A few months ago, I was tasked with sharing some things in Stake Conference that my family has been doing with the Come Follow Me program. I wrote down some experiences, added some thoughts and quotes I’ve bumped into and came up with a tidy little talk to share. I shared it with my wife and she commented that while it was very nice, it wasn’t what I was asked for. I edited and tweaked it, but felt justified in not simply sharing my experiences, but in sharing some of my thoughts and opinions on the subject. After General Conference, I’ve relented to the whisperings of the Spirit and slightly more audible reminders of my wife and will attempt to spare you the Gospel according to Todd and instead share my family’s experiences with Come Follow Me.
As it happened, my wife and I were in the Conference Center last October when President Nelson’s opening remarks hinted at a changing of focus for the church to a more home-centered and Church supported plan. After President Nelson, Quentin L. Cook confirmed the rumours and outlined what church would come to look like. The gauntlet had been thrown, and the responsibility for ensuring the spiritual growth and learning of our children had been firmly placed into the hands of the parents.
We were excited about the changes. We discussed it throughout that weekend and on the drive home. We decided on a foolproof plan for enacting the Come, Follow Me program in our home.
Our plan was simply to take the Third hour of church that we were being given and have a lesson at home right after church. Each Sunday, we planned that we would sit around the table in our church clothes, prior to having lunch, and share the lessons with our kids. Great idea eh! It was a perfect plan in theory, but in practice, it lasted all of two weeks.
Apparently, it is unreasonable to ask four boys, aged 4-10 to sit around a table after church, sit quietly, participate in a lesson and not even be given something to eat. We attempted to amend the Sunday after-church lessons by including lunch, but that presented other challenges. When we would ask a question, our boys quickly learned to have a bite. On top of this, travelling for a Stake Calling made directly after-church lessons a challenge for my wife, as did any after church functions that required my wife’s attention made it a challenge for me. We attempted after-church lessons for the majority of January.
February was a little better. We became a little more flexible with the lessons and started to focus our after-church time more on our personal and companionship study. I personally appreciated this as my Second hour of church is usually devoted entirely to Primary. The time it took us to read and discuss would often help us be more prepared to share a lesson with our children. When Sunday afternoons didn’t work for us, we would often take our quiet time each evening to review the lessons. Some nights, it was a challenge for me to turn off the hockey game, and others, it was a challenge for my wife to turn off the Bachelor, but after those first couple weeks, it has become easier to prioritize our time spent one or two evenings a week.
As a family, holding family lessons strictly on Sunday evening also proved to be a challenge. We’ve become more flexible with the day and time we sit down together. Our typical lessons involved sitting down at the kitchen table with our scriptures, much like we do when we read scriptures each school morning. We start with prayer and invite the boys to share something they learned that week. I usually expect my older two boys to share something, as I’m also their primary teacher.
We’ve varied from reading scriptures to giving object lessons. We’ve allowed snacks, involved the kids in retelling of stories they either knew, or had a chance to read prior to our discussion.
We continued this routine into March and I really started noticing a difference, in my own children, when we had a prepared lesson and when we rushed a lesson by them. We were doing great! Then, Spring Break arrived and threw a wrench into our Come Follow Me and Family Scripture reading time. Without the routine of school, all bets were off on any given day.
This is one of the biggest factors I’ve noticed. During the routine of life, we were more able to find an appropriate day and time where we could have a Come Follow Me discussion. This will likely be a challenge when summer holidays begin, but I’m hopeful that even then, we can start a routine of discussing each week’s lesson together.
I want my kids to have everything, but that’s not realistic, so we try to give them the most important things. Faith in Christ and a testimony of the restored gospel are among those things. I’m grateful for the Come, Follow Me program and the opportunity it gives to reinforce gospel lessons that our kids are learning. “We can give our children education, lessons, athletics, the arts, and material possessions, but if we do not give them faith in Christ, we have given them little.” (Kevin W. Pearson)
Heavenly Father has granted us a tremendous blessing in the Come Follow Me program. We are living in a time of wonder. We have truly been blessed. I bear my testimony 11 out of 12 months of the year. It’s rare when I don’t get up. Part of the reason is I want my kids to know that I have a testimony. Do your children know that you know, do they feel your conviction? “If the Gospel is worth anything, it is worth everything.” (Kristen M. Oaks)
So, despite not having any sit-down lessons, we made it a priority to maintain our personal study and still had smaller one-on-one discussions with our older boys while we were spending time together.
In all, I think we tweaked or amended our original Come Follow Me plan 5-6 times, and I’m sure we will adjust it many more. But the important part for us was the Pres. Nelson quote from General Conference where he said, “The adversary is increasing his attacks on faith and upon us and our families at an exponential rate. To survive spiritually, we need counterstrategies and proactive plans.” (Russell M. Nelson)
We love President Nelson, he is a Prophet of God. We believe he is a Watchman on the tower and the Come Follow Me Program is our best effort to help us and our children defend against the adversary. We love our children and want the best for them. We want to see them cling to the Iron Rod, press forward, and reach the Tree of Life. We want 
them to know they are Children of God and to see them return to our Father in Heaven. We are grateful for the trust the Lord has placed in us to teach our children about Him. I encourage you to find the time to make Come, Follow Me a part of your week. Make it a part of your family’s week. “No other work transcends that of righteous, intentional parenting.”(Russell M. Nelson)
If anyone asked me for advice on how to best start the Program and I guess I am going to offer an opinion here, but I would say to not overthink it. Simply open the Come Follow me Manual, or open the Gospel Library App and find the lesson that is scheduled for this week. The lessons are sorted by date, so this next week is April 15-21, which is the Easter lesson. Open it up and review it. Read the corresponding chapters if you would like. Write down your impressions if you are inclined. Just do something. The Lord is pleased with and will magnify any effort you make. Just start today. “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now.”
Lastly, if you don’t have time to pray, read the scriptures and participate in Come Follow Me, you are far busier than Heavenly Father intended you to be.”
~Todd Bruce
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