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FAIR Resources for Come, Follow Me – Restoration Scripture
Week 45: November 2 - 8: "A New Spirit Will I Put within You"

Ezekiel 1-3; 33-34; 36-37; 47

Doctrinal Focus
Historical & Contextual
Apologetic Application
Practical Applications
Ideas for Teaching
Quick Reference

Doctrinal Focus

  • Key doctrines addressed in this week’s reading

The Lord promised Israel, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). This transformation is more than changing outward behavior; it involves allowing God to remove spiritual hardness and replace it with a heart that is willing to hear, follow, and love Him. Ezekiel 36:27 adds that the Lord will put His Spirit within His people and help them walk in His ways.

Ezekiel taught that the Lord does not desire people to remain trapped by their past sins; rather, He invites them to turn from wickedness and live (Ezekiel 33:10–19). The principle is consistent with Ezekiel 36:26–27: genuine repentance involves more than regret—it allows the Lord to change us from within and give us the spiritual strength to live differently.

  • Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones portrays scattered and seemingly lifeless Israel being restored through the word and power of God (Ezekiel 37:1–14). The Lord asks, “Can these bones live?” and then demonstrates that what appears spiritually dead can be brought back to life through His power. The image teaches that the gathering is ultimately about bringing God’s covenant children back to Him.

Ezekiel’s vision of the two sticks—one representing Judah and the other Joseph—points to the joining of scripture and covenant peoples (Ezekiel 37:15–23). In the restored gospel, the Bible and Book of Mormon work together as witnesses of Jesus Christ and instruments in gathering Israel. The Come, Follow Me material specifically connects the stick of Judah with the Bible and the stick of Joseph with the Book of Mormon, inviting us to consider how both have helped us come unto Christ.

Ezekiel 47 describes water flowing from the temple and bringing life wherever it goes, even healing the waters of the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:1–12). The image provides a powerful symbol of the Savior’s ability to bring life to spiritually barren places. Elder Dale G. Renlund taught that temple blessings have a similar capacity to heal hearts, lives, and families, comparing the expanding river in Ezekiel’s vision to blessings that flow across generations through temple work.

  • Elder Renlund taught that family history and temple work is “not only for the dead but blesses the living as well,” including increased faith, personal revelation, joy, love for ancestors and relatives, and help in mending troubled or wounded hearts. Ezekiel 47:9 similarly describes everything touched by the river as receiving life, providing a meaningful image of how the blessings associated with the temple can extend through families and generations.

Historical & Contextual Insights

  • Insights in this week’s study
  • Ezekiel ministered to Israelites who had been taken captive and carried into Babylon. He himself had been a priest in Jerusalem and would have expected to serve in the temple, but instead found himself among “them of the captivity” (Ezekiel 3:15). The opening vision of Ezekiel is therefore especially significant because he saw the glory of the Lord while physically far from Jerusalem and its temple.

Judah had experienced serious spiritual decline, and Jerusalem eventually faced destruction because of the wickedness of its people. Ezekiel’s message therefore combined warnings with remarkably hopeful promises: God would give His people a new heart, gather scattered Israel, restore what appeared dead, and ultimately establish a temple from which healing waters would flow (Ezekiel 36–37; 47). The Come, Follow Me material emphasizes this contrast between Israel’s spiritual death and God’s promise of restoration.

  •  Ezekiel’s circumstances make his message of restoration especially powerful. He was preaching hope to people who had every reason to feel displaced, spiritually broken, and separated from the house of God. His visions taught that physical exile and spiritual devastation would not prevent the Lord from fulfilling His covenant purposes.
  • We may sometimes feel spiritually distant, broken, or beyond repair, but Ezekiel’s message teaches that God specializes in bringing life to things that appear dead. Through Jesus Christ, repentance, covenant living, gathering Israel, scripture, and temple worship, the Lord can restore individuals and families.
  • Ezekiel was shown a valley filled with dry bones and was asked whether the bones could live (Ezekiel 37:1–3). The Lord then commanded Ezekiel to prophesy, and the bones came together, received flesh, and ultimately received breath. The Come, Follow Me material connects this image with the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil and asks what the Lord is accomplishing through the gathering and how He accomplishes it.
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  • The imagery emphasizes that God’s power can restore people and communities that appear spiritually lifeless. The gathering of Israel is therefore not simply about geography or ancestry; it is about bringing God’s children into covenant relationship with Him.
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  • Ezekiel’s vision also connects restoration with hearing God’s word: “Hear the word of the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:4). This reinforces the importance of scripture and prophetic teaching in helping scattered individuals recognize the Savior and return to Him.
  • Ezekiel saw a small stream flowing from the temple that became progressively deeper and wider until it formed a river capable of bringing life to the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:1–12). Elder Dale G. Renlund connects this imagery directly with family history and temple work, explaining that temple blessings can heal individuals, families, and hearts and can extend backward and forward through generations.
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  • The river begins as something small but becomes increasingly powerful as it flows. This can remind disciples that even a small beginning in family history or temple service can lead to significant spiritual blessings over time.
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  • Elder Renlund emphasizes that these blessings are not limited to deceased ancestors; they also bless those participating in the work. He describes increased faith, personal revelation, joy, love for family members, protection from temptation, and assistance in healing wounded hearts as among the promised blessings.

If you have questions on this week’s reading, please email your questions to us here.

Apologetic Application

  1. Claim: Latter-day Saints impose a modern interpretation on Ezekiel 37:15–20 rather than finding an actual biblical basis for the Book of Mormon.
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  3. Response:
  4. Historical Evidence: Ezekiel explicitly describes two sticks being joined together, with one associated with Judah and the other with Joseph (Ezekiel 37:16–20). Latter-day Saint teaching identifies these with the Bible and Book of Mormon as scriptural witnesses associated with Judah and Joseph. President Russell M. Nelson likewise teaches that the Book of Mormon is central to the latter-day gathering of Israel.
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  6. Eyewitness Support: The Book of Mormon’s coming forth was accompanied by the testimonies of individuals who stated that they saw or handled the plates. While Ezekiel obviously cannot serve as an eyewitness to the modern Restoration, the existence of multiple witnesses to the Book of Mormon provides historical evidence independent of the interpretation of Ezekiel 37.
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  8. Spiritual Confirmation: President Nelson invites people to read the Book of Mormon and pray for personal revelation concerning its message. He specifically teaches that through the Book of Mormon we can learn about Jesus Christ, His Atonement, and the gathering of Israel.
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  10. Logical Analysis: Ezekiel 37 does not explicitly use the words “Bible” and “Book of Mormon,” so the Latter-day Saint interpretation should be presented as a prophetic application rather than pretending the verse contains those exact terms. However, the symbolism of two records becoming one unified testimony is consistent with the Book of Mormon’s stated purpose of serving as another witness of Jesus Christ.
  • Claim: The dry bones are simply symbolic political language about Israel and have no relevance to God’s power to restore life.
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  • Response:
  • Historical Evidence: Ezekiel himself explains the immediate symbolism: “These bones are the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:11). The passage therefore clearly concerns Israel’s restoration from a condition that appeared hopeless, while the imagery deliberately uses death and restored life to communicate God’s power.
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  • Eyewitness Support: The vision itself is presented as something Ezekiel experienced and recorded, but it should not be treated as independent historical eyewitness evidence that people physically returned from death. Its evidentiary value is primarily prophetic and theological rather than archaeological.
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  • Spiritual Confirmation: The vision teaches that God’s power is greater than circumstances that appear spiritually dead or impossible to repair (Ezekiel 37:3–14). For believers, this becomes a witness that Jesus Christ can restore spiritual life, covenant identity, and ultimately physical life through the Resurrection.
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  • Logical Analysis: The criticism becomes weaker when it assumes the passage must be either a literal account of resurrected corpses or merely meaningless symbolism. Ezekiel explicitly uses symbolic imagery to teach about Israel, and symbolism can communicate a real theological truth: God has power to restore what human beings cannot restore themselves.
  • Claim: Ezekiel’s promise of a “new heart” and “new spirit” describes psychological change rather than a genuine work of God.
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  • Response:
  • Historical Evidence: Ezekiel’s promise appears within a broader covenant context in which the Lord promises to gather Israel, cleanse His people, give them a new heart, and put His Spirit within them (Ezekiel 36:24–28). The passage presents spiritual transformation as part of God’s covenant restoration rather than merely a self-help technique.
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  • Eyewitness Support: This particular doctrine is experiential rather than something that can be established through ordinary eyewitness testimony. The broader Restoration materials emphasize personal revelation and invite individuals to seek their own spiritual witness rather than relying exclusively on another person’s experience. President Nelson specifically encourages people to take their questions directly to Heavenly Father and learn to recognize the Holy Ghost.
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  • Spiritual Confirmation: A “new heart” can be tested through lived discipleship: repentance, increased desire to follow Christ, greater love for others, and a growing sensitivity to the Spirit. President Nelson similarly teaches that sincere and persistent spiritual effort can help individuals learn to recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.
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  • Logical Analysis: Even without assuming the truth of the religious premise, meaningful changes in desires and behavior are real phenomena. The theological claim goes further by explaining such transformation as the work of God’s Spirit; that claim is appropriately tested through spiritual experience rather than dismissed simply because it cannot be measured like a physical object.

Practical Applications

Practical solutions for someone in faith crisis:

Action Step: Choose one area of your life where you want the Savior to change your desires, not merely your actions.

Ezekiel teaches that the Lord can give His people “a new heart” and “a new spirit” (Ezekiel 36:26–27). This shifts discipleship from simply asking, “What am I supposed to do?” toward asking, “What kind of person is Christ helping me become?”

  1. – Read Ezekiel 36:25–27.
  2. – Identify one spiritual weakness or recurring struggle.
  3. – Pray specifically for the Lord to change your heart.
  4. – Choose one action that demonstrates the change you are seeking.
  5. – At the end of each day, record one way you noticed the Spirit helping you.

Encouraging Thought:

The Lord does not merely ask us to become better through our own strength; He promises to put His Spirit within us and help transform us.

Action Step: Do one specific thing this week that helps someone move closer to Jesus Christ and His covenants.

President Nelson defines the gathering of Israel as helping God’s children receive the opportunity to accept the gospel and make essential covenants and receive ordinances. Ezekiel’s visions of restored Israel and the two sticks show that gathering involves bringing scattered people back into covenant relationship with the Lord.

  1. – Pray for someone who may need greater spiritual support.
  2. – Identify one way you can serve, invite, teach, or encourage that person.
  3. – If appropriate, share a scripture or your testimony of Christ.
  4. – Consider doing family history or temple work.
  5. – Reflect on how your action helped someone take a step toward Christ.

Encouraging Thought:

  • President Nelson teaches that whenever we help someone move toward making covenants with God and receiving essential ordinances, we are helping gather Israel.
  • Action Step: Identify one competing influence that has become too central in your life and deliberately replace some of that time with Christ-centered activity.

Ezekiel’s imagery of the Lord shaping, restoring, and giving life reminds us that transformation occurs as we yield ourselves to Him. Elder Richard J. Maynes similarly teaches that, like clay on a potter’s wheel, our lives need to be centered on Jesus Christ and His gospel.

  1. – List your five biggest uses of time each week.
  2. – Identify which one most competes with your spiritual priorities.
  3. – Choose one small amount of that time to redirect.
  4. – Use the time for scripture study, prayer, service, temple work, or another Christ-centered activity.
  5. – Repeat the practice until it becomes a habit.

Encouraging Thought:

  • Elder Maynes teaches that “our core, the center of our lives, must be Jesus Christ and His gospel.”

Ideas for Teaching

Objective: Help learners understand that God’s power can restore what appears spiritually dead or impossible to repair.

  • – Scriptures
  • – Paper
  • – Pens
  • – Optional paper “bones” cut from cardstock

Activity Steps:

  1. Introduction (5 min): Ask, “What is something people sometimes consider impossible to fix?” Give learners a moment to think privately. Introduce Ezekiel’s vision of an entire valley filled with dry bones.
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  3. Scripture Discussion (5 min): Read Ezekiel 37:1–14. Ask learners what the bones represent and why the Lord might have chosen such dramatic imagery. Emphasize verse 11, where the Lord identifies the bones with the house of Israel.
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  5. Application (5 min): Invite learners to write one area of their lives where they need the Lord’s restoring power. They can write a prayer asking God to “breathe” spiritual life into that area.

Follow-Up Question: What does the valley of dry bones teach you about situations that seem impossible from a human perspective?

Objective: Help learners explore Ezekiel 37‘s imagery of two records becoming one unified witness.

  • – Two wooden sticks, craft sticks, or strips of paper
  • – Bible
  • – Book of Mormon
  • – Scriptures

Activity Steps:

Introduction (5 min): Hold up two separate sticks and ask, “What happens when two things that appear separate are joined together?” Introduce Ezekiel’s prophecy of the two sticks.

Scripture Discussion (5 min): Read Ezekiel 37:15–20. Discuss the identities of Judah and Joseph and how Latter-day Saints understand the two records as the Bible and Book of Mormon. President Nelson describes the Book of Mormon as central to the gathering of Israel.

Application (5 min): Have learners choose one teaching about Jesus Christ that is strengthened by reading both the Bible and Book of Mormon.

Follow-Up Question: How does having multiple witnesses of Jesus Christ strengthen your faith?

Objective: Teach learners how Ezekiel’s temple river can symbolize the expanding spiritual blessings that flow from Jesus Christ and temple covenants.

  • – Blue paper or ribbon
  • – Scriptures
  • – Optional bowl or pitcher of water
  • – Paper “stones” or cards

Activity Steps: 

Introduction (5 min): Place a small amount of water in a container and ask, “What happens when water reaches something that is dry?” Explain Ezekiel’s vision of water flowing from the temple and bringing life.

Scripture Discussion (5 min): Read Ezekiel 47:1–12. Focus on verse 9, where the waters bring life. Discuss why the temple would be portrayed as the source of a river that heals and transforms.

Application (5 min): Give each participant a paper “stone” and ask them to write one way temple worship, family history, or covenant living has brought spiritual life or healing. Place the stones along the paper river.

Follow-Up Question: How can the blessings that flow from the temple reach beyond us and bless our families and future generations?

QUICK REFERENCE

  • God can give us a new heart and spirit. The Lord promises to cleanse His people, give them a “new heart,” and put His Spirit within them (Ezekiel 36:25–27).
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  • God can restore what appears spiritually dead. Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones teaches that the Lord has power to restore the house of Israel and bring spiritual life to His people (Ezekiel 37:1–14).
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  • The gathering of Israel brings God’s children into covenant relationship. The Lord promised to gather His people and make them “one nation” in His hand (Ezekiel 37:21–23).
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  • The Bible and Book of Mormon provide unified testimony of Christ. Ezekiel’s vision of two sticks joined together is understood in Restoration scripture as representing the joining of Judah and Joseph and their records (Ezekiel 37:15–20).
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  • The temple is associated with spiritual healing and life. Ezekiel saw a river flowing from the temple that brought life and healing wherever it went (Ezekiel 47:1–12).
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  • The Lord can shape us according to His purposes. Ezekiel’s ministry illustrates that God can work through willing individuals to warn, teach, gather, and bless His people (Ezekiel 2:1–7; 3:16–21).
  • Why trust modern prophets?
  • Ezekiel illustrates the biblical pattern of prophets being called by God to warn, teach, and testify to His people (Ezekiel 2:1–7; 3:16–21). Trusting a modern prophet does not require believing that the prophet is personally perfect or incapable of mistakes. Rather, Latter-day Saints are encouraged to study prophetic teachings, compare them with scripture, pray for personal revelation, and seek the confirming influence of the Holy Ghost. President Russell M. Nelson similarly teaches that individuals can take their questions directly to Heavenly Father and learn to recognize the Holy Ghost’s guidance.
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  • Why does God allow mistakes?

  • God’s use of imperfect people does not mean that He approves of every human decision or statement. Ezekiel’s message emphasizes God’s power to work through His servants while allowing individuals to exercise agency and learn (Ezekiel 3:16–21). The distinction is important: God is perfect, while His mortal servants are not. Believers can therefore sustain prophets while still recognizing the need for personal revelation, scripture study, humility, and continued spiritual growth.

  1. Ezekiel 36:25–27 — The Lord promises a clean heart, a new spirit, and the companionship of His Spirit.
  2. Ezekiel 37:1–14 — The valley of dry bones illustrates God’s power to restore Israel and bring life where there appears to be none.
  1. Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel” — Teaches about the gathering of Israel and how individuals can participate in this work.
  2. Dale G. Renlund, “Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing” — Connects Ezekiel’s temple river with the healing and spiritual blessings associated with family history and temple work.
  1. Come, Follow Me—Old Testament 2026 — Official lesson resources for the Old Testament curriculum.
  2. Gospel Library — Church resources for scriptures, General Conference messages, topics, and teaching materials.