This week’s readings: John 2–4
Don’t forget to record your impressions and read the ideas outlined 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 1 by Andrew C. Skinner and D. Kelly Ogden.
Oxen, sheep, and doves were sold in the Temple porticoes or colonnades for sacrificial purposes, and because all national currencies were converted into Temple coinage, the moneychangers were ever present. The law itself was holy, and the execution of the law was right, but motives were still crucial. Jesus left no doubt about who he was. The Temple was his Father’s house, and he did not want to see it desecrated by greedy merchandisers, who seldom entertained a worthy thought about the sacredness of their sales.
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:
This could be an excellent opportunity to discuss how you as a couple can make your home a sacred place—like the temple. Consider discussing the following: what needs to be kept out of your home so it will be a sacred place? What will you do to keep those things out? What can you bring in to your home to better invite the spirit?
For singles:
The story of the miracle at Cana is found in this week’s study. Whether you are studying with a group or on your own this week, you might choose to focus on this story and pondering the attitudes of those who witnessed this miracle. Then think about your own attitude toward miracles and maybe even try to identify the miracles taking place in your life that you might not have paid attention to before.
For families with young children:
After reading the story of Jesus teaching Nicodemus about baptism, you might use an object lesson to teach your children the purpose of baptism and the Holy Ghost and how they can help us become clean. For example, ask each member of the family to demonstrate how to wash various parts of the body such as the hands, behind the ears, the face, etc. When everyone has had a turn, you could ask for a volunteer to demonstrate how to wash your spirit and use this as an opportunity to compare washing our bodies so that we can become physically clean to becoming being baptized so that we can be spiritually clean.
For families with teens:
As you read this week’s chapters together as a family, you might pay special attention to the everyday objects Christ uses to teach the gospel (e.g. birth, wind, water, and food). You could then pick one study session to have each family member bring an item from the house and teach a spiritual truth using that item, referring also to Alma 30:44 and testifying that “all things denote there is a God.”
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