how many of you would like to go to the celestial kingdom?
Is having a desire all you need to go to the celestial kingdom?
How easy is it to overcome the natural man and seek for righteous desires?
QUOTE BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG:
“The men and women, who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom, will find that they must battle every day” (Journal of Discourses; emphasis added).
Seeking and developing righteous desires is not always easy. But as Dallin H. Oaks has taught, “When we have a vision of what we can become, our desire and our power to act increase enormously.”
CONFERENCE PARABLE: Desire by Dallin H. Oaks (2:56), click HERE
PONDER & DISCUSS
What if one of your righteous desires goes unfulfilled?
One of Oliver Cowdery’s righteous desires—to translate as Joseph Smith did—was not fulfilled. As you read Doctrine and Covenants 9:3, 7–14, what impressions do you receive that might help you when your righteous desires go unfulfilled? CFM manual
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: Desire by Dallin H. Oaks
CONFERENCE TALK: According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts by Neal A. Maxwell
VIDEO: How Important was Oliver Cowdery in Bringing Forth the Book of Mormon?
PODCAST: Who Am I?
QUOTE: The revelation of the parchment to Joseph and Oliver restores much that was lost from the final few verses of John 21…This knowledge clarifies an ambiguous Bible passage and satisfied Joseph and Oliver’s curiosity. But even that much pales in comparison to the rest of the work the revelation does. It restores to the Bible record the truth that Jesus gave keys of salvation to Peter, James, and John. The revelation confirms that the Bible is true, even as it confirms that the Bible is incomplete. Nor is it sufficient for salvation. Apostles with keys are required for that. (Steven C. Harper; Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants)
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: Ask, Seek, and Knock By Milton Camargo, 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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