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!
This activity sheet is based on the CFM lesson for May 10 and contains a coloring sheet, crossword puzzle, and fill-in-the-blank scripture. {These pages are 100% free and totally original.}
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:
HAPPY EASTER! Below you will find some teaching ideas and an original, completely free 1/2 page activity sheet that aligns with the Come Follow Me reading for Exodus 14-18. The crossword and/or word searches are a great way to review or introduce the concepts from the reading for Primary, Sunday School, or families. Our home ward hands them out along with the sacrament programs, so that people of all ages can enjoy them. I hope you enjoy this fun way to learn the gospel together.
************************************ "Stand Still, and See the Salvation of the Lord"
Guess the word game: Using a hangman style game (I recommend drawing a snowman piece by piece, instead of drawing a hanging man), have your class guess the word, DELIVERANCE. (11 letters)
Talk about the deliverance of the Children of Israel (after they experienced great fear) and relate it to ways that the Lord delivers us in modern times. I love how the CFM manual talks about the Lord doing a "great work" in our lives. What are some of those great works?
Discuss some of the symbolism found in these chapters:
Manna: I think manna symbolizes divine providence, daily dependence on God, and spiritual sustenance. It represents God’s grace in meeting immediate needs, a test of obedience, and a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, the "Bread of Life". Discuss some ideas of ways we can turn to God daily.
Wilderness: I think it's interesting that the Lord didn't lead the Children of Israel directly to the promised land, but had them wander in the wilderness first. Ask your class for some other scripture stories where people end up in the wilderness and discuss how God meets each of them where they are in each story. What is the symbolism of the wilderness in our modern lives? A place where we must walk by faith rather than sight, relying on the Lord to "prepare the way"
The Israelites’ 40-Year Journey (Exodus/Numbers): After escaping Egypt, the Israelites wandered the wilderness of Sinai. It was a period of preparation, where they learned to trust God for daily survival (manna, water) rather than relying on human strength. Jesus’ Temptation (Matthew 4:1-11): Following his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the Judean wilderness. There, he fasted for 40 days and overcame temptation by the devil, relying on scripture to remain obedient, serving as a direct contrast to Israel's disobedience in their own wilderness. Moses at Mount Sinai/Horeb (Exodus 3): After fleeing Egypt, Moses tended sheep in the wilderness of Midian. God met him at the burning bush in this barren place, turning a moment of exile into his calling to liberate Israel. Elijah’s Desert Journey (1 Kings 19): Exhausted and in despair after fleeing Queen Jezebel, Elijah traveled into the wilderness. God provided for him and met him in a "still small voice," strengthening him for continued prophetic work. Hagar in the Wilderness (Genesis 16/21): After escaping abuse, Hagar found herself in the desert, where an angel met her at a well, providing hope and promising a blessing for her family. John the Baptist (Matthew 3): John preached repentance in the wilderness of Judea before Jesus' ministry, symbolizing a place of preparation and return to God. Lehi and Sariah’s Family (1 Nephi 2–18): Leaving Jerusalem, they face trials, find sustenance, and receive the Liahona, learning that God will light their path in the wilderness. The Brother of Jared (Ether 2–3): The Lord directs them in a desert, commanding them to build barges and speaking to them in a cloud. The Sons of Mosiah (Alma 17:9): They fast and pray for strength in the wilderness to prepare for their mission among the Lamanites.
Rock: Helaman 5:12 would be a great scripture to use alongside Exodus 17 and your discussion about how Christ can be our rock. Discuss what it looks like to have Christ as our foundation in modern times.
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!
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!
******************************* "Let God Prevail" I I love President Nelson's talk, "Let God Prevail," and have found myself pondering over what that means in my life many times since he delivered it. As with most concepts, it's easier said than done, but in retrospect I have to admit that God's plan is always better than my own.
If you're looking for some ideas for teaching a lesson, here are the lesson notes I have from when we taught it to a youth Sunday School class back in 2022. It's a very loose plan, so forgive any errors, but perhaps it can be helpful.
LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM JACOB'S STORY:
1. God keeps his promises 2. We are better with Christ than on our own
LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM JACOB'S LADDER:
Lesson #1: GOD USES IMPERFECT PEOPLE TO ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS God sees us where we are, meets us there, and lifts us to be better 1 Nephi 11:16-22 - Condescension of Christ
Lesson #2: God’s Purpose and Plan Is Always Better than Ours
Lesson #3: God Wants to Get Our Attention
Lesson #4: God Wants Trust and Obedience
QUESTIONS TO PONDER 1. Why is it important that we are of the House of Israel? (We are participants in the Abrahamic covenant, Our posterity will continue to be blessed, We are walking with Christ and can help others be blessed) 2. What does it mean to let God prevail in your lives? Think of specific examples.
QUOTE #1–“If you have sincere questions about the gospel or the Church, as you choose to let God prevail, you will be led to find and understand the absolute, eternal truths that will guide your life and help you stay firmly on the covenant path.
When you are faced with temptation—even if the temptation comes when you are exhausted or feeling alone or misunderstood—imagine the courage you can muster as you choose to let God prevail in your life and as you plead with Him to strengthen you.
When your greatest desire is to let God prevail, to be part of Israel, so many decisions become easier. So many issues become nonissues! You know how best to groom yourself. You know what to watch and read, where to spend your time, and with whom to associate. You know what you want to accomplish. You know the kind of person you really want to become.” President Nelson
QUOTE #2–”Now, my dear brothers and sisters, it takes both faith and courage to let God prevail. It takes persistent, rigorous spiritual work to repent and to put off the natural man through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.19 It takes consistent, daily effort to develop personal habits to study the gospel, to learn more about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and to seek and respond to personal revelation.” President Nelson
SCRIPTURE LIST:
Proverbs 3:5-6– Trust in the Lord
Genesis 27:41-43– How Esau felt about Jacob
Genesis 28:10-15 –all about Jacob’s dream with the ladder
Gen. 32:28-30–Jacob’s name is changed
Gen. 33:1-4, 8-10–Jacob and Esau are reunited! ************************************* PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEET
I make these activity sheets each week to align with the Come, Follow Me reading and they're great for introducing or reviewing key concepts from the reading. (Here is the link to the CFM outline on the church website for February 9-15). Kids, teens, and adults enjoy them and they're great for distributing along with programs for sacrament meeting, or as a part of a Sunday School lesson. They're best printed double sided, so it's just half a sheet per person.
I love the title of this week's outline, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." It's hard for my brain to fathom how wicked the world must have been for God to want a clean slate, but I love the idea that it was through grace of Christ that Noah, the animals, and his family were saved. If I were teaching this week, I'd study study grace and discuss what that looks like in our lives today. Here are a few talks and scriptures to get going.
I've always been fascinated with the concept of Zion. Because of the weaknesses that so easily beset us as humans, I don't think we will ever attain it in our natural lifetimes, but it's something to look forward to someday. I enjoyed reading through this chapter and imagining, through Enoch's people, what that might look like someday. Perhaps having your class/family brainstorm some features that might be present in Zion could be a great way to launch this lesson. And there are no wrong answers, so let them dream!
PRINTABLE ACTIVITY PAGE FOR CFM
THIS WEEK'S ORIGINAL PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEET LINK (in case it's not showing below)
I love the chapters found in the Come, Follow Me outline for this week, because they remind me of the temple. There's a lot of opportunity this week to talk about God's plan and how the Fall and Christ play a role in that plan. I guess that sounds a little understand...it's more like how Christ is the plan and his sacrifice made it all possible. I love the artwork and song suggestions that are found in this week's lesson.
PRINTABLE ACTIVITY PAGE
These activity sheets align with
the Come, Follow Me reading each week, and are great to introduce or
review the material. Our ward hands them out along with the sacrament
programs on Sundays, but they're also perfect for classroom and home
use. They are best printed double-sided and cut in half.
I'm back and am going to try to start sharing the activity sheets for 2026. I don't know that I'll be able to do any supplemental material this year, but we shall see.
These activity sheets align with the Come, Follow Me reading each week, and are great to introduce or review the material. Our ward hands them out along with the sacrament programs on Sundays, but they're also perfect for classroom and home use.
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.
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.
*********************** Have fun learning the gospel together and be sure to check back every week for a new CFM activity sheet. ***********************
I grew up in the great state of Minnesota. It was a great place to
grow up, but when I was a child, the closest temples were over 1000
miles away. Idaho Falls, Cardston, Washington DC, and the Utah temples
were all right about the same distance away, which meant that going to
the temple was quite an ordeal for the people in our area. Our family
didn't have much money, but my parents always did love a good road
trip, so they'd build visiting temples into our family trips.
That's me in the piggy tails on the front row!
That distance meant that they generally only went to the temple once a
year or so, but my parents would usually set aside a day or two out of
our vacation and attend as many sessions as they could during that
time. I learned first-hand from their example, that the temple was
important to my parents.
This is what visiting the temple looked like when I was a child:
Then, in the year I turned 12, the temple in Chicago, Illinois was
dedicated and that is where I went on all of our youth temple trips.
Chicago is about 400 miles away from where I grew up, so significantly
closer than driving to Utah, Cardston, Idaho, or DC, but still an
event. We generally went with the youth a couple times per year and my
parents would do babysitting exchanges with other families, so they
could be away for 20+ hours at a time while they did a session.
This is what traveling to the temple looked like when I was a teen:
When I was a college student, I worked at a store that sold glass temples at
the University Mall in Provo. As part of that job, I had the
opportunity to get asked a lot of questions about temples. I got asked
design questions--why don't all temple have an angel Moroni statue?
And a lot of questions about where temples were and why? I was quite
the temple trivia whiz in my time and I enjoyed learning more about
temples in a time when the internet wasn't really a widespread thing
yet. haha. 😂
At the time I worked there in the early 1990's, there were about 50
temples in operation around the world. It was sometime in that time
period that Gordon B. Hinckley announced his plan to have 100 temples built by the year 2000.
As someone who grew up so far away from a temple, that announcement
blew me away. What a blessing it was going to be for so many people
around the world and I wondered if Minnesota would ever get one.
Sure enough, in 1998, plans to build one in Minnesota were announced and
in January of the year 2000 it was completed--the 69th temple. There
were 102 dedicated by the end of that year. The year 2000 was a great
year for temples in the latter-days!
Though I no longer lived in Minnesota, I rejoiced with the people of
Minnesota and with all the people in the upper-midwest who now had a
temple in their backyards after having sacrificed so much money and so
many hours of their time to go to the temple for so many years.
Today there are 208 functioning temples with another 40 or so somewhere
in the process of being built (source). Think of all the people in the world who are blessed for their closer proximity to the temple.
WHY DO TEMPLES MATTER?
So I've spent all this time telling you about how great it is that
temples are more accessible to the people, but why does that matter?
#1. I think the first thing people think of when they think of
blessings of the temple is that when couples are married and/or families
are sealed in the temple, those families are sealed together forever.
"The full realization of the blessings of a temple marriage is almost
beyond our mortal comprehension. Such a marriage will continue to grow
in the celestial realm. There we can become perfected." Russell M. Nelson
The ability to be sealed to our families is a wonderful blessing and
should be a goal for all to strive for, but you don't have to wait until
you're married or sealed to enjoy the blessings of the temple.
President Russell M. Nelson told us that “Building and maintaining temples may not change your life, but spending your time in the temple surely will.”
Why is that?
Elder Quentin L. Cook answers it well:
“The temple is also a place of refuge, thanksgiving, instruction, and
understanding, “that [we] may be perfected … in all things pertaining
to the kingdom of God on the earth.” Throughout my life it has been a
place of tranquility and peace in a world that is literally in
commotion. It is wonderful to leave the cares of the world behind in
that sacred setting.”(source)
#2. The temple is a haven from the world.
I'll be totally honest here. The temple hasn't always been easy for me to attend. BUT, when I do make the effort to go, even when I am tired or feeling frazzled, I STILL AM BLESSED WITH PEACE. The
world is more fast-paced than it's ever been and we literally
need...yes, need...this time for our minds, spirits, and bodies to take a
break from the freneticism of the world. Now, more than ever, we
need to give ourselves that quiet time to commune with God without the
distractions that beset us almost everywhere else we could otherwise
be.
So those are some nice blessings for us when we go to the temple, but what about the actual work you do while you're there?
“After we receive our own temple ordinances and make sacred covenants
with God, each one of us needs the ongoing spiritual strengthening and
tutoring that is possible only in the house of the Lord. And our
ancestors need us to serve as proxy for them." Russell M. Nelson
#3. Our ancestors are relying on us to perform important saving ordinances for them.
“This work is all about people. It’s about giving every one of our
Heavenly Father’s sons and daughters the chance to make covenants and
receive saving, exalting ordinances. It’s all about helping his children
return home to him.”-- Sheri Dew
I love that when we walk in the doors of the temple all people are
equal. We walk in the doors to do a selfless work of saving our
ancestors, and there are no distinctions of wealth, status, or position.
We all wear the same clothing, missionaries don't wear their tags, and
general authorities sit in the same seats with the rest of us. It's
actually a beautiful thing to behold....people from all walks of life
gathering together to do an important work that can't be done anywhere
else. And it doesn't matter to our ancestors whether a farmer, grocery
store clerk, or CEO is the one doing their work. They're just happy
it's being done. Think of the joy we facilitate on the other side of
the veil when we participate in temple work.
“Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple
know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too
difficult in order to receive those blessings.” Thomas S. Monson(source
By definition, sacrifice means to give up something of value for the sake of something else even more important or more worthy. Sometimes I think we think of sacrifice and we think of big things--like donating lots of money or spending hours and hours on a church calling, but I think that the sacrifices that really matter are the day-to-day ones. The little things we give up to bless our families and to keep Christ in our daily lives.
A perfect example of this is the sacrifice mothers and fathers make to raise their children in faith. That may mean waking up a little earlier than you want to say a prayer with the kids that leave the house first. That may mean not watching that show on Saturday night, so you can finish reading the Come, Follow Me reading for that week. Or it may mean sacrificing your free time, turning off all the screens, and spending quality time with your family on a daily basis.
If you will sacrifice what the Lord has asked you to sacrifice, he will make more out of your life than you can on your own.
In researching on this topic I came across many examples of people all over the world that sacrifice huge things in the name of following Christ. One talk that really struck me was about members of the church in Sub-Saharan Africa not working their farms on Sunday and somehow finding that their fields are yielding more crops than neighboring farms that are much larger.
In my own family, my parents gave up 2-years of their retirement to serve the people of Paris, France on a senior mission. It was a sacrifice not only of comfort, but also of money, and time away from family and friends. Us kids honestly wondered if they would even be able to get their house ready to rent out for two years, let alone have the stamina to do what needed to be done on a mission. Yet they thrived. They were stretched in ways that blessed their lives as much as the people they served. The blessings they gained far outweighed the sacrifices they made and when my Dad passed away a few years ago, I know he died happy that he'd been able to serve in that way with my Mom.
This quote illustrates this point perfectly: “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)
Yes, it’s true that 0 x 0 = 0 and that if we don’t put any effort to studying Come, Follow Me with our families, we’ll receive zero blessings for it. BUT 1 + 1 in the Lord’s arithmetic is much greater than 2. Christ takes us where we are and makes us more. Makes us enough. He blesses us in beautiful and multitudinous ways that we can barely fathom. CHRIST + ME = MORE
Elder Richard G Scott has said, “Are there so many fascinating, exciting things to do, or so many challenges pressing upon you, that it is hard to keep focused on that which is essential? Satan has a powerful tool to use against good people, those who are committed to a worthy, righteous life, who want to do good and intend to make the most of this life. His tool is distraction. He would have good people fill life with "good things" so there is no room for the "essential ones." Have you unconsciously been caught in that trap?” (Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy [2007])
What is distracting us? For me it’s often my darn phone. It’s a blessing to be able to communicate so easily with my family that live scattered all over the world, but how often do I let myself get sucked into social media or games that have no lasting value? It’s all about balance. Let’s council together as families and discuss what we can put away to make way for Christ and his blessings in our lives?
QUOTES AND SCRIPTURES ABOUT SACRIFICE
D&C 64:34, “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.”
Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: “The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we ‘give’…are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us.” We can surrender our will to His, and dedicate our lives to building up His kingdom and serving His children.”
D&C 64:33, ‘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.”
D&C 117: 1-11 speaking of Newell K. Whitney and his wife leaving their prosperous circumstances and traveling to Adam-ondi-Ahman
**********************
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!
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
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!
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 when it's a word search!
********************** WHY RECORDING OUR SPIRITUAL IMPRESSIONS MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Isn't it interesting that you can talk to three different people who were all present at the same event and you'll get three different recollections of the specifics of that experience? It's a fascinating phenomenon that I see in action every time I have a conversation with a sibling about something that happened while we were younger. Sometimes our accounts will be pretty similar, but other times I am 100% convinced that one or the other of us has a faulty memory. Probably them, right? :)
LEARNING INCREASES WHEN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BRAIN ARE ENGAGED On a slightly different note, have you ever noticed that the more ways you learn something, the better you remember it? For instance, if your teacher just got up and talked endlessly about whatever subject they're teaching (something that perhaps happens a bit too frequently at church), you likely would forget most of what they said. But, if they talked about it, then let you try something hands-on that demonstrated the concept, then asked a thought provoking question and gave you time to ponder and write down an answer, then showed a video of a related concept, ....you would likely remember it much better, because you've had the opportunity to engage different parts of your brain. Even just one alternate form of teaching besides just talking is hugely valuable for imprinting those memories!
I feel like that's how life is too.
When I have an experience, I may or may not remember it in much detail. However, when I have an experience, then share it with someone, or write it down, I am much more likely to remember it. That's one of the reasons why I've been an avid journal keeper for much of my life. When I was young, it was in notebooks, then I went through a scrapbooking phase, and now it's mostly on our family blog. Yes, I still keep one of those!
I think all these reasons are why I was drawn to the section of this week's Come, Follow Me lesson entitled: "The Lord wants me to 'keep a history,'" and the scripture that that phrase comes from.
Doctrine and Covenants 85:1-2It is the duty of the Lord’s clerk, whom he has appointed, to keep a history, and a general church record of all things that transpire in Zion, and of all those who consecrate properties, and receive inheritances legally from the bishop; And also their manner of life, their faith, and works; and also of the apostates who apostatize after receiving their inheritances.
I think it's interesting that the revelation to keep a history was received so early in the church's existence. It proved to be prescient though, since it became a part of the church's fabric long before anyone but God could have known how widespread the church would one day be. One of my many callings over the last several years has been that of ward historian. To be honest, I wasn't that excited about it when I first received the calling, but I have since grown to have a testimony of the value of it. The act of reflecting and gathering a history, one year, one organization, one miracle, one ward at a time is something that has the potential to be of great value to a ward and to the church as a whole.
Similarly, when we take the time to record the important events of our lives, we are leaving a legacy for our families that could otherwise easily be forgotten. I know I regret not writing down more of my Dad's stories before he passed away a couple years ago. Now I am left wondering about the accuracy of my memories of an experience that I wasn't a part of, but that he had verbally shared with us. It's better than not knowing about it at all, but how much better would it have been to have it in written form, either by his own hand or written by someone else with his stamp of approval?
ARTICULATING EXPERIENCES HELPS US REMEMBER THEM BETTER
Over the years, I have sometimes taken the time to write about a spiritual experience I've had. Though it is challenging trying to articulate the feelings that accompanied such an experience, I think there's great value to trying. It's the exact same concept of teaching to engage different parts of your students' brains. Sorting through my feelings enough to give them words, is something that cements the experience more fully into my spirit and also makes it easier to share, should I feel inspired to do so. "Generations are affected by the choices we make. Share your testimony
with your family; encourage them to remember how they felt when they
recognized the Spirit in their lives and to record those feelings in
journals and personal histories so that their own words may, when
needed, bring to their remembrance how good the Lord has been to them."Elder Rasband
DIFFERENT WAYS TO RECORD Over the course of my life, I've had different promptings about what the best way to record those experiences are and honestly, the details of it don't matter. Whether you're jotting in a notebook, using Google Drive, making notes on your phone, keeping a blog, or keeping a detailed scrapbook...it doesn't matter. What matters is getting it down. If you think it's something that you'll want to share with your family someday or reference in a talk, you'll want to organize it in a way that can be found, but other than that, it's just finding what works for you. Lately, I am finding that Google Drive is very helpful for me in that way. I have different folders in my Drive for talks, lessons, and personal experiences. I've even typed up a few special journal entries to gather them in one place. I attach key words to them, so I can locate them quickly if desired. This easy access to them from any device I'm using has proven very helpful to me. I can usually find what I'm looking for within 1 minute of searching.
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.
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
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