Surely the Lord is in This Place – Genesis 28-33

Gathered in this post are resources to help you teach your family not only the stories of the people in the Old Testament but also the doctrine and principles found in the study block for the Come, Follow Me reading of . There are resources for children, youth, and adults. Every resource linked to is free! Most links are to church websites or websites approved for further gospel study. Choose on thing a day to do with your family or a couple to do for family home evening. Enjoy!

Everyone

Video – The Covenant Path – On the covenant path we can find the essential blessings of forgiveness and cleansing from sin. (2:30 minutes)

Video – Standing By Our Promises and Covenants – Ronald A. Rasband explains how important it is to keep the promises and covenants we make to the Lord as well as to our fellowmen. (2:10 minutes)

Primary Children

Lesson – Jacob and His Family – Lesson with enrichment activities from the Old Testament Primary Manual

Video – Jacob and His Family – Old Testament Stories

Covenants help me return to Heavenly Father. Genesis 28:10-22

Activity – Covenants Help Me Return to Heavenly Father – Coloring page

Activity – Make a pretend ladder on the ground with chalk or sticks. Take turns saying one thing that we promise Heavenly Father when we get baptized. Each time, move one step forward on the ladder. From Come, Follow Me Activities in The Friend.

Activity – Keeping My Promise – Includes activity to look up scriptures about the signs of a covenant and then draw a line to the picture that represents the scripture. Then color the pictures.

Activity – Keeping Our Baptismal Covenant – A board game that focuses on what things help you keep your baptismal covenant and prepare to receive temple blessings.

Video – Sophia’s Baptism Promises | The Covenant Path – Sophia learns how best to explain to her friend Ava the importance of the two-way promise she’ll make with Heavenly Father during her baptism. These promises are called covenants. (5:49 minutes)

I should always keep my promises. I believe in being honest. Genesis 29:16-30

Activity – Being Honest Is Best  – A rebus story about a young girl named Verity who loves to live by the meaning of her name and tell the truth. Includes an activity.

Activity – Honesty Jars – Make these honesty jars with your family to see how being honest builds others’ trust in you over time.

Activity – I Can Tell the Truth – Coloring page

Activity/Article – How Do You Spell Honesty? – Timothy J. Dyches of the Seventy shares how as a child he told the truth when he got a spelling word wrong. Includes a quiz to figure out how honest you are.

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can help me love my family. Genesis 32:6-11; Genesis 33:1-4

Activity – I Will Strengthen My Family – Coloring page

Activity – My Family Can Follow Jesus Christ in Faith – Coloring page

Activity/Article – The Gospel Is for Everyone – Dieter F. Uchtdorf shares how he helped his family as a boy and testifies of the importance of the gospel. Includes a coloring sheet activity.

Article – Helping and Loving – This page includes a testimony from Sabrina who tries to be like Jesus by helping and loving her younger brother and sister.

Article – I Talked to God as a Friend – Juan A. Uceda of the Seventy tells how prayer comforted him when he was worried about family members who weren’t members of the Church.

Sunday School – Youth and Adults

Article – Thoughts to Keep in Mind: The House of Israel – What does it mean to be of the House of Israel?

Article – Why Did God Change Jacob’s Name to Israel? –

Video – My Rest a Stone – Book of Mormon Central (3:07 minutes)

Video – Jacob “Wrestled with a Man” – Book of Mormon Central (3:54 minutes)

In the temple we make covenants with God. I am promised the blessings of Abraham in the temple. Genesis 28:10-22; Genesis 29:1-18

Article – Temples – The Gates to Heaven – Temples are to us all what Bethel was to Jacob. Even more, they are also the gates to heaven for all of our unendowed kindred dead. We should all do our duty in bringing our loved ones through them.

Article – Jacob: Keeper of Covenants – The father of the house of Israel teaches us by example that making and keeping sacred covenants with God leads to eternal blessings.

Article – The Power, Joy, and Love of Covenant Keeping – I invite each of us to evaluate how much we love the Savior, using as a measure how joyfully we keep our covenants.

Video – Temples Through Time – Throughout time, many religions have built temples. Scholars, ministers, people of various faiths, and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share their thoughts about the temples of old and present-day temples and how both connect people with heaven. (5:58 minutes)

Video – Standing in Holy Places – A young woman reflects on the blessings of walking the covenant path as she makes her journey to the temple. (5:42 minutes)

Video – The Jacob & Rachel Love Story – Book of Mormon Central (7:46 minutes)

The Lord remembers me in my trials. Genesis 29:31-35; Genesis 30:1-24

Article – The Refining Fire of Affliction – I pray that each of us will draw close to our Heavenly Father and Savior through our personal adversity.

Article – God Can Help Us in Hard Times – And we can use what we gain from our trials to help others.

Video – God Delivers Us in Our Trials – The Lord delivers us from our trials, but more often He delivers us in our trials. During times of uncertainty, often God’s answer is comfort and peace, giving us the strength to face whatever comes our way. (8:16 minutes)

Video – Feeling the Lord’s Love and Goodness in Trials – When Darlyn learned of her illness, she feared she would not see her children grow up. But through her trial, she felt the Lord’s love and immense goodness. How does He comfort you in times of trial? (4:17 minutes)

Video – Leah Names Her Sons – The story of Leah and Rachel is tragic in some ways. Both sisters were married to the same man, and both wanted what the other one had. Leah was fertile and had many children but longed for love and affection from her husband Jacob. Rachel was adored by Jacob but was barren and longed for children. Despite inheriting difficult circumstances, Leah gave names to her sons that teach how we can praise God no matter our circumstances. Of the twelve children of Jacob, Leah bore six of them, and two more through her handmaid Zilphah. Each of these children had names with meanings that played off both Leah’s poignant longing for her husband and her praise for the Lord. Book of Mormon Central (4:44 minutes)

The Savior can help us overcome discord in our families. Genesis 32-33

Article – Three Tips for Less Contention in Your Family – Does your family argue sometimes? You’re not alone.

Article – Seeing the Face of God in Our Enemies – These lessons in overcoming conflict from the book of Genesis can provide a pattern for our own lives.

Video – Jacob’s Family Leaves Laban – Book of Mormon Central (10:37 minutes)

Video – Jacob Confronts Esau – Book of Mormon Central (5:57 minutes)

Adults

Article – Jacob in the Presence of God – BYU Religious Studies Center

Article – The Lord Will Redeem His People – BYU Religious Studies Center

Podcast – Follow Him: Genesis 28-33 part 1 (video link) – How is Jacob’s dream a temple experience? Dr. Jeffrey R. Chadwick joins the podcast to discuss Jacob’s miraculous dream, how the Abrahamic Covenant applies to every human being, and how the scattering of Israel is a fortunate scattering. Find the audio to this episode here.

Podcast – Follow Him: Genesis 28-33 part 2 (video link) – Dr. Chadwick returns to discuss Jacob’s wrestle, his children, and the importance of names in the Hebrew Bible, as well as Jacob, covenant-making with the Lord, and Esau’s redemption. Find the audio to this episode here.

Podcast – Audio Roundtable: Genesis 28-33 – from The Interpreter Foundation

Video – Discussions on the Old Testament: Genesis 29-37 – Jacob and His Family – Study the life of Jacob and the growth of his family which would become the beginnings of the house of Israel. BYUtv (27:29 minutes)

Video – Come Follow Up: Genesis 28-33 – Come Follow Up host Ben Lomu meets with Old Testament scholar Melissa Inouye, as well as special guests Alex Boyé and Jennifer Reeder, to discuss how the temple connects us to heaven, as well as how the Savior can help us overcome discord in our families. Also discussed are personal sacred places and the phenomenon of polygamy in the Old Testament. BYUtv (54:58 minutes)

Video – Come, Follow Me Insights: Jacob’s Ladder – Join Taylor Halverson, Tyler Griffin, and their special guest, Gaye Strathearn as they discuss Isaac and Rebekah, as well as Jacob and his transformation to Israel. Be sure to watch the end of the video where you can watch a musical presentation of Nearer My God to Thee, orchestrated by Benjamin Griffin. (1:05:23 minutes)