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Week 3: Come Follow Me: Book of Mormon, Teaching Ideas and Free Resources
January 13th-19th
1 Nephi 8-10
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.
- How do you respond when you encounter a gospel principle that you don’t understand?
- Who could we invite to come closer to Jesus Christ and feel the sweetness of His love? What can we do to “[beckon] unto them”?
- When have we followed a commandment without fully understanding the reasons for it? How were we blessed?
- Consider sharing an experience when the Holy Ghost helped you know something was true. Tell the children how the Holy Ghost spoke to you.
- What do we learn from Lehi’s example?
- How have you felt the love of Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ in your life?
Object Lesson: The Tree of Life
“You may think that Lehi’s dream or vision has no special meaning for you, but it does. You are in it; all of us are in it. Lehi’s dream or vision of the iron rod has in it everything a young Latter-day Saint needs to understand the test of life.”
-President Boyd. K. Packer
I LOVE this week’s lesson. This is one of those places where you can gain new insight from a beloved and well-known scripture. When I taught Becky Craven’s Careful vs Casual in Relief Society we literally spent the entire class time observing Greg Olsen’s picture above, adding our observations, takeaways, applications, and insights. To this day that lesson ended up being one of my most favorite and memorable lessons.
This object lesson can be a lot of fun and ultimately lead to some powerful discussions with your family or students. Do me a favor and display a piece of artwork when having a discussion. My favorite renditions of Lehi’s vision show mists of darkness clouding the vision of those holding onto the rod. I think NECESSARY discussions can come from that simple detail that not all art pieces depict.
24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, aclinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the bfruit of the tree.
If you take anything away from this post I hope its this. There will be mist on your path. There will be mist on the covenant path. There will be times when all you can do is cling to the word of God. There will be times when you can’t see where you are supposed to step next but step forward. This idea always makes me think of Moses when he parted the Red Sea. At what point did the water part, how many steps into the unknown did he have to take before the water split?
Prepare loved ones for the mists that they WILL experience regardless of how tight they are clinging to the rod.
Materials:
- Something to represent the iron rod
- broom stick|yard stick|PVC Pipe…etc
- twine|ribbon|floss 😀
- Blindfolds
- dishtowel|headbands…etc
The idea for this AWESOME object lesson|activity came from the November 2013, New Era. “This object lesson relates to Lehi’s vision of the tree of life as found in 1 Nephi 8. For preparation, you’ll want to study up on the chapter and choose some verses to discuss as a family.
This object lesson works great outside, but you can also do it indoors in a large room. For setup, you’ll need to identify and mark two locations, preferably at least 20 feet (6 m) apart. One will be the starting point, and the other represents the destination—or the tree of life. To mark the two points, you can use inanimate objects, such as chairs, or ask family members to quietly stand at assigned posts.
Pick a family member to blindfold and take her (or him) to the starting point. It’s time for some spinning (but don’t overdo it for safety reasons). Then, turn loose the blindfolded family member, whose goal is to reach the tree of life. Chances are she won’t even come close, not with the mists of darkness—the blindfold—cramping her style.
Consider letting everybody take a turn, even if that means rotating through people who are standing at the start and finish locations.
At this point, consider discussing with your family the meaning of the mists of darkness (see 1 Nephi 12:17).”
Mists of Darkness:
We had an inspired Stake President teach us about the 3 D’s of Satan’s devises.
- Discouragement
- Distraction
- Deception |Doubt
Did you notice these were the same D’s mentioned by Elder Peter M. Johnson at the October 2019 Conference? These same tools of the adversary are the same MISTS, we will all face. Discuss other specifics or listen to the talk below.
Consider these quotes about the mists of darkness:
- “Here is the next question I would like each of us to ask: What are my mists of darkness? Satan knows each of us well. He knows each of our strengths and he knows our weaknesses. Satan knows how to press our mortal buttons. And believe me, he is doing it at every opportunity. The way he tries to get me may be different from the way he tries to get you. But he is very good at finding our weak spots and hitting hard. What is it for you? Maybe it is discouragement or self-doubt. Maybe it is laziness. Or it could be influencing you to let a healthy curiosity lead you to doubting your own convictions. Maybe the mist is procrastination. Or it could be anger. It could be allowing Satan to gain power over you through horrible addictions to substances or pornography.” (Cheryl C. Lant)
“The great mists of darkness arise in our lives at various times and take many forms. Sometimes they are great temptations and trials, but most often they are very subtle to the point it is hardly noticeable that our grip on the iron rod has loosened.” (Kevin Miyasaki)
- “The enemy and his angels are trying to distract us. Their purpose is to encourage us to deviate from the covenants that we have made with the Lord, causing us to lose sight of our eternal inheritance. They know well our Heavenly Father’s plan for His children, for they were present with us in that great Council in Heaven when it was all presented. They try to take advantage of our weaknesses and frailties, deceiving us with ‘mists of darkness …, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.’ ” (Elder Ulisses Soares)
Part 2 of Object Lesson:
“In the scriptures, we learn that Lehi saw in his dream multitudes of people “continually holding fast to the rod of iron” (1 Nephi 8:30). It’s time to give your family or students an “iron rod” of their own for this lesson.
If you’re using people to mark the locations, they’ll hold both ends of the “iron rod.” If you’re using objects, you’ll need to find a way to secure the rod between the objects.
Now repeat the blindfold-spin-and-release challenge as before. This time, family members will have something to hold to help guide them to reach their destination. That single change makes all the difference in successfully making it to the final point.”
Time for another discussion! Consider talking about how having an “iron rod” to hold made a difference. You might read 1 Nephi 11:25 and discuss how the word of God helps us find our way.
Teaching Ideas for Toddlers & Young Children
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:
Activity Suggestions:
Click Here to Download the Free Coloring Pages
Click Here to Download these FREE Printables from the Friend
Use the printables above! Cut out the pictures to act out, or illustrate the story of Lehi’s vision. Read the verse associated with the cut-out and discuss what it represents in your life. You can even draw and add more objects and people. Take a picture and make sure to tag @livingonlemonlane
Teaching Ideas for Families
Watch or Listen To:
Finding time to make Come Follow Me can be tough, it can also be tough to keep the attention of family members. The Book of Mormon videos recently released by the church are a WONDERFUL resource.
Read:
- I LOVE using the Institute and Seminary Manuals to aid my study! They answer questions, provide insight and background coupled with beautiful quotes from Prophets and Apostles.
Activity Suggestions:
Individual Study & Extension
Watch or Listen To:
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- Ever wish you could sit in on a lecture by THE scholar, Hugh Nibley… You. Can. Watch the video above!
Read:
- Want to go DEEPER. Read the notes on Come Follow Me Week 3 by Scholar of Law and Religion and BYU Professor, John. W. Welch
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The Logic Tree of Life, or, Why I Can’t Manage to Disbelieve, Daniel Peterson
- Lehi’s Dream and You, Boyd K. Packer
:MOST IMPORTANT PART:
Comment below and share YOUR favorite resources for Week 2 of Come Follow Me in the Book of Mormon. Join the conversation on @livingonlemonlane on Instagram and stay updated on new blog posts! If you enjoyed this PLEASE SHARE! Till next week.
