Genesis 24-33 – Let God Prevail

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 Genesis 24-33. 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

Sing Along – The Family is of God – Gather the family to sing this Primary song together.

Video – Good, Better, Best – Dallin H. Oaks explains ways to maintain a family firm and strong in spirit. (5:18 minutes)

Video – Unexpected Kindness: The Civility Experiment – See how one New York homeless man’s advice will change your view on humanity. (3:54 minutes)

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

Article – Scriptural Giants: Rebekah – Through her obedience to the Lord, Rebekah was a great influence for good in the life of her husband and her family.

Lesson – Isaac and Rebekah – Teach the children that the same eternal blessings promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob can be theirs if they make and honor temple marriage covenants.

Video – Jacob and Esau – Old Testament Stories

Video – Jacob and His Family – Old Testament Stories

I can be kind to others. Genesis 24:10-21

Activity – Rebekah Chose to Be Kind – Some information and a hero card about Rebekah. 

Activity – I can be kind to others – Coloring page

Activity – Being Kind is Doing and Saying Nice Things to Others – Coloring page

Activity – Bean’ Kind – Use dried beans to see how far kindness can reach.

Activity – Kindness Flowers – A kindness game you can play with a friend or family member. It’s like the game hangman but a lot friendlier!

Activity/Article – Doing What Jesus Would Do – Julia A., age 12, made a care package for a friend after the friend’s dog died. Includes some ideas of how you can make a care package for someone.

Activity/Article – A Helper Like You – A story for young children about a girl who watches her brother helping neighbors and then her. Includes an activity to help children recognize how they can help others.

Story – Choosing Kind Words – A rebus story about Selene, who calls her friend Adriana a mean name after she misses catching the ball they are playing with.

Story – Hands, Heart, and a Smile – Lydia learns that what makes someone beautiful is choosing the right and being kind.

Eternal things are more important than worldly things. Genesis 25:21-34

Activity – Esau and Jacob – Maze

Story – Isabelle’s Journey – Isabelle and her family travel thousands of miles to be sealed in the temple.

Story – Garage-Sale Annie – Annie learns about choosing what is most important.

Story – The Tortilla Miracle – Raoul’s family sacrifices to earn money so they can travel from Honduras to Guatemala to be sealed in the temple.

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)

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.

Youth and Adults

Article – Blessing All the Families of the Earth – If we follow and share our Heavenly Father’s plan for families, He will be with us, sustain us, and join us in our journey back to Him.

Article – Thoughts to Keep in Mind: The Covenant – It’s important to know about the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant.

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

Video – Abraham’s Faithful Servant – Scripture Central (7:34 minutes)

Article – Why Did God Change Jacob’s Name to Israel? – Gospel Insights from the Ensign

Video – My Rest a Stone – Scripture Central (3:07 minutes)

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

Covenant marriage is essential to God’s eternal plan. Genesis 24

Article – Rebekah – The story of Rebekah’s betrothal to Isaac can teach us principles for establishing eternal covenant relationships.

Article – What do we know about Rebekah, the wife of Isaac? – from For the Strength of Youth

Article – Teaching the Doctrine of the Family – From a broadcast address given to seminary and institute of religion teachers on August 4, 2009 by Julie B. Beck.

Article – Why Marriage? Why Family? – A family built on the marriage of a man and woman supplies the best setting for God’s plan to thrive.

Video – Rebekah’s Example of Service – Scripture Central (3:51 minutes)

Video – Rebekah’s Marriage – Scripture Central (10:30 minutes)

Video – Inspiring Short: Finding Greater Love | Gordon B. Hinckley – BYU Speeches (3 minutes)

I can value eternal things over temporal things. Genesis 25:29-34

Article – Jacob and Esau – The story of these rival twins reminds us of the importance of resolving conflicts in family relationships.

Article – Spirituality – To be spiritually minded is to view and evaluate our experiences in terms of the enlarged perspective of eternity.

Article – Remember What Matters Most – What matters most is our relationships with Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, our families, and our neighbors, and allowing the Spirit to guide us.

Video – A Mess of Pottage – Scripture Central (5:25 minutes)

Video – Sacrifice for Temple Blessings – Thomas S. Monson relates the sacrifices made by the Mou Tham family to receive the blessings of the temple. (3:39 minutes)

Video – Continue in Patience – Patience requires that we obey God’s commandments and faithfully wait for His will to be fulfilled. (2:41 minutes)

 The covenants of the Lord’s house bring God’s power into my life. Genesis 28

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 – Scripture 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. Scripture Central (4:44 minutes)

The Savior can heal my family. 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 – Scripture Central (10:37 minutes)

Video – Jacob Confronts Esau – Scripture Central (5:57 minutes)

Adults

Article – Faith and Fortitude: Women of the Old Testament – Scroll down in the article to read about Rebekah.

Article – Be Not Moved! – Rebekah was prepared and worthy to make and keep sacred covenants and to become a covenant wife of Isaac. She did not have to wait and prepare herself.

Article – Eternal Marriage and Family in the Old Testament – BYU Religious Studies Center

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

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

Video – Discussions on the Old Testament: The Birthright – Study the story of rival brothers Jacob and Esau and learn the contemporary relevance of the birthright. BYUtv (27:29 minutes)

Video – Come Follow Up: Genesis 24-27 – Host Ben Lomu and special guests take a deeper dive into concepts and doctrines from the Old Testament that correlate with the weekly Come, Follow Me resource. BYUtv. (55:16 minutes)

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)