Using Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church

Who Is This Resource For?

This resource is for anyone who wants to study the Doctrine and Covenants—individually, as a family, and in Church classes. If you haven’t studied the scriptures regularly in the past, this resource can help you get started. If you already have a good habit of scripture study, this resource can help you have more meaningful experiences.

Individuals and Families at Home

The ideal place to learn the gospel is at home. Your teachers at church can support you, and you can get encouragement from other ward members. But to survive spiritually, each of us needs daily nourishment from “the good word of God” (Moroni 6:4; see also Russell M. Nelson, “Opening Remarks,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 6–8).

Use this resource in any way that is helpful to you. The outlines highlight some eternal truths found in the Doctrine and Covenants. They also suggest ideas and activities to help you study the scriptures individually, with family members, or with friends. As you study, follow the Spirit’s guidance to find eternal truths that are meaningful to you. Look for God’s messages for you, and follow the promptings you receive.

Teachers and Learners at Church

If you teach a Primary class, a youth or adult Sunday School class, an Aaronic Priesthood quorum, or a Young Women class, you are encouraged to use the outlines in this resource as you prepare to teach. Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church is the curriculum for your Sunday class. The learning ideas in this resource are designed for learning at home and at church. As you prepare to teach, start by having your own experiences in the scriptures. Your most important preparation will occur as you search the scriptures and seek personal inspiration from the Holy Ghost. You could also study with the needs of the people you teach in mind. Look for eternal truths. Come, Follow Me can help you identify some of these truths and learn how the scriptures can be applied in your life.

Keep in mind that learning the gospel, at its best, is home centered and Church supported. In other words, your main responsibility is to support the people you teach in their efforts to learn and live the gospel at home. Don’t worry about having unique content to provide for them in class. Instead, give them opportunities to share their experiences, thoughts, and questions about the scripture passages they’ve read at home. Invite them to share the eternal truths they have found. This is more important than covering a certain amount of material.

Youth and Adult Sunday School Classes

One main reason we gather in Sunday School classes is to support and encourage one another as we strive to know and follow Jesus Christ. A simple way to do this is to ask a question like “What has the Holy Ghost taught you this week as you studied the scriptures with Come, Follow Me?” Answers to this question could lead to meaningful discussions that build faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel.

Then you could invite discussion based on the study suggestions in Come, Follow Me. For instance, a study idea might suggest searching Doctrine and Covenants 19:15–20, looking for how the Savior described His suffering. You might ask class members to share how they felt as they read His description and talk about how this affects the way they think about Him. Or you could spend some time studying these verses as a class.

Aaronic Priesthood Quorums and Young Women Classes

When Aaronic Priesthood quorums and Young Women classes meet on Sundays, their purpose is somewhat different from a Sunday School class. In addition to helping each other learn the gospel of Jesus Christ, these groups also meet to counsel together about accomplishing the work of salvation and exaltation (see General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1.2), as directed by their class or quorum presidency.

For this reason, each quorum or class meeting should begin with a member of the quorum or class presidency leading a discussion about their efforts. For example, they could counsel together about their efforts to live the gospel, minister to people in need, share the gospel, or participate in temple and family history work.

After this time for counseling together, an instructor leads the class or quorum in learning the gospel together. Adult leaders or members of the class or quorum can be assigned to teach. The class or quorum presidency, consulting with adult leaders, makes these assignments.

People assigned to teach should prepare by using the learning suggestions in the weekly outline of Come, Follow Me. In each outline, this icon indicates an activity that is especially relevant to youth and aligned with what they are learning in seminary. However, any of the suggestions in the outline could be used as a learning activity for youth.

For a sample agenda for quorum and class meetings, see appendix D.

Primary

Your preparation to teach Primary begins as you study the scriptures personally and with your family. As you do, be open to spiritual impressions and insights from the Holy Ghost about the children in your Primary class. Be prayerful. The Spirit can inspire you with ideas to help them learn the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As you prepare to teach, you might gain additional inspiration by exploring the teaching ideas in this resource. Each outline in Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church has a section titled “Ideas for Teaching Children.” Think of these ideas as suggestions to spark your inspiration. You know the children in your Primary class—and you will get to know them even better as you interact with them in class. God knows them too, and He will inspire you with the best ways to teach and bless them.

Children in your class may have already done some of the activities in Come, Follow Me with their families. That’s OK. Repetition is good. Consider inviting the children to share with each other what they learned at home. You should also plan ways for children to participate even if they aren’t learning at home. Children learn gospel truths more effectively when these truths are taught repeatedly through a variety of activities. If you find that a learning activity is effective for the children, consider repeating it, especially if you are teaching younger children.

In months that have five Sundays, Primary teachers are encouraged to replace the scheduled Come, Follow Me outline on the fifth Sunday with one or more of the learning activities in “Appendix B: For Primary—Preparing Children for a Lifetime on God’s Covenant Path.”