2020
Struggling to Study Come, Follow Me on Your Own? Here Are Some Tips for the New Year
December 2020

Digital Only: Young Adults

Struggling to Study Come, Follow Me on Your Own? Here Are Some Tips for the New Year

By Annelise Gardiner

Church Magazines

Don’t feel like you’re really getting everything out of Come, Follow Me? We’re here to help!

woman studying Come, Follow Me

Next year—2021—will be the third year of Come, Follow Me for the whole Church. We should all be pros by now, right?

If you’re like me, the answer to that question is probably, “Not yet!” And that’s OK!

Come, Follow Me is for everyone, but sometimes it can be difficult to figure out if you don’t always have other people to study with. What about single adults? How are you supposed to have a discussion with yourself? What if your roommates don’t want to participate?

To help all of us with our Come, Follow Me studies, we’ve compiled a list of ideas to spark your creativity:

  • Come, Follow Me Groups—Gather a group of friends or family members either in person or online to meet and discuss the Come, Follow Me scriptures for that week. Set a time and place to meet virtually or physically weekly. You could even use a group message or chat where you can share your insights with each other throughout the week.

  • Home Evenings—When planning a home evening for your family or singles ward (virtual or in person), think of lessons and activities that could tie into that week’s Come, Follow Me readings. (See below for a sample home evening idea.)

  • Phone Reminders—A lot of young adults live by themselves or with only a few other people. Without a family to study with, it can be hard sometimes to remember to crack open Come, Follow Me every day. Try setting a reminder or alarm on your phone to give you that extra push you need.

  • Media Resources—The Church offers many multimedia resources to help you study Come, Follow Me. These include general conference talks (text, audio, and video), Brigham Young University speeches (text, audio, and video), Church podcasts (audio, video), and other Gospel Media (videos, images, music, and audio). Find all these resources on Church apps (Gospel Library, Gospel Media), ChurchofJesusChrist.org, and speeches.byu.edu and use the type of media you learn from best!

  • Sharing—One of the best ways to deepen your gospel learning is by sharing what you’ve learned. Share in person, in your journal, in a text, over the phone, or even on social media. Get the conversation flowing.

In 2021 we’ll be studying the Doctrine and Covenants in Come, Follow Me. Here are some ideas for studying this book of scripture in particular:

  • Revelations in Context—The Revelations in Context book contains background information on the people and circumstances discussed in the Doctrine and Covenants. You can find this book on the Gospel Library app and on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

  • Come, Follow Me support articles—Each month the Church magazines provide articles to supplement and strengthen your study of Come, Follow Me. You can access the magazines through the Gospel Library app, ChurchofJesusChrist.org, and through the printed magazine.

  • “Doctrine and Covenants” Gospel Topics essay—The Church has Gospel Topics essays on many Church history topics, including the Doctrine and Covenants. Each essay includes a short explanation of the topic as well as links to relevant general conference talks, scriptures, and other Church media. You can find the Doctrine and Covenants essay (and many others) on ChurchofJesusChrist.org/topics and in the Gospel Library app.

  • Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days volumes 1 and 2—The new Saints books that are written by Church historians include stories of early members of the Church and are written in a very readable, novel-type format. You can read or listen to these books on the Gospel Library app (or buy a physical copy if you prefer) and also listen to or watch the Saints podcast on ChurchofJesusChrist.org or on the Latter-Day Saints Channel app.

We all have different life circumstances, but the great thing about the gospel of Jesus Christ is that it’s for everyone! Come, Follow Me can help us discover and apply the gospel in our own individual lives and situations. Our ultimate goal for using Come, Follow Me shouldn’t necessarily be to complete every activity and study idea provided there. Rather, we should seek to be immersed in the scriptures—the word of God.

Maybe this list included an idea or two that fits your situation, or maybe these ideas sparked some personal revelation of your own on how you can study Come, Follow Me. Either way, don’t give up, and “look unto [the Lord] in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:36).