This week’s readings: John; Jude
Don’t forget to record your impressions and read the ideas outlined in the Come, Follow Me manuals on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
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Scripture Insight
This scriptural insight comes fromVerse by Verse: Volume 2 by Andrew C. Skinner and D. Kelly Ogden.
John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” is thought to have written three letters, possibly from Ephesus, sometime between A.D. 70 and 100. These letters were composed, especially the first epistle, in response to Gnosticism, the set of ideas in the early Church that regarded the body as evil and the spirit as the ultimate good. That was an attitude and philosophy that was anti-Christ (see v. 18). John emphasized that Jesus came in the flesh (see 1 John 4:3), countering those who espoused the dogma perpetuated for many centuries thereafter that God is without body, parts, or passions.
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 week, it might be interesting to study together John and Jude’s teachings about apostasy. Whether you have family members who are struggling with the gospel, your children are being bombarded with false teachings, or your own spirituality is being challenged, perhaps you can discuss together how to identify false teachings and how to help your family members do the same. Then you could talk about some false teachings that you both might have encountered recently and share ways that you can better build up faith and prepare to recognize false teachings in your marriage. Check out LDS Living’s video series on seeking for truth for more resources.
For singles:
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the idea of becoming like God, maybe you can focus your study on the encouraging statements found in 1 John chapter 2. Perhaps instead of simply listing all of the attributes you don’t have, you can spend some time pondering and praying about progress you have made and ways that the Lord is pleased with your efforts. You might even ask family and friends what they think some of your strengths in the gospel are. As thoughts come to you, you might write them down and put them in a place where you will see them often so that they can motivate you to keep working on the other attributes you want to gain and remind you that Heavenly Father is there to help you continue to develop.
For families with young children:
John makes several statements about God in his epistles. Perhaps you can identify these statements together as a family and pick one to talk about more. For example, you might pick the description that “God is light” and use a flashlight in a dark room to illustrate how following Jesus Christ allows us to see and know things when we are confused, scared, etc. Then you might talk about how your family can invite more light into your home this week.
For families with teens:
One of the topics John discusses is overcoming the world. With teenagers who face “the world” every day, perhaps you could focus on this idea by studying how Christ overcame the world and how we can be blessed by also overcoming the world. You might learn about the definition of the word “overcome,” share challenges that you are each facing at work or school, or set a family goal of something in “the world” that you are going to overcome together by picking a way to better make Christ the center of your home this week.
Stay in the loop on Come, Follow Me discussions and insights throughout the week by following the Brightly Beams Instagram account, or check out this week's related Come, Follow Me FHE lesson: What Does It Really Mean to Overcome the World?