Many have questioned how the “Come, Follow Me” Unique Testament study in 2023 will be new or different as Latter-day Saints get ready to study the New Testament once more.
According to Sunday School General President Mark L. Pace, “The study of the New Testament in 2019 was the finest New Testament study of my life—until 2023, which I believe will be even better.”
With his 2019 “Come, Follow Me” manual on one side and a new 2023 manual on the other, he continued: “I look forward to gaining additional insights and additional whisperings of the Spirit as the Lord unfolds to me and to the Saints exactly what we need to understand at this time, as we draw nearer to the Savior.”
January 2023 kicks off year five of the “Come, Follow Me” integrated curriculum, which began in 2019 with a study of the New Testament. Following the Book of Mormon in 2020, the Doctrine and Covenants in 2021 and the Old Testament in 2022, the rotation begins again with the New Testament.
President Pace, joined by his counselors, Brother Milton Camargo and Brother Jan E. Newman, recently spoke to the Church News about studying the New Testament in 2023 and how it can be an opportunity to come closer to Jesus Christ than ever before.
In the four years since Latter-day Saints first studied the New Testament with “Come, Follow Me,” the world has faced many challenges — a pandemic, wars, natural disasters, political and racial strife, and relentless economic and social pressures.
“We live in a complex world,” Brother Camargo acknowledged. “We live in complex families and situations. And coming to the Lord is the best way to have solutions for those complexities.”
Within the pages of the New Testament, members will find the Savior’s timeless teachings that can help them navigate these complexities. “As we read the scriptures, we will be able to hear from Him priorities in our lives,” Brother Camargo said.
“He has the truth, He is the truth, and as we learn from Him and try to follow His teachings, we will find peace in this complex situation [that] we live … and we can find solutions that will bless us individually and our families.”
What’s different about 2023’s New Testament study?
The Sunday School general presidency highlighted a few things that are new or different in the 2023 “Come, Follow Me” New Testament manuals compared to 2019:
- New appendices. To support parents as they help prepare their children to make and keep covenants, the digital 2023 “Come, Follow Me” manual for individuals and families has a new appendix titled “Preparing Your Children for a Lifetime on God’s Covenant Path.” It includes simple, home-centered ideas for teaching children about covenants, such as the covenant of baptism and the covenants made in the temple. The Primary manual includes an appendix of learning activities about the covenant path that can be used on fifth Sundays starting in 2023.
- Minor schedule adjustments. There is now a scheduled scripture block for the weekends of general conference in April and October. The weekly readings from the New Testament have been adjusted slightly to align better with what youth will be learning in seminary.
- Some updated content. In some places, links to more recent general conference messages have been added. Some of the learning activities have been strengthened.
- Print copies no longer sent to units free of charge. Members can use the digital versions or print versions or both. Print copies can be ordered at store.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
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