Come, Follow Me
Why is it important to listen to and follow the living prophets?

Why is it important to listen to and follow the living prophets?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

We sustain the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. Their teachings reflect the will of the Lord. They give us instruction, warnings, and counsel from the Lord for our day. We are blessed with safety, peace, and spiritual strength when we listen to and obey their counsel.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

Questions to Ponder before You Teach

What counsel have living prophets given that you have applied in your life? How have you been blessed for following that counsel?

Why is it important for the young men in your quorum to have a testimony of the living prophets? How can you help them see what a privilege it is to have living prophets to guide them today?

What can the young men do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

The Savior asked questions to those He taught and gave them opportunities to ask their own questions. What questions can you ask that will help the young men think and feel deeply about living prophets? How can you show that you are interested in their answers?

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the quorum presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

  • Our quorum: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?

  • Our duties: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?

  • Our lives: Remind the quorum of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a quorum presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the quorum; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help quorum members understand the doctrine.

  • Assign each young man to read one of the scriptures suggested in this outline or one of the last five paragraphs of Elder Ulisses Soares’s message “Prophets Speak by the Power of the Holy Spirit.” Ask each of them to look for reasons we need a prophet and blessings that come from following the prophet. Invite them to share their thoughts. Share a personal experience in which you followed the counsel of the prophet, and testify about what you learned from doing so. Invite the young men to share their own experiences.

  • Invite quorum members to imagine that a friend of another faith asks them, “Why do you have a prophet?” “What is your prophet like?” or “What has the prophet said to you?” How would the young men respond?

  • Show pictures of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (such as those in the conference issue of the Ensign or Liahona). Bear your testimony that all of these men are prophets, seers, and revelators. Invite the young men to make a list on the board of counsel given by the living prophets (bring copies of the most recent general conference issue of the Ensign or Liahona to help them remember). How does following this counsel bless their lives and the lives of their families?

  • Show the video “Watchmen on the Tower,” or ask the young men to read portions of Elder Neil L. Andersen’s message “The Prophet of God.” What did they learn about the importance of following the prophet? What is the prophet teaching us today? Invite them to read the prophet’s words in a conference message this week and make changes based on what they read.

    4:17

  • If the young men were going to hire a president to lead a company, how would they approach that process? After sharing their ideas, they could contrast that process with the process of calling a new prophet. For a description of this sacred process, invite the young men to read Elder Gary E. Stevenson’s talk “The Heart of a Prophet” and Doctrine and Covenants 107:21–28. Why is it significant that the Lord calls His prophet this way?

3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the quorum presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

  • Ask the young men to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a quorum to apply what they have learned?

  • Give the young men a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.

  • Remind the young men that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.

Related Youth Activities

Plan a Mutual activity that will help the young men apply what they learned in this lesson.