Editor's note: “Resources to follow Him” curates study resources, teachings, and thoughts to deepen your study of this week's Come, Follow Me.
As we dive into Mosiah 18–24 in this week’s Come, Follow Me, here is a topic from each chapter that you can explore in your lesson.
Mosiah 18–24
- Chapter 18: Understanding the Baptismal Covenant — Book of Mormon Video
- Chapter 19: The Differences in Deliverances — Elder L. Tom Perry
- Chapter 20: Accepting Accountability — “Unshaken”
- Chapter 21: The Significance of “Prosper by Degrees” — Sunday on Monday Study Group
- Chapter 22: “Confide in God Unwaveringly” — Elder Ulisses Soares
- Chapter 23: Finding Where God Needs Us — “Don’t Miss This”
- Chapter 24: Having Burdens Lifted — Elder Walter F. González
We hope these topics, in addition to the Come, Follow Me manual, will enhance your understanding of these chapters.
Chapter 18: Understanding the Baptismal Covenant — Book of Mormon Video
In Chapter 18, Alma the Elder teaches his people about the covenant of baptism. The Come, Follow Me manual invites us to ponder the following questions as we learn about the baptismal covenant in Mosiah 18:8–10:
- What do you learn from these verses about the promises you made at baptism? What does God promise you?
- How does the covenant to serve God (see verse 10) relate to our efforts to minister to one another? (see verses 8–9).
- What are you doing to keep your promises?
- How does keeping your baptismal covenant help you be “filled with the Spirit”? (Mosiah 18:14). How does the Spirit help you keep your covenant?
- This account also reveals the proper mode of baptism. What do you learn in verses 14–17 about how baptism should be performed?
A segment from the Book of Mormon videos shows Alma the Elder’s teachings to the people. Perhaps watching the video can give you an opportunity to answer these questions as if you were there hearing Alma the Elder’s teaching yourself.
Chapter 19: The Differences in Deliverances — Elder L. Tom Perry
In his April 2012 general conference talk, Elder L. Tom Perry discussed how the Book of Mormon is full of stories of deliverance. He said, “There are two stories in the Book of Mormon which are very similar and teach an important lesson.” Elder Perry shares the story of the people of King Limhi, which begins in chapter 19, and the people of Alma in Chapter 24.
“What was the difference between the people of Alma and the people of King Limhi? Obviously, there were several differences: the people of Alma were peaceful and more righteous; they had already been baptized and entered into a covenant with the Lord; they humbled themselves before the Lord even before their tribulations started. All these differences made it appropriate and fair that the Lord would deliver them quickly in a miraculous way from the hand which kept them in bondage. These scriptures teach us of the Lord’s power of deliverance.”
Watch his full address below.
Chapter 20: Accepting Appropriate Accountability — “Unshaken”
Jared Halverson, an Institute of Religion teacher, has taken his institute classes to YouTube during COVID-19 on a channel called, “Unshaken.” In the videos, Halverson breaks down the Come, Follow Me chapters into a verse-by-verse study.
In a segment of this week’s video, Halverson discusses the conversation King Limhi has in chapter 20 and talks about the role of accountability. He explains that it’s important to ask, “Lord, is it I?” but that it is not always appropriate to accept all of the blame, using an example of how King Limhi questions whether it is his fault that the daughters of the Lamanites had been taken, but also balancing that with wondering about his people’s involvement.
Halverson explains, “There is truth within both of those statements: ‘Lord is it I?’ Yes. ‘Should I worry about my people? Could they possibly have done this?’ Perhaps. ‘But is it only I? Do I deserve some blame?’ Yes. ‘Do I deserve all the blame?’ No. So combining Limhi with Gideon here I think teaches us an important lesson.”
Watch both segments of the lesson on Mosiah 18–24 from “Unshaken” below.
Chapter 21: The Significance of “Prosper by Degrees” — Sunday on Monday Study Group
Part of the discussion of this week’s Sunday on Monday Study Group revolves around a phrase found in Mosiah 21:16, “prosper by degrees.”
“This phrase is really interesting to me because it seems like when we humble ourselves and call upon God and we repent of our sins, He will hear our prayers and He'll even ease the burden of our sins, but it's in His own time,” explains host Tammy Uzelac Hall. “He moves with us in the process, and that is grace. He doesn't expect absolute perfection the minute you say, ‘I'm sorry.’ He's willing to work with us as we prosper by degrees.”
The study group shares a quote from Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s talk “The Divine Gift of Repentance”:
“Repentance means striving to change. It would mock the Savior’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross for us to expect that He should transform us into angelic beings with no real effort on our part. Rather, we seek His grace to complement and reward our most diligent efforts (see 2 Nephi 25:23). Real repentance, real change may require repeated attempts, but there is something refining and holy in such striving. Divine forgiveness and healing flow quite naturally to such a soul.”
The Sunday on Monday Study Group is a Deseret Bookshelf PLUS+ original presented by LDS Living. You can access the full study group discussion through the Bookshelf app. Listen to a segment of this week's episode below or listen to the full Sunday on Monday episode here.
Chapter 22: “Confide in God Unwaveringly” — Elder Ulisses Soares
In an April 2017 general conference talk, Elder Ulisses Soares, then a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, spoke about the importance of trusting in God using an example of the people of King Limhi. He explains how King Limhi encouraged his people to “turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart” and how, when his people did that, it helped them escape the Lamanites in chapter 22.
“Brothers and sisters, please consider the importance of the invitation King Limhi gave to his people and its relevance to us. He said, “Lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God.” With these words, Limhi invited his people to look to the future through the eyes of faith; to replace their fears with the optimism of hope born of faith; and to not waver in placing their trust in God regardless of circumstance. “Mortal life is a period of testing where we will be proven to see if we will do all things that the Lord our God shall command us. This will require unwavering faith in Christ even in times of great difficulty. It will require that we press forward with steadfast faith in Christ, being led by the Spirit and trusting that God will provide for our needs.”
Watch Elder Soares’ full remarks below.
Chapter 23: Finding Where God Needs Us — “Don’t Miss This”
The people of Alma begin to settle the Land of Helam in Mosiah 23. In this week’s episode of “Don’t Miss This,” Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler discuss how it’s important to be willing to find the places where God needs us to be, because sometimes the Lord has something better prepared.
Butler explains, “Sometimes we want to clap our hands and praise because life is going really good but perhaps, we should clap our hands and praise when life isn’t going as well because, where is He taking us? We’re being moved. That’s what it means to be a disciple of Christ, to move out. Christianity shouldn’t be a monument; it should be a movement.”
Watch this week’s episode of “Don’t Miss This” below and be sure to pick up a study journal so you can follow along.
Chapter 24: Having Burdens Lifted — Elder Walter F. González
In his October 2019 general conference remarks, Elder Walter F. González talked about “The Savior’s Touch” explaining that as we come to the Lord, He will rescue us. In part of his talk, he references the people of Alma found in chapter 24.
“As we come unto Him, God will come to our rescue, whether to heal us or to give us the strength to face any situation. “At any rate, accepting His will—not our own—will help us understand our circumstances. Nothing bad can come from God. He knows what is best for us. Perhaps He will not remove our burdens right away. Sometimes He can make those burdens feel lighter, as He did with Alma and his people. Ultimately, because of covenants, the burdens will be lifted, either in this life or at the holy Resurrection.”
Watch his full remarks below.
