Weekly Family History Activities

A Come, Follow Me Companion

2021: Doctrine & Covenants

Week 36, August 30–September 5

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 94–97 “For the Salvation of Zion”

Doctrine and Covenants 95:8

From Come, Follow Me

How have making and keeping temple covenants brought “power from on high” into our lives? Perhaps family members could share how they feel about the temple or share experiences when they have felt blessed with “power from on high” through worship in the temple.

Record and Share Temple Testimonies

Make a collection of the stories of how you and those you love have been blessed by temple worship. You might consider binding these in a book, or sharing them with each other on-line or through letters.

This collection would make a beautiful gift for family members preparing to go to the temple for the first time.

You can scan or take a photo of hand-written testimonies to preserve in Memories on FamilySearch, or type directly into a document in Memories. See instructions in The Family History Guide here. Record on FamilySearch using the FamilySearch Memories Audio app or the Record My Story feature on FamilySearch Discovery.

You can also share these memories with others from FamilySearch via text, email, etc. by tapping the "Share" symbol. Your testimony may contain the very words that will help family members strengthen their own testimonies of the temple. Read more here.

Creating Family Temple Traditions

"Establishing family traditions that unite family members is important, but those traditions can be made eternally significant when they involve gathering your family to, around, or in the temple ... You can establish temple family traditions that create special bonds between your living family members and connect them with their ancestors." Read more in Creating Family Temple Traditions and see the examples below:

Plan monthly temple trips with cousins [where possible]

Drive by the temple as a family.
Strengthen family ties through memory storybooks which serve as reminder that families are forever.

Learn about a temple's history [see Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints].
Make a list of temples that your ancestors [or others] were married in.
Record thoughts and impressions about attending the temple (especially for the first time).
Color pictures of the temple and talk about the temple with your family (download the coloring page of a family in front of the temple, the temple, and temple portraits).

See also: The Year You Were Born How many temples in the year you, your relatives, or your ancestors were born? How many temples were dedicated?

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Type in the year you were born, or the year a friend, family member or ancestor was born. In the image below, you can see that the faces of your family members are also available when you type in the year you were born.

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Temples of Your Ancestors

“It’s wonderful to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers by telling important family history stories in ways that are accessible and memorable. Perhaps having family history documents, stories, photos, and memorabilia always before our eyes can strengthen our testimonies (see Mosiah 1:5). As we place them on our walls, our tables, our computers, our iPads, and even our cell phones, maybe we will be prompted to make better choices and draw closer to the Lord and to our families.” Open the Heavens through Temple and Family History Work Russell M. Nelson and Wendy W. Nelson

Discover specific temple details in My Ancestors's Temples. You will need to have a free FamilySearch account and four generations entered into the family tree.

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From Come, Follow Me:

To help those preparing to enter the temple, you could review the videos, photos, and instruction found at temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. To help children learn about the temple, you could use Your Path to the Temple.

Review Know Before You Go: Temple Baptisms and also try some of the activities from FamilySearch In-Home Activities to prepare to go to the temple to do ordinance work for the first time. Find more activities in The Come, Follow Me Companion: Week 5 2019, Week 35 2019, Week 44 2019, and Week 7 2020.

If you have the opportunity, support newly baptized members. Attend the temple with them and help them do vicarious work for their own ancestors! See Week 26: Come, Follow Me Companion 2020

Preparing Youth For The Temple

Now that youth as young as 11 can enter the temple, parents and leaders have an even greater responsibility to prepare them early for temple service.

Read more here: Preparing Youth for the Temple: Seven Simple Steps by Aaron Johnston. The author quotes Elder David A. Bednar: “Temple preparation is most effective in our homes. All Church members should become familiar with the excellent materials available at Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” The author adds, “Here parents will find a wealth of resources to share with their children, including videos, general conference addresses, photo galleries, and instructions on how to prepare for the temple.” Here are suggestions from the article:

Plan a special home evening or, even better, a series of family meetings or councils to share, view, and discuss together all this content. In these temple-prep lessons, consider discussing the symbolism found in temple baptistries. The twelve oxen that encircle many baptismal fonts, for example, represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the strength of the Saints when they gather together to engage in God’s work. As youth understand such symbols, they can more fully appreciate the beauty, ordinances, and spirit of the temple.

Help youth find temple names. Speaking to the youth, Elder Neil L. Andersen said, “You are a special generation. … You, more than any other generation before you, are turning your hearts to your fathers [see Malachi 4:6].” He then invited the youth to “prepare as many names for the temple as baptisms you perform in the temple, and help someone else to do the same.

Elder Andersen promised that as youth find and prepare these names, they will receive incredible blessings: “You will feel purpose and strength that will help you to avoid the temptations that surround you. … The gift of the Holy Ghost will be a stronger influence upon you. Your belief in and appreciation for the Savior will increase. You will better understand the power of His Atonement, and you will be safeguarded from the distractions that can so easily pull you from His commandments.” See RootsTech 2015.

For more youth activity ideas, see Ancestors To The Temple. See also Ordinances Ready to find ancestors awaiting ordinances.

Attend the Temple and Priesthood Preparation meeting. Each year, under the direction of the bishopric, the ward Primary presidency holds a special meeting for those who will turn 12 years old during the coming year and thus will be eligible for a limited-use temple recommend beginning in January. The purpose of this meeting is to help children understand the blessings of temple service, including making and keeping sacred covenants. As parents attend this special meeting with their children, parents can help children strengthen their commitment to prepare for temple service.