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Need help teaching the youth Come Follow Me lesson “What Are Our Responsibilities in the Work of Salvation and Exaltation?”? This lesson is typically taught on September 25th in the Young Men's and Young Women's organizations. If you are teaching just a portion of this lesson or the whole thing, let's go over some ideas that can help you get the class discussing.

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Servant Sticky Notes

On the board, write “A servant of the Lord is…” As people come into the classroom hand them a sticky note and invite them to finish that sentence. Sticky notes are wonderful teaching tools because it's not as intimidating as speaking out loud in class or getting up and writing on the board. Plus everybody can do it at about the same time so you can gather a lot of answers really quickly. As they finish that sentence, have them stick their note up on the board. When you're ready to get to that point of the lesson, read those answers out loud then turn to the scriptures that are recommended in the Come Follow Me manual: Isaiah 41:8–10; 42:6–7; 43:9–12; 44:21.

Next, chat about what else you would add to that sentence now. A servant of the Lord is what? Some additional ideas could be: a child of God, loved, supported, etc. There's really a lot in those scriptures that you read and discuss.

Pin the Tag on the Missionary

Start this part of the lesson by talking about baptism. When we are baptized, we made a covenant with God to serve him, to be an instrument in His hands. God's two greatest commandments are to love him and to love others. We do this through the work of salvation and exaltation. What exactly is that?

This is a great opportunity to turn to the General Handbook. The easiest way to access the particular place in Handbook is to go to the link in the online manual. However, it's also a great opportunity to show people where to find the Handbook in the Gospel Library app. Turn to where it talks about the work of salvation and exaltation (section 1.2) and define what it is.

The Handbook basically says the work of salvation and exaltation is coming unto Christ and then helping others do the same. There are hundreds of different ways to go about this. What are some ways that you already are doing it? List these up on the board or talk about them out loud. Some ideas to help you get that list going is start by thinking about what you've already done that day: You're at church. You've probably prayed already. You've read your scriptures. You're trying to keep the commandments. You've repented and taken of the sacrament. You can think about your week, like seminary, asking for forgiveness, et cetera. Take a moment and realize the great work that you're already doing.

Next, talk about how you are helping others. Things such as service, prayer, forgiving others. Maybe you shared a Bible verse on social media. You love and listen to others. Maybe you shared music with somebody, whether that was playing something at church or you shared a YouTube video. There are all kinds of ways that we could help others come onto Christ as well. The Church of Jesus Christ breaks it down into four basic ways, and this is where you're going to use the Handbook again as it lists those four ways:

Living the gospel of Jesus
Caring for those in need
Inviting all to receive the gospel
Uniting families for eternity

Pin the tag on the sister missionary. Hand holding a card that says, "Living the gospel of Jesus Christ"

Print Missionary Tags

Go to Pin the Tag on the Missionary

Let’s bring it all together with a game, Pin the Tag on the Missionary! There is a sister and an elder version available, depending on which one you want to print out. It's four pages that you tape together. Then you print out the little missionary tags for this lesson which are the four things we just listed under the work of salvation and exaltation. Print as many tags as you're gonna need for the number of people that are typically in your class. Put all the missionary tags out on the table, upside down, and shuffle them up. When somebody picks a tag, they read what's on it then give a specific example of how they can go about accomplishing that work.

For example, if they drew “Living the gospel of Jesus Christ” they cannot say, “Read the scriptures.” They need to say something more specific such as how they read their scriptures, what part of the scriptures they're reading, a specific Come Follow Me activity that they do in their family, how reading their scriptures helps them live the gospel of Jesus Christ, etc. It needs to be a specific example, not a general phrase that they really don’t know how to relate to. The goal is to see how we really can fulfill our duties in the work of salvation and exaltation.

If someone gets stuck, offer the option to “phone a friend.” We don’t want anyone to be embarrassed or panic.

Screwdrivers

Grab a tool that has multiple different parts that you can put with it such as a screwdriver where you can switch out different heads. You can use a phillips head, a flat head, different sizes and widths, et cetera. Each one of these is needed for a different project. Each one is helpful. If we use a flat head, when we should use a phillips head, it might be possible, but it's not going to work as well as it could. All of the parts of the screwdriver are wanted and needed. We want the right thing for the right place at the right time just like we all are needed. We each have our own unique talents and the Lord wants to use our own unique ways to fulfill His purposes.

Talents can be somewhat of a tricky topic sometimes because there are always people that don't think they have talents, but every single person has a talent. You might want to read some examples of talents out loud and have your class ponder what ones they might have and write some down or read some scriptures about talents and spiritual gifts.

Then think about ways that you can use your own specific talents to further the work of the Lord. Some talents are really easy to figure out and some are a little bit harder. For instance, at first, I had no idea how to use my talent for making games in order to further the work of the Lord. But guess what? It's totally possible. I do it through my gospel games all the time now. Brainstorm ways that you can use your talents together. If somebody doesn't know how to use their talent of playing soccer to further the work of the Lord, brainstorm together and figure it out.

Patriarchal Blessings

This lesson provides a great opportunity to talk about patriarchal blessings. I recommend doing it as often as you can, because everyone can benefit from having one. If you're looking to better understand your talents or your purpose in life, ask to set up a patriarchal blessing interview. If you already have your patriarchal blessing, study it, look for those talents and gifts that the Lord has pointed out, that you have, look for those responsibilities the Lord has given you and how you can go about doing the work of salvation and exaltation because of the things that you know in your patriarchal blessing. If you don't have one, go get one. I totally recommend it. It's a great guide for your life.

Talents and Apostles

Gather some baby photos. If you don't have time to gather everybody in your class, try using ones from the adult leaders in your class. Put them up on the board and play a quick game of Guess Who it is. Then talk about all the things that those people have learned since they were babies. The obvious things such as eating and walking, et cetera, but also the different paths that they may have taken in life. One person learned how to play basketball, while another learned how to watercolor. This person is a great hiker, et cetera. Talk about those different paths as well as the similar paths that they have taken and the things that they have learned along the way and the different talents and things that they have developed because of their different paths.

Because General Conference is coming up the very next week after this lesson, you can then talk about the prophets and apostles, They have developed different talents and skills as well, but they are all servants of the Lord. Get out my apostle tube dolls as a visual or use my Apostle coloring pages. Each has a little bit about each person. Talk about how all of the apostles have different talents and skills, but they're all apostles. Because they are all different, they are able to relate to different people in different ways. Together, they accomplish more because of their different talents. How can you as a class use your different talents to do the work of salvation and exaltation? This is a great opportunity to turn it over to the class president to lead the discussion for a bit.

General Conference

Lastly, turn to the quote President Russell M. Nelson gave in the last General Conference in the very last talk. He stated, “My prayer is that the spirit has spoken to you directly about the things the Lord would have you do.”

If you still do not know what the Lord would have you do, especially when it comes to your responsibilities in the work of salvation and exaltation, ask! Then listen for the answer and prepare yourself for General Conference weekend. Listen for answers throughout the weekend. Keep praying for answers. Then go back and read General Conference all over again. You will find answers as you continue to open yourself up to the spirit of the Lord and listen. How can you be the Lord's servant today?

Those are just five ways that you can get the discussion going in your class.

Follow Up Youth Activity Night

As you continue to discover how you can use your talents to further the work of salvation, enjoy an Instant Talent Show for one of your youth activities near this lesson. No one needs to come prepared with anything. The talent you perform is drawn from a stack of leaves that night. Who knows what other talents you will discover!?