Life's Journey To Perfection: LDS Come Follow Me Lesson and Mutual Ideas May: Prophets and Revelation

I have posted some ideas and will continue to update throughout the week.

For May the topic for "Come Follow Me" is,

Prophets and Revelation

This post may contain affiliate links. See the full disclosure.

Here are the links to each organizations page for the month: Young Women, Aaronic Priesthood, Sunday School

Since, each organization has their own outlines and each lesson will need to be specified to the individual class members and there are already amazing outlines that can be used for guidance, I am only going to share some general ideas that can just be used as supplements. The great thing about this program is to allow the spirit to guide you to the needs of the youth in your class. Prepare before hand, Pray for guidance, Listen to the Promptings of the Spirit and invite the youth to do the same.

Here is the Scripture for the month:

“We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” (Articles of Faith 1:9).

Lesson Ideas: There are so many topics to choose from this month. I am just giving supplemental ideas to a few of them. Please refer to the church's website for the wonderful outlines they have for all of the topics, see links below. A great idea to begin each lesson is to invite each class member to come with a scripture or spiritual thought to share with the rest of the class. (When I was a youth we did this in one of my classes, it is a class I loved to attend and had the most participation in it.)

Young Women:

Why is it important to listen to and follow the living prophets? My friend who serves in YW gave me this idea, I loved it so thought I would share some of it. Before hand place a container or dirt into a bag or box. Then in another bag or box, place something the girls would like, such as a cute handout or a treat. Begin the lesson with two bags or boxes. Ask the youth if they trust you, if they feel like you as their leader would direct them and tell them the truth? (Hopefully they will say yes :)) Then tell them that they are going to be faced with a decision, they will need to choose between the two bags or boxes. The choices is theirs, but explain that you will direct them to the box that has a great reward in it. Point to the box that has the treat or handout in it. Explain to them that if they follow your guidance and choose this box they will be blessed with a great reward. But if they choose the other they will be greatly disappointed. Invite they youth to choose. hopefully, they will chose to listen to your counsel. Thank them for their choice and tell them that they will see what is in the bags toward the end of the lesson. Invite the youth to share how the object lesson is similar to following the direction and counsel of living prophets? Summarize the story Elder Larry S. Kacher, "Trifle Not with Sacred Things". Discuss with the youth some currents that they might get caught up in right now in their lives that might lead them away from the safe and narrow path? With the youth look up some General Conference talks that can help answer their question and give them direction to their troubles. Open the two boxes/bags and show what is inside. Explain that as we follow the guidance and counsel of living prophets we will receives great blessings and will be happy.
How do I receive personal revelation? Invite a youth to read this quote, "Each of us is entitled to personal revelation to guide our lives. In order to receive personal revelation, we must prepare by living worthily and studying and pondering the scriptures. If we seek and ask, God will reveal His will to us through the Holy Ghost."(found here) Discuss as a class the HOW'S of Personal Revelation. Write the following questions on the board. "How do we know we have received personal revelation?" "What do we need to do to receive personal revelation?" Invite a youth to read, D&C 6:14-16. Discuss how this scripture helps to answer the previous question. Read D&C 9:7-9. Also discuss this scripture and how it also answers the questions above. Give each of the class members the paper, "Receiving Personal Revelation" (see printable below). Have them think about a question they have or something they are struggling with. Have them write it down on the question line. Then have them throughout the week ponder and pray about that question. A great idea that the bishop of our ward has instructed our youth and ward members, is to in the morning open the scriptures (I do the Book of Mormon) to a random page and pick a random verse. Read that verse (I read a couple verses ahead and a couple verses after the random verse) and then ponder the instruction given and how you might apply it in your life that day. I have been amazed since doing this, I have found that I receive answers to my prayers and get a little bit more out of the scriptures by being able to apply them into my life. As they are pondering, praying, reading their scriptures and conference articles seeking answers to a specific question or concern, I testify they will receive an answer. Have them write their answer down on the paper. Follow-up with them the following week. Ask if anyone would like to share their experience and/or bear their testimony.
How can I make my prayers more meaningful? The week before class or at the beginning of class give each girl a section from Elder D. Todd Christofferson's article "How Can I Make Daily Prayer More Meaningful?" from the 2010 New Era Magazine. If you give it to them at the beginning of class give them time to read through and ponder their section. Then invite each youth in order to tell/teach the rest of the class about their section. Discuss each section as a class. Invite the youth to share any experiences with prayer in which they would like to share.
Why is it important to study the scriptures? (The previous week invite each member of the class to choose their favorite scripture and come prepared the following week to share that scripture. Begin class by showing the class a journal. Discuss what a journal might be used for. Explain that Heavenly Father throughout time has given us prophets. These prophets recorded the instructions that our Heavenly Father knew that we would need to help us and guide us on our path. As we read and study the scriptures we are able to understand the gospel more fully and receive answers to questions we may have. Invite the class members to share the scriptures they came prepared with. Show the video, "Daily Bread: Pattern". Discuss as a group how the scriptures can nourish us each day as we read and ponder their words. Invite class members to share ideas that help them to get in the pattern of studying the scriptures.)
How can I strengthen my testimony? Write the word "Testimony" on the board. Invite the youth to share with you what that word means. Read this quote to the youth, "A testimony is a spiritual witness of the truth given by the Holy Ghost." (found on Come Follow Me) Give each of the youth the Testimony Handout found at the bottom of this page. Invite the youth to write on each finger something they have a testimony about. Give each of the youth a little seed. Bring some tape so they can tape this onto their sheet. Invite the youth to share with you what they need to do to the seed to get it to grow? The discussion would probably include, that you would need to plant it in good soil, you would need to give it water, you would need to make sure it has sunlight, you need to make sure it is free from weeds, and you would continue to nourish it. Invite the youth to try to liken this to their testimony. What are some things they need to do to help their testimony grow? Invite the youth to write these things on their page. Read "Testimony" found in True to the Faith. Invite the youth to think about something they would like to gain a testimony on and invite them to do the things to help them gain and grow that testimony.
How can a patriarchal blessing help me? Show the youth a picture of constellations or stars. Explain that one way that people throughout history have been able to navigate is by following the direction of stars. Read the quote by President James E. Faust, “A patriarchal blessing from an ordained patriarch can give us a star to follow, which is a personal revelation from God to each individual. If we follow this star, we are less likely to stumble and be misled. Our patriarchal blessing will be an anchor to our souls, and if we are worthy, neither death nor the devil can deprive us of the blessings pronounced. They are blessings we can enjoy now and forever.” (“Priesthood Blessings,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 63.) Invite the youth to share how they think a patriarch blessing can help them navigate through life. Share your experience and/or invite a class member to share their experience of receiving their patriarchal blessing (include the preparation). Cut out the paragraphs in the talk, "About Patriarchal Blessings", March 2004 Liahona Magazine, hand these paragraphs out to the youth and invite them to read them to themselves. Then start asking the question and invite those with the paragraphs to share the answers. Discuss these questions and answers as a class. Give each of the youth the handout, see below "Patriarchal Blessing Handout".

Aaronic Priesthood: (See ideas above under Young Women)

Sunday School:

What can I learn from living prophets and apostles? Print out enough conference talks from the last General Conference, for each member of your class. If you have a large class you might want to team the class members up. Invite them to read the conference talks and fill out there sheet (see Prophets and Revelation Sheet below). Then invite each member of the class to share with the rest of the class what they learned from the conference talk they were given, using their sheet as a guide.
How can I improve my scripture study? Begin class by asking this question: "What if I told you that there was a tool or an app, that if you really used it and applied it each day of your life it fortify you and help you resist temptation, it would also help you grow closer to your Heavenly Father as well as build your faith and testimony?" Bring out a set of the scriptures. Explain to the youth that the scriptures are the "tool" that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with, that we can use daily. That it can be a guiding tool, we can receive personal revelation, we can receive guidance. It will strengthen our faith and our testimonies and it will help us be strong enough to resist temptation. Ask the question, "How can we improve our scripture study?" Invite the youth to share ideas of what helps them to study the scriptures. Read the following quote, "The scriptural command to “feast upon the words of Christ” (2 Nephi 32:3) implies much more than just casually reading the scriptures. We should search them diligently, pondering what they teach and likening these teachings to ourselves. We should pray for understanding and follow any promptings we receive from the Holy Ghost. Meaningful study of the scriptures can build our faith, fortify us against temptation, and help us draw nearer to Heavenly Father." (Come Follow Me) Hand out the following scripture references, invite the youth to study those scriptures. (1 Nephi 10:19; 1 Nephi 19:23; 2 Nephi 4:15-16; 2 Nephi 32:3; D&C 11:22; Joseph Smith- Matthew 1:37.) Invite one at a time to read their scripture and then explain what the scripture teaches. Close by sharing any experiences you have had with studying the scriptures and receiving personal revelation.
How does reverence help me receive revelation? Begin by playing the primary song, "Reverence Is Love" Children's Songbook page 31. Ya, I know it's a primary song, but it has an amazing lesson in it!! Invite the youth to share their thoughts on what reverence is. In the song we learn that reverence is more than just sitting still and being quiet, it is an expression of love towards our Heavenly Father. Invite a youth to read the following quote, "When we are reverent, we show our love for God and are better able to receive personal revelation. A reverent attitude helps make us more sensitive to the still, small voice of the Spirit. If we treat sacred things with reverence, Heavenly Father will trust us and reveal to us additional truths." (Come Follow Me) Ask this question: "How does reverence help me receive revelation?". Split the article "Reverence Invites Revelation" by President Packer, into paragraphs. (I would group several of the paragraphs together). Invite them to read their paragraphs and then teach their paragraphs to the class.
What does it mean to bear testimony?
What can I learn from President Monson about following the Spirit?

Idea's for Mutual: Here is a link to the Youth Activities Planning Site. *** This site is amazing! We recently had a short little training on this site at one of our Round Tables. It is a great resource for planning activities. It will only continue to grow as wards submit more ideas. One really need thing about it is it can link the activities right into your stake or ward calendars. ***

For More Ideas Visit:

Red Headed Hostess

Printing tip: Click on the image and save to your computer. You will then be able to print the image from your computer.