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Each President of the Church of Jesus Christ is sustained as a prophet, seer, and revelator and, as part of his divine calling, receives prophetic inspiration and revelation from the Lord about what the Lord wants to teach His people at that time. Thus each prophet has a vision for his time to guide the Lord’s covenant people through the particular challenges they face. Less than a year after her husband’s call as the seventeenth prophet of this dispensation, Sister Wendy Watson Nelson said of President Russell M. Nelson, “It is as though he’s been unleashed. He’s free to finally do what he came to earth to do. . . . I’ve seen him become younger. . . . He was foreordained to be the prophet of God on the earth today. He is only reporting to the Lord, and he is fearless with that focus.”[1]

President Nelson’s focused messages have featured, among others, two recurring teachings: (1) the adversary is real, powerful, and cunning; (2) but even so, soul-saving revelation can come through personal study and worship. We now briefly discuss the dark reality of teaching 1 and the hope-filled message of teaching 2.

Teaching 1: The Adversary Is Real, Powerful, and Cunning

While Christian denominations are founded on Christ and invite their members to follow Him, some have almost abandoned serious consideration of the devil, the destroyer, or the adversary, as Satan is referred to in the scriptures, regarding him as something of a mythical character unworthy of serious notice or discussion. Conversely, in the Book of Mormon, the ancient prophet Nephi presents a vivid picture of a very real and dynamic being who “rages”:

The devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;

For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good. (2 Nephi 28:19–20)

Nephi further prophesied of a day when many would figuratively lock the devil away in the closet of childish imagination. In that day, the devil would be denied or ignored at personal peril.

And others will [the devil] pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, . . . and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. (2 Nephi 28:21–22)

Some, even within the restored Church, bristle at such pointed references to evil and roll their eyes when the prophet invokes and even emphasizes the reality of Satan. Many are more comfortable sharing Walt Kelly’s view that “we have met the enemy and he is us.”[2] For some, the idea of an actual war against an actual being is a bit too much.

The restored gospel, however, from the First Vision to the present, is replete with warnings of an “enemy” who is an “actual being from the unseen world” (Joseph Smith—History 1:16). Further, perhaps no prophet since the time of Brigham Young has more explicitly drawn attention to this doctrine than President Nelson. A few of many possible recent references from him include the following:

“My dear brothers and sisters, the assaults of the adversary are increasing exponentially, in intensity and in variety. Our need to be in the temple on a regular basis has never been greater.”[3]

“The forces of evil have never raged more forcefully than they do today. As servants of the Lord, we cannot be asleep while this battle rages.”[4]

“We all need . . . protection from the cunning wiles of the adversary.”[5]

“The adversary is clever. For millennia he has been making good look evil and evil look good [Isaiah 5:20; 2 Nephi 15:20]. His messages tend to be loud, bold, and boastful. . . . [When we live] in a marketing-saturated world constantly infiltrated by noisy, nefarious efforts of the adversary, where can we go to hear [our Heavenly Father]?”[6]

In the April 2019 priesthood session of general conference, President Nelson said,

Brethren, we need to do better and be better because we are in a battle. The battle with sin is real. The adversary is quadrupling his efforts to disrupt testimonies and impede the work of the Lord. He is arming his minions with potent weapons to keep us from partaking of the joy and love of the Lord.[7]

When the prophet reports a quadrupling of the enemy’s efforts, we do not hear an overstatement. We hear a loving and inspired leader who is doing all he can to prevent further losses. In the words of President Dallin H. Oaks,

My brethren, and my sisters . . . , I hope you know why your leaders give the teachings and counsel we give. We love you, and our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, love you. Their plan for us is the “great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8). That plan and Their commandments and ordinances and covenants lead us to the greatest happiness and joy in this life and in the life to come. As servants of the Father and the Son, we teach and counsel as They have directed us by the Holy Ghost. We have no desire other than to speak what is true and to encourage you to do what They have outlined as the pathway to eternal life, “the greatest of all the gifts of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 14:7).[8]

Indeed, we live in a challenging time when the adversary rages, but we are not left alone. Our intent is not to incite fear; it is to highlight the counterquestion recently posed by a bishop to his ward: “The adversary is quadrupling his efforts. Are we quadrupling our efforts?” Are we shaking off the lethargy and bringing our best? Desperation is not needed, but diligence is. A healthy awareness of the danger that darkness brings can motivate us to seek, invite, and welcome the power that overcomes that destructive danger—the Light of the World.

Increasingly, our current Church leaders have emphasized that we must dig deeper, study more rigorously, experience God more deeply, and connect with Him on an individual level. Specifically, our individual worship needs to include intentional, continual improvement or repentance. President Nelson further explained that we are in the midst of a battle where “if we are to have any hope . . . , we must learn to receive revelation.”[9] This phrase leads us to another of President Nelson’s oft-repeated teachings that inspires and offers specific hope.

Teaching 2: Soul-Saving Revelation Can Come through Personal Worship

A central question of this book is “How do we help our rising generations go ‘all in’ rather than opt out?” President Nelson said, “I give you my assurance that regardless of the world’s condition and your personal circumstances, you can face the future with optimism and joy if you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel.”[10]

A revelatory and continually repentant walk toward the light is not an easy one, but the Light of the World promises, “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:63). Remember that according to Elder Neil L. Andersen, “repentance is not the backup plan; it is the plan.”[11] If we exercise the faith, courage, and humility to continue that walk toward the light that is the tree of life (continually repenting along the way), the promise is that there will come a day when we will “know even [as we are] known” (1 Corinthians 13:12), a day when all that our Father has will be ours. How do we reach that day?

In response to that question, let us consider the basic, so-called Primary answers of “read and pray” for a moment. In our efforts to live out the Primary answers of “read and pray,” recent data show that we as a people have room for improvement. Jana Riess reports:

In Mormonism, prayer and scripture study often go hand in hand; church members are taught to do both daily. However, the [recent “Next Mormons Survey”] showed that across all generations, daily scripture study was not quite as common as daily prayer. Only 38 percent of all [Church members] read the scriptures every day, and there’s little variation by generation.[12]

Even if we improve, however, the “read and pray” response may not be enough. Latter-day Saint historian Patrick Mason has observed that

[the] Sunday School answers we gave as teenagers aren’t always sufficient for adult questions and problems. . . . Grown-up questions require grown-up answers. The Primary answers—read, pray, go to church, be good—never cease to be important, even foundational. But life becomes more complicated and morally complex as we grow up, so it is essential for our religion to mature with us.[13]

Will merely reading and praying do this difficult “grown-up” work? A couple of quick scripture verses and a perfunctory prayer will probably not yield the needed strength. Sister Becky Craven, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, stated, “There is a careful way and a casual way to do everything, including living the gospel.”[14] Brigham Young taught, “The men and women who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom will find that they must battle everyday [sic��.”[15] In the words of Elder Cook, “World conditions increasingly require deepening individual conversion to and strengthening faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement.”[16]

How prophetic the words of Elder Neal A. Maxwell now seem, as delivered to BYU students in 1978 in an address since titled “A More Determined Discipleship”:

Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. . . .

. . . In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ! . . .

. . . Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened. . . .

It may well be that . . . our time comes to “suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41). . . . Remember, as Nephi and Jacob said, we must learn to endure “the crosses of the world” and yet to despise “the shame of it” (2 Nephi 9:18; Jacob 1:8). To go on clinging to the iron rod in spite of the mockery and scorn that flow at us from the multitudes in that great and spacious building seen by Father Lehi, which is the “pride of the world” (1 Nephi 11:36)—is to disregard the shame of the world.[17]

Elder Maxwell’s foreshadowed “years ahead,” when the Saints would find it difficult to halt between two opinions, seem to have arrived. Will we be strong enough to ignore the pointing fingers of scorn and press forward, clinging to the iron rod? The needed strength can come, in part, from the individual study and worship invitations in Come, Follow Me. However, the aim of the prophets with both Come, Follow Me and the focus on home-centered worship is not merely to invite us to “read and pray.” The identified purpose and blessing presented by Elder Cook are “deepening conversion to Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthening faith in Them.”[18] Our leaders have continually invited and urged us not to merely read and pray but to learn and worship with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. Indeed, Elder Maxwell taught that scholarship, whether sacred or secular, is a form of worship when done with a heart of consecration.[19]

Elder Maxwell and President Eyring have both pleaded with the Saints not to throw away the foundational Primary answers but to apply them in a grown-up way. They do not dismiss the “read, pray, go to church, be good” mantra that has been identified as foundational but insufficient. Instead, our prophetic leaders urge us to nurture a maturing progression in which (1) “reading” scriptures grows into profound study and pondering of the “best books”; (2) “praying” moves from rattling off a wish list to communicating and communing with God; (3) “going to church” becomes elevated to building Zion through ministering (including serving people to whom we are not “assigned”); and (4) “being good” is not merely sitting quietly with our arms folded but having the meaning of our capstone covenant of consecration revealed to us and then using our hands to give, to bless, and to live out the charity-based covenant of consecration. Elder Maxwell, like the Prophet Joseph Smith, taught, “The Gospel places heavy stress on the individual and his ultimate challenge to govern himself according to righteous principles.”[20]

To restate, President Nelson’s focused messages have featured, among others, two recurring teachings: (a) the adversary is real, powerful, and cunning; and (b) seeking personal revelation through study and worship of the Father and our Savior can help us overcome “the enemy of [our] soul” (2 Nephi 4:28).

Next, we share dozens of comments from Latter-day Saints who are striving and often struggling to apply the Come, Follow Me approach in their lives.

Connecting with Heaven through Individual Study and Worship

In the context of helping the Saints combat the influences of the adversary and better study the gospel, our inspired leaders have extended the Come, Follow Me invitation and provided several related resources. During the first year of Come, Follow Me, two stake presidents gave us the opportunity to construct and administer a survey to members of their stakes about their experience with the Come, Follow Me invitation at both the individual and family levels. More than five hundred members from stakes in two US locations that are two thousand miles apart responded to the survey. Many responses reflected challenges and barriers they faced in their efforts to study and worship on both personal and family levels. We are grateful to these members who shared their experiences and ideas so that other members might receive encouragement and inspiration. We hope that as you read what many Church members reported about their personal and family efforts to respond to the Come, Follow Me initiative, you will receive inspiration about your own personal, couple, and family approach.

One older sister said, “I do not [know] why, but I [am] not doing it.” A young mother said, “[I’ve] had a hard time implementing it.” Another said that she’s “not doing any of it.” Other comments like “[I’m] still working on this” recurred. So did reports like that of a brother who said, “[1] started off great for the first few months, but it slowly decline[0],” and another brother who said, “[1] need to make it a much higher priority.” Some said, “[If you are struggling], you’re not alone!” Other expressed challenges included the following:

“It has been hard because I am a widow and live alone. I have tried to always read the lessons each week and implement what I can, [but] it’s been a little hard.”

A father of several young children said, “I feel very overwhelmed by everything I have to do already. It will take me some time to figure out how to properly implement it into my life and schedule.”

“I am single, and my two single sons are not active in the Church, so I study all by myself.”

“My husband has not been interested in studying the material together, so I do it on my own. I was hoping things would be different with the new emphasis on home learning, but that has not happened for us as a couple.”

“Since I live alone, I cherish the times when I can meet with family or friends to discuss and understand the ideas more deeply.”

“As a divorced sister without family . . . it is even more isolating.”

“I study on my own. My husband and I do not study well together.”

“I’m a single dad, so time is always a challenge, whether it’s time to cook the dinner or study scriptures. There rarely is enough time.”

“It’s been really hard for me, because my kids keep me busy all day, every day, [and] my husband is not a member. I can’t seem to find the time to study.”

The challenges faced and reported by members were many. Indeed, the gap between our ideals and what we actually do can be a source of divine discontent for all of us, but some pragmatic tips can be helpful in narrowing the gap between where we are and where we hope to be. Elder Neal A. Maxwell defined “divine discontent” as the result that comes when we compare “what we are [to] what we have the power to become.”[21] Sister Michelle D. Craig, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, said:

Each of us, if we are honest, feels a gap between where and who we are, and where and who we want to [be and] become. We yearn for greater personal capacity. We have these feelings because we are daughters and sons of God, born with the Light of Christ yet living in a fallen world. These feelings are God given and create an urgency to act.[22]

Some Ideas for Individual-Level Study and Worship

We now relay some ideas that reportedly benefited some of the surveyed members in their individual-level Come, Follow Me study and worship. Some members focused on physical and structural aids they found helpful:

“I have made a study notebook with everything the lesson references in one place, including the new supplemental materials that became available last month.”

“[1] use the Church website to help [me] with [my] studies.”

“The Book of Mormon videos are wonderful!”

Other members focused on advice related to helpful techniques, approaches, or processes:

“[1] strive to concentrate on the ‘thought questions.’”

“We read the chapters as individuals in our family, and then three days a week, we do the family activities in the manual.”

“Experiment, and be open to trying new things—talk to friends, get ideas, adjust it to fit your situation, and try, try, try until you find something that works for you.”

“Learn to study, spend time in the scriptures. . . . Go to the Lord in prayer for guidance and for further light and knowledge. Revel in the joy that comes from learning by the Spirit.”

“Listen carefully to the Spirit as you study. The Holy Ghost will whisper your own special lessons to you.”

Other members talked about spiritual and personal issues, including patience and endurance:

“Don’t run faster than you have strength. Do what you can, and let the Atonement cover the rest.”

“Just keep striving to do it, and eventually it will get easier and blessings will come.”

“Be patient with yourself. God wants you to improve, but everyone does so at different rates. The message I got from General Authorities is to do what works for you. . . . If that means that you don’t follow the schedule that everyone else is on exactly, that is totally fine. Giving up on it would be a failure, but God just wants us to keep trying to make this a part of our lives.”

We are grateful for the feedback and insights from these Church members who, like all committed Saints in all times and places, are pressing forward with a mixture of failures and successes.

The most frequently recurring advice involved the habit of setting a select time each day. Examples of this included the following:

“I have tried to study each day at a specific time.”

“I do a spiritual thought with my children each morning that is usually [based on] whatever stood out to me in yesterday’s independent reading.”

“I study every morning before anything else. I have started getting up earlier so I can get more time. It hasn’t been as hard as I anticipated to get up. The time flies!”

“Set a routine/schedule that works best for you, and allow enough time to ‘feast’ upon the word.”

To facilitate a daily rhythm and consistency in their gospel study, some people set a daily reminder on their phone. Others have more concrete reminders like a “prayer rock” beside the bed, while one husband reportedly placed his scriptures over the top of the remote control to give a friendly self-reminder regarding what mattered first and most.

We now briefly turn to two related and insightful statements from Ralph Waldo Emerson regarding human behavior. The first was a favorite of President Heber J. Grant[23] and reads, “That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has increased.”[24] The hardest steps are the first steps, but the journey is worth taking. To Emerson is also attributed the gem “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”[25] This insight served as a portion of the inspiration for President Monson’s teaching that “decisions determine destiny.”[26] It seems that the conviction and effort to actively form the habit of daily gospel learning and worship are one of those decisions that can help elevate our eternal destiny.

In addition to the selected responses from members who shared their reflections, we have also benefited from inspired insights from BYU students in our classes. The following from one of our students who wrote about a Sunday practice in her family is shared with her permission:

Power Hour. When I reflect back on the years I spent living at home and how we spent our Sundays, I can distinctly remember “power hour.” Power hour was held at a designated time every single Sunday. This hour was for each member of my family to individually do something that helps increase your spirituality and helps you feel/grow closer to the Lord. This could be Personal Progress, indexing, Faith in God, studying scriptures, family history work, journaling, . . . etc. This looked different to everyone, because it was a personal and prayerful thing for each person. Truly anything that helped you feel the Spirit and feel the reverence of the Sabbath day. All my parents asked of us was one hour.

There were a few things that I loved about power hour. The first is the feeling that came into our whole home. There truly is a power that comes when every member of my 7-person family is quietly spending time learning of our Savior and Father in Heaven simultaneously. Our house would be silent, and there would be no interactions between anyone, but everyone could feel of that power. A power that united our family closer together, a power that brought the Spirit so strongly into our house, a power that removed any contention and invited light, and a power that helped us closely feel of our Savior’s love.

Another thing I loved about power hour is how my parents were fully involved in it as well as the children. It wasn’t a “Go do it, kids, so you leave us alone for an hour after church to take a nap.” It was a full family event, and every single person was involved. This experience would not have had the same powerful effect if my parents didn’t participate with all of us.

Sacrifice is an important part of our church, and power hour was a great way to incorporate this principle in our lives. No phones, no games, no naps, just one simple hour dedicated to the Lord. This principle instilled a love for the Sabbath day inside of me as a young kid, because I saw what careful observance of this day did for my family. We were strengthened and happier and better because of it.

We find this kind of family-supported but agency-honoring approach to fostering personal study and worship instructive and inspiring. Note that it is simultaneously firm and flexible.

Flexibility, Adaptability, Creativity, and Stability

In the area of home-centered religious practice, tradition and structures are good but so are fresh life and creativity. In this process of establishing and maintaining an approach to home-centered gospel living, it will be important for members to balance stability and creativity. It will be important to find ways to initiate processes that are simple, doable, practical, and sustainable. It will also be important to find ways to creatively combine the preferences of different spouses and children into processes that are enjoyable for people with different temperaments, personalities, ages, and degrees of commitment to the gospel and to home-centered religious practices.

On a personal note from us as authors, we are both spouses in what may be called “Latter-day Saint hybrid marriages”—meaning a marriage between a “lifer” (someone raised in the Church) and a convert (someone who joined the Church as an adult). We have experienced the benefits of combining the heritage, tradition, and gospel stability that a “lifer” can bring with the excitement, zeal, sincerity, and gratitude for the gospel that a convert can offer. Perhaps this is one expression of the “grafting” of “young and tender branches” into the tame but old (and even decaying) olive tree. This fresh grafting gives renewed life to the vineyard to “bring forth again the natural fruit, which natural fruit is good and the most precious above all other fruit” (Jacob 5:8, 61).

Warning against rigidity and overregimentation, Elder Cook specifically emphasized flexibility and adaptability in members’ efforts to implement Come, Follow Me. The encouragement from the Lord’s living Apostles has been to seek revelation and to find what works best in our individual and family situations. On the note of doing what works best personally, we were struck by the following responses to our questions about implementing Come, Follow Me that we received almost back to back from two different people:

Sister A: I especially enjoy using technology in my studying.

Sister B: Learn to study, spend time in the scriptures, get away from your electronic devices.

Elder Cook might urge each sister to carry on with whatever works best for her. Finding out what works best for you will likely take time, error, and adjustment. We appreciated the following counsel from a parent:

Allow yourself to do poorly. It’s better to try poorly and then slowly improve than to never begin at all or to allow yourself to feel overwhelmed to the point of simply avoiding making the necessary changes. Don’t be embarrassed by your failures. Use them as a jumping-off point.

We also appreciated that several Saints who shared their reflections on Come, Follow Me focused on the possibility of us learning from others while avoiding comparing ourselves with them. In a BYU devotional titled “Wrestling with Comparisons,” Professor J. B. Haws said, “Our perfect, loving God makes no horizontal comparisons.”[27] If horizontal comparison is not a divine activity, we should probably avoid it ourselves. However, if we can restrain ourselves from horizontal comparison while still learning vicariously from others’ successes, we can be blessed by others’ insights.

The Recent Experiences of Members

We focus here on members’ experiences involving their individual-level study and worship with Come, Follow Me.

A young woman said, “It’s more in depth, it’s more studying than just plain reading.”

A single woman said, “I’m learning to understand and love the scriptures more deeply. I feel motivated to . . . study the scriptures; I love feeling the Spirit urge me to do so.”

An older mother with children no longer at home said, “I live alone, so I don’t study with family, but even by myself, I find I am going more in depth in every way.”

Another single woman said she has also enjoyed “the depth” of her study and “being able to study at [her] own pace and level, relying on doctrine, Church history, scholarship and the Spirit.”

Such responses echo Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s words:

The need for greater individual study of the gospel—more scholarship on the part of individual members who do not demand of the Church that it supply them with intellectual handouts—is . . . something which can start to be met in the home. We can be much more effective as leaders and followers if we engage in individual gospel scholarship.[28]

Other experiences with Come, Follow Me shared by diverse Saints included the following:

A young mother said, “I love how much I’m learning. I’ve honestly never read the Bible through, and I’ve discovered so much about Jesus Christ’s life.”

An older sister said, “I’m learning to understand and love the scriptures more deeply.”

Another member said, “It has helped grow my testimony.”

An older empty-nest father said, “I am grateful to meet with my fellow members of the Church who are . . . bring[ing] the scriptures alive in their own lives.”

To conclude this chapter, we turn to a family from our American Families of Faith Project to illustrate an encouraging pattern—not for purposes of comparison but for purposes of inspiration.

The Petersons: Individual Worship in an Exemplary Family

Perhaps no family we have interviewed better illustrated the power of individual study and worship than Jessica and Joseph Peterson,[29] a nondenominational Christian family from Pennsylvania that we interviewed for several hours. Joseph said of Jessica, “I see her get up every morning and take time to read scripture and pray, and I just see that it’s not separate from the rest of her day and that it influences the way she does [everything]—the way she interacts with me and the kids and everybody in the community. It’s central, it’s pervasive.”

Jessica later reflected on the depth of her reading and praying in a way that was devotional, personal, and relational. Notably, she did not discuss reading and prayer as “activities.” She referred to her study as her “personal time . . . spent with the Lord”:

I think that time spent with the Lord is essential. Personal time. We meet every week in meetings . . . and learn scripture and things, but I think it all comes down to our personal relationship with [God], and that has to come on an individual basis. Just like any other friendship, if you want to get [to] know someone, you need to spend time [with them]. You need to focus on them and listen to them and talk to them and let them into your heart. It’s the same thing with God. We could go to church every day of the week, but if we didn’t make time when we just got face to face with God alone, I don’t think our relationship with Him would grow.

In our exploration of families and faith, we have repeatedly observed what we call “the principle of lived invitation.” Specifically, this principle posits, “Our behavior is permission to others to behave similarly . . . but it is more than that. It is an invitation to do so.”[30]

Jessica’s example, or lived invitation, had a profound impact on Joseph, who chose over the years to follow a similar pattern of making “face-to-face” time with the Lord. Joseph’s decision to engage in focused, personal study and prayer gradually changed him. Jessica said of Joseph, “In our family . . . [Joseph’s] an excellent role model. The kids need to be able to look up to him and see God in his life . . . [so] that they’ll want to pattern their lives after him. It’s always great for kids to be able to look up to their dad and see someone that they respect.”

In Jessica’s earlier discussion of her time spent with the Lord, we see a relationship. In Joseph, we see the worship-based principle of repentance and divinely inspired change. Indeed, it took considerable time for Joseph to become the man that he now is. Jessica said:

I’ve seen him changing over the years. He loves the Lord and wants to do what pleases Him . . . modeling what he sees as being valuable for the kids to see. He has an important role in being like Jesus to the kids. A lot of our understanding of who God is comes through fathers, because God is presented as a father in the Bible. If a kid grows up having a father who is loving and kind and supportive and strong, I think it is easier for them to understand God and who He is. . . . The kids see in their father aspects of God, a perfect God.

Joseph saw a godly example in his wife’s life and now strives to serve as a similar model for their children. Joseph’s next comment deflected Jessica’s praise, but like Jessica, he focused on his relationship with God:

I fall way short and still have a lot that . . . I mess up on, but . . . [when you’re] a dad . . . you see your kids make efforts to please you and to do what you want and to imitate you, [and] you don’t get upset that they didn’t do better. It’s just amazing that they even want to try, you know? So rather than focus on the shortcomings, it’s just about trying to relate to God and to get to know Him better.

Later in her interview, Jessica again spoke of her foundational relationship with God and explained, “When you get to that point, when you realize that He cares about you as a person and that He’s real, someone who’s here even though we can’t see Him, [then you grasp] the reality of Him loving us beyond what we can now understand. That is the beginning [of a different kind of life��.”

For Jessica and Joseph, what does that different kind of life look like? They now devote a significant portion of their time, energy, and money to constructing wells and schools in a developing area in Africa. Their years of devoted individual study and worship through “face-to-face time with the Lord” have culminated in the consecration of their time, talents, and resources. They have indeed answered Jesus’s call to “follow [Him]” (Luke 18:22), and they inspire us to do likewise.

So, what can we learn about individual worship from Jessica and Joseph?

1. You start where you are. For Joseph, that meant making significant changes.
2. One person’s loving example, or “lived invitation”—in their case, Jessica’s—may spread to others in the family.
3. There is no substitute for alone, “face-to-face” time with God (personal study, worship, and communing are vital).

In connection with the third point, we turn to the words of Joseph Smith:

The things of God are of deep import, and time and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out, thy mind O Man, if thou wilt lead a soul into Salvation must stretch as High as the utmost Heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and expanse of eternity. Thou must commune with God.[31]

Conclusion

The ideas and suggestions in the Come, Follow Me manual are an invitation to study, to learn, to connect and commune with God—and to walk the covenant path to eternal life. President Nelson said, “Commandments are given to liberate one from the bondage of sin and error. The way to joy is to keep the commandments of God. . . . Stay on the covenant path. And if you’ve stepped off, find your way back.”[32]

In a later address, President Nelson said, “I leave my love and blessing upon you, that you may feast upon the word of the Lord and apply His teachings in your personal lives.”[33] He has also taught that salvation is an individual matter, one tied to individual study and worship. Exaltation, however, is a family matter. We turn to the matter of family study and worship in the next chapter.

Questions to Encourage Contemplation and Conversation

1. President Nelson has reminded us that the adversary is real, powerful, and cunning and that he is “quadrupling his efforts.” What evidence have you seen of this during your life?
2. President Nelson has taught that the adversary has millennia of experience in “making good look evil and evil look good” and that his “messages tend to be loud, bold, and boastful.” Have you seen evidence of this during your life?
3. President Nelson has taught that, in contrast to the adversary, “messages from our Heavenly Father are strikingly different” and that “He communicates simply [and] quietly.” What are the implications of this contrast?
4. How can we build upon the foundational basics of “read, pray, and be good” so that our faith matures from a Primary level to fuller maturity without us becoming intellectually prideful?
5. What are some of the largest barriers you have faced in your individual learning and worship? What pragmatic tips shared by others in this chapter would be helpful? How could you apply them to your own circumstances?
6. Consider the two prophet-endorsed phrases (attributed to Emerson) that were considered in this chapter. How might these insights relate to individual study and worship?
7. The principle of lived invitation states, “Our behavior is permission to others to behave similarly . . . but it is more than that. It is an invitation to do so.” How does this principle apply to Come, Follow Me? How does this principle apply in other areas of life?
8. Joseph Peterson eventually followed the example of his wife, Jessica, and engaged in his own personal study and worship. What principles are taught by Jessica’s example, and how can we emulate the best of those principles?
9. Jessica believes that there is no substitute for alone, “face-to-face” time with God, and President Nelson has repeatedly emphasized the importance of personal revelation. How do these ideas relate to your life?

Creating Opportunities for Revelatory Experiences (CORE)

1. What intentions do you have to enjoy personal revelatory experiences?
2. How can you and your loved ones encourage each other’s revelatory experiences?
3. What personal and relational activities might encourage your own revelatory experiences?

Notes

[1] Quoted in “Latter-day Saint Prophet, Wife and Apostle Share Insights of Global Ministry,” October 30, 2018, https://newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org/article/latter-day-saint-prophet-wife-apostle-share-insights-global-ministry#churchofjesuschrist.

[2] Walt Kelly, “We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us,” Pogo, April 22, 1971; see .

[3] Russell M. Nelson, “Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints,” Ensign, November 2018, 114.

[4] Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Ensign, May 2019, 69.

[5] Russell M. Nelson, “Ministering,” Ensign, May 2018, 100.

[6] Russell M. Nelson, “Hear Him,” Ensign, May 2020, 89.

[7] Nelson, “We Can Do Better,” 67–68.

[8] Dallin H. Oaks, “Where Will This Lead?,” Ensign, May 2019, 62.

[9] Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign, May 2018, 96.

[10] Russell M. Nelson, “Look Forward to the Future with Faith,” New Era, June 2018, 5.

[11] Quoted in Sarah Jane Weaver, “Repentance Is Not a Backup Plan; It Is the Plan, Says Elder Andersen,” Church News, July 3, 2018, https://www.ChurchofJesusChrist.org/church/news/repentance-is-not-a-backup-plan-it-is-the-plan-says-elder-andersen.

[12] Jana Riess, The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), 151.

[13] Patrick Q. Mason, Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015), 80.

[14] Becky Craven, “Careful versus Casual,” Ensign, May 2019, 10.

[15] Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1954), 392.

[16] Quentin L. Cook, “Deep and Lasting Conversion to Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” Ensign, November 2018, 10.

[17] Neal A. Maxwell, “A More Determined Discipleship,” Ensign, February 1979, 69–70.

[18] Cook, “Deep and Lasting Conversion,” 9.

[19] See Neal A. Maxwell, “The Disciple-Scholar,” in Henry B. Eyring, ed., On Becoming a Disciple-Scholar (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1995), 7.

[20] Quoted in The Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book, ed. Cory H. Maxwell (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997), 170.

[21] Neal A. Maxwell, “Becoming a Disciple,” Ensign, June 1996, 16.

[22] Michelle D. Craig, “Divine Discontent,” Ensign, November 2018, 53.

[23] Heber J. Grant often quoted this statement. An excerpt from Teachings of Heber J. Grant reads, “Throughout his life, Heber J. Grant worked diligently to improve himself, believing that ‘every individual can improve from day to day, from year to year, and have greater capacity to do things as the years come and the years go.’ He became known for his persistence, and it was said of him that ‘he never criticized other men’s weaknesses but made war on his own.’” Teachings of Heber J. Grant (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2002), 33.

[24] Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Quotes,” Goodreads, .

[25] Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Quotes,” Goodreads, .

[26] Thomas S. Monson, “Decisions Determine Destiny” (Brigham Young University devotional, November 6, 2005), 3, .

[27] J. B. Haws, “Wrestling with Comparisons” (Brigham Young University devotional, May 7, 2019), 2, speeches.byu.edu.

[28] Quoted in The Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book, ed. Cory H. Maxwell (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997), 144.

[29] As mentioned previously, participants’ names used in this book are pseudonyms to protect identity and anonymity, as required in research.

[30] Loren D. Marks and David C. Dollahite, Religion and Families: An Introduction (New York: Routledge, 2016), 14; emphasis in original.

[31] Joseph Smith, “History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842],” The Joseph Smith Papers, p. 904[b], https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-c-1-2-november-1838-31-july-1842/86.

[32] Quoted in Jason Swensen, “New First Presidency Answers Questions about Church’s Challenges and Opportunities,” Church News, January 16, 2018, https://www.ChurchofJesusChrist.org/church/news/new-first-presidency-answers-questions-about-churchs-challenges-and-opportunities.

[33] Nelson, “Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints,” 114.