Make sure to tag a friend to help spread the word. 

Week 11: Come Follow Me: Book of Mormon, Teaching Ideas and Free Resources

March 9th – 15th

Jacob 1-4

Questions to Ponder:

Each Come Follow Me Lesson asks important and reflective questions. When I first began my individual study these questions threw me off. Simply because many of these questions required so much depth and individual reflection in order to answer honestly. My first approach to come follow me was to get in, get out, get it done, check it off. These questions simply didn’t allow me to do so. In fact, I felt a little sick when I would read a question like, “How does the spirit speak to you?” and I wouldn’t know the answer right away. After a time, and pondering on that specific question I realized IT’S OKAY. In fact, I think these questions were meant to be set aside, thought about, and pondered. When we try and come up with the quick easy, obvious, answer, we are depriving ourselves of an opportunity to reflect, ponder, pray, and RECEIVE REVELATION. Is this not the whole reason for Come Follow Me? Are we not trying to finetune and recognize how we, and how to receive personal revelation.

So each week I will list out some of the questions issued in Come Follow Me. Maybe you pick to ponder about all of them, maybe you pick just one. Whatever you do, ponder on this for the ENTIRE week. Pray about it, discuss it with loved ones, then at the start of the new week, take the time to write down your impressions or thoughts, share them with your family, testify of powerful insights.

• Why did Jacob serve so faithfully?
  • What does his example inspire you to do to magnify your Church callings and your responsibilities at home?
• How are these ways similar to the consequences of immorality you see in today’s world?
  • What do you find in Jacob’s words that could help you teach a loved one about the importance of chastity?
  • How have you been blessed by your efforts to be chaste?
• Jacob pleaded with his people to “be reconciled unto [God] through the atonement of Christ” (Jacob 4:11).
  • What do you think that means?
• What has God provided to point you to Christ? How are you using these things to draw closer to God?
• What can we do to focus on the Savior and avoid spiritual blindness?
• What have our Church leaders done to help us feel their “desire and anxiety for the welfare of [our] souls”?
• How does the word of God heal “the wounded soul”?
• What are you doing to reach out to others who need your help?
• What does it mean to be “pure in heart” and “look unto God with firmness of mind”?
• What can we learn from Jacob’s teachings about how to develop faith that is “unshaken”?

Object Lesson: Unshaken Faith

Jacob 4:6

When we are troubled, our first reflex must be to search the scriptures and the words of the living prophets. Their writings are beacons that cannot deceive us: “Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken” 

-Bishop Gérald Caussé

Materials:

• A Tree 😀

Instructions:

This week’s object lesson comes straight from the Come Follow Me Manual.  Another great reminder that implementing Come Follow me can be simple and easy and still be effective. More than anything have a plan. Good intentions are great, a plan is even better.

Jacob 4:4–13, 17

I can strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ.

Jacob’s faith became unshaken as he searched the words of prophets and received his own witness (see Jacob 4:6). How can you help the children desire to build faith that cannot be shaken?

Possible Activities

• Invite the children to think of things that become strong and secure over time, such as a large tree. How is faith like the things they thought of? What phrases in Jacob 4:6, 10–11 describe what we can do to make our faith unshaken? Ask the children to make a list on the board of ways they can strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ.

I would plan a walk with your family. There is something about being outside. I heard a quote that I WISH I could credit that says something along the lines of, “being in nature is so healing and so therapeutic because everything is acting in perfect obedience.” I’ve thought about this often, there really is something divine about getting outside.

Go for a walk with your family and give them the task of noticing trees. Point out the size of different trunks, discuss what might happen when storms or heavy winds come. Compare a large mature tree to a young smaller tree.

Application|Discusion:

Read the following scriptures together, stop verse by verse if necessary to discuss or rephrase the wording or application. Focus on the word unshaken, discuss what that word might mean and how it applies.

Jacob 4:4–13, 17

“One way to help your family understand what it means to be “unshaken” in their faith would be to find a large tree nearby and ask family members to shake individual branches. Then let them try to shake the trunk. Why is it harder to shake the trunk?

• What can we learn from Jacob’s teachings about how to develop faith that is “unshaken”?

If you have older kids or students I would recommend taking this analogy one step further. I have searched and searched for the originator of this idea but I haven’t been able to track it down. This metaphor was given in a Facebook group as a support to a friend that was struggling with their testimony. I have since found myself using the same metaphor.

I think it’s important to point out that there will come times when our faith will be shaken, and that’s OK. It’s in those times we truly start to understand what faith is. Especially in today’s world where anyone can say anything, present only the materials or evidence bias to their opinion, or be deemed an expert with no actual expertise… we are surrounded by deception and doubt. It is important to know what to do when our faith is shaken, instead of being completely blindsided by the vibrations. Jacob gives examples, can you find them as a family?

Back to the tree metaphor. A testimony can be described as a tree, which is really quite a wonderful illustration when we consider Alma’s teachings that it starts as a seed. Like a Tree, a testimony has a trunk. The Trunk of the testimony is made up of the core teachings of our doctrine. You can list your own, but my thoughts are taken by to one of my FAVORITE talks of all time, Stand Forever by Lawerence E. Corbridge.  He lists them as primary questions but to me, they also apply as primary truths that make up the trunk of our testimony tree

1. Is there a God who is our Father? (Heavenly Parents, Divine Nature)

2. Is Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Savior of the world? (Divine Savior, Christ’s Atonement)

3. Was Joseph Smith a prophet? (Book of Mormon, Restoration of the Gospel), 

4. Is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the kingdom of God on the earth? (Temple Work, Covenants, Eternal Families)

Growing from the trunk of our testimony tree we also have branches and leaves. It is important that when we feel our faith is shaken, we examine which part of the tree is trembling. Is it the trunk? Is it a branch? Or in the grand perspective of everything is it a leaf?

I am reminded of this scripture from Paul from our study of the New Testament:

Ephesians 4:14

14 That we henceforth be no more ^achildren, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of ^bdoctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Has there been a time when your faith was shaken? What did you do? My most powerful witness to date came while attending the temple at a time when my faith felt completely shaken. There is power in seeking answers where the Lord has promised to give them. Temple, scriptures, conference talks…etc.

What is our natural tendency and desire when things feel shaken… Distance, space, a break… where do these feelings derive?

Talk with your family, testify to them, do not be ashamed of moments when your faith has felt weak. I think in these moments of complete humility and desperation if our desire is sincere and our actions reflect our desires, these moments of weakness can lead to some of our greatest manifestations of God’s love.

• Share Elder Neil L. Andersen’s analogy of the tree growing in a windy environment, found in his message “Spiritual Whirlwinds” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 18–21), or show the video “Spiritual Whirlwinds” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Why is it important for our faith to be unshaken and strong like the trunk of a tree? What do the whirlwinds represent? What can we do to build unshaken faith? Help the children think of other analogies that teach about having faith that cannot be shaken.

Because I just can’t help myself I wanted to share my most favorite poem with you. I love it so much that I would have my 5th graders memorize it. “Good Timber” by Douglas Malloch, you may remember President Monson quoting part of the poem in a general conference.

Good timber does not grow with ease, The stronger wind, the stronger trees…

I’ve created a printable that works as a fun coloring page or simply a nice display to reflect on this week with your family. Add it to the fridge or in a cute frame! Read and reflect on the poem as a family. Download the printable below!

This printable is a free download that you are welcome to use, however in order to download you must be a member of Living on Lemon Lane!

If you do this activity PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take pictures and tag me! Post to the Facebook group, or tag @livingonlemonlane on Instagram! Don’t forget to pin these images to your Pinterest. This is a SMALL and SIMPLE way to support the efforts of Living on Lemon Lane and sharing these ideas with your friends and family.

 

To stay up to date, and show your support make sure to follow @livingonlemonlane on Instagram!

Make sure to tag a friend to help spread the word. 

 

Watch or Listen To:

With a 2-year-old and 4-year-old, I understand the STRUGGLE and the attention span you are dealing with. Below are some of my favorite videos or audio recordings|podcasts you can listen to and watch with your children. My favorites right now are the Book of Mormon Story videos.**Different from the newly released B.O.M. videos. These are illustrated and READ stories to your children. THESE are PERFECT for when everyone is strapped in the car seat. My 4-year-old now requests these over the radio. Each segment is only 2-4 minutes long. This allows us to listen, review and discuss together, and listen again throughout the week.  Many of the videos I share can be found on the Saint’s Radio Channel App. (Formerly Mormon Channel App, If you don’t already have this, DOWNLOAD NOW.)

Read:

Harry Shares: An Illustrated story and activity about sharing from the Friend, perfect for toddlers! 

 

Activity Suggestions:

Sing and act out the Wise Man and the Foolish Man Song!