Post # 200 - Come, Follow Me --Week # 15-- April 13 -19 --Mosiah 3 -- "Filled with Love Towards God and All Men"

 Dear Family and Friends

 How have you and your family members been doing with everyone at home together? If your schedule has not changed with your work that is great! I am pretty certain that your children and\ or grandchildren have been at home due to their school closures!

We have been working on homework every day of course😀 We have also been working on different ways to keep the little ones engaged and entertained every day☺ I shared a few things with you in a recent post of some things you could do with your children☺ I do hope that you tried some of them and they were helpful for you and your family members As well😀

 I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but our boys liked sidewalk chalk drawings and water spray painting in the driveway and on the sidewalk😀 And of course their scooters and their bikes have helped tremendously

 We also had fun making shopping lists from the sale papers from our local grocery stores😀 also, home made playing is life's of fun for the kiddos when they must be inside! If your family members are not allergic to nuts peanut butter playing is also fun to make and have fun with 😀 

 Have you ever tried ice cube painting? I use 2-4 flavors of unsweetened koolaid. I sprinkle a little bit of each powder on the inner edges of the corners of the paper and give them an ice cube on a stick! The fun and tasting and all of the smiles can't be beat😀


 Today's post will continue with our study of the Book of Mormon on the Come, Follow Me scripture study lessons. This week's lesson of study is Josiah chapters 1-3. If you are All ready, we can jump right in☺ you do have your scriptures handy don't you?

 As you know, there are many principles found within our assigned reading for this week.
So as you are reading through the following chapters :Mosiah 1–3, be sure to watch out for those principles to share with your family members😊

 You might want to consider reading the verses where you have found these principles with your family members. This may also be a good place for a good discussion of each principles individually😊


 You can then ask your family members of they have found any of these verses that you have read together to be inspiring to them and why? You could also share with them verses that inspired you and why?  This next part comes to you directly from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:

 King Benjamin gave one reason for recording our spiritual impressions: “It were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates” (Mosiah 1:4). When you hear the word king, you might think of crowns, castles, servants, and thrones.

In Mosiah 1–3, you will read about a different kind of king. Rather than living off the labors of his people, King Benjamin “labored with [his] own hands” (Mosiah 2:14).

Instead of having others serve him, he served his people “with all the might, mind and strength which the Lord [had] granted unto [him]” (Mosiah 2:11).

This king did not want his people to worship him; rather, he taught them to worship a King greater than himself, for he understood that it is “the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth” (Mosiah 3:5).


Like all great leaders in the kingdom of God, King Benjamin’s words and example point us to the Heavenly King, who is the Savior, Jesus Christ. King Benjamin testified that Jesus came “down from heaven” and went “forth amongst men, working mighty miracles. … And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name” (Mosiah 3:5, 9).

 I have shared with you in previous posts about receiving the word of God through the Gift of the Holy Ghost, which you receive after your baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints or the Spirit of the Lord, which is the Holy Ghost.

I am certain that I also mentioned that you should prepare yourselves to receive the word of God. In today's lesson we will learn how King Benjamin 's people prepared to receive the word of God😄

You can help your family members understand the need for preparation through a discussion about talents!

 When you want to learn to play an instrument what do you need to do to succeed at your goal? You must prepare through practicing so much every day ☺ just as you would practice so much every day if you want to be good at a sport. If you do not prepare for your recital what happens?

 You will not have a very good performance. You will not be playing up to your full potential and if you are playing your instrument with others you will surely let them down if you are not playing as well as you could be if you had practiced, right?

What if you do not prepare for your upcoming 🏀 basketball, 🏈 football, or ⚽ soccer game what will happen? You will not play as well and you will be letting your team down, right?

 Now that your family members can understand the need for them to prepare to receive the word of God you might want to consider reading together Mosiah 2:1–9.

You should know that receiving the word of God does require preparation.  What might the consequences be if you do not prepare to receive the word of God? Do you think that you can still receive the word of God? Do you think that you be letting your Heavenly Father down? Maybe even letting yourself down?

 As you read through these verses together ask your family members to looking for things King Benjamin’s people did to prepare to receive God’s word. You may want to get out your poster boards.

Now you may want to read through these same verses together again. This time you should ask your family members to be looking for things King Benjamin did that show how he felt about God’s word and the need to share it.


 Are you ready for a question? Okay then, here we go... What can we learn from these verses that can help us receive the word of God?

Dd you and your family members come up with more than one answer ?  This next part comes to you directly from the Come,Follow Me manual:

Ideas for Personal Scripture Study Mosiah 2:1–9 Receiving the word of God requires preparation. When King Benjamin sent word that he wanted to speak to his people, so many people came “that they did not number them” (Mosiah 2:2). They came, in part, because of their gratitude and love for their leader. But more important, they came to be taught the word of God.

As you read Mosiah 2:1–9, look for what the people did to show that they valued God’s word. What did King Benjamin ask them to do to prepare to hear God’s word? (see verse 9).

How can you better prepare yourself to receive the word of God in your personal and family study and during Church meetings? See also Matthew 13:18–23; Alma 16:16–17.

 Now we will be moving on to Mosiah 2:10–26, to learn a bit about serving others😄
You do remember from the scriptures that when we are serving others, we are also serving God.  We are going to learn through King Benjamin as he was an excellent example of serving others as well as being an exemplary servant to God,

You can read together with your family members through Mosiah 2:10-26, In these verses you will learn about his example😄

 Are you ready for a question? Okay her we go... What can you and your family members learn from King Benjamin to help you \ them in your \ their efforts to serve others?

This would be a good time to have a family discussion about serving others😊  Did you get out your poster board? 😁 Good job!!!😃 What do you think about making another list? Good! Let's y started...

After you have read through these verses make a list of obstacles that people may face in giving service to others?

 First you could have your list focus on reasons that people don't serve others? Or your focus could be in how your service that you are giving to others isn't as helpful as it could and should be!

 The second thing you may want to consider is studying together again those same verses and make a list of the truths that King Benjamin taught to his people about serving others😄 
The third thing would be to list those things that might help you\ or them to overcome the obstacles that you had listed earlier. After you have studied the we verses and made your list are you ready another question? Okay then! Here we go...


 On to number four, the questions😃 What can you and your family members do to better focus on service in your\ their daily lives? be sure to remind your family members that this is Christlike service!

The fifth thing for you to do with your family members you may want to consider sharing the following story by President Thomas S. Monson as one suggestion. 


Serving others.

President Thomas S. Monson said: “A few years ago I read an article written by Jack McConnell, MD. He grew up in the hills of southwest Virginia in the United States as one of seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mother.

Their circumstances were very humble. He recounted that during his childhood, every day as the family sat around the dinner table, his father would ask each one in turn, ‘And what did you do for someone today?’

The children were determined to do a good turn every day so they could report to their father that they had helped someone.

Dr. McConnell calls this exercise his father’s most valuable legacy, for that expectation and those words inspired him and his siblings to help others throughout their lives.

As they grew and matured, their motivation for providing service changed to an inner desire to help others.

“Besides Dr. McConnell’s distinguished medical career … he created an organization he calls Volunteers in Medicine, which gives retired medical personnel a chance to volunteer at free clinics serving the working uninsured.

Dr. McConnell said his leisure time since he retired has ‘evaporated into 60-hour weeks of unpaid work, but [his] energy level has increased and there is a satisfaction in [his] life that wasn’t there before.’ [Jack McConnell, “And What Did You Do for Someone Today?” Newsweek, June 18, 2001, 13.] …

“Of course, we can’t all be Dr. McConnells, establishing medical clinics to help the poor; however, the needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone. …


 “My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers.

We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us. …

May we ask ourselves the question which greeted Dr. Jack McConnell and his brothers and sisters each evening at dinnertime:  ‘What have I done for someone today?’” (“What Have I Done for Someone Today?” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 84–87). 

The next thing you and your family members can do is to sing a hymn together! At the very least read through the words together ❤ You can even discuss the words of the hymn😄 There is nothing that invites the Spirit into your home the way that a hymn does😊

🎵A hymn you might consider is “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief” (Hymns, no. 29) or a video such as “The Old Shoemaker” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Either of these or both of these could reinforce the message found in Mosiah 2:17—when we serve others, we are serving God.

Are you all ready for the next question? Alrighty, here we go. How could you use such resources to reinforce King Benjamin’s message? You could share your experiences that you may have had in serving others with your family members! 


 I remember on several occasions when my husband was out of work that we received what we needed from others through their Christlike service to our family😄 bring to us the things that we had been praying for, even 🎁 gifts for our children😄

Maybe you have been the recipient of such Christlike service from others that you too could share with your family members! I also remember very fondly of my children and I taking clothes, toys, and food to others secretly during the night!

If you have done any Christlike service in this way or in other ways you could also share \ remind your family of when you did that service and how it made them feel to give to others😊 as well as how they felt when they received Christlike service😄

Perhaps you might consider sharing this quotation from President Henry B. Eyring: “When we offer succor to anyone, the Savior feels it as if we reached out to succor Him” (“Is Not This the Fast That I Have Chosen?” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 22). Why do you think we are serving God when we serve other people?

This next part comes to you directly from the Come, Follow Me manual:
🔰Ideas for Personal Scripture Study Mosiah 2:10–26
When I serve others, I am also serving God. Do you struggle to find time to serve or wish that your service brought you more joy? What do you think King Benjamin would say if you asked him why he served with all his “might, mind and strength”? (Mosiah 2:11).

 As you read Mosiah 2:10–26, identify the truths that King Benjamin taught about service and ponder how you can use them in your life. For example, what does it mean to you to know that when you serve other people, you are also serving God? (see Mosiah 2:17). Think of a way you can serve someone this week! See also Matthew 25:40.


As you have probably realized serving others is something that helps us to feel God’s 💘 love for us. You may ask your family members of they have felt the love 💘 of their Heavenly Father when they have either served someone or were the recipient of Christlike service from another person?

 Okay, are you ready to move on to the next set of verses that we will be studying today? In Mosiah 2:38–41 we will learn that true happiness comes from keeping the commandments of God.

 You could ask your family members what the definition of happiness is? How would you and \ or your family members describe happiness? Not just any happiness, but true ☺ happiness that comes from obedience to God?


What can you do to help your family members to "consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the Commandments of God"?

You may want to consider sharing a story about a 👦 boy or a 👧 girl who have friends who tell everyone that they are ☺ happy and the surely don't need to keep the Commandments to be ☺ happy!


Next you can read with your family members The following verses: Mosiah 2:38–41 to find out how they could help theit friends to understand the difference between 🌎 worldly ☺ happiness and eternal happiness!
This may lead you into a very good 👍 discussion with your family members about 🌎 worldly ☺happiness, what it is and just how we can obtain it! What experiences or examples from people’s lives can you or your family members share that exemplify eternal happiness?


This next section comes to you directly from the Come,Follow Me manual: Ideas for Personal Scripture Study Mosiah 3:1–20

 I can overcome the natural man and become a saint through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. King Benjamin, like all prophets, testified of Jesus Christ so that his people “might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy” (Mosiah 3:13).

He also taught that the Savior, through His Atonement, not only makes us clean but also gives us power to put off the “natural man” and become “a saint” (Mosiah 3:19; see also Guide to the Scriptures, “Natural Man,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Elder David A. Bednar explained: “It is the Atonement of Jesus Christ that provides both a cleansing and redeeming power that helps us to overcome sin and a sanctifying and strengthening power that helps us to become better than we ever could by relying only upon our own strength. The infinite Atonement is for both the sinner and for the saint in each of us” (“Clean Hands and a Pure Heart,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 82).


Here are some questions to ponder as you read King Benjamin’s testimony of the Savior as found in Mosiah 3:1–20:

What do I learn from these verses about the Savior and His mission? How has Jesus Christ helped me overcome sin? How has He helped me change my nature and become more like a saint? What do I learn about becoming a saint from Mosiah 3:19?  Mosiah 3:1–20

"Salvation comes only “through the name of Christ, the Lord.”  As you have probably noticed during your 📚 readings that King Benjamin’s message includes powerful and descriptive prophecies about the birth, ministry, and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

You could read these verses with your family members. You might ask your family members to share verses from Mosiah 3:1–20 that particularly impress you and\ or them and help them understand the Savior and His mission.

 You could share with your family members why these particular verses have i impressed you at this time and then you might ask your family members to share why these verses impress them.

Do you remember in your 📚reading and study of the introduction to the Book of Mormon? Do you remember that in the introduction it teaches that the book “outlines the plan of salvation.” 


You might want to get out another piece of your poster board for this part😁 you can write across the top "Jesus Makes Salvation Possible.

This should help your family members see how King Benjamin’s sermon helps accomplish this purpose of the Book of Mormon.

Now to fill out your poster board you and your family members could review Mosiah 3:1–20, and then when you have finished with your review you or they could list on your poster board the truths you\they have learn about the plan of salvation.


To do this you could ask your family members what they learn about how Jesus Christ makes the plan of salvation possible? The next thing for you to do is to give your family members time to review Mosiah 3:18–19

You might consider reading 📚 these verses aloud ❤ together with your family members and then have them share what we must do to become saints and receive salvation.  One final part to this section: How does the Atonement of Jesus Christ help us accomplish this? Ask your family members to share their feelings about the Savior’s role in the plan of salvation.


 This next part comes to you directly from the Come,Follow Me manual:

Ideas for Personal Scripture Study Mosiah 3:8 Why did King Benjamin refer to Jesus as “the Father of heaven and earth”?


President Joseph F. Smith explained: “Jesus Christ, whom we also know as Jehovah, was the executive of the Father, Elohim, in the work of creation. … Jesus Christ, being the Creator, is consistently called the Father of heaven and earth … ; and since His creations are of eternal quality He is very properly called the Eternal Father of heaven and earth” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 357).

Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Family Home Evening: As you read the scriptures with your family, the Spirit can help you know what principles to emphasize and discuss in order to meet the needs of your family. Here are some ideas.  Mosiah 1:1–7 How did the plates of brass and the plates of Nephi bless King Benjamin’s people? How do the scriptures bless our family?  Mosiah 2–3 It might be fun for your family to create the setting for King Benjamin’s speech.


You could make a small tower and let family members take turns reading King Benjamin’s words while standing on it. The rest of the family could listen from inside a makeshift tent.  Mosiah 2:9–19 What do we learn about service from King Benjamin’s teachings and example? What do we feel inspired to do?  Mosiah 2:15–25

 Would it benefit your family to have a discussion about humility?

Why did King Benjamin not boast about all he had done? What can we learn from his teachings about our relationship with God? Mosiah 2:36–41 What did King Benjamin teach about the consequences of knowing truth but not living it? What did he teach about how to obtain true happiness?
Mosiah 3:19 What do we need to do to become saints? Which characteristic from this verse can we focus on developing as a family?
 For more ideas for teaching children, see this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Primary.

The following was at the bottom of our Come, Follow Me manual and I thought it was worth sharing:          Improving Personal Study

 Set manageable goals. Spending even a few minutes a day studying the scriptures can bless your life.

Commit to studying each day, and find a way to remind yourself of your commitment.  For next week's study you might think about the following question and then ask your family members The same question😊

Have you or your family members ever had an experience when a doctrine taught in a talk, lesson, or scripture changed you and or them?

Be sure to let your family members know that in Mosiah 4–6 they will read about the dramatic effect that the truths taught by King Benjamin in these chapters had on his people.
 I am soooooo sorry that this post has turned out all glommed together. I hope that you can read it okay. I will adjust it as soon as I have access to a computer. I wrote it on my kindle, then I tried to make adjustments to it and add pictures from my phone, but nothing that I did would fix it. Please bear with me:) Until my next post please do your best to be safe and stay healthy and make it a good week:)
thank you for being so patient with me during this  in-between- phase of mine:)