Week 20 (May 11–17): Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34

“Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord”

Orientation and Doctrinal Architecture (Three-Lens Framework)

Core doctrine for the week

Moses’s final covenant sermons press one central concern: Israel must remember the Lord, love Him with the whole heart, and choose covenant life as they enter abundance. The Come, Follow Me framing states that Moses’s lifelong preparation of Israel “wasn’t about wilderness survival, conquering enemies, or building a nation. It was about learning to love God, obey Him, and remain loyal to Him.” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

Lens 1, Ancient context (Deuteronomy as covenant renewal)

Deuteronomy functions as covenant renewal on the edge of the land. Moses addresses a generation that “had not seen the plagues in Egypt or crossed the Red Sea,” and therefore would need deliberate practices of remembrance to remain God’s covenant people. (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

Lens 2, Modern application (discipleship practices of remembrance)

Come, Follow Me highlights the daily, embodied nature of covenant memory: “What are you inspired to do so that the word of the Lord will daily ‘be in thine heart’?” (Deuteronomy 6:6; Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

Lens 3, Eternal principle (the covenant heart)

The Lord’s concern includes outward obedience and inward fidelity. The manual emphasizes that the Lord was “also concerned about His people’s inward state, the spiritual condition of their hearts.” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

Historical and Cultural Matrix (Ancient World Background from the Bundle)

Mountain setting and prophetic closure: Moses begins and ends his ministry on a mountain. His call begins “when God spoke to him from a burning bush (see Exodus 3:1–10),” and his mortal ministry ends when God shows him the land from “the top of Mount Nebo (see Deuteronomy 34:1–4).” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)
The problem of prosperity: The manual frames Deuteronomy’s warnings as preparation for abundance, where forgetting becomes more likely.
Embodied remembrance: The manual points to practices of placing the Lord’s words where they are seen daily, and refers readers to “Bible Dictionary, ‘Frontlets or phylacteries.’” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

Exegetical Analysis (8–10 Key Passages)

1) Deuteronomy 6:4–7, covenant love and pedagogical repetition

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:” “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:” “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4–7)

Come, Follow Me frames these verses as a “spiritual checkup” on the heart. (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

2) Deuteronomy 6:12, the peril of covenant amnesia

“Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” (Deuteronomy 6:12)

The manual directly applies this to later generations who did not witness Exodus deliverance. (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

3) Deuteronomy 8:2–5, wilderness pedagogy and the Lord’s fatherly discipline

(Study focus identified in the manual: Deuteronomy 8:2–5.) (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

The manual’s “heart” study list places these verses in the category of inward formation, where trial becomes instruction rather than mere hardship.

4) Deuteronomy 8:11–17, prosperity as a covenant test

(Study focus identified in the manual: Deuteronomy 8:11–17.) (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

Come, Follow Me directs attention to what enters the heart when life becomes secure, and what must be kept out of the heart.

5) Deuteronomy 15:4, the horizon of Zion economics

“Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:” (Deuteronomy 15:4)

The manual notes that this day has not yet arrived, and therefore “the principles about helping the poor in Deuteronomy 15 are still valuable, even if the particular practices have changed.” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

6) Deuteronomy 15:8, 11, covenant generosity as commanded openness

“But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.” (Deuteronomy 15:8) “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” (Deuteronomy 15:11)

Come, Follow Me asks, “What does it mean to ‘open thine hand wide’ to people in need?” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

7) Deuteronomy 18:15, prophetic mediation and messianic typology

“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;” (Deuteronomy 18:15)

The manual lists interpretive witnesses who connect this prophecy to Jesus Christ: “Peter, Nephi, Moroni, and the Savior Himself.” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

8) Deuteronomy 18:18–19, the Lord’s words placed in the Prophet’s mouth

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18–19)

Come, Follow Me’s children’s section ties this to Christ directly: “the Prophet like Moses in this verse is Jesus Christ.” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

9) 3 Nephi 20:23, the risen Christ identifies Himself as the Deuteronomic Prophet

“I am he of whom the prophet Moses spake.” (3 Nephi 20:23)

This explicit self-identification anchors the “like unto Moses” typology in Restoration scripture. (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

10) Deuteronomy 30:19, covenant choice framed as life and death

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

The manual pairs this with Lehi’s final teachings for comparative study: “compare Moses’s words in Deuteronomy 29:9; 30:15–20 with … 2 Nephi 2:26–29; 4:4.” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)

Scholarly Cross-Reference Web Matrix

Doctrinal Threads Across Dispensations

Primary Pattern: Covenant remembrance that forms a whole-heart love of God and culminates in choosing life

├─ Ancient Foundations (Genesis through Malachi) │ ├─ Deuteronomy 6:12: │ │ > “Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” (Deuteronomy 6:12) │ ├─ Deuteronomy 6:6–7: │ │ > “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:” │ │ > “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7) │ └─ Prophetic type/symbol: Moses as a type of Christ, “like unto” the coming Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15–19)

├─ Meridian Fulfillment (New Testament parallels) │ ├─ Matthew 4:1–10: see also (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”) │ ├─ Acts 3:20–23: see also (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”) │ └─ Gospel fulfillment: Christ fulfills the Deuteronomic expectation of the Prophet like Moses (see Deuteronomy 18:15–19)

├─ Restoration Revelation (D&C/Pearl of Great Price) │ ├─ Joseph Smith, History 1:40: see also (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”) │ ├─ 3 Nephi 20:23: │ │ > “I am he of whom the prophet Moses spake.” (3 Nephi 20:23) │ └─ Latter-day application: The Restoration canon places Christ’s voice as the interpretive key for Deuteronomy’s messianic prophecy.

└─ Living Prophets (From bundle sources only) ├─ M. Russell Ballard, “Lovest Thou Me More Than These?” (Liahona, Nov. 2021, 51–53): see also (bundle citation; no excerpt provided) ├─ Jan E. Newman, “Preserving the Voice of the Covenant People in the Rising Generation” (Liahona, Nov. 2023, 36–38): see also (bundle citation; no excerpt provided) └─ Dale G. Renlund, “Consider the Goodness and Greatness of God” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 41–44): see also (bundle citation; no excerpt provided)

Theological Discussion Points (Advanced, 10–12)

How does Deuteronomy 6:4–7 define covenant fidelity in terms of love, pedagogy, and daily speech? (Deuteronomy 6:4–7)
What practices in Deuteronomy 6:6–9 address the predictable problem identified in Deuteronomy 6:12? (Deuteronomy 6:6–9, 12)
How does Come, Follow Me’s “spiritual checkup” framing reshape reading “heart” as covenant interiority rather than sentiment? (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)
What covenant risks appear when blessings increase, as suggested by the manual’s focus on Deuteronomy 8:11–17? (Deuteronomy 8:11–17; Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)
How do Deuteronomy 15:8 and 15:11 move charity from optional generosity to covenant command? (Deuteronomy 15:8, 11)
How does Deuteronomy 15:4 function as an eschatological horizon for covenant society, even when “we haven’t yet arrived” there? (Deuteronomy 15:4; Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)
What does “like unto me” imply about prophetic mediation in Deuteronomy 18:15–19? (Deuteronomy 18:15–19)
How does 3 Nephi 20:23 settle the identity question raised by Deuteronomy 18, and what does that imply for Christ-centered reading of Torah? (3 Nephi 20:23)
How does Deuteronomy 30:19 frame agency as covenant accountability across generations (“thy seed”)? (Deuteronomy 30:19)
What interpretive gains come from the manual’s proposed comparison between Moses and Lehi on moral agency? (Deuteronomy 30:15–20; 2 Nephi 2:26–29; 4:4, see also)
How do Deuteronomy 29:12–13 and 30:8–10 (see also) connect belonging to “God’s people” with covenant making and covenant keeping? (Deuteronomy 29:12–13; 30:8–10; Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)
How does Moses’s Mount Nebo perspective function as a theological symbol for faithful preparation without immediate possession? (Deuteronomy 34:1–4; Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)

Modern Prophetic Synthesis (Bundle-Faithful)

The bundle cites three modern teachings for extended study without providing excerpts. They should be used as primary reading assignments alongside Deuteronomy’s themes of covenant love, intergenerational transmission, and remembrance:

See also Jan E. Newman, “Preserving the Voice of the Covenant People in the Rising Generation” (Liahona, Nov. 2023, 36–38).
See also Dale G. Renlund, “Consider the Goodness and Greatness of God” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 41–44).
See also M. Russell Ballard, “Lovest Thou Me More Than These?” (Liahona, Nov. 2021, 51–53).

(Bundle citations appear in Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”; no verbatim excerpts are provided in the bundle.)

Seminary and Institute Integration (From Bundle Materials)

Heart-focused diagnostics: Use the manual’s “spiritual checkup” method by tracing “heart” across the assigned passages and recording what belongs “inside” or “outside” the heart. (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)
Scripture in moments of testing: The children’s section notes that Deuteronomy 6:13, 16 and 8:3 “helped the Savior during an important moment in His life,” with Matthew 4:1–10 as the narrative setting. (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)
Christological reading practice: Anchor Deuteronomy 18:15–19 in 3 Nephi 20:23. (Deuteronomy 18:15–19; 3 Nephi 20:23)

Teaching Applications (Home, Class, Youth)

Text-to-life covenant rehearsal: Read Deuteronomy 6:4–7 aloud, then identify daily “when” moments from the verse, “when thou sittest… walkest… liest down… risest up,” and connect them to concrete scripture-placement practices referenced in Deuteronomy 6:6–9. (Deuteronomy 6:6–9)
Generosity as covenant identity: Study Deuteronomy 15:8 and 15:11, then discuss what “open thine hand wide” requires in attitude and action, as prompted by Come, Follow Me. (Deuteronomy 15:8, 11; Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)
Christ in Moses: Pair Deuteronomy 18:18 with 3 Nephi 20:23 as a two-text exercise in messianic fulfillment. (Deuteronomy 18:18; 3 Nephi 20:23)

Personal Study Pathways (Structured)

Covenant memory (Deuteronomy 6): Mark every imperative, then record each as a daily practice. (Deuteronomy 6:4–12, 20–25; see also Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)
Prosperity warnings (Deuteronomy 8): Read Deuteronomy 8:11–17 with the manual’s “heart” framework, writing what must be kept out of the heart. (Deuteronomy 8:11–17; Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)
Covenant charity (Deuteronomy 15): Trace “open thine hand wide” and connect it to the Lord’s remembered deliverance in Deuteronomy 15:15 (see also reference in the manual). (Deuteronomy 15:8, 11; Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)
Christological anchor (Deuteronomy 18 with Restoration witness): Read Deuteronomy 18:15–19, then read 3 Nephi 20:23 as the interpretive key supplied in the bundle. (Deuteronomy 18:15–19; 3 Nephi 20:23)
Agency and covenant life (Deuteronomy 30): Read Deuteronomy 30:19 slowly, then compare with the manual’s suggested 2 Nephi passages for expanded framing. (Deuteronomy 30:19; 2 Nephi 2:26–29; 4:4, see also)

Research Extensions (Church-Approved, Bundle-Listed)

Bible Dictionary: see “Deuteronomy” for overview. (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “May 11–17. ‘Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord’”)
Bible Dictionary: see “Frontlets or phylacteries.” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)
Guide to the Scriptures: see “Covenant.” (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)
For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices: see “Love God, love your neighbor,” 10–12. (Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)

These texts merit sustained rereading until Deuteronomy 6:6 becomes lived practice, “these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.” (Deuteronomy 6:6)

Scholarly Study Guide: Deuteronomy 6–8;15;18;29–30;34