Come, Follow Me is a resource offered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is designed to be used in the home to support personal and family scripture study to build faith in Heavenly Father and His plan of salvation and in the Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Come, Follow Me is self-contained and adequate, when used properly. Products and materials designed to supplement this resource, though they may be helpful in some instances, are not necessary for a successful home study program.
Doctrine and Covenants 88: "Establish ... a House of God"
From Come, Follow Me :
Every so often, the Lord gives us a small glimpse of His boundless "majesty and power" (Doctrine and Covenants 88:47) through sweeping revelations to His prophets. Doctrine and Covenants 88 is such a revelation—one about light and glory and kingdoms that can make our earthly cares seem insignificant by comparison. Even if we can't grasp all of what the Lord is teaching us, we can at least sense that there's far more to eternity than what we now comprehend ... Perhaps it was to that lofty end that the Lord urged His Saints in Kirtland to form the School of the Prophets. "Organize yourselves," He said. "Prepare every needful thing; and establish ... a house of God" (verse 119). For it is within God's holy house—and in our homes—that He can, more than anywhere else, lift our vision beyond the mortal world, "unveil his face unto [us]," and prepare us to "abide a celestial glory" (verses 68, 22).
"The greatest of all the blessings of the priesthood are bestowed in holy temples of the Lord. Fidelity to covenants made there will qualify you and your family for the blessings of eternal life." (Face the Future with Faith) You receive these blessings in the temple first for yourself and then for your kindred dead. Learn more about
Enjoy watching Elder Bednar and Elder Rasband as they lead a virtual tour of the Rome Italy Temple. Learn more about Inside Temples and Prophetic Teachings on Temples. Discuss with your family how each member feels about the temple. What do you like most about the temple? How can you increase the temple blessings in your lives?
If you would like to see if there is a video or other visual material for a specific temple near you, visit https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/temples/. Click on the temple name in which you are interested. Look on the left and scroll down to see if a video, virtual tour or photograph gallery is listed. If so, click on it to see more.
"I have come to understand better the protection available through our temple covenants and what it means to make an acceptable offering of temple worship. There is a difference between church-attending, tithe-paying members who occasionally rush into the temple to go through a session and those members who faithfully and consistently worship in the temple." (Honorably Hold a Name and Standing)
The video depicted a young woman reflecting on the blessing of walking the covenant path as she made her journey to the temple. Discuss as a family:
What blessings have you enjoyed by attending the temple?
What does it mean to you to make "an acceptable offering of temple worship?"
What changes will you make individually and/or as a family to seek an "acceptable offering of temple worship?"
As you read verses 62–126, consider how the Lord's counsel can help you prepare for the Savior's Second Coming...Consider reading these verses [117–126] with the temple in mind; what do you find here that could help you prepare to enter the Lord's house?
"Have you ever stood in the temple, dressed in white, waiting to do baptisms? How did you feel? There is a tangible feeling of holiness in the temple. The peace of the Savior subdues the swirling whirlwinds of the world.
"The way you feel in the temple is a pattern for how you want to feel in your life. Find your grandfathers and grandmothers and your distant cousins who have gone before you. Take their names to the temple with you. As you learn about your ancestors, you will see patterns of life, of marriage, of children; patterns of righteousness; and occasionally patterns that you will want to avoid." (Spiritual Whirlwinds)
Learning about our Forefathers
Find some stories of your ancestors. If you need help locating stories, All the Stories is a tool that syncs with FamilySearch to help you easily find stories of your ancestors. Read these stories together as a family. Discuss the following questions and share your thoughts and feelings with each other.
What do you learn about your ancestors? In what time period did they live?
What were conditions like at that time?
What was going on around them?
What were their challenges?
How did they overcome them?
What brought joy into their lives?
What else can you learn about your ancestors?
How do their experiences help you?
How do their lives help you have gratitude for your life?
How can their challenges help you face yours?
Note: You can also locate stories on your part of the FamilySearch tree using the Stories option in the fan chart. Read more here.
To inspire your family to make your home like the description in verse 119, try something like this: Write phrases from this verse on strips of paper, and use them to cover a picture of the temple. Read Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 together, and let family members remove each strip of paper as they hear the corresponding phrase in the verse. What can we do to make our home a "house of God"? (verse 119).
"Hastening family history and temple work in our day is essential for the salvation and exaltation of families...This is the last dispensation, and we can feel the hastening of the work of salvation in every area where a saving ordinance is involved...A 36-year-old mother of young children recently exclaimed to me, ‘Just think—we have gone from microfilm readers in dedicated family history centers to sitting at my kitchen table with my computer doing family history after my children are finally asleep.' Brothers and sisters, family history centers are now in our homes." (Roots and Branches)
A Family Tree Gathering
In his April 2014 talk Roots and Branches, Elder Quentin L. Cook described a "Family Tree Gathering" where everyone "would bring existing family histories, stories, and photos, including cherished possessions of grandparents and parents" as one way to accomplish "this glorious work of salvation." He also suggested it should be a recurring effort. Learn how you can participate in your own "Family Tree Gathering."
Creating Family History Experiences
You can make temple and family history work fun. Activities for Personal Family History Experiences provides several suggestions to help you do this. Listed below are the main suggestion topics, but be sure to read the blog for specific details:
Family History Activities for Families
Finding Temple Opportunities
What Ordinances Ready Searches
Photos and Stories
Find more ideas in The Family History Guide:
Family Activities: 8. Latter-day Saint Activities and 9. 5-Minute Ideas for Latter-day Saints.
Individuals Activities: 8. Latter-day Saint Activities
Latter-day Saint Youth pages
Kid's Corner: 7. For Latter-day Saints
Mine House is a House of Order (for Younger Children)
To help younger children understand verse 119 and creating a "house of God', you might have them do Mine House Is a House of Order, a Sharing Time activity, from the March 2009 Liahona.
Fulfillment of Promises in Your Life
Note: President Nelson encouraged us to do the following for six months, but it may be a wonderful opportunity to carry this invitation through your study of the Doctrine and Covenants this year:
"As you study your scriptures during the next six months, I encourage you to make a list of all that the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel. I think you will be astounded! Ponder these promises. Talk about them with your family and friends. Then live and watch for these promises to be fulfilled in your own life." (President Russell M. Nelson, Let God Prevail, October 2020 General Conference)
Suggestion for journaling this week: Find the promises inDoctrine and Covenants 88. Write or audio-record about their influence in your life, and share with your family.
