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Act. Index
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.
January 17–23
God calls us to do His work despite our inadequacies.
From Come, Follow Me
It’s not unusual to feel overwhelmed with what the Lord has called us to do.
As members of the Church, we are all responsible to help God gather His children. Here are a few of President Nelson’s specific invitations:
To the brethren:
After some 4,000 years of anticipation and preparation, this is the appointed day when the gospel is to be taken to the kindreds of the earth.This is the time of the promised gathering of Israel. And we get to participate! Isn’t that exciting?
To the sisters:
My dear sisters, we need you! We “need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices.”4 We simply cannot gather Israel without you.
To the Millennials:
"Spend more time on your knees in prayer, more time in the scriptures, more time in family history work, more time in the temple. I promise you that as you consistently give the Lord a generous portion of your time, He will multiply the remainder."
To the youth :
"You—my dear, extraordinary youth—were sent to earth at this precise time, this most crucial time in the history of the earth, to help gather Israel ... There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing. This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth."
"Now, participating in the gathering of Israel will require some sacrifice on your part. It may even require some changes in your life. It will definitely take some of your time and energy and your God-given talents. Are you interested?"
"As you pray about this sacrifice of time, you will be guided to know both what you can give up that week and what you can do instead to help gather Israel."
Accepting the Prophet’s invitation may seem difficult and overwhelming at times. A consistent effort to participate in this great work (even though you may not always accomplish all you hope to do) will bless you and your family on both sides of the veil in countless ways! The following definition given by our prophet can help us see that so much of what we are already doing is part of the gathering:
When we speak of gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, we are referring, of course, to missionary, temple, and family history work. We are also referring to building faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve. Anytime we do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel. Let God Prevail
See also:
Decide how you can accept our prophet’s invitation to do more temple and family history work without becoming overwhelmed. Sometimes all of us just need a little help finding what is best for each situation.
Check out 5-Minute Ideas for Latter-day Saints with the idea in mind that temple and family history work includes many facets, and can be fit into many different time frames. See Family Activities: Anytime Activities and Games which includes “Quick and Easy Family History Activity Time Fillers.” Family history activities often are the catalyst to help family members have a desire to do proxy temple work for ancestors. Every little bit you do brings blessings and will most likely be a great motivation to participate even more. Find what works for you and your family and remember that The Family History Guide is free, searchable, and right at your fingertips! The “no prep” activities are marked with an asterisk. Make good use of the Activities Index.
President Nelson teaches that building faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve is a way to gather Israel. He shares that “people are interested in their families” and that “missionaries can help investigators discover their ancestors” (see Family History Can Aid Missionary Work). Following is an example (see more in Including Temple and Family History in the Work of Salvation).
We all have opportunities to be missionaries - even if we are not serving full-time missions! Consider creating experiences to practice sharing the gospel through family history by role-playing at home. Pray for opportunities to share in real life and take advantage of them.
See more examples here: Sharing the Gospel Through Family History • RootsTech Connect 2021. Download the presentations here. Download the syllabus here.
There is always a great family history activity that you can do with those you visit. Many will lead to further discussion, strengthening friendships, and teaching opportunities. See 5-Minute Ideas for Latter-day Saints for ideas and the list below to see what might be applicable to those to whom you minister.
Here are some examples of activities you can do with other families - select those that will work to involve all families in attendance. The Family History Fun Basket is a great one because you can select the questions to fit the group.
See more ideas on The Family History Guide Youtube channel. You could help families learn about their family name, or about their ancestral homelands or have a myriad of other experiences! See the Activities Overview.
During RootsTech 2020, our leaders focused on how temple and family history resources can be used to minister to all of God’s children—and emphasized that "all" really means "all." Elder Bednar encourages us to watch the full presentation, which you can read or watch here. Here is a clip:
Additional family history ministering resources:
Discover the past! The Year I Was Born on FamilySearch Activities is a great activity to do with any kind of group.
Ask what inventions have come since the year you are exploring, look up photos and more information as you look at birth years. See the fan chart. Capture, preserve and share these conversations by using FamilySearch apps.
See more activity ideas and a list of the promised blessings of temple and family history work here: Week 30 Come, Follow Me Companion 2021.
“Teach these things freely unto your children.”
From Come, Follow Me
Adam and Eve were taught the precious truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ… What can you do to help pass these truths on to future generations?
From Come, Follow Me
Reading about the “book of remembrance” that Adam and Eve’s family kept may inspire your family to make your own book of remembrance. Discuss as a family what you would like to include. Maybe you have photos, stories, or documents from your family history. You might choose to include things that are happening in your family now. What will future generations find valuable? You could also discuss how the phrases “by the spirit of inspiration” (Moses 6:5) and “the pattern given by the finger of God” (Moses 6:46) could guide your efforts. Consider saving information from your book of remembrance on FamilySearch.org.
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Get Started
What would you like to know about your ancestors? What are you curious about? See the Get Started menu of The Family History Guide to answer "How Do I" questions. For more advanced researchers who teach others, see the Trainers: Home Page.