Come Follow Me: Thoughts on Christ's Atonement and a Printable Activity Sheet for D&C 19 (Mar 9)

 This blogpost features some of my thoughts on Christ's atonement, including some scriptures and quotes you can add to your studies this week.   Below all that you'll find a half-sheet activity page to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for  March 3-9, which includes Doctrine and Covenants section 19.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

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THE PERFECT LIE:  Thoughts on Christ's Atonement

Several years ago I watched a video on the church website by Tiffany Webster called “The Perfect Lie”. Sister Webster identifies what she calls Satan’s “Perfect Lie” as a formula that if I take me as I am, flawed, imperfect and all and just add more, more humility, more service, more righteousness, more [fill in the blank], then I will be Christlike. Chasing perfection in that way is a human hamster wheel – we’ll never reach the finish line and we'll never stack up. We absolutely cannot become as Christ is through our own efforts.

However, if we can change the formula, to take me as I am, flawed, imperfect and all and add Christ, then I become more--More powerful, more lovable, more fit for service, more [fill in the blank].

It's interesting how someone can share their thoughts on a Gospel topic that isn't necessarily all that new or original, but there's something about the way they share it that resonates with you.  That's how this video (which used to be an online article as well) was for me.   My personality is such that I am prone to chasing perfection in my life and there was something about the way Sister Webster expressed her experiences and thoughts that was transformational for me.   I shared this video with everyone I knew, taught lessons using some of her ideas, and really tried to change my focus from striving for perfection to striving to simply add more time to connect with Christ each day in my life.   As with most things in life, it's a complicated and ongoing effort that I sometimes fail at, but I do believe that it's something I'm getting better at over the years.    
 
Since then, I've started to be more cognizant of this same idea popping up in General Conference talks and in the scriptures.  Here are a few that I've found:  

In a 2015 General Conference talk, Elder Uchtdorf shared:

“Grace opens windows of heaven… through which God pours out blessings of power and strength enabling us to achieve things that would otherwise be far out of our reach…Throughout our lives God’s grace bestows temporal blessings and spiritual gifts that magnify our abilities and enriches our lives. His grace refines us and helps us become our best selves.”

 Paul said “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Ammon said it this way, “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things…”

As the Lord said to Moroni: “…my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

In one of my favorite new hymns,  "Amazing Grace," we sing, "Amazing grace—how sweet the sound— That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found,  Was blind, but now I see. The Lord has promised good to me; His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be. As long as life endures. Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come. His grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home."

I add my voice to these great prophets that though I often feel weak, though I often feel I am not good enough temporally or spiritually, that when I strive to walk more deliberately with Christ, by his grace, I am my best self.

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ACTIVITY SHEET

These activity sheets are designed to print double-sided and cut in half.  They're perfect for reviewing or introducing the content found in the Come, Follow Me reading each week and would be great used in a classroom or home setting.   I have no children at home, nor do I have a calling working with youth, so I copy these to be handed out with the sacrament programs each week.  Kids, teens, and adults enjoy them.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITY SHEET (in case it's not showing below)




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Enjoy learning the Gospel together!  💗

The Worth of Souls and a Come Follow Me Activity Sheet for D&C 18 (March 2)

 This blogpost features a printable activity page  and some of my personal thoughts to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for February 24-March 2, including Doctrine and Covenants section 18.   You'll find the activity sheet AFTER my thoughts.      Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

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THE WORTH OF SOULS 

From their earliest days, we teach our children that they are children of God. In nursery each week, they sing, “I am a Child of God”, while the kids wiggle, jabber, and sometimes even poke each other. Later, they have a lesson time that would make any gospel doctrine teacher squirm. Not only do nursery leaders pare the lesson time down to a generous sixty to ninety seconds, but it’s also not uncommon that someone ends up in tears by the end of the lesson. And not the kind of tears that means their heart is touched.

In all seriousness, though their lessons are short, repetitious, and sometimes involve off-key singing about melting snowmen, in essence each lesson boils down to the simple concept that Jesus loves them. He loves us, so he wants us to share. He loves us, so he wants us to be reverent. He loves us, so he sent us families.

Really, isn’t that what the gospel is all about?

Granted, I don’t know that the young men and young women would necessarily get much out of a lesson geared for the nursery kids, but I do believe that everything important we learn in our gospel studies, from our earliest days as a toddler in nursery to the slightly more aged crowd in the Elder’s Quorum, is based on the simple concept that God loves us, knows us personally, and wants us to return to Him.

Nearly thirty years into this whole parenting gig, I believe that one of my goals of parenthood has been to make sure our kids not only “know” that they’re children of God, but that they believe it; that they know in their very cores that they have deep worth and that through Christ, they can find wholeness, peace, and redemption.

There was a time early in my parenting that I used to truly believe that consistent gospel actions on our part as parents--procedures like praying, reading the scriptures, holding consistent family home evenings and attending our church meetings, would yield happy, healthy kids with strong testimonies of Christ. Almost like a math equation. It certainly seemed like there were a lot of people raising their hands in Sunday School and bearing their testimony all about how they did all these things right and now they have 7 wonderful temple-going children. However this is NOT reality for most people (including us). Part of our mortal existence is our gift of agency. No matter how hard you work to instill moral principles in your children, each child still has to make a choice of what path they will take.

But that doesn't mean we don't try. We all struggle with our own weaknesses and distractions, but as President Nelson famously said in 2022:

“...The Lord loves effort. The Lord loves consistency. The Lord loves steadfastness. While we surely will come up short from time to time, our persistent efforts to hear Him and follow the inspiration He gives us will help us to 'wax strong in the Spirit' (Mosiah 18:26).”

It's taken me nearly three decades of parenting to recognize that walking the covenant path (or following the supposed math equation mentioned above) doesn’t promise me a certain ease of life...but what it does promise me is divine help and a personal connection with God, so I can be my best version of me and help my children be the best version of themselves. And I believe this counsel from President Nelson’s applies to raising children in the gospel as much as anything else we do: “in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”

I’ll finish off my thoughts today with this quote from Elder Uchtdorf :

“by small means the Lord can bring about great things.” One home evening, one gospel conversation, or one good example may not change your child’s life in a moment, any more than one drop of rain causes a plant immediately to grow. But the consistency of small and simple things, day after day, nourishes your children much better than an occasional flood.”

That’s a beautiful promise. It’s the small day-to-day happenings of our family that make all the difference in helping our children recognize their own divine worth. We don’t need to beat ourselves up when we make mistakes; we keep doing the small and simple things and never ever ever give up, because "the worth of a soul is great in the sight of God," and the effort is worth it.

*********************************  PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEET

These activity sheets are designed to print double-sided and cut in half.  They're perfect for reviewing or introducing the content found in the Come, Follow Me reading each week and would be great used in a classroom or home setting.   I have no children at home, nor do I have a calling working with youth, so I copy these to be handed out with the sacrament programs each week.  Kids, teens, and adults enjoy them...especially the word searches!  

THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITY SHEET LINK (in case it's not showing below)

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Here's an FHE lesson from my files that might be helpful when teaching the topic as well:

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Come, Follow Me Thoughts and Activity Sheet for D&C 12-17; JSH 1:66-75 (Feb 23)

 This blogpost features some thoughts of mine and  an activity page to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for February 17-23, which covers Doctrine and Covenants 12-17 and Joseph Smith History 1:66-75.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

These activity sheets are designed to print double-sided and cut in half.  They're perfect for reviewing or introducing the content found in the Come, Follow Me reading each week and would be great used in a classroom or home setting.   I have no children at home, nor do I have a calling working with youth, so I copy these to be handed out with the sacrament programs each week.  Kids, teens, and adults enjoy them...especially the word searches!

THE LINK TO THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITY PAGE  (in case it's not showing below)
 

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A CROSSROADS

I found myself at a crossroads about a decade ago when many people in my immediate circle were experiencing faith crises, mostly centered around the priesthood. Having been a member of the church my entire life I had never really given that much thought to the intricacies of the priesthood, and I found myself at a loss at what I could do to “help them”. Ultimately I realized that it wasn’t my role to help them. They had chosen which side of the line to stand on already and nothing I could say at that time was going to dissuade them or change their mind. After a lot of soul searching and study of my own, I came to realize that my only role in this situation was to work on strengthening my own testimony and to lift those in my circle who were still deciding where they stood.

I was serving in Young Women’s at the time and I felt a strong prompting that we needed to address the topic head-on. Controversy was very much swirling all around us in a very public light and I knew that sweeping it under the rug was going to cause more harm than good. I spent a lot of time studying and counseling with others who shared the same concerns I did and we not only dedicated a few different lessons and a panel to the topic, but also created a printed study guide of sorts for them to guide them as they sorted through their own feelings.

Sadly, I don’t know what ever happened to that study guide, but I remember it was filled with scriptures and quotes from church leaders who discussed the controversial topics boldly.

I’ll pontificate and share more about the priesthood in future weeks, but, for now, I’ll just share that I’m grateful to live in a day and time when the priesthood is on the earth. I do not hold it, but I am blessed by it every day.

I’ll close off with one quote that I love on this topic:

“It is by letting the world go and coming unto Christ that we increasingly live as women of God. We were born for eternal glory. Just as faithful men were foreordained to hold the priesthood, we were foreordained to be women of God. We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity who rejoice in motherhood and in womanhood and in the family. We are not panicked about perfection, but we are working to become more pure. And we know that in the strength of the Lord we can do all righteous things because we have immersed ourselves in His gospel (see Alma 26:12). I repeat, we cannot be women of the world, for we are latter-day women of God. As President Kimball taught, “No greater recognition can come to [us] in this world than to be known as [women] of God”

Sheri Dew, “We Are Women of God,” October 1999

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Here's an old FHE lesson from my files that might be helpful as you discuss the topic further:



Additionally, here is another blogpost {from a previous year}, which includes a different activity sheet and lots of ideas for teaching about the Priesthood keys. 

Enjoy learning the gospel together!  💗

The Love Languages of the Spirit and Come, Follow Me Activity Sheet for D&C 10-11 (Feb 16)

 This blogpost features some of my thoughts and  a half-sheet activity page to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for  February 10-16, which includes Doctrine and Covenants 10-11.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

THE LOVE LANGUAGES OF THE SPIRIT

You remember the book, "The 5 Love Languages," by Gary Chapman?  It was talked a lot about 10-15  years ago and the main premise of the book is that each person feels and gives love in different ways.  The whole concept was related to speaking different languages.  For example, if we speak English and express our love sincerely to someone who only speaks French, that love may not be felt by the French speaker as deeply as it was expressed.  In much the same way, each person, because of their individual personality and life experiences, may express and feel love in very different ways...in ways that may not always be recognized by the recipient.    It went on to discuss the idea that we can strengthen our relationships with others by learning to better "speak {and recognize} the love languages" of our friends and loved ones.   It was a revolutionary concept for me and it's still something that I'm thoughtful about even many years after reading the book.  

Anyway, I am not here today to talk about interpersonal relationships, but to discuss more of the concept of "asking, seeking, and knocking" that we read so much about in the Doctrine and Covenants and how I think the concept of love languages relates to it.  I feel like the hardest part of  seeking  answers to the prayers of our hearts is the receiving part.   How do we know what the answer is after we've asked?  How can we sort out our own feelings on the matter and recognize the Spirit?  

I am not a person who tends to feel the Spirit in big ways and this used to bother me enough that I thought there was something wrong...like that the Spirit, for some reason, just didn't communicate with me.  It's taken me a lifetime of experiences, however, to understand that just like we, as humans, express and feel love differently, we also communicate with and feel the Spirit in our unique ways.  While many people do feel the Spirit in big visible ways {like crying or being able to eloquently share the feelings of their heart}...that's just not me.  Never has been, likely never will.   I am someone who stumbles over every word when speaking extemporaneously, whether that be over the pulpit or in a classroom setting. And if I cry, it's because I'm sad, not because the Spirit is speaking to me.  

So, how do I feel the Spirit?   I feel it when I write down the  thoughts of my heart {hence this blog}.   I feel it as an overarching sense of peace/calm when I'm pondering a question or facing a difficult time in my life.  I feel it as a voice of compassion in my head when my train of thought is taking me somewhere negative.  Learning to recognize the way I feel the language of the Spirit has been monumental to me and I encourage all that worry that they're not feeling the Spirit, to take some time to study the different ways that God can communicate with us.  

Taking the time to fill out this little spreadsheet...individually or as a class can be a helpful exercise to launch a discussion on this topic. 

Additionally, here are some quotes that you may find helpful as you study or discuss this topic.  In particular, I feel like quote #5 is hugely important in this day and age of endless streams of information.    

1. “The prompting that goes unresponded to may not be repeated. Writing down what we have been prompted with is vital. A special thought can be lost later in the day through the rough and tumble of life. God should not, and may not, choose to repeat the prompting if we assign what is given such a low priority as to put it aside.” Neal A. Maxwell

2. “President Monson has taught, “As we pursue the journey of life, let us learn the language of the Spirit.” The Spirit speaks words that we feel. These feelings are gentle, a nudge to act, to do something, to say something, to respond in a certain way. If we are casual or complacent in our worship, drawn off and desensitized by worldly pursuits, we find ourselves diminished in our ability to feel.” Ronald A. Rasband

3. “ We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we rationalize; we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it is just our own thoughts. When we begin to second-guess, even third-guess, our feelings—and we all have—we are dismissing the Spirit; we are questioning divine counsel. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that if you will listen to the first promptings, you will get it right nine times out of ten.” Ronald A. Rasband

4. “We frequently may press forward hoping and praying—but without absolute assurance—that we are acting in accordance with God’s will. But as we honor our covenants and keep the commandments, as we strive ever more consistently to do good and to become better, we can walk with the confidence that God will guide our steps.” David A. Bednar

5 “It is important that our daily activities do not distract us from listening to the Spirit.” Richard G. Scott

Last, but not least, I wanted to share this video with you that I have found impactful as I've gotten bogged down in making big decisions and feeling like the answers weren't coming.   The whole idea of taking one step at a time with the light and knowledge we have in front of us is HUGE.  Sometimes one step is all we can see and we let our inability to see the whole plan at once to paralyze us into inaction. 




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And....here is the activity sheet....

These activity sheets are designed to print double-sided and cut in half.  They're perfect for reviewing or introducing the content found in the Come, Follow Me reading each week and would be great used in a classroom or home setting.   I have no children at home, nor do I have a calling working with youth, so I copy these to be handed out with the sacrament programs each week.  Kids, teens, and adults enjoy them...especially the word searches!  

THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITY PAGE  LINK (in case it's not showing below)



I hope that sharing these thoughts with you have been helpful as you engage in your personal study or in preparation for an upcoming lesson. 

Have a beautiful week!  💗

D&C / CHURCH HISTORY CFM Activity Sheet and Thoughts on D&C 6-9 (Feb 9)

 This blogpost features a half-sheet activity page to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for  February 3-9, which includes Doctrine and Covenants 6-9.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

These activity sheets are designed to print double-sided and cut in half.  They're perfect for reviewing or introducing the content found in the Come, Follow Me reading each week and would be great used in a classroom or home setting.   I have no children at home, nor do I have a calling working with youth, so I copy these to be handed out with the sacrament programs each week.  Kids, teens, and adults enjoy them. 

THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITY SHEET LINK (in case it's not showing below)

My kids are all grown up now, but I still love learning what the new youth theme is for each year and the 2025 theme came from this week's CFM reading.

“Look unto me in every thought. Doubt not, fear not,”   Doctrine and Covenants 6:36

This year's theme was particularly meaningful for me, because there have been many times in my life when I've faced doubt and fear.   Cancer, epilepsy, job losses, moves, and other such trials have a tendency to do that! I used to worry that I might be wrong for experiencing those kind of negative emotions, but lately I've come to look at this scripture very differently.   Instead of an admonition to just grin and bear it because you know about the Savior, I now view it more like this painting. 

I love the imagery of Christ looking so tenderly at His child and I can just envision Him saying,

"Doubt not, little one, that I love you.   And fear not, for my love for you is unconditional.  Your life will not be easy, but look to me and feel my love."  

He doesn't chasten or judge us for being human.   Of course we will feel doubt and fear in our lives, but when we look to Him, there is one thing we never need to doubt--His love. 

Enjoy learning the gospel together.  💗