This week’s readings: Matthew 1 and Luke 1
Don’t forget to record your impressions and read the ideas and outline in the new Come, Follow Me manuals on lds.org.
Bible Video
Scripture Insight
This week’s scriptural insight comes from Verse by Verse: Volume 1by Andrew C. Skinner and D. Kelly Ogden.
The Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Book of Mormon all confirm that [Mary] was a virgin—never having known intimately a mortal man (1 Nephi 11:13, 15; Alma 7:10). The names of the young couple were, in their Aramaic/Hebrew language, Yosef and Miriam. Miriam, or Mary—as her name comes down to us from Hebrew, through Greek, into English—is the only woman known prophetically by name in extant scripture (Mosiah 3:8; Alma 7:10; see also Brown, Mary and Elisabeth, 6).
Study Ideas
These ideas and topics are compiled from Come, Follow Me and have been adapted for specific situations. Check out the manuals online for more ideas or come up with your own as you study!
For couples:
Whether you meet with a few other couples or read the assignment with the two of you, consider studying the story of Zacharias and Elisabeth. Though the couple led faithful lives, they were not blessed with their specific desire for many years. Discuss together some desires that you might have individually or as a couple that have not been realized yet, whether spiritual or physical. Using the example of Zacharias and Elisabeth, talk about how you can find patience with the Lord’s timing.
For singles:
Gather a group or find a quiet corner to yourself to read the assigned scripture chapters. As you read, watch for instances where the people talked about were afraid. Then write down how the Lord helped them overcome this fear. You might consider writing down some of your own current fears and how the Lord can help you overcome fear like He did for those you are reading about.
For families with young children:
Consider holding a family home evening lesson in which you talk about families. As you read, help your children identify Jesus’s mother, Mary, and father, Heavenly Father. Talk about why this is important, and why your own family is important. You can have the children draw a picture of their family.
For families with teens:
Consider making a list on a poster or a sheet of paper. Create four columns. In one column, list some of the challenges or “impossibilities” faced by the people mentioned in the reading assignment this week (Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zacharias). In a second column, have family members brainstorm or share what the Lord’s response was to the concern or problem. What do we learn about God and how He feels about His children from these responses? You can then create a third and fourth column. In the third column, you can list specific challenges your family or individual family members are facing. Using the answers you came up with in the third column, discuss and record how the counsel the Lord gave in the scriptures can apply to your family’s specific “impossibilities.”