5 TEACHING IDEAS FOR COME FOLLOW ME LESSONS

See the complete list of CFM Lessons

Alma 13-16

This might be one of my favorite lessons of the year. Alma and Amulek modeled the pinnacle of being a Saint. They are so inspiring!

Lesson Notes

You can find the full Come, Follow Me lesson here. Unless you opt to spend a lot of time on a particular quote, try to pick around 2 questions per quote. Choose the questions that resonate the most with you and make a meaningful discussion for your group of personalities.

All blue quotes from the Book of Mormon (unless otherwise noted).

Lesson Prep

• If you want the discussion to be more meaningful, hand out reading assignments ahead of time and ask the reader to answer one question about them (pick one of the questions below and give it to them, along with the assigned quote). The sooner you do this, the better, but if possible, at least show it to them before the Sacrament meeting. You can also text or email it.
• Ask various people to read and participate – especially those who aren’t asked as much.

Lesson Delivery

You can arrange the quotes in any order that makes sense to you. I suggest starting with the most important ones and working your way down. Don’t worry about covering all the quotes.

• Make sure you assign others to read the quotes. You’re talking enough already. Letting others read allows more people to participate.
• Encourage discussion by accepting all reasonable answers. Validate people for participating and be thankful they spoke up. Engage with the answer in a conversational way whenever it feels natural. Never say, “That’s not the right answer,” or “We haven’t got to that part of the lesson yet.”
• Remember, spiritual discussion is golden. We want people to talk about the gospel together.
• If a lesson takes a different turn, roll with it. The Spirit intends for you to be successful.
• If the discussion gets too non-spiritual, pull it back by going to the following quote or question.
• Avoid videos – they shut down discussion. Save them for personal study.

Quote #1 (hearken)

Possible warm-up question: What does “hearken” mean?

Write on the board:

hearken: be all ears, listen with great intent -OR- “The following message really matters.”

Possible engagement tool: Say something like, “Alma gives us extraordinary spiritual advice in the Book of Mormon. In these next three verses, he gives us a list of things to do and strive for. See what stands out for you.”

Note: This quote can be divided among 2-3 readers.

27 And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance;

28 But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;

29 Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest. (Alma 13:27-29)

Possible activity: Have your class look at the written verses and help you create a list of actions. They do not need to pull out everything or word it the same as the list below.

Alma’s List

• Hearken to (study) Alma’s words
• Cast off sins.
• Now
• Humble yourself in prayer
• Be aware and pray often
• Bring the Spirit into your life
• Be humble
• Be meek
• Be submissive
• Be patient
• Be full of love
• Show long-suffering
• Have faith in Jesus Christ
• Have hope
• Put God’s love for others in your heart

Possible discussion questions: Is there something on the list that stands out for you today? (If someone says “all of it,” say something like, “Sure…let’s pick one so we can talk about it.”) Why do we need to study scriptures like these? (Accept all reasonable answers to help us remember and renew our dedication to making these kinds of efforts.) When should we be casting off sins? (now – don’t wait; today is a great day to resolve to do something better) How can you personally be more submissive? What puts God’s love for others, in your heart (for me it is service and fellowship)

submissive: be “easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering” (Alma 7:23)

How much does this list matter?

Quote #2 (hidden fire)

Let’s focus on two of the list items from Quote #1

• Humble yourself in prayer
• Be aware and pray often

Elder Holland taught us some powerful truths about prayer at the last General Conference.

Note: This can be divided between two readers.

If we “ask not amiss,” there are no limits to when, where, or about what we should pray. According to the revelations, we are to “pray always.” We are to pray, Amulek said, for “those who are around you,” with the belief that the “fervent prayer of a righteous [people] availeth much.” Our prayers ought to be vocal when we have the privacy to so offer them. If that is not practical, they should be carried as silent utterances in our heart. We sing that prayers are “motion[s] of a hidden fire,” always to be offered, according to the Savior Himself, to God the Eternal Father in the name of His Only Begotten Son.

My beloved friends, our prayers are our sweetest hour, our most “sincere desire,” our simplest, purest form of worship. We should pray individually, in our families, and in congregations of all sizes. We are to employ prayer as a shield against temptation, and if there be any time we feel not to pray, we can be sure that hesitancy does not come from God, who yearns to communicate with His children at any and all times. (Elder Holland, Motions of a Hidden Fire – April 2024)

Discuss what ask not amiss means or write it on the board.

Ask not amiss: Don’t use prayer to petition your appetites and passions. (James 4:3, 2 Nephi 4:35)

Possible discussion questions: Why is Elder Holland urging us to pray more and more often? What are the benefits of prayer? How do you feel after you’ve had a really good heartfelt prayer? Did you know prayer can be a form of worship? (Especially when we acknowledge God and thank Him.) How does God feel about you praying? (“God…yearns to communicate with His children at any and all times.”)

Quote #3 (patience)

This narrative can be read in parts (assign them to people) or summarized and shared in your own words.

-OR- Use the scriptures and key concepts without the narrative.

The Heroes

First narrator:

Alma and Amulek’s persecution in Ammonihah is horrific. Nonetheless, their silence and refusal to engage with their tormentors is inspirational. Whereas, sometimes, we have so much to say for much less of a violation.

Alma and Amulek’s grace is a masterful lesson in human relations. How much more powerful would we all be if we took our cues from them?

The Backstory

Next narrator:

All the men who believed in Alma and Amulek’s words were cast out and chased with stones clear to Sidon. Immediately after, their women and children are gathered and burned by fire along with their sacred writings. Alma and Amulek are made to watch the cruel death of the innocents.

“And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene”?

 (Alma 14:10)

Next narrator:

This is followed by imprisonment, nakedness, starvation, hitting, and crowd taunting of the worst kind.

“And many such things did they say unto them, gnashing their teeth upon them, and spitting upon them, and saying: How shall we look when we are damned”?

“And many such things, yea, all manner of such things did they say unto them; and thus they did mock them for many days. And they did withhold food from them that they might hunger, and water that they might thirst; and they also did take from them their clothes that they were naked; and thus they were bound with strong cords, and confined in prison.” (Alma 14:21-22)

The Response

Next Narrator:

To all of this, Alma and Amulek have a fantastic response:

18…they came in unto the prison to see them, and they questioned them about many words; but they answered them nothing. (Alma 14:18)

This happens several times, mostly accompanied by physical and emotional abuse. Alma and Amulek say nothing when they had every right to say quite a bit.

Next narrator:

Interestingly, Christ did the same thing.

12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. (Matthew 27:12-14)

Our Reality

Next narrator:

The human race habitually throws out verbal darts, shaming, guilting, public humiliation, and accusations. There will always be a few lost, mean-spirited souls in every crowd. On top of that, mortals (even the best of them) have weak, selfish moments that impact us. It’s a guaranteed experience. Our unwanted encounters may not be on the same life-and-death threat level as our heroes. Nonetheless, allowing them to get the better of us makes for misery.

Possible discussion questions: For all the lesser infractions with regular people and daily situations, how do we get to the point that we can respond with Alma and Amulek’s kind of peace? How does this compare to the cultural norm of screaming injustice?

Quote #4 (addictions)

Deepen the understanding!

Some Emotions Are Really Addictions

Note: These quotes and verses can be divided between 3 or more readers.

Optional narrative: Indignation, anger, fault-finding, ranting and raving, resentment, ill-will, and blaming… are all emotional appetites and passions. They are also addictions. In addition, they are often not completely honest and sometimes give one a false sense of self-importance. Recognizing them as bad habits to be broken helps. The apostle James hits this principle spot on. Key phrases are highlighted.

“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body…it is set on fire of hell.“

“But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. [Righteous indignation is a fairy tale.]

“For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

“And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” (James 3:6, 14-18)

In other words, if our response is righteous and/or inspired, it will be peaceful and peace-making.

It’s essential we work on growing our heart, taming our responses and empowering our spirituality. For sure, this process takes time and effort but don’t skip this critical life-step or you will sadly miss out.

Shawnie Cannon – Divine Code

Possible discussion questions: How do we feel when we manage to have a peaceful, civil response in a difficult situation or conversation? (It feels so much better than getting sucked into an angry or emotional conversation.) How has Alma and Amulek’s story inspired you today? What do you think you could do more of or less of? Does anyone want to share? (Wait for at least 10 seconds – count to 10 in your head, and then be ready to share your own if no one responds immediately.)

Quote #5 (inequality)

Possible engagement tool: Discuss what inequality means and mention that equality and inequality are mentioned about ten times in the Book of Mormon. It was an important concept.

inequality: discrimination, unfair, bias, favoritism, imbalance

equality: equal opportunities, fairness, impartiality, non-discrimination, even-handedness

And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming— (Alma 16:16)

Equality brings unity. Unity brings the Spirit.

Deepen the Understanding

Have someone read this quote from General Conference.

On June 9, the Prophet “said he was going to preach mercy[.] Supposing that Jesus Christ and [the] angels should object to us on frivolous things, what would become of us? We must be merciful and overlook small things.” President Smith continued, “It grieves me that there is no fuller fellowship—if one member suffer all feel it—by union of feeling we obtain pow’r with God.”

That small sentence struck me like lightning. By union of feeling we obtain power with God. …What power from God might I access if I am just a little bit more unified with others? (Sister Eubank, By Union of Feeling – Oct 2020)

Possible discussion questions: Have you ever had anyone be unfair to you or show favoritism in a way that discouraged you? How do you feel if someone or something is unfair? Do you feel unified or close to the people who are being unfair? Why would Alma bring up equality in his time? How can that help us in our day? What are some ways we can increase unity with those around us? Do we feel more Spirit if we are unified?

Summary

Summarize class discussion highlights and/or share your testimony and feelings about the lesson. Thank your class for their excellent contributions and insights.

Final Comment

As you study and teach, you can help others find more truths in the scriptures. Thank you for bringing powerful Book of Mormon teachings into other people’s lives.

If you would like some tips on how to feel more confident while teaching, try “9 Tips for More Class Participation.” Please arrange the quotes in any order that makes sense to you.