"Be it unto Me according to Thy Word"
January 2-8
FAIR Faithful Resources for Come, Follow Me 2023 January 2-8. Matthew 1; Luke 1: “Be it unto Me according to Thy Word.” Find answers to difficult questions to help you in your learning and teaching. Here is a collection of reliable resources to supplement your study of Matthew 1 and Luke 1. FAIR Resources link to relevant questions which have been answered on the FAIR website. Under Church Resources you’ll find links to the different Come, Follow Me manuals, as well as other helpful links as applicable. Other Resources link to resources outside of FAIR that are trustworthy and helpful.
Main points to ponder
Matthew’s identity: Matthew was a Jewish publican (tax collector) Matthew 10:3; Bible Dictionary, Publicans. Matthew wrote his Gospel mainly to fellow Jews; he emphasized Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah that were fulfilled through Jesus’s life and ministry. Bible Dictionary, Gospels, Matthew
Luke’s identity: Luke was a Gentile (non-Jewish) physician who traveled with the Apostle Paul. He wrote after the Savior’s death to a non-Jewish audience, testifying of Jesus Christ as the Savior of both the Gentiles and the Jews. His eyewitness accounts of events included more stories involving women compared to the other Gospels. Bible Dictionary, Gospels, Luke.
Jesus Christ was born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father. Matthew 1:18–25 and Luke 1:26–35; Constancy amid Change, Russell M. Nelson.
God’s blessings come in His own time. Luke 1:5–25, 57–80, Waiting on the Lord, Jeffrey R. Holland.
Faithful Resources on the FAIR website:
- Question: Do Latter-day Saints believe that Mary was still a virgin when Jesus was born?
- Question: How did Christ achieve deification before mortality?
- The relationship of Jesus Christ to His Father and to humanity
- Question: Do Latter-day Saints worship a “different Jesus”?
- Evangelical Questions: Is Jesus God?
- Question: Do historical challenges to The Doctrine of Virgin Birth towards the Bible present challenges for the Book of Mormon as well?
- Peter and Paul’s Paradoxical Passages on Women
- Do we believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Ghost
Faithful Resources on the Church website:
Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families
Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School
An Angel Foretells Christ’s Birth to Mary (Luke 1:26-38)
The Nativity (Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-19; Matthew 1:20-21)
Mary and Elisabeth Rejoice Together (Luke 1:39-55)
The Naming of John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-80)
Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-35)
Faithful Resources from other reliable websites:
The Interpreter Foundation
- Come, Follow Me Study and Teaching Helps — Lesson 2: January 2–8, Jonn Claybaugh
The New Testament in Context: Come, Follow Me Lesson 2- Audio Roundtable: Come, Follow Me New Testament Lesson 2, “Be It unto Me according to Thy Word”
- Scripture Roundtable: New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 2, “My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord”
- Matthew 1 and Luke 1. Testimonies of Jesus, Taylor Halverson
- The Psalm of Mary, or Mary’s Magnificat, Taylor Halverson
BYU Studies/RSC
- Sorting Out the Seven Marys in the New Testament, Blair G. Van Dyke
- The Four Gospels as Testimonies, Frank F. Judd Jr.
- Why was Jesus swaddled and laid in a manger?, Messages of Christ
- Our Savior in the Gospels: Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2: The Birth of Jesus
- Matthew 1; Luke 1, BYU Studies
Other Helpful Sources
- Come Follow Me Podcast 2 January 7 – 13 “Be It unto Me according to Thy Word” — Matthew 1; Luke 1, Meridian Magazine
- Come Follow Me 2019: Matthew 1; Luke 1, Book of Mormon Central
- “Come, Follow Me” January 7–13: “Be It unto Me According to Thy Word”, LDS Living
- “Lori Denning on Luke and Matthew 1 and real families,” The Scriptures are Real
- Dr. Gaye Strathearn “Be it unto me according to thy word,” FollowHim Part 1, Part 2, Show Notes, Youth
- Overview: Matthew 1-13, BibleProject
- Luke 1-9, BibleProject
- Luke: The Gospel of the Savior for Lost People Everywhere, BibleProject
- Matthew: Jesus Is the Promised Messiah – The Jewish Gospel, BibleProject
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A related thought
Some years ago, I was challenged by a work assignment that felt bigger than me. Feelings of inadequacy and fear wrestled inside my soul. Having offered a sincere prayer not to pass up the opportunity before me, I knew the assignment was heaven-directed, even though it felt impossible.
In likeness, when facing a trial or situation that feels impossible, we can draw spiritual strength for our own life missions as we study the miraculous missions of the angel Gabriel, Zacharias
and Elisabeth, Mary and Joseph, and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Luke 1 recounts the precious history.
The angel said . . . Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. . . . And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 1
With God, Nothing is Impossible
Instructive in pattern, when Gabriel appeared to Mary, he said: “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.” 2 Mary replied, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” 3 Gabriel then related to Mary that which is significant: “For with God nothing shall be
impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” 4
I find it fitting what Wilford Woodruff said to the Saints, with a message similar to Gabriel’s.
Do Not Be Discouraged
“Do not be discouraged . . . We have got to be humble. We have got to be prayerful. We have got to have faith in God, and to be united, and carry out those principles which the Lord requires at our hands.” 5
Through the Lord, we can overcome our weakness and fears. Regardless of our low estate, God desires to exalt us. Might we serve the Lord without fear, receive His mercy, and accept His glad tidings. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
— Rachel K. Huntsman Baldwin, Content Team, Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation
