Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026

The Lord sends Jacob and his family of seventy souls to Egypt—The descendants of Jacob are named—Joseph meets Jacob.

Joseph makes himself known to his brothers—They rejoice together—Pharaoh invites Jacob and his family to dwell in Egypt and eat the fat of the land.

Joseph arranges to stop the return of his brothers to Canaan—Judah offers himself in place of Benjamin for their father’s sake.

Jacob is persuaded to send Benjamin to Egypt—Joseph’s brothers show respect to him—They all eat and drink together.

Jacob sends his sons to buy grain in Egypt—They bow before Joseph—He makes harsh accusations against them, imprisons Simeon, and sends them back for Benjamin.

It had been about 22 years since Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. Joseph had suffered many trials, including false accusations and imprisonment. When he finally saw his brothers again, Joseph was the governor of all Egypt, second only to the pharaoh. He could easily have taken revenge on his brothers, and considering what they had done to Joseph, that might seem understandable. And yet Jos...

By Elder David A. Bednar Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Now is the time to prepare and prove ourselves willing and able to do all things whatsoever the Lord our God shall command us.

Time and again, good fortune seemed to abandon Joseph, but the Lord never did. As you read Joseph’s story, ponder questions like these: What did Joseph do to stay close to the Lord during his times of trial? How was the Lord “with him”? (Genesis 39:2–3, 21, 23).

By Elder D. Todd Christofferson Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles No matter what our mortal experience may entail, we can trust God and find joy in Him.

Pharaoh dreams of the cattle and the ears of grain—Joseph interprets the dreams as seven years of plenty and seven of famine—He proposes a grain storage program—Pharaoh makes him ruler of all Egypt—Joseph marries Asenath—He gathers grain as the sand upon the seashore—Asenath bears Manasseh and Ephraim—Joseph sells grain to Egyptians and others during the famine.

Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief butler and chief baker—The butler fails to tell Pharaoh about Joseph.

Joseph, prospered by the Lord, becomes ruler of Potiphar’s house—He resists the advances of Potiphar’s wife, is falsely accused, and is cast into prison—The keeper of the prison commits the prison’s affairs into Joseph’s hands.

Judah has three sons by a Canaanite woman—Er and Onan are slain by the Lord—Tamar, disguised as a harlot, bears twins by Judah.

Jacob loves and favors Joseph, who is hated by his brothers—Joseph dreams that his parents and brothers make obeisance to him—His brothers sell him into Egypt.

We know that God blesses people who trust Him and keep His commandments. But sometimes it doesn’t seem that way. Sometimes the person who trusts God is abused and abandoned by family members. Sometimes the person who bravely refuses to violate the law of chastity gets falsely accused anyway. When things like that happen to us, we might be tempted to become angry with God. We might wonder, “What’s...

By President Russell M. Nelson President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Whenever any kind of upheaval occurs in your life, the safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants!

Jacob and Esau meet and are reconciled—Esau receives Jacob’s presents—Jacob settles in Canaan, where he builds an altar.

By President M. Russell Ballard Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles What matters most is our relationships with Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, our families, and our neighbors, and allowing the Spirit to guide us.

Jacob sees angels—He asks God to preserve him from Esau, for whom he prepares presents—He wrestles all night with a messenger of God—Jacob’s name is changed to Israel—He sees God face to face.

The Lord commands Jacob to return to Canaan, and Jacob departs secretly—Laban pursues him; they resolve their differences and make a covenant of peace—Laban blesses his descendants, and he and Jacob part company.

Jacob marries Bilhah, and she bears Dan and Naphtali—He marries Zilpah, and she bears Gad and Asher—Leah bears Issachar and Zebulun and a daughter, Dinah—Then Rachel conceives and bears Joseph—Jacob works for Laban for wages of cattle and sheep.

Jacob meets Rachel at the well—He serves Laban seven years for her—Laban gives to Jacob first Leah then Rachel in marriage—Jacob serves another seven years—Leah bears Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.

Isaac forbids Jacob to marry a Canaanite—He blesses Jacob and his seed with the blessings of Abraham—Esau marries a daughter of Ishmael—Jacob sees in vision a ladder reaching up into heaven—The Lord promises him seed as the dust of the earth in number—The Lord also promises Jacob that in him and in his seed all the families of the earth will be blessed—Jacob covenants to pay tithes.

Rebekah guides Jacob in seeking blessings—Jacob is blessed to have dominion and rule over peoples and nations—Esau hates Jacob and plans to slay him—Rebekah fears that Jacob may marry one of the daughters of Heth.

The Lord promises Isaac posterity as the stars of heaven in number—In his seed, all nations will be blessed—The Lord prospers Isaac, temporally and spiritually, for Abraham’s sake—Isaac offers sacrifices—Esau marries Hittite wives to the sorrow of his parents.