Come Follow Me
Week 52: Christmas and the Living Christ
As Christianity spread in the centuries following Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, it encountered non-Christian peoples with popular festivals around the time of the winter solstice. To accommodate these winter festivals, Christmas—the Feast of the Nativity—was...
Week 51: The Family: A Proclamation to the World
The Family: A Proclamation to the World has since its publication in 1995 been considered one of the most important doctrinal statements of Church leaders. Background "During the fall of 1994, at the urging of its Acting President, Boyd K. Packer, the Quorum of the...
Week 50: The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2
The Come, Follow Me curriculum for the week of December 6‒12, 2021, focuses on three important scriptural documents: (1) The Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ that were published in Joseph Smith's lifetime; (2) Official Declaration 1, often called "the...
Week 49: Doctrine and Covenants 137‒138
In John 3:5, Jesus instructed Nicodemus, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Christians of Joseph Smith's day generally interpreted this to mean that unless people received baptism in this life, they could never...
Week 48: Doctrine and Covenants 135‒136
Sections 135 and 136 of the Doctrine and Covenants were both written after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Section 135 deals with Joseph's martyrdom, and section 136, received by Joseph's successor, Brigham Young, outlines a way forward for the Saints after...
Week 47: Doctrine and Covenants 133‒134
The texts that make up sections 133 and 134 of the Doctrine and Covenants are long and important ones, discussing topics of great relevance today: the end of the world, and the role of governments and religious freedom. Doctrine and Covenants 133 Although the sections...
Week 46: Doctrine and Covenants 129‒132
The revelations that now makeup Doctrine and Covenants sections 129 to 132 were received in 1843, a period in which Joseph Smith, anticipating his death, felt the urgency of completing the Restoration and passing on doctrines he may have known for some time but...
Week 45: Doctrine and Covenants 125‒128
In 1841 and 1842, as the Saints were gathering in and around Nauvoo, Illinois, the Lord gave the Prophet Joseph Smith revelations that related to the gathering and one of the main purposes for gathering, which is building temples and doing work in them. Doctrine and...
Week 44: Doctrine and Covenants 124
The difficult days of Missouri and Liberty Jail passed in the spring of 1839 when Joseph Smith and his companions were able to escape captivity and join their families and other Saints in Quincy, Illinois, a community that had welcomed the refugees with open arms....
Week 43: Doctrine and Covenants 121‒123
The years 1838 and 1839 were excruciatingly difficult for members of the Church in Missouri. When the persecution against them mounted, they made pleas to leaders in the civil government to protect them in their civil rights. But the rights guaranteed in the...
Week 42: Doctrine and Covenants 115‒120
Because of persecution and other difficulties in Ohio, the Prophet Joseph Smith and other Church members were compelled in early 1838 to flee to Missouri, which became the Church's new headquarters. There Joseph Smith received several revelations between April 26 and...
Week 41: Doctrine and Covenants 111‒114
The revelations that are now sections 111 through 114 of the Doctrine and Covenants were received from August 1836 to April 1838, a period in which the maturing Church faced hosts of problems. These revelations gave comfort and counsel to Church leaders and members...