Come, Follow Me
How do the things I say affect me and those around me?

How do the things I say affect me and those around me?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

How we communicate reflects our understanding of who we are as children of God. Our language can either uplift and encourage others, or it can hurt and offend them. When we use uplifting language, we invite the Holy Ghost to be with us.

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

Consider the power of words. In your life, how have you used words to inspire, teach, comfort, and communicate? How have the world’s standards of appropriate language changed during your lifetime?

Think about how you have seen the young women communicate with each other. How can you help them understand the importance of using uplifting and good language?

What can the young women 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 that caused people to think and feel deeply. He was sincerely interested in their answers. He gave them opportunities to ask their own questions and share their own insights, and He responded to their questions and listened to their experiences. How can you follow the Savior’s example as you teach the young women about the importance of what they say?

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

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

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

  • Our class: 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 responsibilities: 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 class 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 class presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the class; 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 class members understand the doctrine.

  • A few days in advance, invite the young women to bring to class a favorite inspirational quotation. Ask each young woman to share her quotation and explain the influence it has had on her life. Invite the class to find examples in the scriptures that illustrate the powerful positive influence our words can have on others (for example, Captain Moroni and the title of liberty [see Alma 46:11–22], the Savior and the woman taken in adultery [see John 8:1–11], or Abinadi and Alma [see Alma 5:9–12]). What do these examples teach the young women about the power their words can have on others?

  • Ask one or two young women to come to class prepared to share the stories of the canoes and of the young man who was teased as a teenager, from Sister Jean B. Bingham’s message “I Will Bring the Light of the Gospel into My Home.” What do the young women learn from these stories about how our words affect one another?

  • Assign each young woman a different scripture passage from the first set of scriptures in this outline. Invite her to draw a simple picture or diagram that represents the message from the passage. Have her show her picture, and invite the other class members to guess what it teaches about communication with others. What experiences can the young women share that illustrate the truths taught in these scriptures?

  • Show one of the videos in this outline, and ask the young women to share what they learn from the video. Invite them to ponder what they can do to influence others to communicate in ways that invite the Spirit of the Lord. For example, how might they help a friend who has a habit of using bad language? Or how can they use electronic communication to uplift and encourage others? Invite them to look for answers as they read “Language” in For the Strength of Youth. Ask them to share their ideas.

  • Invite the young women to read 1 Nephi 5:1–7 and share what they learn from the examples of Sariah and Lehi about how our words affect ourselves and others. Ask them to read Elder W. Craig Zwick’s comments about this account in his talk “What Are You Thinking?” What further insights do the young women gain from this talk? Encourage them to share ways they can follow Lehi’s example in their interactions with family members and others.

3. Plan to Act

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

  • Ask the young women 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 class to apply what they have learned?

  • Give the young women 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 women 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 women apply what they learned in this lesson.