A Latter-day Saint family from Manila took their Come, Follow Me experience to the next level by dressing up as Book of Mormon people living in Zarahemla during the time of King Benjamin.
Right after our home sacrament meeting last Sunday, April 19, my sister Fe Mae announced that our Come, Follow Me lesson later that day will have a special twist: every member of the family will wear Book of Mormon-inspired costumes as we roleplay King Benjamin’s sermon on the tower!
She challenged us to be as creative as possible since the winner of the best costume will receive a special prize. All 10 members of our family participated, from the youngest member of the family (my three-year old niece Adelaide) to the oldest (my 63-year-old mother Fely). The “competition” was healthy: everybody was helping each other find blankets, curtains, and clothes with colorful prints they could use as costumes. The preparation itself served as a family activity that allowed us to work as one.
During the lesson, it was really hot wearing thick clothing and being wrapped blankets, but it allowed everyone to imagine what it felt like to live during the time of King Benjamin. We experienced how it was to truly “liken [the] scriptures unto us… for our profit and learning.” (1 Nephi 19:23)
We created makeshift tents by draping blankets over some chairs. The tents were facing the tower where our father who played King Benjamin delivered his sermon by reading Mosiah 2-3 passages from the Tagalog Book of Mormon. The children excitedly sat inside the tents and were very attentive during the lesson. When asked later about the lesson, everyone had a deeper appreciation and understanding of the lesson, including the children.
Exerting the extra effort made our Come, Follow Me lesson more meaningful and truly memorable. Holding a seemingly ordinary activity in an extraordinary way resulted in an extraordinary experience that brought our family much joy. Next time perhaps we can plan in earlier so we can have more preparation for our costumes, hopefully with makeup and accessories included! We also talked about doing it on a Monday for Family Home Evening so we can incorporate fun games.
We all agreed to share the experience on social media with explanatory captions so our friends who are not of our faith will understand what we did. This was a good way to follow the prophet’s counsel to share goodness on social media and tell our friends about the gospel, particularly about The Book of Mormon. ◼︎