President Russell M. Nelson announced a surprising innovation in the October 2018 general conference to change the way Church members study the gospel. “For many years, Church leaders have been working on an integrated curriculum to strengthen families and individuals through a home-centered and Church-supported plan to learn doctrine, strengthen faith, and foster greater personal worship,” he said about the new Come, Follow Me curriculum.[1]

President Nelson later added: “The new home-centered, Church-supported integrated curriculum has the potential to unleash the power of families, as each family follows through conscientiously and carefully to transform their home into a sanctuary of faith. I promise that as you diligently work to remodel your home into a center of gospel learning, over time your Sabbath days will truly be a delight. Your children will be excited to learn and to live the Savior’s teachings, and the influence of the adversary in your life and in your home will decrease. Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining.”[2]

Soon after conference, staff members at the Religious Studies Center compiled a list of free, helpful resources to supplement Come, Follow Me. That list resides at https://rsc.byu.edu/my-gospel-study/come-follow-me. Those readings feature well-written articles from the Religious Educator and insightful chapters from books such as the Sperry Symposium volumes. The authors are faithful gospel scholars who have spent years studying the history, doctrine, and context of the scriptures.

The RSC list features the Come, Follow Me lesson first, followed by helpful links. If people want to supplement reading the scriptures and the Come, Follow Me topic, they click on the link and pursue it in their study time. This resource is particularly beneficial for teachers looking for greater depth of understanding the background and context of the scriptures.

The RSC’s tradition of providing supplementary reading continues into our 2020 year of Book of Mormon study. The following articles and chapters are only a few of the many free resources available to students and teachers:

• Shon D. Hopkin, “To the Convincing of the Jew and Gentile That Jesus Is the Christ,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon, 281–99.
• Steven C. Harper, “The Eleven Witnesses,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon, 117–32.
• Amy Easton-Flake and Rachel Cope, “A Multiplicity of Witnesses: Women and the Translation Process,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon, 133–53.
• Richard E. Bennett, “Martin Harris’s 1828 Visit to Luther Bradish, Charles Anthon, and Samuel Mitchill,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon, 103–15.
• Susan Easton Black, “‘Behold, I Have Dreamed a Dream,’” in First Nephi, The Doctrinal Foundation, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (1988), 113–24.
• Seth J. King, “Illuminating a Darkened World,” in The Things Which My Father Saw: Approaches to Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s Vision (Sperry Symposium), ed. Daniel L. Belnap, Gaye Strathearn, and Stanley A. Johnson (2011), 300–317.
• Gerald N. Lund, “The Fall of Man and His Redemption,” in Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (1989), 83–106.
• Robert J. Matthews, “The Atonement of Jesus Christ: 2 Nephi 9,” in Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, 177–99.
• Daniel Belnap, “‘Ye Shall Have Joy with Me’: The Olive Tree, the Lord, and His Servants,” Religious Educator 7, no. 1 (2006): 35–51.
• Neal A. Maxwell, “The Children of Christ,” in The Book of Mormon: Mosiah, Salvation Only through Christ, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (1991), 1–21.
• H. Donl Peterson, “The Law of Justice and the Law of Mercy,” in The Book of Mormon: Alma, the Testimony of the Word, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (1992), 211–22.
• Brent L. Top, “Faith unto Repentance,” in A Book of Mormon Treasury: Gospel Insights from General Authorities and Religious Educators (2003), 295–315.
• Richard O. Cowan, “A New Meaning of ‘Restoration’: The Book of Mormon on Life after Death,” in The Book of Mormon: Alma, the Testimony of the Word, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (1992), 195–210.
• Anthony R. Sweat, “Active Learning and the Savior’s Nephite Ministry,” Religious Educator 10, no. 3 (2009): 75–86.
• Jared W. Ludlow, “The Powers of the Atonement: Insights from the Book of Mormon,” Religious Educator 9, no. 2 (2008): 21–29.
• Michael L. King, “The Atonement of Jesus Christ—‘Glad Tidings of Great Joy,’” in Living the Book of Mormon: Abiding by Its Precepts, ed. Gaye Strathearn and Charles Swift (2007), 237–55.

Church members and fellow organizations have responded positively to the RSC list of free articles and chapters. For example, in the past, Book of Mormon Central cross-linked to these resources, and BYU Studies shared the RSC list with their subscribers. We invite all to draw nearer to the Savior by enjoying these free resources to supplement their gospel study.

Notes

[1] Russell M. Nelson, “Opening Remarks,” Ensign, November 2018, 8.

[2] Russell M. Nelson, “Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints,” Ensign, November 2018, 113.