Book of Mormon Lesson Plan 48

Mormon explains how to judge between good and evil

Callings are a gift

Read Moroni 7:2.  Mormon considered his calling a “gift.”  Think about what Mormon was called to do – preach repentance to a people who had utterly rejected Jesus Christ and his gospel and thus were doomed to destruction.  And yet, he referred to this not as an assignment, but a gift.  That kind of makes any calling Bishop Nelson might extend to you seem pretty easy, huh?

Peaceable followers of Christ

Read Moroni 7:3.  Mormon here is not speaking to the degenerate members of his society; he is speaking to those who are “peaceable followers of Christ.”  In spite of the fact that they are living in a wicked, violent society, Mormon commends them for attaining a present hope and rest to sustain them to their final rest with God.

• How can we develop this hope in our lives as we too live in a society characterized by wickedness and violence?

Read verses 4-5.  How do we walk peaceably today?  What good works can we do?

Giving gifts righteously

We are just coming out of our traditional gift giving season.  How did you feel about the gifts you gave?  About the people you gave them to?  Why did you give these gifts?

Read Moroni 7:6-9.  How can we purify our motives for doing good?  How does this change the experience of both us as the givers, and of the receiver?

Discerning good from evil

Read Moroni 7:15.  It is “given unto [us] to judge.”  We can’t simply hide from some matters.  We must discern between good and evil and choose the good.  How do we do that? 

Read verses 16-19.  What does a particular choice want us to do?  Rather than asking “Is this good enough?” or “Is this too bad?” we can ask, “Does this invite me to love and serve God?”  Think through the consequences of a particular choice.  If the immediate consequence appears neutral, continue down the consequence chain and see which direction it takes you.  Notice in verse 19 that we are commanded to search “in the light of Christ.”  We’re not looking for it; we already have it.  Instead, we use that light to help us see clearly whether a thing is good or evil.

Mormon explains the importance of faith, hope, and charity

Faith

In Moroni 7:20-26, Mormon counseled us to lay hold of every good thing, and asks rhetorically how to do that.

• Verse 21 – I’m going to speak about faith
• Verse 22 – God sent angels to testify of Christ; all good things come in Christ
• Verse 23 – God sent prophets to testify of Christ
• Verse 24 – God used other ways to testify of Christ; all good things come in Christ.  Without Him, we don’t get anything good.
• Verse 25 – Because of what was taught by angels and prophets, men began to exercise faith in Christ.  This allowed them to “lay hold upon every good thing.”
• Verse 26 – This is exactly the faith that we need to ultimately be saved.

Hope

What is the relationship between faith and hope?  This is almost the question of which came first – the chicken or the egg?

• Moroni 7:40 – You can’t “attain unto faith” unless you first have hope
• Moroni 7:42 – If you don’t have hope to begin with, you can never develop faith.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “As used in the revelations, hope is the desire of faithful people to gain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God hereafter. … Faith and hope are inseparable. Hope enables [us] to have faith in the first instance and then because of faith that hope increases until salvation is gained” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 365–66).

I believe both faith and hope are gifts from God.  Just as we can’t create life in either the chicken or the egg, we can spontaneously generate the kinds of faith or hope spoken of in the scriptures.  Hope comes from the light of Christ, and faith is a gift of the Holy Ghost.  What does this mean we need to do if we don’t feel like we have the faith we would like to have?

There is something we can and should do to prepare ourselves to receive the spiritual gifts of hope and faith.  Verse 43 counsels us to begin by being meek and lowly of heart.  How can we develop meekness in our personal lives?

Charity

Mormon teaches that having faith and hope naturally leads us to have charity, and warns that without charity we are nothing.  Read verse 45.  Here are a couple items that jump out at me:

• Seeketh not her own – Our whole society is built on an idea of “self-interest.”  Everyone acting in their own best interest (within certain reasonable assumptions) is what makes our free market economy work.  But charity doesn’t operate that way, and we need to learn to be motivated charitably or we “are nothing.”
• Thinketh no evil – For me, I need to work more to avoid thinking badly of others or ascribing evil motives to the actions of others.  I don’t spend lots of time thinking evil thoughts…at least I don’t think I do!
• Rejoiceth not in iniquity – Do we ever secretly congratulate ourselves when others are caught doing wrong?  I believe this comes from a “scarcity mentality.”  If we assume there’s only so much room in heaven, then someone else’s failures makes it more likely we’ll make it to heaven.  But that’s wrong!  In mortality we need to deal with scarcity and limited resources.  Those limitations do not apply to exaltation.  That’s what the Savior was trying to convey when he taught his disciples in Jerusalem, “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (see John 14:2).

Little children are saved through Christ’s atonement

Encourage the class to read Moroni 8.  We don’t have time today.

The Holy Ghost testifies of all truth

Read Moroni 10:3-5.  Identify who has what responsibilities in these verses:

• We:
• Read the Book of Mormon
• Remember God’s mercy to His children
• Ponder these things in our hearts
• Ask God in the name of Christ if these things are not true
• Have faith in Christ
• God:
• Manifests the truth through the power of the Holy Ghost

All the reading, studying, pondering, praying, fasting, etc. that we do in search of a testimony are good, but that is not what gives us a testimony.  A true testimony ALWAYS comes from the Holy Ghost.  Everything we do prepares our hearts and minds to receive and recognize the influence of this glorious member of the godhead. 

Moroni finally pleads with us in Moroni 10:31-32:

• Put on thy beautiful garments – go to the temple and receive your endowment
• Strengthen thy stakes – be active in the Church
• Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him – This is one of my favorite verses in the entire Book of Mormon.  This admonition is in passive voice.  We actively come to Christ, then he takes over and is the one responsible for the perfecting.  The promise is sure – if we come and do everything Moroni lists in verse 32 as our responsibility, Jesus Christ will make us perfect because His grace is that powerful.  If we don’t believe that, then we are denying God’s power.

Book of Mormon Lesson Plan 47

Introduction

Think of a place and a time you have always wanted to visit.  Now imagine that you wake up one morning and find yourself there, visiting as a guest in the house of a church member.  It’s the Sabbath, and you’re getting ready to go to Church.  What do you expect to find there?  What will be similar?  What may be different?

If you had been visiting the Nephites, you would have recognized the ordinances administered among them and been able to worship with them.  The same is true today in any ward or branch throughout the world.

Moroni continues to write in hiding

Moroni assumed that the account of the Jaredites as recorded in the book of Ether would be his final writing.  But since he hadn’t died yet, he added a little more information for us.

Who was he hiding from, and why?  Read Moroni 1:2-3.  How can we develop this type of motivating faith?

Who did he write to in his unplanned addition?  Why?  Read Moroni 1:4.  What motivated this action?  How can we follow his example?

Moroni teaches about essential gospel ordinances

Prior to the book of Moroni, we are not taught very much about how ordinances were administered.  In four short chapters, Moroni gives us a glimpse into how the Nephites confirmed, ordained to the priesthood, and administered the sacrament.

The gift of the Holy Ghost

Read Moroni 2.  How did the Savior instruct the Nephite disciples to give the gift of the Holy Ghost?

• By the laying on of hands
• In the name of Jesus Christ
• After mighty prayer

Ordaining Priests and Teachers

Read Moroni 3. 

• To preach repentance and remission of sins
• Through enduring faith in Jesus Christ

Notice that again, this ordinance is performed after praying unto the Father and through the power of the Holy Ghost.

What are the duties of the Priests and Teachers today?  Read D&C 20:46-47, 53-55.  How can we help those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood to fulfill these responsibilities?

Administering the Sacrament

Read Moroni 4-5.  We hear these prayers every week in Sacrament Meeting.  What do they mean to us individually, and day by day?

• To remember, follow, and obey Jesus Christ

It struck me recently that in our prayer to the Father, we seek His blessing as we promise to remember, not Him, but His Son.

In Spanish, the word used in place of the English word “partake” is “participar,” which also means “to participate.”  I like the image of the sacrament being something not that we passively partake of, but that we actively participate in.  How can we participate more actively in the sacrament in our lives?

How have you felt blessed as you have worthily partaken of the sacrament in your life?

Church record keeping and fellowship

Read Moroni 6:1-3.  What are the requirements to be baptized?

• Bring forth fruit meet of it.  What does that mean?  What does fruit represent in the scriptures?
• Genesis 3: Fruit of the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden
• 1 Nephi 8: Fruit of the tree of life in Lehi’s vision
• Jacob 5: Zenos’ allegory of the olive tree
• Alma 32: Fruit from faith is delicious to the soul
• D&C 53: Blessings that come from God as a result of our faith
• Galatians 5: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…
• In verse 2, it does not say that they witnessed that they had repented, indicating that the process of repenting was completed.  The verbs are witnessed and repented.  The verb tense is the same in both cases.  If these people were to stand before us today, they would witness that they repent – both in the present tense. 
• Repentance is not something that we do once and get it over with, because we don’t sin once and get it over with either!
• This is why we have to have a determination to serve him to the end (verse 3).

Read Moroni 6:4.  Why were their names recorded?  Who has this responsibility to remember and nourish?  (The Priests and Teachers for one, as well as all of us who have likewise been baptized.)

President Gordon B. Hinckley taught: “Any convert whose faith grows cold is a tragedy. Any member who falls into inactivity is a matter for serious concern. The Lord left the ninety and nine to find the lost sheep. His concern for the dropout was so serious that He made it the theme of one of His great lessons. We must constantly keep Church officers and the membership aware of the tremendous obligation to fellowship in a very real and warm and wonderful way those who come into the Church as converts, and to reach out with love to those who for one reason or another step into the shadows of inactivity” (in Church News, 8 Apr. 1989, 6).

What can we do to follow President Hinckley’s counsel?  How have you been blessed as others have remembered and nourished you?

Moroni recorded that the Church “did meet together oft” (Moroni 6:5). Why? (See Moroni 6:5–6.) How are we strengthened when we fast and pray together? How do Church meetings give us an opportunity to speak to each other “concerning the welfare of [our] souls”? Why is it important that we meet together to partake of the sacrament?

What did Moroni teach about how Church meetings were conducted? (See Moroni 6:9.) What can each of us do to invite the Spirit into our meetings?

 

Book of Mormon Lesson Plan 46

Introduction

After arriving in the promised land, the Jaredites began to “multiply … and wax strong in the land” (Ether 6:18). When Jared and his brother died, a king was appointed to lead the people (Ether 6:21–30). Ether 7–11 records the succession of righteous and wicked kings, the rise of secret combinations among the people, and the teachings of prophets who were called to preach repentance to the Jaredites. Ether 12 begins the account of the teachings of Ether, who was one of those prophets

Moroni explains the importance of faith

Read Ether 12:3-4

• How did Ether describe those who believe in God?
• How can faith and hope be an anchor for us?

Read Ether 12:5

• Why did the people not believe Ether?  “We can’t have faith because we can’t see it.”  An appropriate response might be, “You can’t have faith IF you see it!”
• How have you been blessed as you have exercised faith and followed counsel when you couldn’t “see” the reason for the counsel?

Prophets define faith

Prepare to answer the following questions as we read the following scriptures: Ether 12:6; Hebrews 11:1; Alma 32:21

• What is faith?  How is it different from hope or belief?
• What does it mean that we “receive no witness until after the trial of [our] faith”?

The Bible Dictionary explains:

To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone. The Lord has revealed himself and his perfect character, possessing in their fulness all the attributes of love, knowledge, justice, mercy, unchangeableness, power, and every other needful thing, so as to enable the mind of man to place confidence in him without reservation.

Read D&C 58:2-4.  How have trials and affliction strengthened your faith?

How faith is developed

The Bible Dictionary further explains:

Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith (Rom. 10: 14-17). …

[F]aith comes by righteousness…

Although faith is a gift, it must be cultured and sought after until it grows from a tiny seed to a great tree. The effects of true faith in Jesus Christ include:

1.      an actual knowledge that the course of life one is pursuing is acceptable to the Lord (see Heb. 11: 4);

2.      a reception of the blessings of the Lord that are available to man in this life; and

3.      an assurance of personal salvation in the world to come.

What are some blessings you have received as a result of your faith?

The Lord teaches Moroni that He gives us weakness that we may be humble

What is the theme of Alma 32?  Be humble so that you can have faith.  Ether 12 also addresses the twin themes of humility and faith.

Read Ether 12:23-25.  What was Moroni worried about?  That his writings would not have the desired effect because of his personal weaknesses.  How can we share Moroni’s concern in our efforts in our lives?

How did the Lord respond to this concern?  Read verse 26.

• How can meekness bless us as we read the scriptures?  As we participate in the gospel in other ways?
• How do we develop meekness?

Discovering our weaknesses

Imagine you have the most important meeting in your life coming up, and you really want to make a good impression.  Unknown to you, you have a few personal … issues.  The onion rings you had for dinner last night are still plainly evident on your breath.  There is a big rip in the back of your pants.  And when you are nervous you have an annoying habit of saying “Don’cha know?” at the end of every sentence.

How is this meeting going to go?  Could the disaster be avoided?  Discuss briefly the JoHari Window.  Some day we will all have the most important meeting of eternity as we are brought to God to be judged of our works.  How big do you want that blind spot to be on that day?  How can we reduce its size now?

Read Ether 12:27.  I believe this is one of the greatest verses in the Book of Mormon because of its application in our lives today.

1. If we come to God, he will show us what is in our blind spots.
2. Knowing what is in our blind spot helps us be humble.
3. God will help us convert these weaknesses into a strength.  (He provides the breath mints, mends the rip, and helps us not say “Don’cha know?”)
4. I believe that this humility is important for us so that we don’t start thinking too much of ourselves when God starts helping us discover our limitless potential that right now is unknown to us – the great things in our blind spots!  What would happen if we only saw the good and not the weaknesses in ourselves?

What weaknesses do you have?  How do you feel about them?  What are you doing to overcome these weaknesses?  Have you overcome a weakness that you can appropriately share?

Read Ether 12:41.  How can we “seek Jesus” today?  Why do we need the grace of God and Jesus Christ?

Moroni teaches about the promised land

Read Ether 13:10-11.  What similarities exist between those who dwell in the old and new Jerusalems?

• “Blessed are they…”
• They have been washed in the blood of the lamb.  What does that mean?
• Receive the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant.

Jaredites are destroyed

In three cataclysmic chapters, the Jaredite nation was destroyed, exactly as Ether had prophesied.  In case we miss the patters taught throughout the Book of Mormon, the Lord provides a super-condensed summary in the 15 chapters of Ether.  God blesses his children when they are righteous, and they are punished when they are wicked.

Conclusion

The entry on Faith in the Bible Dictionary includes this important teaching.  “Faith is a principle of action and of power…by faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually can stand in the presence of God.”  As we use our faith, it can become and increasingly strong force for good in our lives.  God will reveal our weaknesses to us and change them into strengths.

Book of Mormon Lesson Plan 45

Introduction

While residing in Kirtland Elder Reynolds Cahoon had a son born to him. One day when President Joseph Smith was passing his door, he called the Prophet in and asked him to bless and name the baby. Joseph did so and gave the boy the name of Mahonri Moriancumer. When he had finished the blessing he laid the child on the bed, and turning to Elder Cahoon he said, ‘The name I have given your son is the name of the brother of Jared; the Lord has just shown [or revealed] it to me.’ Elder William F. Cahoon … heard the Prophet make this statement to his father; and this was the first time the name of the brother of Jared was known in the Church in this dispensation” (George Reynolds, “The Jaredites,” Juvenile Instructor, 1 May 1892, 282).

The brother of Jared’s example teaches us a great deal about prayer and faith.

Background

The prophet Ether wrote the record of the Jaredites, who left Babylon when the Lord confounded the language of the people attempting to build the tower of Babel (Ether 1:33–43; see also Genesis 11:1–9). Ether wrote this record on 24 gold plates, which were later found by the people of Limhi (Mosiah 8:7–11). The book of Ether contains Moroni’s abridgment of Ether’s record.

The brother of Jared prays for the Lord to be merciful

As the language of the people began to be changed, Jared asked his brother to pray to the Lord for blessings for themselves, their family, and their friends.  Ask class members to review Ether 1:34-43 and identify words that are important.

• Cry unto the Lord – What is the difference between “saying prayers” and “crying unto the Lord”?
• The Lord had compassion – Each time the brother of Jared prayed, the Lord had compassion on the people he was praying for.  What does compassion mean?

o       compassion (uncountable) – Deep awareness of the suffering of another, coupled with the wish to relieve it

• How have you felt the Lord’s compassion in response to your prayers?
• Because this long time you have cried unto me – The brother of Jared and his family received great blessings because of his persistence in prayer.  How can we be appropriately persistent in our prayers?  (See Enos 1:2, 4, 8-9, 11-12). 
• Notice the words used to describe Enos’ wrestle and struggle. 
• Point out that Enos’ greatest blessings came as a result of continued prayer after the Lord said to him, “…go to, thy faith hath made the whole.”

The Lord describes the Promised Land

During their travels, the Jaredites arrived in a land where people had never been.  But this wasn’t good enough.  Read Ether 2:7-8 and 9-12.

Given that we can’t repent for another person, what can we do to avoid bringing down God’s wrath upon ourselves as a nation?

The brother of Jared neglects to pray

After living in tents by the seashore for four years, the Lord visited the brother of Jared.  Read Ether 2:14.  Why was the brother of Jared in trouble?  I think a possibility may be that he may have reverted to “saying his prayers” instead of “calling upon the Lord” as he had previously done.  He knew how to communicate with God rather than just talking to him.  In verse 15 the brother of Jared repents, and the Lord warns him against continued sin.  What other scriptural accounts of chastening can you think of, and what similarities do they include?

• Lehi murmuring after Nephi’s bow broke (1 Ne. 16: 25)
• Joseph Smith after losing the 116 page manuscript (see D&C 10:1-5)
• Ziba Peterson (D&C 58: 60) for seeking to hide his sins
• Everyone the Lord loves (D&C 95: 1-2)
• Chasten: To make chaste; To punish or reprimand for the sake of improvement

The Lord answers the brother of Jared’s prayers

After building the barges, the brother of Jared presents the Lord with some problems that he needs help with.  Read Ether 2:19.  The Lord answers prayers in three distinct ways:

1. The Lord solves the problem – Read Ether 2:24-25.  The Jaredites were not responsible to navigate or provide propulsion.  God had taken care of that issue.
2. The Lord tells them how to solve the problem – Read Ether 2:20.  The Lord explained how to solve the problem, and then the brother of Jared simply had to follow his instructions.
3. The Lord gives guidelines and then asks the brother of Jared to propose a solution - Read Ether 2:21-21.  Imagine the enormity of this response!  The God who made the universe, who designed our bodies, and who has infinite wisdom and love asks you for a suggestion!

How do you think this experience built the faith of the brother of Jared and helped him grow?  How does this do the same for you?

The brother of Jared sees Jesus Christ

How did the brother of Jared propose to solve this problem?  Read Ether 3:1-5 and look for words or phrases that indicate the faith and the humility of the brother of Jared.

In response, Jesus Christ touched the stones with his finger, and the brother of Jared saw this.  While he had full confidence that the Lord would touch the stones and make them shine, he did not actually expect to witness this happen.  Jesus Christ explained why this happened; read Ether 3:9-14 and note the following:

·         Jesus Christ did not reveal himself completely until the brother of Jared asked him to (verses 9-10).

·         Before doing so, Jesus asked him preemptively if he would believe the words he was about to speak (verse 11).  It wasn’t enough to believe what Jesus had already spoken; the brother of Jared had to commit to believe everything Jesus was about to speak.

·         Being brought back into the presence of Jesus is an integral part of being redeemed from the Fall.  Since this will happen to everyone, we had better all be prepared for the experience!

·         Jesus testifies of himself and his mission.  This is the theme that Jesus emphasizes every time he reveals himself to his people.

The Lord then revealed to the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth and withheld nothing from his sight.

Moroni seals up the writings of the brother of Jared

Moroni was commanded to seal up the writings of the brother of Jared that they should not come forth among the children of men…yet.  Read Ether 4:6-7, 11.  It is our privilege to develop faith like the brother of Jared and to receive revelations as he did.

The Jaredites travel prayerfully to the Promised Land

Read Ether 6:4 – Having done everything that God asked them to do, the Jaredites then trusted him to do everything he had promised to do.

Read Ether 6:8–9 – Remember the trouble the brother of Jared got into for not remembering to call upon the Lord?  Now they all remember and continually do so.  Imagine what it must have been like on these barges.  They were “light like unto a fowl” meaning they probably rode high on the water.  They were driven by the waves and the wind, but didn’t even have a sail to harness the wind.  That probably means this was a bumpy, sometimes violent ride.  And yet they didn’t complain.

Read Ether 6:12 – Their confidence in God was rewarded, and they continued to praise and thank God.

Conclusion

Elder Russell M. Nelson said that he has often heard President Gordon B. Hinckley say, “I don’t know how to get anything done except getting on my knees and pleading for help and then getting on my feet and going to work” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1997, 18; or Ensign, Nov. 1997, 16).