The purpose of Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families is to help you come unto Christ and become more deeply converted to His gospel. This resource can help you understand the scriptures and find in them the spiritual strength you and your family need. Then, in your Church classes, you will be prepared to share insights and encourage your fellow Saints in their efforts to follow Christ.
The first idea that impresses me as I read through this lesson and its scripture references, is the wording of the title of this lesson, that we are responsible for our own LEARNING. Not just our own reading, our memorization, or even our own study, but our LEARNING.
And how do we truly learn a thing? It's more than just fact gathering, more than just knowing. Your three year old knows that the answer to "are you allowed to jump on the couch?" is "no" but they have not yet LEARNED to keep from doing it.
In the account of the rich young man in Matthew, the young man knows what he should do. He asks for more information, and it is given to him. He asks the Savior "What lack I yet?" and Jesus tells him to sell his stuff, give to the poor, then "come and follow me" but it occurs to me that there is another answer to the young man's question, which I hope he pondered about as he left sorrowfully.
What the young man lacked was a willingness to DO all he was taught. The manual follows with an exercise for learning more about gospel principles, using forgiveness as an example principle.
This pattern invites us to learn what the Savior taught, to observe examples from his life, and then to ponder about what we can do to more fully live those principles in our own lives. This is more than just a passive reception of stories and lessons and principles as we sit in Sunday School, like flowers being watered. We are to seek new light for ourselves, and put it into action.
The reason this is so important is highlighted in the well-known story of the parable of the ten virgins. We must keep our testimony strong and active and growing, so that we don't end up relying on "borrowed light". This is worth all the time and prayer and study and fasting and efforts we can give.
The lesson suggests, and I agree, that "The beginning of the new year is a good time to hold a family council about making your home more gospel centered." It links to Galatians 5:22–23 and Philippians 4:8 to ponder the blessings and counsel there for ideas. I looked them up, and realized that maybe the line between "counsel" and "blessings" isn't as solid as I once supposed. It's not as straight an equation as "if counsel then blessings" is it? It's that the natural consequences of following the counsel of the Lord are the blessings we want to receive.
That isn't a completely formed thought yet, but it's one I will certainly ponder on, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on that or anything else in the lesson.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The first idea that impresses me as I read through this lesson and its scripture references, is the wording of the title of this lesson, that we are responsible for our own LEARNING. Not just our own reading, our memorization, or even our own study, but our LEARNING.
And how do we truly learn a thing? It's more than just fact gathering, more than just knowing. Your three year old knows that the answer to "are you allowed to jump on the couch?" is "no" but they have not yet LEARNED to keep from doing it.
In the account of the rich young man in Matthew, the young man knows what he should do. He asks for more information, and it is given to him. He asks the Savior "What lack I yet?" and Jesus tells him to sell his stuff, give to the poor, then "come and follow me" but it occurs to me that there is another answer to the young man's question, which I hope he pondered about as he left sorrowfully.
What the young man lacked was a willingness to DO all he was taught. The manual follows with an exercise for learning more about gospel principles, using forgiveness as an example principle.
Learning from the Savior starts when we strive to understand what He taught. For example, how does your understanding of forgiveness deepen as you explore the following?
The Savior’s teachings (see Matthew 6:14–15; 18:21–35)
An example from His life (see Luke 23:33–34)
However, learning is not complete until we follow the Savior by living what He taught. How can you be more forgiving?
If you want to learn more, try this activity with another gospel principle, such as love or humility.
This pattern invites us to learn what the Savior taught, to observe examples from his life, and then to ponder about what we can do to more fully live those principles in our own lives. This is more than just a passive reception of stories and lessons and principles as we sit in Sunday School, like flowers being watered. We are to seek new light for ourselves, and put it into action.
The reason this is so important is highlighted in the well-known story of the parable of the ten virgins. We must keep our testimony strong and active and growing, so that we don't end up relying on "borrowed light". This is worth all the time and prayer and study and fasting and efforts we can give.
The lesson suggests, and I agree, that "The beginning of the new year is a good time to hold a family council about making your home more gospel centered." It links to Galatians 5:22–23 and Philippians 4:8 to ponder the blessings and counsel there for ideas. I looked them up, and realized that maybe the line between "counsel" and "blessings" isn't as solid as I once supposed. It's not as straight an equation as "if counsel then blessings" is it? It's that the natural consequences of following the counsel of the Lord are the blessings we want to receive.
That isn't a completely formed thought yet, but it's one I will certainly ponder on, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on that or anything else in the lesson.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What do you feel inspired to do to be more active in learning the gospel?
- How do we gain and nurture our own testimonies?
- What can we do to cultivate "good ground" in our homes?
- What is the relationship between "counsel" and "blessings"?
Thank you for your insights and efforts with this. You light up my life!
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