Christ walking on seashore beckoning to Peter and Andrew to become his apostles
Jesus invited His early disciples to see for themselves who He is and to follow Him. Studying these accounts in John will help you understand how you can respond to the Savior’s invitation to “come and see” for yourself.
Student preparation: Invite students to reflect on an experience that helped them to more clearly understand who Jesus Christ is. How did it happen?
Possible Learning Activities
“Come and see”
If possible, display an image of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Imagine that you and a friend are walking home from school and you mention that you have learned that an Apostle is coming soon to speak at a meeting in your area.
Why might you tell your friend to come with you and your family to see and hear this Apostle, rather than just describing the meeting after it’s over?
The Apostle John wrote about how John the Baptist introduced some of his followers to Jesus Christ. Study John 1:35–51, looking for what can happen as we seek to learn of and follow Jesus Christ (see also Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:42 [in John 1:42, footnote a).
What invitations in these verses did the Savior’s disciples accept to help them follow Him?
What did you learn from the experiences and actions of Andrew and Philip in these verses?
Help students share principles they learned from this account. It may be beneficial to have students share what they found with a classmate, or a few students could be invited to share with the class. Some examples of principles they identify could include:
As we accept the invitation to learn of and follow Jesus Christ, we will receive our own witness of Him.
When we receive a witness of Jesus Christ, we want to help others receive their own witness.
Ask follow-up questions to help deepen students’ understanding of what they find. The remainder of the suggestions in this lesson are intended to help students liken the Lord’s invitation to ‘come and see’ to themselves, accept it, and think of ways they can apply it to strengthen their testimonies of Jesus Christ.
What does this account teach you about the Savior?
What can you do to respond to the Savior’s invitation to “come and see”?
Take 30 seconds to record the first thoughts that come to mind about how a person today can respond to Jesus Christ’s invitation to “come and see.”
Consider having students do an activity to explore different ways they can accept the Savior’s invitation to “come and see.” For example, distribute dry-erase markers or a few pieces of chalk to a few students, and invite them to write one way we can respond to the Savior’s invitation to “come and see” on the board. Then ask those students to give their chalk or marker to another student who hasn’t written on the board so they can write a response. You could repeat this as desired.
Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave the following ideas of how we can respond to the Savior’s invitation to “come and see.” Watch the video “How Can I Understand?” from time code 6:24 to 7:04, or read the statement below. The video can be found on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
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Elder Ulisses Soares
When we accept the Savior’s invitation to “come and see,” we need to abide in Him, immersing ourselves in the scriptures, rejoicing in them, learning His doctrine, and striving to live the way He lived. Only then will we come to know Him, Jesus Christ, and recognize His voice, knowing that as we come unto Him and believe in Him, we shall never hunger nor thirst. We will be able to discern the truth at all times, as occurred to those two disciples who abode with Jesus that day.
What did you learn from this statement about how we can accept the Savior’s invitation to “come and see”?
Consider inviting a few volunteers to share what has helped them to better know who the Savior is and what He is like.
Give students time to choose one of the following activities and begin working on their plan. Display the options for students to see, and provide any materials students might need to take home so they can work on their plan.
Select one of the following suggestions from Elder Soares’s statement that will help you follow the Savior’s invitation to “come and see.” If you have already recently done one of these activities, choose one that is new to you.
Immerse yourself in the scriptures. Make a new or improved scripture study plan. Your plan could include such things as determining a time of day and amount of time to study, beginning your study with a prayer, making time for pondering and cross-referencing, and so on. What do you learn about Jesus Christ from your regular study?
Rejoice in the scriptures. Rejoice in the scriptures by sharing what you are learning with others. Determine how you might share, how often, and with whom. As you share, pay close attention to how you feel. What do you notice?
Learn His doctrine. Deepen your understanding of the Lord’s doctrine by selecting a doctrinal topic you would like to learn more about. Write the doctrinal topic at the top of a clean sheet of paper, or start a new “Notebooks” section in Gospel Library. Then start studying, using resources such as Gospel Topics, Guide to the Scriptures, or the Topical Guide. Pay attention to how this study affects your testimony of Jesus Christ.
Strive to live the way Jesus lived. Track your progress by using the Personal Development: Youth Guidebook. Focusing on the four areas (spiritual, social, physical, and intellectual) will help you balance your life and draw closer to Christ. If you have not yet set these goals, consider doing so now.
Create your own. Is there another way you feel impressed to respond to the Savior’s invitation to “come and see”? You might offer a silent prayer to ask for Heavenly Father’s direction. Then record your thoughts on how you might follow those impressions.
How will you accept the Savior’s invitation to “come and see”?
What is your plan for how to implement this in your life?
Consider testifying that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will help students know and trust the Savior as they respond to His invitation to “come and see.”
Commentary and Background Information
John 1:38. How does the Savior’s question “What seek ye?” apply to you?
Before Jesus invited the two disciples to “come and see,” He asked them the question, “What seek ye?” (John 1:38).Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught about the value of contemplating what we truly desire in life as we consider the invitation of the Savior to follow Him.
He Hath Filled the Hungry with Good Things
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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
You will recall that when Andrew and another disciple, probably John, first heard Christ speak, they were so moved and attracted to Jesus that they followed Him as He left the crowd. Sensing that He was being pursued, Christ turned and asked the two men, “What seek ye?” [John 1:38]. Other translations render that simply “What do you want?” They answered, “Where dwellest thou?” or “Where do you live?” Christ said simply, “Come and see” [John 1:39]. Just a short time later He formally called Peter and other new Apostles with the same spirit of invitation. To them He said, Come, “follow me” [Matthew 4:19].
It seems that the essence of our mortal journey and the answers to the most significant questions in life are distilled down to these two very brief elements in the opening scenes of the Savior’s earthly ministry. One element is the question put to every one of us on this earth: “What seek ye? What do you want?” The second is His response to our answer, whatever that answer is. Whoever we are and whatever we reply, His response is always the same: “Come,” He says lovingly. “Come, follow me.”
John 1:43–46. How can I invite others to “come and see” in a natural way?
Inviting others to participate in gospel activities can be difficult and uncomfortable. The video “Inviting Others to ‘Come and See’” (1:17), which can be found at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, shows examples of ways you might warmly and naturally extend such invitations.
What if those I invite to “come and see” reject my invitation?
Sometimes we worry that someone might not accept our invitation to learn more about the gospel or the Church. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared the following insights:
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Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Some who come and see will, perhaps, never join the Church; some will at a later time. That is their choice. But that doesn’t change our love for them. And it doesn’t change our enthusiastic efforts to continue inviting individuals and families to come and see, come and help, and come and stay.
… Understand that it’s not your job to convert people. That is the role of the Holy Ghost. Your role is to share what is in your heart and live consistent with your beliefs.
So, don’t be discouraged if someone does not accept the gospel message immediately. It is not a personal failure.
That is between the individual and Heavenly Father.
Yours is to love God and love your neighbors, His children.
Our testimony of Jesus Christ can motivate us to help others follow the Savior’s invitation to “come and see.”Consider inviting students to reflect on the examples of Andrew and Philip found in John 1:41, 43–46 for evidence of this truth. It may be helpful to show the following video of Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, where he shares a story about how his older son helped his younger son when he was injured. How can we liken this example to sharing the gospel with others?