Come, Follow Me: Christmas (December 23-29, 2024)

From Nephi to Moroni, every Book of Mormon prophet was committed to the sacred purpose summarized on the book’s title page: “the convincing of [all people] that Jesus is the Christ.” One prophet saw Him as a premortal spirit, and another saw His mortal ministry in a vision. One stood on a wall to proclaim the signs of His birth and His death, and another knelt before His resurrected body, touching the wounds in His hands, feet, and side. All of them knew this essential truth: “There is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who … cometh to redeem the world.” (From Come, Follow Me, Christmas 2024, emphasis added)

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And the Lord said unto [the brother of Jared]: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this? And he answered: Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me…. And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you (Ether 3:9-10, 13).

For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases (Mosiah 3:5).

But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death…. Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up… (Helaman 14:20-21).

And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come…. And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet (3 Nephi 11:15, 19).

Come, Follow Me: Moroni 6-9 (December 9-15, 2024) [bonus image]

Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them (Moroni 9:4).

Come, Follow Me: Moroni 1-5 (December 2-8, 2024) [bonus image]

The manner of their elders and priests administering the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church; and they administered it according to the commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true; and the elder or priest did minister it– And they did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ… (Moroni 4:1-2).

Come, Follow Me: Moroni 1-5 (December 2-8, 2024) [bonus image]

After they had prayed unto the Father in the name of Christ, they laid their hands upon them, and said: In the name of Jesus Christ I ordain you to be a priest, (or, if he be a teacher) I ordain you to be a teacher, to preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end. Amen. And after this manner did they ordain priests and teachers, according to the gifts and callings of God unto men; and they ordained them by the power of the Holy Ghost, which was in them (Moroni 3:2-4).

Come, Follow Me: Moroni 1-5 (December 2-8, 2024)

And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles (Moroni 2:2).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 12-15 (November 25-December 1, 2024) [bonus image]

And it came to pass that when it was night they were weary, and retired to their camps; and after they had retired to their camps they took up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air exceedingly. And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go again to battle, and great and terrible was that day; nevertheless, they conquered not, and when the night came again they did rend the air with their cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of the slain of their people (Ether 15:16-17).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 12-15 (November 25-December 1, 2024) [bonus image]

And it came to pass that when they were all gathered together, every one to the army which he would, with their wives and their children–both men, women and children being armed with weapons of war, having shields, and breastplates, and head-plates, and being clothed after the manner of war–they did march forth one against another to battle; and they fought all that day, and conquered not (Ether 15:15).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 12-15 (November 25-December 1, 2024) [bonus image]

And Coriantumr gave Shared battle again in the valley of Gilgal, in which he beat Shared and slew him. And Shared wounded Coriantumr in his thigh, that he did not go to battle again for the space of two years, in which time all the people upon the face of the land were shedding blood, and there was none to restrain them (Ether 13:30-31).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 12-15 (November 25-December 1, 2024) [bonus image]

…Great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether; but they esteemed him as naught, and cast him out; and he hid himself in the cavity of a rock by day, and by night he went forth viewing the things which should come upon the people. And as he dwelt in the cavity of a rock he made the remainder of this record, viewing the destructions which came upon the people, by night (Ether 13:13-14).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 12-15 (November 25-December 1, 2024)

And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen (Ether 12:41).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 6-11 (November 18-24, 2024) [bonus image]

And there came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people. And it came to pass that their flocks began to flee before the poisonous serpents, towards the land southward, which was called by the Nephites Zarahemla (Ether 9:31).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 1-5 (November 11-17, 2024) [bonus image]

But the people believed not the words of the prophets, but they cast them out; and some of them they cast into pits and left them to perish. And it came to pass that they did all these things according to the commandment of the king, Heth (Ether 9:29).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 1-5 (November 11-17, 2024) [bonus image]

And now, therefore, let my father send for Akish, the son of Kimnor; and behold, I am fair, and I will dance before him, and I will please him, that he will desire me to wife; wherefore if he shall desire of thee that ye shall give unto him me to wife, then shall ye say: I will give her if ye will bring unto me the head of my father, the king (Ether 8:10).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 1-5 (November 11-17, 2024) [bonus image]

And it came to pass as he was about to put him to death, the sons of Shule crept into the house of Noah by night and slew him, and broke down the door of the prison and brought out their father, and placed him upon his throne in his own kingdom (Ether 7:18).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 1-5 (November 11-17, 2024) [bonus image]

And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them (Ether 6:12).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 1-5 (November 11-17, 2024)

And the brother of Jared began to be old, and saw that he must soon go down to the grave; wherefore he said unto Jared: Let us gather together our people that we may number them, that we may know of them what they will desire of us before we go down to our graves (Ether 6:19).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 1-5 (November 11-17, 2024) [bonus image]

And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after the manner which they had built, according to the instructions of the Lord. And they were small, and they were light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water (Ether 2:16).

Come, Follow Me: Ether 1-5 (November 11-17, 2024) [bonus image]

And it came to pass that Jared and his brother, and their families, and also the friends of Jared and his brother and their families, went down into the valley which was northward, (and the name of the valley was Nimrod, being called after the mighty hunter) with their flocks which they had gathered together, male and female, of every kind (Ether 2:1).