Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Come Follow Me 2021 Resources

I volunteer as Executive Director of Book of Mormon Central (BMC). As 2020 progressed, we became the most important source of Come Follow Me enrichment material outside the institutional Church. My blog article entitled "Outstanding Come Follow Me Resources" describes what we did last year.

Our offerings for 2021 are even more robust. Content that follows the Come Follow Me 52-week schedule is posted on Book of Mormon Central. Content about the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History is posted on our exciting new Doctrine and Covenants Central. Content from both centrals makes it into ScripturePlus and the BMC Archive. These four, each a major entity in the expanding BMC ecosystem, offer a rich array of material to help people maximize their scripture study experience in the 2021 Doctrine and Covenants year.

  • BMC co-founder, Lynne Hilton Wilson, has a thoughtful series of YouTube videos called "Hard Questions in Church History" that draw on her experience directing the Stanford Institute of Religion.
  • Outstanding BYU Religious Ed professor, Anthony Sweat, has an engaging series of YouTube videos entitled "The Unfolding Restoration" that draw on his experience teaching the popular BYU course, "Foundations of the Restoration."
  • Talented BYU Idaho Religious Ed professor, Scott Woodward, produces an animated short YouTube video explaining each section in the Doctrine and Covenants that many families are finding helpful since Scott's approach appeals to students of all ages.
  • Former BMC staff member, Stephen Smoot, did a series of 7 YouTube videos explaining aspects of Joseph Smith's First Vision that draw on the articles he published in the Joseph Smith History section of Pearl of Great Price Central.
  • The Doctrine and Covenants Central website, curated by Scott Woodward (BYUI) and Casey Griffiths (BYU) launched on January 1, 2021. It includes:
  • Our weekly Come Follow Me Resource Guide is a visual index with links to content from BMC and others organized by the sections specified for each week in the Come Follow Me curriculum.
  • The BMC Archive Doctrine and Covenants section houses a growing collection of books, book chapters, articles, insights, media, and other content relevant to the Doctrine and Covenants.
  • BMC's signature KnoWhys in 2021 generally treat Doctrine and Covenants or Church History themes.
  • The most-watched Come Follow Me weekly YouTube video presentation in the Church in 2021 is the long-form "Come Follow Me Insights" with Taylor Halverson and Tyler Griffin.
  • Marianna Richardson and Stephanie Sorensen, both on the BYU faculty, bring unique insights to their weekly YouTube video series entitled "Come Follow Me: Act in Doctrine."
  • A loyal following is developing behind "Come Follow Me with John Hilton III" who shares wit and wisdom each week in his YouTube video series.
  • "Come Follow Me with Taylor Halverson" takes one point from each week's reading and elaborates on it in a characteristically erudite YouTube video series.
  • "Come Follow Me with Casey Paul Griffiths" is a delightful weekly YouTube video series from one of the best Doctrine and Covenants teachers in the Church.
  • ScripturePlus has transformed the way tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints read their scriptures. The pattern of verse/enrichment material/next verse/enrichment material is so engaging and thought-provoking it transforms one's daily devotions. ScripturePlus brings commentary from Steve Harper, Casey Griffiths, and Susan Easton Black together, linked to a section or a verse in the text. It has images from Ken Mays, Jack Welch, and others. It has 360 degree tours of key Church History sites, as well as BMC KnoWhys with their videos. The most used feature in ScripturePlus are the reading plans. We currently have 13 reading plans available with more coming online regularly. The 2021 Doctrine and Covenants reading plan averages 14 verses per day and is a superb way to do Come Follow Me. ScripturePlus is currently available in both English and Spanish.
  • The most-watched Come Follow Me weekly YouTube video presentation in the Church in 2021 in Spanish is the long-form "Ven, Sígueme con Pepe Valle."
  • For a woman's perspective, Spanish-speaking members watch Cecy Gastelum's weekly YouTube video series "Ven Sígueme: Te lo Cuento en Diez."
  • Youth are attracted to "Melody Dice," a weekly YouTube video series where Melody Monroy treats Church History topics in the context of contemporary, faithful, fun-loving Hispanic Latter-day Saint life.
  • Spanish-speaking children of all ages increasingly like the clever, animated weekly YouTube series "Ven Sígueme Kids" produced by Daniel Acosta. 
  • Diligent students of the Restoration are attracted to the more erudite occasional YouTube video series "Historia de la Iglesia" by Hispanic gospel scholar, Noé Correa as part of his long-running "Por Fe y Estudio" programs.
  • Hispanic families around the Church increasingly gather on Monday evenings to participate in "La Noche de Hogar con Benji Monroy," a weekly YouTube video series designed for families to interact with each other and the Come Follow Me curriculum.
  • "Come Follow Me Insights" with Taylor Halverson and Tyler Griffin are subtitled in Portuguese and posted as a weekly YouTube video series entitled "Estudo do Vem, e Segue-Me." 
  • "Come Follow Me with John Hilton III" episodes are subtitled in Portuguese and posted as a weekly YouTube video series entitled "Vem, e Segue-Me com John Hilton III."
  • Former Brazilian Mission President & former Director of the Sacred Grove Historic Site, Dale Bradford, narrates a weekly YouTube video series in Portuguese entitled "Histórias de Joseph Smith" that provides background details illuminating the Doctrine and Covenants.
  • All of this BMC content is supplemented by user generated content shared by members of the Church among themselves in our three Come Follow Me Facebook groups:
--
All of this content is packaged alongside Book of Mormon material which appears on BMC websites, Facebook pages, Instagram channels, etc. A few key metrics across our 3 publication languages @ February 2, 2021:
  • BMC Facebook followers: 201K
  • Members of BMC Facebook Groups: 203K
  • BMC YouTube subscribers: 403K
  • BMC unique website visitors: 3.5 Million
  • ScripturePlus mobile app launches: 3.7 Million
  • BMC website pageviews: 16.7 Million
  • BMC YouTube video views: 46.5 Million
  • BMC user engagements across all channels: 200 Million
Kirk Magleby, volunteer Executive Director, Book of Mormon Central. We build enduring faith in Jesus Christ by making the Book of Mormon and other Restoration Scripture accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to people everywhere. We educate the curious, support the struggling, and reinforce the strong.