Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of November 23-29, 2020 covering Ether 12-15. 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.
HOPE FOR A BETTER WORLD
BACKGROUND
VIDEO: The Miracle of Hope | Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (3:36), click HERE
SCRIPTURE
READ: Ether 12:4, 32
How has the gospel of Jesus Christ given you “a more excellent hope”? (vs 32)
What is meant by the phrase “hope for a better world”? (vs 4)
INSIGHT BY ELDER MCCONKIE:
“Hoping for a better world should not be viewed as passively putting up with the problems and pains of this life, being fixated only on the next life. It implies living in such a way that our hope for a better world can be to some degree realized in this life.” (McConkie et al., Doctrinal Commentary)
MINI LESSON
VIDEO: Writing Your Future Self A Letter | Hope Works at Home (6:25), click HERE
PONDER & DISCUSS
In your scripture journals, write a letter to your future self – 6 months, 5 years, or 20 years from now. What do you hope for?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: The Infinite Power of Hope
CONFERENCE TALK: My Peace I Leave With You
JESUS CHRIST CAN MAKE WEAK THINGS STRONG
BACKGROUND
OBJECT LESSON: This object lesson uses two sticks (you can use a mop and/or broomsticks) plus some rope. It’s easier for you to watch this object lesson in action rather than me trying to explain it 😉 It’s very simple to do. To watch the object lesson so you know what to do, click HERE **Start it at the 1:55 mark. You don’t need to listen to it, just watch.**
- The sticks represent the things in life that God wants us to accomplish.
- The person in the middle (who pulls on the sticks) represents all of us and our weaknesses.
- The rope represents God.
Lesson: We cannot accomplish the things God wants us to accomplish without His help. With His help, we can do anything. God makes weak things become strong.
SCRIPTURE
READ: Ether 12:23-25
When we read Moroni’s powerful writings, it’s easy to forget that he worried about his “weakness in writing” and feared that people would mock his words.
READ: Ether 12:27
God promised that He would “make weak things become strong” for the humble, and the spiritual power in Moroni’s writings is convincing evidence that the Lord fulfilled this promise.
MINI LESSON
SHARE INSIGHT FROM SCOTT SORENSEN: (Taken from Come Follow Me Through the Book of Mormon)
During my teenage years, I felt mentally weak and very lonely. I desperately struggled with feelings of inadequacy, failure, and worthlessness. I often felt like other people were better off without me in their lives. I remember memorizing Ether 12:27 in seminary and being inspired by the promise that God’s grace could make my weaknesses become strengths. My assumption was that if I had enough faith, God would heal my mind so I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore through the dark and self-defeating thoughts that surrounded me.
Over the next ten years, I graduated high school, served a full-time mission, got married in the temple, had three kids, and graduated from college. My anxiety and depression seemed to only get deeper and darker. What did God want from me? Why was I suffering so much? Why was He performing miracles in the lives of others but not for me? Was I being punished for past sins? Did I need to be perfect first? At this point in my life, I firmly believed Ether 12:27 was not true for me. I didn’t feel much strength, mostly weakness.
After college graduation, I suffered a major career setback that was devastating. It completely wrecked me. The light I had been desperately hanging on to quickly faded away. Two months later, I felt like the light was gone. I remember one day eating lunch in my car at an abandoned mall in Indianapolis. I cried out to God, “Where are you? Why won’t you help me? I can’t do this anymore! I’ve done all that you’ve asked, and I feel nothing but sad and hopeless.” Then I said two words to Him I’ve never said before, “I’m done!”
A few minutes later, with tears streaming down my face, I had a deep impression and felt God’s voice say, “You have depression because it makes you a more compassionate person.”
What? I was confused.
The impression came again, “You have depression because it makes you a more compassionate person.”
After my mind caught hold of this thought, a second impression came, “And I need you to be compassionate for what I want you to do in life.”
Whoa!
These two distinct but connected impressions filled me. I felt loved. Like, really, really loved.
…It never occurred to me that anxiety and depression served me in any way. I always felt like it was the master and I was the servant. It never occurred to me that my struggles had any meaning. I always felt like my suffering was pointless, needless, a punishment. It never occurred to me that God was okay with my depression. Honestly, it never occurred to me that it was okay to have depression at all. I always thought it was the ugly part of me that needed to be removed, not the beautiful part of me that needed to be embraced.
OPTIONAL – Also share insight by Elder John B. Dickson (Ensign, November 1992)
“As some of you have noticed, I only have one arm….I want you to know that having one arm for nearly thirty years has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. It hasn’t been my greatest challenge, but it has been a great teacher to me, teaching me to be more patient and tolerant with others as I have had to learn to be more patient with myself. It has helped me to understand the necessity of our having challenges in life to help develop our character and stamina, helping us to become what the Lord ultimately wants us to become. Our challenges may be physical, spiritual, economic, or emotional, but if we will treat them as opportunities and stepping-stones in our progress, rather than barriers and stumbling blocks, our lives and growth will be wonderful. I have learned that between challenges it is very restful but that any real growth that I have ever enjoyed has always come with a challenge.”
PONDER & DISCUSS
- Have there been times in your life when God has helped you recognize your weaknesses and made you strong in spite of them?
- Is there a weakness you are currently struggling with?
- What do you feel you need to do to humble yourself before the Lord and show faith in Him in order to receive His promise to “make weak things become strong”?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: Nobody Said That It Would Be Easy by Elder John B. Dickson
AND THEY WERE DIVIDED
BACKGROUND
VIDEO: The Destruction of the Jaredites (2:38), click HERE
SCRIPTURE
How would you compare the destruction of the Jaredites to the destruction of the Nephites that we just learned about in Mormon? (refer to the chapter heading of Mormon 6 and also Mormon 8:1-10) How are they similar?
READ: Ether 15:19 and Moroni 8:28 and answer the following questions.
- How was the Nephites’ path to destruction similar to the Jaredites’ path?
- What happens to people when “the Spirit of the Lord [ceases] striving with them?”
- What truths do we learn that can help us avoid what happened to them?
MINI LESSON
INSIGHT FROM EMILY BELLE FREEMAN: (Taken from Don’t Miss This)
I have a rule about movies with sad endings. I don’t watch them. Ever. My kids know this about me. They warn me about the sad endings. “Mom will hate that movie,” they say as they make their weekend plans. They protect me from the sad ones. It’s true about books, too. I have to know the ending before I begin. If it is sad, I can’t read it. That’s my rule. Maybe it’s because life is sad enough already. My heart and my prayers and the worries that keep me up at night are all my soul can handle. When I go to a movie or read a book, I want to experience the happy ending.
With that in mind, I won’t have to explain in detail how much I dislike the end of the Book of Mormon. I am sad about the wars, and the letting go of the Lord, and the division. The people were so happy until they got caught up in the division.
The lesson is not lost on me. I realize that one of the quickest ways to lose the Spirit is through contention, dissension, and division. I find myself becoming extra vigilant in that regard. We live in a time of discord. Voices of anger call on every side. One tweet can draw hundreds of people into a heated conversation. It is part of our culture now. It is becoming a way of life.
My greatest goal is to make sure that culture does not make its way into my home. I want there to be one place in this world that is safe, kind, and full of love and compassion, with as many happy endings as possible here in mortality. A place of peace.
PONDER & DISCUSS
How are you learning to combat division in your home and with those around you?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
ENSIGN ARTICLE: Following the Prophets: A Book of Mormon Perspective
ENSIGN ARTICLE: Why Is Unity Important? (Has a good short story analogy with trees)
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: Tested, Proved, and Polished By President Henry B. Eyring, 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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