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Before jumping into this week’s materials and object lesson I wanted to make sure that this was brought to your attention. If you are using the Come Follow Me 2020 Book of Mormon Printed manual your text includes an oversight and misprint. At the recent NCAAP Conference Elder Stevenson addressed this and disavowed the paragraph in the printed manual saying, “We’re asking our members to disregard the paragraph in the printed manual. Now I’m deeply saddened and hurt by this error and for any pain that it may have caused our members and for others. I would just like to reiterate our position as a Church is clear. We do condemn all racism, past and present, in any form, and we disavow any theory advanced that black or dark skin is a sign of a curse.”
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I strongly feel the need and desire to be informed and educated on the doctrine.
“A few question their faith when they find a statement made by a Church leader decades ago that seems incongruent with our doctrine. There is an important principle that governs the doctrine of the Church. The doctrine is taught by all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. It is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk. True principles are taught frequently and by many. Our doctrine is not difficult to find. The leaders of the Church are honest but imperfect men. Remember the words of Moroni: “Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father … ; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been.”
-Elder Neil L. Anderson
This is a topic that I hope this generation will stomp out. However, it will take educated members who address and correct false and hurtful philosophies, interpretations and ideologies. My hope is this unfortunate oversight will result in a springboard that will cause members to take the time to learn, grow, and ponder. As a result, become more firm and grounded in the Doctrine of Christ.
I wanted to share a few of my favorite resources in regards to the topic of the curse mentioned in 2 Nephi. Please, please, please take the time to add at least one of these to your weekly study.
- A good place to start is this collection of quotes compiled by FairMormon based on the idea of new doctrines. One of the quotes is by President Joseph Fielding Smith:
- It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teachings of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man¹s doctrine. You cannot accept the books written by the authorities of the Church as standards of doctrine, only in so far as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works. Every man who writes is responsible, not the Church, for what he writes. If Joseph Fielding Smith writes something which is out of harmony with the revelations, then every member of the Church is duty bound to reject it. If he writes that which is in perfect harmony with the revealed word of the Lord, then it should be accepted.[5]
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- If the Book of Mormon is to be used as a measuring stick or balance by which we measure doctrine:
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- 33 For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.(2 Nephi 26:33)
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- If the Book of Mormon is to be used as a measuring stick or balance by which we measure doctrine:
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- It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teachings of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man¹s doctrine. You cannot accept the books written by the authorities of the Church as standards of doctrine, only in so far as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works. Every man who writes is responsible, not the Church, for what he writes. If Joseph Fielding Smith writes something which is out of harmony with the revelations, then every member of the Church is duty bound to reject it. If he writes that which is in perfect harmony with the revealed word of the Lord, then it should be accepted.[5]
The next place I would encourage you to spend some time doing is listening to this address by Marvin Perkins. This takes the common misconceptions and once accepted ideas and STRETCHES them. If you only have time for one resource on the curse placed on the Lamanites, I hope you prioritize this one:
Blacks in the Scriptures: Skin Color & Curses
I’ve actually reached out to Fair Mormon in hopes that they would release one of the addresses given at the 2019 Conference to the Public in light of this. While we wait for public access to the video, you DO have access to the text. DON’T LET THE TITLE SCARE YOU… You can do it.
- Laman and Nephi as Key-Words: An Etymological, Narratological, and Rhetorical Approach to Understanding Lamanites and Nephites as Religious, Political, and Cultural Descriptors-Fair Mormon Conference 2019: Matthew L. Bowen
- You will never read, “I Nephi being born of goodly parents…” The same way again.
Week 6: Come Follow Me: Book of Mormon, Teaching Ideas and Free Resources
February 3rd – 9th
2 Nephi 1 – 5
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.
- If you knew your life was coming to an end, what final messages would you want to share with those you love most?
- How has Joseph Smith’s work been “of great worth” to you?
- How can Nephi’s response to his challenges help you face your struggles?
- How would you define happiness?
- What has God done for your family?
- Think of a time when you made an impactful “right” choice.
- Think of a time when obedience has brought blessings.
Object Lesson: Agency is not Free
This week’s object lesson is simple but effective and likely everything you need is already in your kitchen/laundry room! This week’s object lesson explores the idea of agency and how our choices are linked to natural consequences. Depending on the choices we make the consequence (effect) can be positive, or it can be negative. The idea for this activity comes from, Or so She Says. I wanted to find a fun way to illustrate choice and consequence and once I stumbled across this lesson that was used for FHE, I knew it was PERFECT.
Materials:
- Food Coloring at least 2 colors
- 1-2 cups of Water
- Tall, Clear Glass|Vase|Container
- 1/2 cup of Bleach
- Spoon|Stir Stick
Or So she Says, basically gives you a script for effectively teaching this activity and it’s beautiful. She begins by asking what type of decisions were made today. Likely the decisions made were small and slightly inconsequential. Next, consider choices where the outcome or consequence can have a ripple effect or more of a lasting effect than deciding what you were going to where for the day. For a list of examples see Or So She Says.
“Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed—the courage to say no, the courage to say yes.” -President Monsen
After this introduction and discussion move to the object lesson. Explain how the water in the vase represents your life. Based on the choices we make, we have the power to choose what color of life we will live. Layout the colors and give your family or students an opportunity to pick one of the food colors you’ve provided.
When we did this activity my daughter, of course, chose the color pink. We mentioned how the color pink represented good choices. Choices that Heavenly Father and Jesus would want her to make. 1 drop of red food coloring into a cup of water will always give you pink. This is the recipe for a pink life, a life filled with peace, happiness, and goodness. The drops we chose to place in the water represents our ability to choose or our agency. The outcome is the consequence of our choice. At this point, the consequence is a positive one. We made the choice or choices that would result in a “pink” life.
What happens when we want|hope|aim for a “pink” life, but our choices don’t reflect the tried and true recipe of a single drop of red food coloring?
Add a different drop of food coloring to the water. (We used Green) The alternate food coloring drops represent sin.
***Off on a slight tangent, from last week I decided I needed to better understand the word sin. When this happens I dive down the rabbit hole of etymology. Often times I simplify sin by thinking it’s something that I say “no” to, “No, I won’t do this…” “No, I won’t do that…” But what about the other sins… the sins, that I make every day. Surely, sin is more than falling trap to a temptation of the devil. As I was contemplating all of this, I came across an interpretation of sin based on the Hebrew translation. It described that sin could be understood as an error, a mistake, or my favorite… Missing the Mark.
As you look back on your day, it may be difficult to pinpoint sin… However, when you change your thinking to times where you missed the mark, the idea and NEED for DAILY repentance, and our Savior Jesus Christ becomes that much more apparent.
Back to the object lesson. The different food color represents sin… or times when we miss the mark for a PINK life. Consider little choices that over time could result in a very different color, add a drop or stir the mixture with new each idea.
What happens to our “Pink” life. I love how Or So She Says puts it, “You cannot make a choice to add [green] drops, sin, and then hope to get [pink]. [Green] drops will always bring their own color (consequence) with them. When we sin, we use our agency to go against the instructions from God. Instead of following His perfect plan, we choose our own plan. Can we make an orange life (representing happy and good) if we don’t follow God’s recipe? No.”
Here comes the kicker, and the most beautiful way we can use our agency. Repentance.
***Another side note and dive into the rabbit hole of etymology. I often feel like repentance gets a bad rap. We tend to associate it with guilt, and darkness, and heaviness. Those things may be the natural consequence of how we used our agency, but that is not repentance.
To repent is to return. Is there anything more beautiful that using our agency to return.
We may have the power to choose, and make choices but we are not able to choose our consequences, and no matter how hard we try to create a “pink” life, even when we KNOW the recipe for a “pink” life. We are going to miss the mark. Heavenly Father knew we would miss the mark. Thus the need for the ultimate sacrifice of love and goodness, the only way we can have a “pink” life is through the atonement of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Add the bleach and stir. What happened? What does the bleach represent? Notice the color RETURNED to its original shade, allowing us again to exercise our agency.
Reinforce the lesson with this awesome 5-minute video
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.
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.)
- Scripture Stories PODCAST- A podcast meant for young children. (Episode 6 A New Home in the Promised Land) 28 min
- These Podcasts are PERFECT for when your driving in the car!
- Be aware of the wording… “Dark Skinned People” Discuss the curse of being cut off from the Lord because of iniquity…
- Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.24
This video explores agency and following God’s Commandments
Read:
- Book of Mormon Stories Chapter 9: Same text and illustrations used in the video above
- Be aware of the wording… “Dark Skinned People” Discuss the curse of being cut off from the Lord because of iniquity…
- Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.24
- Be aware of the wording… “Dark Skinned People” Discuss the curse of being cut off from the Lord because of iniquity…
Activity Suggestions:
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.
Being an Agent to Act – Bednar
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:
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Read 2 Nephi 5:10–12, 15–17, 26–27. Discuss what Nephi’s people did to live “after the manner of happiness.”
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Make a list together of commandments that, if kept, will bring your family happiness.
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Add to the list other things that bring you joy (good friends, game night, etc.).
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Turn your list into a family declaration. (“We, the Jones family, hereby commit to pursue happiness by …”)
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Place your declaration in a prominent place where you can see it often.
I’ve created a FREE template you are welcome to use to create your own Family Declaration of Happiness. In order to access this download, you will need to be a member of On Lemon Lane, and signed in to your account. Not a member? Not a problem? Sign-up is FAST, FREE and Easy-Peasy, Lemon-Squeezy! You can print and complete the poster by hand, or edit and add text through Google Slides, and then print. If you haven’t tried an engineer print from Staples… Let this be your reason to try one out! You can print a BEAUTIFUL 2 ft x 3 ft poster for less than $5. Read more about Engineer prints and the process of ordering through this tutorial.
Click Here to Download the Engineer Size Print of the Happiness Declaration 24 x 36 inches
Click Here to Download the Regular 8.5 x 11-inch Happiness Declaration
Try the Object Lesson Above: Agency is Not Free
Individual Study & Extension
Watch or Listen To:
Ever wish you could sit in on a lecture by THE scholar, Hugh Nibley… You. Can. Watch the video above!
My husband and I have LOVED this documentary. Packed with evidence, insight, and PERSPECTIVE. Scholars take you on what likely would have been Lehi’s journey. From what the wilderness actually looked like, to the metal mines they would have passed through… ABSOLUTELY fascinating!
Read:
:MOST IMPORTANT PART:
Comment below and share YOUR favorite resources for Week 6 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.
Alejandra Varela says
Another great, beautifully explain lesson, thanks again for all your hard work, for our better understanding of the lesson, and for all the extra resources.