Come Follow Me: 5 Ideas to Get You Started

I am seriously in love with the new Come Follow Me program.  Have I mentioned that already? I think I'm one of the lucky ones. I hear a lot of friends tell me how they're struggling with it. I know that some are finding themselves falling behind and getting discouraged.  Not me.

The rumors were flying last year before Conference.  I'm pretty sure everyone knew it was coming before the announcement was made. And then there it was. They had just announced that church would now be two hours long instead of three.  There were fist bumps and shouts of joy echoing through all the homes and meeting houses all over the world. Maybe you shed a silent tear or two at the idea of not have to wrestle with toddlers that had missed their nap for an extra hour.  Maybe you mentally did the math and realized you were only going to have to teach 24 Sunday School lessons a year instead of 52. Maybe, (and this is a BIG one in my book) you're a nursery leader that just realized your time in the nursery just went from two hours to one.  

We all had reasons for loving it, and I'm pretty sure we were all doing the Happy Dance. We heard "two hours of church" and that was all we needed to know. That bit about "home-centered, church supported" just went flying right past while you were busy celebrating.

Enter Come Follow Me

Were you scratching your head and wondering how to proceed?  I think that's what just about everyone was doing. True to our natures, it was inevitable that we would take something meant to be simple and complicate it. And maybe you're still struggling, trying to figure out how to make it work for you.

If you haven't read my post 12 Tips for Better Scripture Study, go ahead.  I'll wait.

Reasons Why Come Follow Me is truly an inspired program

Scripture study is meant to be personal.

Every one of us is in a different place and needs to get something different from the scriptures and the lessons.  Figure out which section is most important to you personally and start there.

Scripture study is meant to be done every day.  

Breaking down the lessons makes it easy.

We are all responsible for our own learning.  

Let's face it, did anyone other than the Sunday School teacher actually read the lesson every week? Okay, maybe it's just me. Use the program along with whatever you've already been doing. Here is a link to a great article talking about how our leaders intended for us to use the program.

My study habits changed long before Come Follow Me was introduced.  I knew the program came straight from the Lord because I was already doing it, and I was already seeing the rewards. But now here it was, neatly packaged, straight from the prophet's mouth.

And moms, I'm looking at you right now.  Hear these words:

Family Home Evening is important.

Teaching your children is crucial.

Having family scripture study is essential.  

But you should not be overlooking your personal study for these things.

It's called Come Follow me for Individuals AND Families for a reason. Not just for families. You can't teach someone to do something if you don't know how to do it yourself.  I speak from experience, because I know that's what we do as mothers. We sacrifice ourselves for the good of the family. But you are important.  The example you set by doing personal study is priceless. And one day your kids will be adults, and the responsibility will fall on them to pick up and run with it on their own. They'll be so much more prepared if they've been watching you all along.

So where do you start?

Read the lesson.

 It doesn't matter where you are now. If you're behind, start where you are.  If you've been keeping up but feel like you haven't done enough each week, don't stop and get stuck, move forward. Finish what you've started, then go back if you need to.

One bite at a time, like the proverbial elephant.

Don't study the entire lesson in one day. I wouldn't recommend it.  Take it a section at a time.

Read ALL of the scriptures for the lesson, not just the highlighted portions in each section.  

The lessons are personal and individual. Remember that! The highlighted portion might not be the part that touches your Spirit. The full chapters might contain your message.

Feel free to mark up that manual.  

I have covered my manual in pen marks, highlighting, underlining and note taking. It looks messy, but it doesn't matter.

Keep a scripture journal!  

This, to me, is one of the most crucial parts of study.  If you're getting personal revelation or answers to your questions, you need to be writing it down! I'll pass on some information about scripture journals in a future post. But for now, it just doesn't matter how you do it, just THAT you do it!

And because I feel it's so important to be writing down your thoughts and the things you're learning, I've created journaling pages that go with every lesson.  This year, I have the entire journal all done so that it can be printed and worked through at your own pace.

The Come Follow Me journals can be found in my shop! It is available in four colors: rose (pictured), botanical, lavender, and tropical.

If you're curious what the study pages are like, yo can check out some of the pages from last year's New Testament study that are available as a free download in the shop. 

 Happy Studying!