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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.
I can trust the Lord’s will and His timing.
From Come, Follow Me:
Even prophets sometimes have questions about the Lord’s ways. Habakkuk, who lived at a time of widespread wickedness in Judah, began his record with questions to the Lord (see Habakkuk 1:1–4). How would you summarize Habakkuk’s concerns? Have you ever had similar feelings?
The Lord responded to Habakkuk’s questions by saying that He would send the Chaldeans (the Babylonians) to punish Judah (see Habakkuk 1:5–11). But Habakkuk was still troubled, for it seemed unjust for the Lord to stand by “when the wicked [Babylon] devoureth the man that is more righteous [Judah]” (see verses 12–17). What do you find in Habakkuk 2:1–4 that inspires you to trust the Lord when you have unanswered questions?
Chapter 3 of Habakkuk is a prayer of praise to God and an expression of faith in Him. What impresses you about Habakkuk’s words in verses 17–19? How is the tone of these verses different from Habakkuk 1:1–4? Ponder how you can develop greater faith in God, even when life seems unfair.
You may have times in your life when “life seems unfair.” You may wonder if and how others worked through their challenges. You can learn a lot about facing challenges of today and the future by learning about the past through your ancestors. Character is often defined in the face of trails.
L. Tom Perry stated in his October 2009 Conference address, The Past Way of Facing the Future, "Former United States president Ronald Reagan has been quoted as saying, 'I do not want to go back to the past; I want to go back to the past way of facing the future.' His counsel still resonates within me. There is something about reviewing the lessons of the past to prepare us to face the challenges of the future."
What can you learn from the experiences of your ancestors? What do you learn about their lives? What are some examples of your ancestors who turned to the Lord to overcome doubt and fears? How have your ancestors' faith in Jesus Christ strengthened you and your family? Use some of the resources below to help you find stories of your ancestors. Share these stories with your family.
From FamilySearch: "Apart from the Savior, everyone who has lived on earth has made mistakes. What matters is that we bounce back, learn, and grow from them. The more stories you know of your family bouncing back from hard times the easier it will be for you to bounce back when life gets hard." Try these We Bounce Back activities. You may also want to consider audio-recording the stories.
From Come, Follow Me:
Zephaniah prophesied that the people of Judah would be completely destroyed by the Babylonians because of their wickedness. “I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord” (Zephaniah 1:2). And yet Zephaniah also said that a “remnant” would be preserved (Zephaniah 3:13). As you read these prophecies, notice the kinds of attitudes and behaviors that led Judah and other groups to destruction—see especially Zephaniah 1:4–6, 12; 2:8, 10, 15; 3:1–4. Then look for the characteristics of the people God would preserve—see Zephaniah 2:1–3; 3:12–13, 18–19.
What characteristics do you find in your ancestors that you would like to preserve in your life and pass on to your children? Alison Taylor explained, "Sometimes a single story has the power to change a life. More than once, a story of an ancestor has dropped into my proverbial lap, at exactly the right time, to lend strength and perspective in a time of trial." Read how Alison found strength in her ancestors' experiences in her blog article Why I Am Addicted to Family History.
Many others have also found strength from ancestors to face life's challenges, such as this video, Strength from our Grandmothers.
Put together an ancestor profile with the help of this Deseret News article. The article suggests looking at "every known detail of a human life, which includes information about the individual, their relationships and their origin." As a family, pick an ancestor or two and try discovering a few aspects of their lives. Maybe you want to start with where they were born and what their neighborhoods and cultures may have been like. Look at the article and pick a topic of interest to your family.
If you are interested in ancestors originating in a particular country, you can locate ancestors on your part of the FamilySearch tree using the Birth Country option in the fan chart. Read more here.
Are there items from your family that you would want to preserve? “[E]very family has keepsakes. Families collect furniture, books, porcelain, and other valuable things, then pass them on to their posterity. Such beautiful keepsakes remind us of loved ones now gone and turn our minds to loved ones unborn. They form a bridge between family past and family future. Every family has other, more valuable, keepsakes. These include genealogies, family stories, historical accounts, and traditions. These eternal keepsakes also form a bridge between past and future and bind generations together in ways that no other keepsake can.” (Dennis B. Neuenschwander, "Bridges and Eternal Keepsakes," General Conference, April 1999)
“Elder Neuenschwander went on to explain that even more valuable than these objects are the genealogies, family stories, historical accounts, and traditions that we keep and pass on. However, the objects themselves can serve as wonderful, tangible reminders of those stories, making doubly sure the stories continue to be told and retold, stitching hearts together across generations.” (Keeping the Stories of Family Heirlooms Alive)
Knowing the story behind family keepsakes, heirlooms, and traditions can help future generations to appreciate their ancestors even more.
Share some favorite stories about some family heirlooms or traditions. If these have not been written down or recorded, audio-record or upload the story to memories for other relatives to discover and enjoy.
Check out the following articles for ideas to get you started:
Use the Goldie May Research Tool
Goldie May is a free Chrome extension you can add. It acts as an intelligent assistant, helping you with U.S. census research and other tasks. You can find documentation for Goldie May here: https://www.thefhguide.com/project-4-goldie-may.html