These original activity sheets that align with the Come, Follow Me lessons each week are totally free and easy to print from a Google Doc file. They're designed to print double-sided 2-to-a-page and are perfect for introducing or reviewing the concepts from the Come, Follow Me lesson. Our home ward hands them out along with the sacrament programs on Sundays, others use them in their family or Sunday School lessons. I hope they add an element of fun to your gospel learning and help to engage even the most reluctant learners. Make sure to come back each week for the latest!
***************************************** "All that the Lord Hath Spoken We Will Do"
There are a lot of different directions you can go with this week's reading, but I think focusing on what following the commandments looks like in our modern lives is a great way to go. I have linked an old FHE lesson below that has this focus and also contains a chart called "Wickedness Never Was Happiness", that makes for a great discussion...especially for teens who may have the view that commandments feel restrictive.
Here's an FHE lesson from my blog that focuses on modern day application of the ten commandments:
This blogpost features a half-sheet activity page to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for September 29-October 5, which includes Doctrine and Covenants 109-110. Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks. *************************** FAMILY HISTORY: A STUDY GUIDE This week during my CFM studies, I was drawn to the section of the manual entitled:
THE SAVIOR WANTS ME TO TURN MY HEART TO MY ANCESTORS
It made me reflect on an experience I'd had several years ago, while I was YW president, and our stake president issued a challenge to all the youth in our stake to do enough family history work that they could supply all the names for our next ward temple trip to do baptisms.
Sounds great, huh?
Except, I was just like most people...living a busy life raising kids, serving in the church, and thinking that family history was something I'd do SOMEDAY...when I magically had enough time. I had heard about all the technological advances that had been made since the days of holing up in family history centers looking through rolls of microfiches, but I didn't really have the desire to figure out what that meant. Until the challenge was issued.
After the challenge, I decided it was time to humble myself, find someone to teach me a few things, so I could learn how to do it myself, and hopefully help the youth while I was at it. And we did it. We held several family history nights at our house and got to the point where ALL of the names for our temple trip for the 60+ youth in our ward were provided by the youth. It was a humbling, yet empowering experience for me.
That was several years ago and I’m here today to tell you that family history in 2025 is NOT the same as family history 20, 10, or even 5 years ago. Changes in technology have made family history easier than ever and have made it so we don’t even have to leave our homes if we don’t want. Basically any and all excuses you’ve been tucking away as a reason why you’re not doing your family history are no longer valid.
EXCUSES When I polled some people about why they don’t do family history, I heard these four main excuses repeated over and over :
1. It’s not my season in life to spend time doing genealogy. I’ll do it someday….
2. My great-aunt (or some other relative) is a professional genealogist and has already done all of the work. There’s literally nothing for me to do.
3. It’s too complicated and I don’t know how.
4. I’m too busy.
PROMISED BLESSINGS We have powerful promises given to us by modern apostles that when we
engage in family history work our entire families--both living and
dead--will be blessed. These promised blessings range from increased
protection from the adversary, strengthened testimonies, and greater
light and knowledge from the Holy Ghost. These are blessings that we
all could use….no matter what season of life we are in.
Why are we making excuses and not allowing ourselves to receive those blessings?
In
Malachi we read: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before
the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn
the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children
to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
Have
you felt your heart turning to your fathers? It is rare thing to feel
the spirit of Elijah UNTIL we obey. We have to begin. We have to
start now and do something. The Spirit of Elijah is a real and powerful
motivation–but it seems we have to choose to put one foot in front of
another to be able to feel it.
THE LORD'S MATH AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO FAMILY HISTORY
If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you've heard me refer to the "Lord's Math" before, but if you're new here, let me give you a recap.
What is 0x0?
It's zero, of course.
The answer is simple and applies to family history work as well. When we put zero effort into doing family history, we get zero of the promised blessings from it.
So, 0 x 0 = 0 but here’s another simple math question for you. What is 1x 52 ? Most kids in the room can tell that the answer is = 52. If you could work on family history just one hour per week, that’s 52 hours of work over the course of a year to help in the salvation of YOUR ancestor’s souls! That’s 52 out of nearly 9000 hours in a year or less than half of one percent of your time to help our departed loved ones be able to enjoy the full blessings of eternal life.
Still sound like too much of a sacrifice to you? What about doing just one hour a month….maybe on Fast Sundays? 1x 12 = 12, and twelve hours of family history (and the blessings that come with it) is still a whole lot better than 0.
In D&C 64:33 we read, ‘Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.”
In no area of our lives does this apply more than in family history. Start now. Do small things; and I promise great things will happen! The Lord's math is that He takes our small efforts and rains down blessings upon us for those efforts. The blessings far out-weigh the efforts we put into it.
“The Lord’s ways are higher than our ways—and so is His arithmetic. It
is different than ours.” (Chad Webb, S&I Broadcast, August 2015
The Lord's math is pretty awesome, isn't it?
Whether you’re finding names, indexing, keeping a journal, interviewing relatives, or researching sources, there is a work for us all to do--a work that will bless our families through the eternities. Don’t let these blessings slip away because your great-aunt Judith already wrote a book about your family. The only way to get zero blessings from family history is to give it zero effort.
Verse #2 is particularly apt for this topic. "In many a temple the Saints will assemble And labor as saviors of dear ones away. Then happy reunion and sweetest communion. We'll have with our friends in the beautiful day.”
SCRIPTURES "To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—" D&C 110:15
"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead
rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? " —1
Corinthians 15:29
"The Lord is in his holy temple, the
Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the
children of men." —Psalms 11:4
"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the
heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse.” --Malachi 4:6 "I have hallowed this house,
which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and
mine heart shall be there perpetually."—I Kings 9:3
QUOTES:
“When you were baptized, your ancestors looked down on you with hope. Perhaps after centuries, they rejoiced to see one of their descendants make a covenant to find them and to offer them freedom. In your reunion, you will see in their eyes either gratitude or terrible disappointment. Their hearts are bound to you. Their hope is in your hands. You will have more than your own strength as you choose to labor on to find them."--Henry B. Eyring “It is no coincidence that FamilySearch and other
tools have come forth at a time when young people are so familiar with a
wide range of information and communication technologies, “Your fingers
have been trained to text and tweet to accelerate and advance the work
of the Lord—not just to communicate quickly with your friends. The
skills and aptitude evident among many young people today are a
preparation to contribute to the work of salvation” Elder Bednar
“No work is more of a protection to [us]
than...genealogical research. ... No work is more spiritually refining.
No work we do gives us more power. No work requires a higher standard of
righteousness. Our labors...cover us with a shield and a protection.”Boyd K. Packer
D&C 105:38-40 "And again I say unto you, sue for
peace, not only to the people that have smitten you, but also to all
people. And lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation of peace
unto the ends of the earth. And make proposals for peace unto those who
have smitten you, according to the voice of the Spirit which is in you,
and all things shall work together for your good."
Matthew 25:40 "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Matthew 5:9, 44 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." 44 "But I say unto you, Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
QUESTIONS TO PONDER
1. How Christ is the perfect example of being a peacemaker.
2. How can I find and share peace in a world filled with turmoil?
3. How can we be peacemakers in the contentious society we live in? "HOW CAN I BE A PEACEMAKER?" VIDEO CLIP (WITH VISUALS)
FROM PRESIDENT NELSONhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqM7LFOIXBs
This is a topic that's near and dear to my heart, because I've been blessed many times over by people selflessly giving Christlike service to our family. I've gathered some of my favorite talks, quotes, and shared a personal story that you may find helpful if you are preparing a lesson or talk on the topic of service. These resources are based on the two sections in the Come, Follow Me manual this week, entitled: "The Savior has given me much and requires much of me," and "thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings."
THE BEATING HEART - LOVE/SERVICE ANALOGY One function of the heart is to beat oxygen rich blood to the entire
body, but another, equally important function, is to receive blood so it
can be oxygenated again. The heart only works when it is giving and
receiving blood effectively.
Service is much the same way. We all would like to live in a state where we are endlessly giving selfless acts of service to others, but that's not how our lives generally go. Sometimes we need, literally need like our bodies need oxygen, to be open to receiving service from others.
Being on the receiving end of service can be humbling, but it should absolutely not be viewed as weakness. Just as our hearts can't function without receiving blood to be re-oxygenated, we go through seasons of life, when we need to allow others to share their oxygen with us. Being on the receiving end of service, has made
me appreciate the small and simple efforts all the more. I am one who often gets caught up in wanting my service to be big or "pretty", and I sometimes let that desire for perfection hold me back. Now I realize that it’s better to reach out and do something...anything...no matter
how small and imperfect my efforts might be, because a heart that's starving for oxygen (or a person who's in the middle of a heartbreaking trial) just needs something/anything to know that they are loved and not forgotten.
MY PERSONAL STORY ABOUT RECEIVING SERVICE:
As any of you longtime followers
knows, when our oldest son was in the hospital with an aggressive form of leukemia, we had the blessing of being on the receiving end of many
hours of loving service. People brought us meals, mowed our lawn, gave
our kids rides, etc. Those were all beautiful, unglamorous acts of
service that very much lit up our world and made it so we could keep our
heads above water in what was otherwise a very upside down and
difficult time for our family.
He was 16 when he was diagnosed
and his cancer was aggressive enough that he lived full-time in the
hospital for months on end. This meant no school, no seminary, no
sports...just long days and nights in the hospital where he was often
stir-crazy, miserable with the side effects of his treatments, and
mostly just deeply deeply lonely.
But there was one bright
spot in his weeks… Every Sunday his entire priest's quorum jumped into
cars for the third hour of church, drove the 10-miles to the hospital,
brought us the sacrament, and had the priest’s quorum lesson with him in
his hospital room. They did this week after week, for months on
end….adding extra time onto their busy Sundays. They were a light not
only to us, but to the doctors and nurses who were amazed at these
well-dressed teens that showed up every Sunday to give Spencer a small
moment of almost normalcy each week. We never would have asked for
anyone to make that sacrifice for us, but that’s a huge part of what
made it all the more meaningful. Those Young Men and their leaders
recognized that what Spence needed more than signed cards wishing him to
get well soon, was light, friendship,and, more than anything else,
the feeling that he still belonged somewhere.
I think often at
what a powerful lesson those young men leaders taught those boys.
Instead of just hearing about Christ’s example and about how good it is to
serve, they lived it. They sacrificed their time and ministered to the
one. Sometimes we get these grand notions of trying to change the
world, but I’m here to say that there is no “world” as a single
entity--there are only 6 billion individuals in the world having
individual experiences. And those young men absolutely changed
Spencer’s world and ours. Our testimonies were strengthened because of
their love and service.
That’s what service is all about….it’s about LOVE and action for the one!
Jesus didn’t wait around to serve only those he deemed worthy. He
didn’t seek to do it in front of an audience. Or wait until it was
more convenient for Him. He took what he had--sometimes just some spit
and some mud--and he loved. He listened. He healed. He got messy.
And in those boys' cases (one of whom is now our son-in-law), they added
on time to their already long Sundays to show a peer that he wasn't forgotten!
SCRIPTURES TO READ:
"And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord. Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." Doctrine and Covenants 81:4-5
"For of him unto whom much is given much is required;" Doctrine and Covenants 82:3
“When you are in the service of your fellow being, you are in the service of our God” Mosiah 2:17 “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40
“Love thy neighbor as thyself”. Matthew 22:37-39
QUOTES: “To help us better love one another, I would like to suggest four words to remember: “First observe, then serve.” Linda Burton
“Christ did not just speak about love; He showed it each day of His
life. He did not remove Himself from the crowd. Being amidst the people,
Jesus reached out to the one. He rescued the lost. He didn’t just teach
a class about reaching out in love and then delegate the actual work to
others. He not only taught but also showed us how to “succor the weak,
lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.” Elder Uchtdorf
“. . . Having charity and caring for one another is not simply a
good idea. It is not simply one more item in a seemingly infinite list
of things we ought to consider doing. It is at the core of the gospel—an
indispensable, essential, foundational element.” Elder Uchtdorf
STUDY GUIDE FOR DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS SECTION 76: JESUS IS OUR SAVIOR
Section 76 is full of a lot of fundamental doctrine, but my daughter (the author of this post) decided to focus on the most fundamental of all--that Jesus Christ is our Savior.
“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 121).
Learning about Jesus Christ and His Atonement helps us recognize the deeply personal aspect of it. He died, was buried, and rose again the third day for me. Jesus Christ is My Savior.
D&C 76:41-42
He came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him; QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
How has Jesus Christ saved me personally?
How does knowing that Jesus Christ bore your sins change the way that you live your life? Is there anything you feel inspired to change?
GO A LITTLE DEEPER :
“What has Jesus Christ done for me?”... Under the plan of our Heavenly Father, He “created the heavens and the earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 14:9) so that each of us could have the mortal experience necessary to seek our divine destiny. As part of the Father’s plan, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ overcame death to assure each of us immortality. Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice gives each of us the opportunity to repent of our sins and return clean to our heavenly home. His commandments and covenants show us the way, and His priesthood gives the authority to perform the ordinances that are essential to reach that destiny. And our Savior willingly experienced all mortal pains and infirmities that He would know how to strengthen us in our afflictions.”What Has Our Savior Done For Us President Oaks, April 2021
"To be saved—or to gain salvation—means to be saved from physical and spiritual death. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, all people will be resurrected and saved from physical death. People may also be saved from individual spiritual death through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, by their faith in Him, by living in obedience to the laws and ordinances of His gospel, and by serving Him.
To be exalted—or to gain exaltation—refers to the highest state of happiness and glory in the celestial realm. These blessings can come to us after we leave this frail and mortal existence. The time to prepare for our eventual salvation and exaltation is now."Salvation and Exaltation by President Nelson, April 2008
“When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do.
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...and I'm mixing things up here this week with a dot-to-dot instead of a crossword puzzle or word search!
********************* Be sure to come back every week and find the latest Come, Follow Me lesson plans, resource pages, and activity sheets! *********************
NOTE: I am trying to decide whether it's worth the effort to
continue doing these CFM posts for the second half of the year, so if
you find these posts meaningful, PLEASE let me know. They're getting
challenging to keep up with and I need just a little feedback to know
whether they're worth my time. If you have constructive feedback on how
I can improve them, I welcome that as well. Thank you!
CENTERING YOUR LIFE IN CHRIST
Below you will find some ideas and resources that you can use in your personal study for preparing a talk or a lesson on Centering Your Life on Christ.
OBJECT LESSON IDEA: Oreo Object Lesson (adapted from this website)
Materials Needed: Enough Oreos for everyone in your class, plus at least one extra.
1. Show your class some Oreos
2. Eat the filling of an Oreo.
3. Put the two chocolate cookies back together.
4. Show your class the reassembled, empty sandwich cookie, ASK: Is this an Oreo?
5. Let your class respond.
If they determine that the answer is "no," ASK: Why not? (she will probably say, because it has no filling/stuffing)
If she says "yes," ASK: How it is still an Oreo? (point out that there is no filling)
6. Based on your class’s reply, respond to their thoughts.
7. ASK: How is an Oreo that has no filling like a life without Jesus?
8. Respond based on your class’s response.
We can have good, strong values and things might look good from the outside, but we are missing the full sweetness of the Gospel if we don't make time for Christ in our lives every day. Just as an Oreo cookie isn’t an Oreo without the stuff in the middle, a person can't be their best selves without Jesus as the center!
9. READ: Proverbs 3:5-6 and THIS QUOTE AND DISCUSS WHAT IT MEANS TO LEAN AWAY FROM CHRIST:
“In
English the word lean has a connotation of physically listing or moving
to one side. When we physically lean toward one side or another, we
move off center, we are out of balance, and we tip. When we spiritually
lean to our own understanding, we lean away from our Savior. If we lean,
we are not centered; we are not balanced; we are not focused on
Christ.” Bonnie Cordon
10. CONCLUDE: Bear your testimony about how our lives are better with Christ. Christ gives us strength and we are missing out when we do not prioritize our relationship with him.
SCRIPTURES:
D&C 68:25 (parents should teach children to understand the principles of the Gospel, including faith in Jesus) Mark 8:34(deny yourself and follow Christ) Philippians 4:13 (I can do ALL things through Christ) 2 Nephi 25:26 (we talk of Christ...) Moroni 7:48(true followers of Jesus strive to be like Him) Proverbs 3:5-6 (trust in the Lord and LEAN NOT)
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.
“My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with
the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of
our lives.” Russell M. Nelson,
“In
English the word lean has a connotation of physically listing or moving
to one side. When we physically lean toward one side or another, we
move off center, we are out of balance, and we tip. When we spiritually
lean to our own understanding, we lean away from our Savior. If we lean,
we are not centered; we are not balanced; we are not focused on
Christ.” Bonnie Cordon
“Please
remember this one thing. If our lives and our faith are centered upon
Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently
wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior
and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right.” President Howard W. Hunter
"So what does a Christ-centered life look like? A Christ-centered life is
being faithful to covenants. It is loving and serving others. A
Christ-centered life rejoices in eternal family relationships. It
prioritizes “the riches of eternity” over the riches of the
world. A Christ-centered life humbly accepts that “to be learned is good
if [we] hearken unto the counsels of God.” A Christ-centered life is full of joy."Elder S. Mark Palmer
"I invite you to focus on that which is within your control, to center your faith and your life on Jesus Christ and His restored gospel, and, as needed, from time to time, to recenter your life on Him. I promise that doing so will lead to true and lasting joy."Elder S. Mark Palmer
"The
world in which we live is similar to the potter’s spinning wheel, and
the speed of that wheel is increasing. Like the clay on the potter’s
wheel, we must be centered as well. Our core, the center of our lives,
must be Jesus Christ and His gospel. Living a Christ-centered life means
we learn about Jesus Christ and His gospel and then we follow His
example and keep His commandments with exactness." Elder Richard J. Maynes
