Come, Follow Me Resources
Four years ago, in a General Conference address that recalibrated what members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expect about going to church itself, President Russell M. Nelson called for an adjustment, “It is time for a home-centered Church,” he said, “supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.” He teed up Elder Quentin L. Cook, who then described the specific changes of two-hour Sunday worship services, new emphasis on the Savior, and announced, “…a new Come, Follow Me resource for individuals and families that is coordinated with what is being taught in Sunday School and Primary.” The manuals for the curriculum were available immediately thereafter, and in January 2019, a newly-designed immersion into the New Testament began, with each year bringing a set of scriptures to study. The pattern of four years of the standard works is coming to a close now, and shortly the Church curriculum cycle will begin again.
President Nelson’s “church-supported” message was buttressed by extensive study aids produced by the Church in addition to the manual and available on its official website. Meanwhile, industrious members, institutions, and semi-affiliated businesses—we could have predicted this—supported the support, as it were, and created many, many additional materials to aid people in their Come, Follow Me journey. These ventures resemble the cottage industries of the 60s and 70s, when the Church counsel to have extensive home food storage engendered for-profit businesses to supply wheat, freeze-dried foods, canned goods, water tablets, food dehydrators, and more to anxious members.
No surprise, then, that Come, Follow Me has unleashed a 21st-century marketplace of its own. In tune with the era, entrepreneurs, as well as good-hearted sharers, have brought out podcasts, videos, companion manuals and class notes, printables for children, and they have used the platforms of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify, Etsy, many websites, and more to distribute them. Some of the aids are for sale and use a subscription model or offer products for direct purchase, but the vast majority of the study resources are offered free and with the generosity and vigor of an enthusiastic seminary teacher.
The Season has attempted a roundup of these resources. Our list includes aids created by scholars, busy moms, entertainers, local teachers, and more. These fracture into something for everybody. You can see an artwork a day or poetry or music that corresponds to the weekly study. Adults can be part of virtual classrooms and watch teachers—Covid made every teacher the proxy equivalent of your ward Sunday school instructor—give polished, spiritual presentations. Others look at the weekly study through a specific lens of identity. Some creators have fashioned games, coloring pages, activities, and more for young children: each is tied to the weekly unit of home scripture study. They range from the flashily produced to the handmade DIY.
With the acknowledgment that it’s incomplete, take a look at the nearly 100 Come, Follow Me offerings we found, below (including some sites with hundreds of individual products). If we’re missing something, send us a note, and we’ll add it to the list. Looking over these resources, maybe you will decide to regularly check in or sign up for something right for you, giving a new, digital meaning to “follow me.”