5 TEACHING IDEAS FOR COME FOLLOW ME LESSONS

See the complete list of CFM Lessons

Helaman 13 – 16

These chapters contain relevant verses that are a type and shadow for our times. Great discussions.

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 than the one you planned, 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 (choice)

Possible intro: Great calamities happened before Christ came to the Americas. Listen for why the Lord uses natural disasters among the children of men as we read the following verses.

Note: Can be divided between two readers.

26 And behold, thus hath the angel spoken unto me; for he said unto me that there should be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours.

27 And he said unto me that while the thunder and the lightning lasted, and the tempest, that these things should be, and that darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days.

28 And the angel said unto me that many shall see greater things than these, to the intent that they might believe that these signs and these wonders should come to pass upon all the face of this land, to the intent that there should be no cause for unbelief among the children of men—

29 And this to the intent that whosoever will believe might be saved, and that whosoever will not believe, a righteous judgment might come upon them; and also if they are condemned they bring upon themselves their own condemnation. (Helaman 14;26-29)

Possible activity: Pull out the reasons for the Lord using severe storms and natural disasters.

Verse 28 & 29

• to reach people so they might believe
• to erase any justification for unbelief
• to wake up and encourage people’s belief in the Lord so they can be saved
• to firmly identify those who refuse to believe, even with great signs and wonders
• to give everyone a true choice of whether they believe in Christ and follow Him or not

Possible discussion question: Have you ever gone through a natural disaster? What happened? What happens to most people when they go through a severe natural disaster? (Accept all reasonable answers – they typically get very humble and look for meaning in life.)

Deepen the Understanding

Natural disasters have been designed to wake people up and get them thinking about more important spiritual matters. They are often much more powerful than what man can build and bear testimony of God.

89 For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand.

90 And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. (D&C 88:89-90)

Last Question: Do you sometimes hear God’s voice in a thunderstorm?

Quote #2 (father)

People sometimes get confused when Jesus Christ is referred to as the Father. This is a good, quick discussion to help with that.

Possible intro: The Jews used a lot of symbolism, and Father can be a symbolic word. We do the same thing when we say Benjamin Franklin was the Father of Electricity or talk about the Founding Fathers of the United States, like George Washington.

Jesus is sometimes called the Father, which refers to His role as Creator and Founder, but it does not mean He is Heavenly Father. Let’s look at a couple of verses.

12 And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name. (Helaman 14:12)

8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary. (Mosiah 3:8)

Possible discussion questions: Who does “Father” refer to in both these verses? What does it mean that Christ is the ‘Father’ of heaven and earth? (Jesus Christ created and founded them.)

Quote #3 (remember)

Possible intro: Whenever a prophet repeats a word like “remember,” he emphasizes a very important part of his message. “Remember, remember,” means “pay extra attention to what I’m about to say because it matters a lot.”

30 And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.

31 He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you. (Helaman 14:30-31)

If I were to rephrase these verses in my own words, it would go something like this:

Remember that if you perish and don’t gain the celestial kingdom, it is your own free will and choice. You could have chosen differently, and you had every chance. Whoever has the gospel taught them and then does wicked things does them under their own power and recognition, understanding what they do.

If we do well, it will be well with us, and if we choose darkness and do wicked things, our end will be dark. We get back what we put out there.

Possible discussion questions: How would you explain these verses to a friend in your own words?

Quote #4 (weapons)

We all have weapons and sins that need burying!

9 And ye know also that they have buried their weapons of war, and they fear to take them up lest by any means they should sin; yea, ye can see that they fear to sin—for behold they will suffer themselves that they be trodden down and slain by their enemies, and will not lift their swords against them, and this because of their faith in Christ. (Helaman 15:9)

Possible discussion questions: What other kinds of weapons or sins do we need to bury so we’re not tempted in the slightest?

Quote #5 (doubters)

Possible intro: Some people doubted that Christ was real or would come to the world over in Jerusalem. People who doubt our faith today use specific methods to spread their doubt, as did the doubters in the Book of Mormon.

Note: It is best to divide long quotes between 2 or more readers.

Possible activity: Turn this into a mini-play. Have your readers become impromptu actors. Tell them they are reading a play script and to use voices and gestures like indignant, doubting people would as they read their assigned verses. (Suggested: a narrator and three additional readers: A, B, and C.)

Reader A: 16 Some things they may have guessed right, among so many; but behold, we know that all these great and marvelous works cannot come to pass, of which has been spoken.

Narrator: 17 And they began to reason and to contend among themselves, saying:

Reader B: 18 That it is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come; if so, and he be the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, as it has been spoken, why will he not show himself unto us as well as unto them who shall be at Jerusalem?

Reader B: 19 Yea, why will he not show himself in this land as well as in the land of Jerusalem?

Reader C: 20 But behold, we know that this is a wicked tradition, which has been handed down unto us by our fathers, to cause us that we should believe in some great and marvelous thing which should come to pass, but not among us, but in a land which is far distant, a land which we know not; therefore they can keep us in ignorance, for we cannot witness with our own eyes that they are true.

Reader A: 21 And they will, by the cunning and the mysterious arts of the evil one, work some great mystery which we cannot understand, which will keep us down to be servants to their words, and also servants unto them, for we depend upon them to teach us the word; and thus will they keep us in ignorance if we will yield ourselves unto them, all the days of our lives.

Narrator: 22 And many more things did the people imagine up in their hearts, which were foolish and vain; and they were much disturbed, for Satan did stir them up to do iniquity continually; yea, he did go about spreading rumors and contentions upon all the face of the land, that he might harden the hearts of the people against that which was good and against that which should come. (Helaman 16:16-22)

Possible discussion questions: How well did their justifications for doubting Christ turn out? What does it look and sound like when Satan’s stirrings influence someone? What are some of the symptoms of doubters mentioned in verse 22? (Accept all reasonable answers. You can write answers on the board.)

• imagine many things in their hearts that aren’t real / use poor discernment
• they are agitated
• they do iniquity
• they spread their contention to others
• they harden their hearts and can’t acknowledge the goodness that is taking place

Important Last Question: Which spirit edifies and which spirit tears others down?

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.