This is the first of a series where I plan to share talks and resources related to the role of living prophets in our personal lives and in the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I intend to share reliable sources and accurately represent what the Lord and His authorized servants have taught, but my insights are my own and I am not an official Church representative.

First up is an April 2020 general conference talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook called “The Blessing of Continuing Revelation to Prophets and Personal Revelation to Guide Our Lives.”

Key Points

• The Lord knows how to prepare his prophets and apostles for their service in His kingdom.
• In fulfillment of ancient prophecy, the heavens are open today, and we have access to continuing revelation from God.
• Some of the revelation that comes through the prophet is monumental, while other is procedural or seemingly small. In either case, the Lord guides His Church according to its current needs.
• Personal revelation is as important as prophetic revelation when we prayerfully seek guidance in our lives.
• The Holy Ghost can communicate God’s will to us in simple but powerful ways. Its influence is enhanced when we regularly study the truths found in scripture and taught by prophets.

Reflection Questions

What teachings from prophets have “enhance[d your] understanding of essential divine truths and provide[d] guidance”?

In what ways has the Holy Ghost helped you receive revelation as you’ve studied prophetic teachings?

How has your life been blessed because there is continuing revelation on the earth?

I will be co-hosting a new show at Book of Mormon Central’s YouTube channel with Marianna Richardson. “Come Follow Me: Act in Doctrine” will release every Wednesday, starting on December 23, 2020. Marianna and I will discuss the scripture block for each week by sharing our favorite takeaways, hearing from guests, and challenging one another to apply the the things we’ve learned.

Join us by subscribing to the channel or the playlist for the show. You can also visit this page for updated links to individual episodes. Here’s a peek at our welcome video:

I did some research and found some fun ways that we can connect with extended family and friend groups over Zoom or other videoconference apps. Here’s a list of games/activities you could do to stay in touch, reach out to people, and enjoy people’s company.

Pictionary (with Zoom whiteboard feature), can also use a random word generator for ideas of what to draw https://randomwordgenerator.com/pictionary.php

Yahtzee—all participants print out a score sheet and take turns rolling dice.

Bingo—use these sites to print out boards https://myfreebingocards.com/

and draw numbers. https://letsplaybingo.io/

Boggle—share this site on a screen and everyone writes down words against the timer. https://www.puzzle-words.com/boggle-4×4/

Jackbox Drawful— Through April 11, 2020, Jackbox Games is offering Drawful 2 is free if you download it with the Steam code here. The game is similar to Pictionary, except you and your friends will be challenged with ridiculous drawing prompts such as “cotton candy hair” or a “creepy tiger.” https://shop.jackboxgames.com/collections/steam-codes/products/drawful-2

Homemade Trivia— A fun, interactive idea is to use an application such as TriviaMaker.com to create your own trivia games.

Or Random Trivia— http://www.randomtriviagenerator.com/

Risk—multiplayer game (don’t need Zoom, but need a Steam account). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1128810/RISK_Global_Domination/

Variety of online card games— https://www.cardzmania.com/games/

Pandemic—just in case real life isn’t entertaining enough.  https://www.asmodee-digital.com/en/pandemic/

Heads Up—just need the app on your phone so you can show clues to each other. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/heads-up/id623592465

Scattergories—Here are the lists http://scattergorieslists18.blogspot.com/ Just pick a letter and set the timer.

Scribbi.io—like a virtual Pictionary https://skribbl.io/

Read My Lips–To play Read My Lips, have the person who is “it” turn off their microphone. They will then say a series of words in a given amount of time while everyone else reads their lips and writes down what they think they’re saying. The person with the most correct guesses is the obvious winner.

Last Letter–If you’d like to keep your brain sharp during this time of social distancing, play Last Letter with your friends. All you need to do is choose a category — ’90s movies, flowers, states, colors, etc. — and say a word within that category. The next person will say a word that starts with the last letter of your word, and on and on you’ll go until someone comes up blank. That person will then sit out the next round. Keep playing until only one player is left standing.

Charades—self-explanatory

Raid your cupboard— Some of your board/party games might adapt, especially if both parties have it and can use parts on their end: Look through them and be creative.

This summer, my poor children are being forced to take the college class I teach at BYU [homeschool version]. I’m posting their reading schedule here just because I needed a place where they can access the links.

To all who inadvertently receive this in their inbox (due to a long-neglected blog subscription), feel free to either ignore it or steal it for your own use. Happy Summer Reading!

DATE DUE	PREPARATION before class	DISCUSSION and EVENTS
	TLP Chapter 1: Our Need for Living Prophets  (TLP= Teachings of the Living Prophets Student Manual) “The Doctrine of Christ” by Elder Christofferson	Why living prophets matter
	TLP Chapter 2: The Living Prophet: The President of the Church (including the 14 Fundamentals talk at end of chapter)	The role of our living prophet 14 Fundamentals of Following the Prophet
	TLP Chapter 7: Studying General Conference Addresses  Choose any two of the suggested study methods from TLP ch. 7 and apply them as you study these two President Nelson talks. Bring your notes to share. April 2018:  Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives October 2017: The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like …?	Practice Study Methods Tips and Research Tools
	Read 5 talks by President Nelson (bring D.A.P. notes for one of these): April 2017:  Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives October 2016: Joy and Spiritual Survival April 2016: The Price of Priesthood Power January 2016 (Worldwide Devotional):  True Millennials October 2015: A Plea to My Sisters	Teachings of Russell M. Nelson
	TLP Chapter 4: The Quorum of the First Presidency The Church Is on Course – by Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley	Quorum keys and responsibilities
	KT packet: Oaks Small and Simple Things Feb 2014 (BYU-I): Witnesses of God	Life, ministry, and messages of Dallin H. Oaks
	KT packet: Eyring His Spirit to Be With You Apr 2012: Mountains to Climb	Life, ministry, and messages of Henry B. Eyring
	TLP Chapter 5: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles “Chosen to Bear Testimony of My Name” by Elder David A. Bednar	Quorum keys and responsibilities
	Read THE LIVING CHRIST and the FAMILY PROCLAMATION Aug 2009): “Teaching the Doctrine of the Family,” Julie B. Beck Deadline to watch family proclamation video on Digital Dialog.	Proclamations and the doctrine of the family
	EXAM 1
	KT packet: Ballard Precious Gifts from God May 2014 (CES): Be Still, and Know That I Am God	Life, ministry, and messages of M. Russell Ballard
	KT packet: Holland Be With and Strengthen Them Sept 2012 (CES): Israel, Isreal God Is Calling	Life, ministry, and messages of Jeffrey R. Holland
	KT packet: Uchtdorf Behold the Man! Jan 2017 Worldwide Devotional	Life, ministry, and messages of Dieter F. Uchtdorf
	KT packet: Bednar Meek and Lowly of Heart Sept 2017 (Worldwide Devotional): A Welding Link	Life, ministry, and messages of David A. Bednar
	KT packet: Cook Prepare to Meet God Sept 2016 (Worldwide Devotional): “Fear Not…”	Life, ministry, and messages of Quentin L. Cook
	KT packet: Christofferson The Elders Quorum Jan 2011 (BYU Devotional): Give us this day our daily bread	Life, ministry, and messages of D. Todd Christofferson
	KT packet: Andersen The Prophet of God Oct. 2011: Children	Life, ministry, and messages of Neil L. Andersen
	KT packet: Rasband Behold! A Royal Army Sept 2015 (BYU Devotional): Religious Freedom and Fairness for All	Life, ministry, and messages of Ronald A. Rasband
	KT packet: Stevenson The Heart of a Prophet May 2017 (BYU Women’s Conference): The Knowledge of a Savior(watch!)	Life, ministry, and messages of Gary E. Stevenson
	KT packet: Renlund Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing April 2015: Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying	Life, ministry, and messages of Dale G. Renlund
	EXAM 2
	TLP Chapter 6: General Conference An Ensign to the Nations, Jeffrey R. Holland	Preparing for General Conference
	TLP Chapter 3: Succession in the Presidency Pres. Nelson, “Sustaining the Prophets,” Oct. 2014	Understanding Succession in the Presidency
	Elder Gong bio, link TBA. Christ the Lord Is Risen Today 2014 BYU-H Devotional Be Not Afraid, Only Believe	Elder Gong
	Elder Soares bio, link TBA. Prophets Speak by the Power of His Holy Spirit April 2015 Yes, We Can and Will Win!	Elder Soares
	***Family Proclamation Research Project***
	FINAL EXAM

When it comes to monitoring technology at my house, my husband might have used the following terms to describe my approach: “nazi,” “relentless,” and “Russian gulag.” I prefer to think of myself as determined. This is the LEAST favorite aspect of parenting for me right now.

How long have you been on that? What are you looking at? Please turn that off. Give me your phone.

Ugh.

I recently sat down with two admired friends (who I originally met through blogging during my Diapers and Divinity days), and tapped into their expertise about two things:

1. How to do a better job of walking this world of technology with my children.
2. How to use my own social media accounts in positive and meaningful ways.

Even though I talked to them long after the microphones were turned off and gleaned so much insight, you can hear some of their sage advice on LDS Perspectives podcast. (Yeah, I got a gig as a very part-time podcaster. It’s been fun.) Check it out at this link, or subscribe to LDS Perspectives podcast for more episodes:

http://www.ldsperspectives.com/2017/10/04/digital-natives/