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Week 1 COME FOLLOW ME: Doctrine and Covenants – TEACHING IDEAS & RESOURCES | D&C Section 1

D&C: 1

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.

• What do you learn from section 1 that will help you get the most benefit from your study of the Doctrine and Covenants? For example, you might ponder what it means to “hear the voice of the Lord” in these revelations (verse 14) or to “search these commandments” (verse 37).
• What do you learn about the Lord’s servants? When have you heard the Lord’s voice in the voice of His servants? (see verse 38).
• Notice that in verse 3 and verses 24–28, the Lord said that people’s sins and errors would be made known. In one case this is a painful, sorrowful experience, and in the other case it is instructive. Why are these situations so different?
  • Consider how you react when you become aware of your sins and weaknesses.
  • What qualities do you find in verses 24–28 that can help you respond in the right way?
  • What do these verses, along with verses 31–33, teach you about how the Lord views your weaknesses and sins
• Although section 1 warns of distressing days to come, it also contains a reassuring message: “I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven” (verse 17). Note the calamities that the Lord warned about (see, for example, verses 13–16, 35).

  • What other calamities do you notice in today’s world—or in your own life? Verses 17–30 describe what the Lord has done for you in anticipation of these calamities. Consider making a list of what you find.

• According to Doctrine and Covenants 1:1–6, 37–39, how does the Lord warn us?
  • What has He warned us about recently?
  • Perhaps you could watch or read parts of recent general conference messages and look for examples of God’s “voice of warning.”
• What does it mean to “establish [the Lord’s] righteousness”?
  • How can we make sure we are doing that, rather than walking “in [our] own way”?
• What does it mean to say that the Church is “true and living”?
• How will you make your scripture study a regular part of family life?
  • What study ideas can help you learn from the scriptures? (See “Ideas to Improve Your Family Scripture Study” at the beginning of this resource.)

Lesson:

Who is EXCITED about delving into Doctrine and Covenants? There is something about that new year and new start that is so refreshing. I find myself more motivated and more excited. Like in the past, my plan and intent is to provide you weekly blog posts with FREE Come Follow Me Resources and Ideas for your students, family, children, or individual study.

I can honestly say I have never read the Doctrine and Covenants cover to cover. In fact, oftentimes I will hear or read a profound scripture only to realize and be surprised that it’s in the Doctrine and Covenants. This year I am committed to better understanding not only the verses but also the context of the revelations behind them.

Unlike the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants contains no storyline, and it doesn’t read chronologically. I think this makes it crucial to study what’s going on behind the scenes to truly understand and appreciate the revelation we’re reading and how we can apply it.

There are lots of great resources available to you to help you, comment below if you have a favorite! The Come Follow Me headings do a great job to give you a brief background on the assigned reading. If you want to delve deeper… You HAVE to check out, “Revelations in Context.” This book was put out by the church in 2016. “This book contains stories told from the point of view of those who experienced the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, giving us insight into their meaning. While the section headings provide context for the revelations, they don’t tell the complete story. What questions prompted the revelations? What did the Lord’s responses mean to those He addressed? How did they respond?” This book aims to answer those questions!

Click Here to Read Revelations in Context Preview

Click Here to Read Revelations in Context Section on D&C 1

If you have stellar resources that share context or make a wonderful study aid to the Doctrine and Covenants. PLEASE share them in the comments below!

Before I sign off I HAD to share this excerpt from a new Podcast/video by John Bytheway and Hank Smith, in it they ask Anthony Sweat, (one of my new favorite artists) to express his thoughts on Joseph Smith, and well… it’s pretty remarkable. Sweat has taught the Doctrine and Covenants for over 20 years and recently released his book, “Repicturing the Restoration,” Which is one I can’t wait to get my hands on! If you don’t catch the whole podcast, make sure to at least make time for the moment at 58 minutes.

If you do this activity PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take pictures and tag me! Post to the Facebook group, or tag @livingonlemonlane on Instagram! If you appreciate these object lessons or resource ideas, 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 young children, 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.  Many of these are PERFECT for when everyone is strapped in the car seat. My 5-year-old now requests many of these over the radio. 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.)

Drawn In: Free Sample of Subscription Videos

The ONLY Paid Subscription I use for Come Follow Me

I’ve recently teamed up with David Bowman artist, author and creator of the Drawn-In Video Subscription to bring a discount to all Living on Lemon Lane readers. This is the ONLY Paid Come Follow Me product that I have a subscription to, and it is worth every cent. Each week you get TWO engaging and fun videos (around 20 minutes long each!) as well as exclusive content and printables! Like his books, instead of just introducing the scripture story he explains a principle, then takes it a step further by exploring APPLICATION.  Click here to watch his Free Videos, If you’re interested make sure to use the promo code LEMONLANE10 at checkout to receive 10% off of the yearly membership!

Click Here to Learn More, Use Code LEMONLANE10 for an exclusive discount off the yearly membership!Head to davidbowmanart.com to watch more FREE episodes and learn more about subscribing ($4.95 per month – gets you 2 episodes PER WEEK that go directly with Come Follow Me as well as supplemental PDF print outs)

Read:

Click Here to Read the Message from our Prophet, “I Love You”

Activity Suggestions:

• For Doctrine and Covenants 1: Help your little ones say, “Joseph Smith was a prophet.” Then go to children.ChurchofJesusChrist.org and click on “Music” to find a song to sing about Joseph Smith.

Click Here to Download

Activity Suggestions From Come Follow Me:

• What does it mean to say that the Church is “true and living”? To get your family thinking about this question, perhaps you could show them pictures of living things and nonliving things. You could also discuss what you can do as a family to help “bring [the Church] forth out of obscurity and out of darkness.”

Click Here for an AWESOME and FREE slideshow of Living and Non-Living Things

• The Lord declared that His voice is a “voice of warning.” How will you inspire the children to hear and obey the warnings He gives?
  • Let the children hold pictures of warning signs—such as traffic hazards, bad weather, or poison—and talk about how they warn us of danger. Or tell a story about a time when you obeyed a warning. Compare these warnings to the warnings the Lord gives us through His prophets. Testify that He warns us because He loves us and wants us to be safe (see also this week’s activity page).
  • Read to the children from Doctrine and Covenants 1:4: “And the voice of warning shall be unto all people.” Share something that the prophet has recently taught that can keep us safe. Show related pictures, if possible. Talk about how you are following the prophet’s counsel.