Come, Follow Me Daily Study Guide for the week of December 7-13, 2020 covering Moroni 7-9. 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.
CHARITY IS THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST
BACKGROUND/SCRIPTURE
Display a picture of Christ as you do the following. (It can be a picture that you already have or the one below.)
Image used for educational purposes
(Taken from Come Follow Me Through the Book of Mormon)
Read the following two verses but every time it says “charity,” substitute the word Christ.
READ: Moroni 7:45-46
- How does this better help you understand His character and personality?
- Which of these characteristics have you experienced from Him?
- What difference has it made in the way you treat other people?
- What difference has it made in the way you treat yourself?
MINI LESSON
SHARE QUOTE BY PRESIDENT MONSON:
“Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.” (Charity Never Faileth, Ensign, Nov. 2010)
**There are two options you can do for a lesson. One is showing a movie called “Lessons Learned from Washing Hair.” It’s a movie that gives an excellent example of one showing forth charity. Because the movie is a bit long (13 minutes) I have included a second option which is showing a shorter video and sharing a short story. Both options are good.
VIDEO: Lessons Learned from Washing Hair | Hope Works (13:13), click HERE
OR
VIDEO: My Brother Hyrum (2:40), click HERE
Showing charity goes for adults too.
In a book by Virginia Hinckley Pearce, called A Heart Like His, she talks about an experiment she did with some of her friends. The purpose of their experiment was “to open their hearts to others in the hopes that they could feel the love of the Lord more fully in their lives.”
They had 3 rules for their experiment:
- To be more aware of their hearts and with that awareness, keep their hearts more open towards others.
- To do this experiment in the normal course of their lives, or in other words, no putting any extra activities into their day—no extra visits, no preparing of casseroles, etc..
- Notice the Spirit
When the experiment was over, this is what Virginia reported on. She said one morning when she was very busy as usual, her neighbor who she visit taught stopped by to drop something off. Virginia really only did see this neighbor once a month during her monthly visits. Just as Virginia was about to say “Thanks for dropping it off and see you later” thoughts of the experiment came to her mind and she decided to invite her neighbor in. Virginia says, “We sat down in the living room and chatted away. We ended up laughing and talking comfortably for a few minutes, and then she went on her way.” “Maybe I’m making too much out of this, but I have a feeling that everything is just a little different for the two of us now.” We are regular friends now.
Charity is not a single act of service, it is simply opening your heart to others.
PONDER & DISCUSS
SHARE QUOTE BY ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS:
“In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something…The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan by which we can become what children of God are supposed to become. …Charity is something one becomes.”
How can we make charity a part of who we are?
Like faith, we must first possess the desire. It must be a true desire of our hearts. We must also pray for it.
READ: Moroni 7:48
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
PODCAST: Episode 20: Becoming Charity
SHORT STORY: Arland Williams, Survivor and Hero
CONFERENCE TALK: The Challenge to Become by Dallin H. Oaks
WHY LITTLE CHILDREN DO NOT NEED BAPTISM
BACKGROUND
(Taken from Come Follow Me Through the Book of Mormon)
STORY BY SCOTT SORENSEN:
One day when I was a missionary in Michigan, we received a message that a young couple had requested a Book of Mormon. When we showed up, they said they ordered the Book of Mormon just so they could ask us one question. Through painful tears, the husband shared, “Our son died last year when he was just two years old. Every church we’ve been to says he is going to hell because he wasn’t baptized. If there is a God and he sends two-year-old children to hell, I would rather go to hell and be with my son than be with a God like that. What does your church believe?”
I remember feeling incredibly emotional as we listened. First, I felt a profound sadness for the pain they had clearly been enduring for so long, the pain of losing a precious child and the pain of hopelessness. When he said, “If there is a God and He sends two-year-old children to hell, I would rather go to hell and be with my son than be with a God like that,” time stopped for me. I couldn’t disagree with him. If we worshipped a God like that, I think I would choose hell also.
Then, in an instant, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that we don’t worship such a being. We opened to Moroni 8 with tears in our eyes and smiles on our faces to teach this couple who God is and how the Atonement of Jesus Christ – who is a loving God – saves young children. That was a day I will never forget. “How great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth” (2 Nephi 2:8).
SCRIPTURE/MINI LESSON
In Moroni 8, Moroni includes his father Mormon’s condemnation in regards to infant baptism.
VIDEO: Why Did Moroni Include Mormon’s Condemnation of Infant Baptism? (1:27), click HERE
(Adapted from Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families)
SCRIPTURE JOURNALS:
In your scripture journals, make 2 columns with the following headings: (If you prefer, you could also do this on a whiteboard or large piece of paper together)
- Why little children do not need baptism.
- Why all accountable people do need baptism
READ: Moroni 8:8-26 and as you do, pause after each verse and write down in the corresponding column anything that verse teaches in regards to why little children do not need baptism and/or why all accountable people do need baptism.
Look over your two columns.
- What do these verses teach us about the power of the Atonement?
- How should these things affect the way we deal with little children?
- What impact should these teachings have on those of us who have been baptized?
- What blessings are promised to those who will sincerely receive baptism and the Holy Ghost? (vs 26)
PONDER & DISCUSS
READ: D&C 68:25-28
- According to those verses, at what age do we begin to become accountable and need baptism?
- What things are parents required to teach their children to help prepare them for baptism?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: The Salvation of Little Children By Bruce R. McConkie
CONFERENCE TALK: Little Children by Elder Boyd K. Packer
BE NOT TROUBLED
BACKGROUND
Which one are you more afraid of?
- Animals or people?
- Spiders or snakes?
- Being alone or being in a crowd?
- Clowns or dentists?
- Earthquakes or hurricanes?
- Thunder or lightning?
- Fire or water?
What are some things currently causing you to feel genuine fear, failure, and uncertainty?
Today we will read Mormon’s last letter to his son Moroni. From the letter, you would think that Mormon would be feeling such feelings as fear, failure, and uncertainty but he wasn’t. He felt something else.
SCRIPTURE
READ: Moroni 9:1
- Find the word Mormon used to describe the contents of this letter. (grievous)
- Have someone look up this word in a dictionary and share the meaning.
- Explain to your family that Mormon wrote this at the time when the Nephite civilization was nearly destroyed because of wickedness.
*Be aware that this chapter gives a more detailed description of the wickedness of the Nephites and Lamanites than any other part of the Book of Mormon. You may want to prepare ahead of time how to approach the more graphic descriptions.
MINI LESSON
READ: Moroni 9:4-20
No matter how wicked the Nephites became, Mormon still loved them.
SHARE COMMENT FROM BISHOP GLENN L. PACE:
“[Mormon] lived at a time that was hopeless…In spite of this hopeless situation Mormon led their armies, for, in his words, ‘notwithstanding their wickedness I…loved them, according to the love of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them.’ (Mormon 3:12)
“This prophet had Christlike love for a fallen people…
“When we get emotionally and spiritually involved in helping a person who is in pain, a compassion enters our heart…Through the power of the Holy Ghost, a sanctification takes place within our souls and we become more like our Savior. We gain a better understanding of what was meant when He said, ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ (Matt. 25:40)
“As the last days unfold, we will see all the prophecies fulfilled. We will see today’s problems compounded, and we will see new challenges scarcely imaginable at this time. We must reach out to those who are suffering from these events. We must not become fatalistic or judgmental- even if we warn the people in the world something a thousand times and they heed us not.” (A Thousand Times, Ensign, Nov 1990)
MORMON’S CLOSING WORDS
Read Mormon’s closing words to his son Moroni.
READ: Moroni 9:25-26
- Instead of feeling fear, failure, or uncertainty, what was Mormon feeling according to these verses?
- Can we feel these same feelings during our times of struggle?
VIDEO: Be Not Troubled (4:31), click HERE
PONDER & DISCUSS
*You can share and discuss how you have felt hope and peace during a trying time in your life AND/OR end by sharing the following insight:
Can my chastity and virtue be taken from me?
Mormon’s description of the horrible sins of the Nephites have led some to mistakenly conclude that victims of sexual assault or abuse have violated the law of chastity. However, Elder Richard G. Scott clarified that this is not the case. He taught, “I solemnly testify that when another’s acts of violence, perversion, or incest hurt you terribly, against your will, you are not responsible and you must not feel guilty” (“Healing the Tragic Scars of Abuse,” Ensign, May 1992, 32).
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (optional)
CONFERENCE TALK: The Hope of God’s Light By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
CONFERENCE TALK: The Infinite Power of Hope By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
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: Love Your Enemies By President Dallin H. Oaks, 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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