Studying “Come, Follow Me” resources for the past five years—both at church but especially in our home—has greatly strengthened our spiritual and scriptural conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We are no longer just reading scriptures daily and planning a separate family home evening once a week. Instead, we have been striving to begin every day by focusing on one or more of the “Ideas for Personal Scripture Study” or “Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Home Evening.”
Prayerfully discussing and reflecting on the inspired Come, Follow Me curricula has made us feel as though we are daily partaking of “the living bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:51). Our testimonies in the Living Christ are being spiritually fed “to help us change our hearts, our views, our actions, and our very natures” (Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: New Testament, 2023, v).
Each of the Come, Follow Me ideas has invited us not only to read but to employ Nephi’s method of scripture study: “liken all scriptures unto [yourselves], that it might be for [your] profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:23). By repeatedly offering questions on scriptural doctrines, each Come, Follow Me idea has the potential to be personally life changing. When we study the gospel in this ancient but modern way, we are becoming what Paul described as “a new creature [in Christ]” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
As we prepare to study Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Book of Mormon 2024, we are excited to learn that efforts are continuing to simplify home-centered, Church-supported gospel learning. Our enthusiasm is accentuated because we will again be studying the Book of Mormon that the Prophet Joseph Smith declared is: “the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and [we can] get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (introduction to the Book of Mormon). The 2024 manual has sharpened the focus by condensing the number of manuals into one unified resource.
One Manual “For Home and Church”
Instead of separate manuals for Primary, Sunday School, Young Women classes and Aaronic Priesthood quorum meetings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now has one resource for these classes and for use in the home.
The revised introductions for each weekly outline no longer begin with a highlighted theme/question and an invitation for individuals or family members to record their impressions. Other omissions are the headings for “Ideas for Personal Scripture Study” and “Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Home Evening.”
In 2024, each weekly outline is listed under the heading “Ideas for Learning at Home and at Church.” The home should be the primary sanctuary. This is where family and their friends should be safe, find peace, and feel the Spirit. For spiritual survival, each one 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).
Teachers of Primary, youth or adult Sunday School, Aaronic Priesthood, and Young Women are also encouraged to use the weekly outlines in Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Book of Mormon 2024. Their main responsibility is to support all members in their classes to learn and live the gospel. These teachers provide opportunities for class members to share their experiences, thoughts, and questions about the scriptures at church and invite them to share the eternal truths they are learning. They also reinforce the concepts and activities that many families may be doing in their own homes.
“Ideas for Teaching Children”
The 2024 Come, Follow Me manual also has a weekly outline of ideas, activities, music, artwork, photos, and talks from the extensive Church libraries. Both parents and Primary teachers may choose to use these outline study topics. Primary teachers should invite children to share what they have learned at home, and they should also plan for children who are not learning at home.
Inviting class members to participate is more important than covering planned lesson material. Be aware that repetition is good. Gospel principles are learned more effectively when these truths are taught repeatedly through a variety of activities and opportunities.
Appendices
Additionally, there are four appendices concluding the 2024 Come, Follow Me resource:
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Appendix A: For Parents—Preparing Your Children for a Lifetime on God’s Covenant Path.
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Appendix B: For Primary—Preparing Children for a Lifetime on God’s Covenant Path.
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Appendix D: For Aaronic Priesthood Quorums and Young Women Classes—Meeting Agenda.
Seek First the Kingdom of God
As husband and wife, we are thrilled to be studying the Book of Mormon again both in our home and at church with the renewed guidance of the life-changing Come, Follow Me curriculum. Our combined study is truly the highlight of each day.
One of the key lessons Jesus taught his disciples is: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (3 Nephi 13: 33).