Doctrine and Covenants Lesson #7 The First Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel

PREPARATION:  Four bags filled with ordinary household items, such as glue, pencil, swim goggles, matches, Lifesavers, etc.  The following Gospel Cycle diagram made on individual pieces of poster board (any colors are okay).  Display the cycle on the board and refer to it throughout the lesson.

CHURCH HISTORY

(Note from 2017: When I originally published this blog post, I was fascinated by the story of Samuel and Mary Smith, which most Latter-day Saints are not well familiar with. Now, however, I think I might not use it in a lesson because it's so seriously depressing. I leave it here for you to use or not, as you decide.)

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

Samuel Smith came from New York to Pennsylvania to see his older brother Joseph along with Oliver Cowdery in 1829. Joseph was there working on the translation of the Book of Mormon because it was unsafe for him to remain in New York, due to mob violence over the golden plates.  Samuel was 21 years old (3 years younger than Joseph) and unmarried. He was not yet a member of the Church. In fact, there was no Church yet as the Restoration was in its infancy. Samuel was not yet convinced that his brother was a prophet called to translate the gold plates and restore the true church upon the earth.

“We informed him of what the Lord was about to do for the children of men, and began to reason with him out of the Bible.  We also showed him that part of the work which we had translated, and labored to persuade him concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was now about to be revealed in its fullness.  He was not, however, very easily persuaded of these things, but after much inquiry and explanation he retired to the woods, in order that by secret and fervent prayer he might obtain of a merciful God, wisdom to enable him to judge for himself.  The result was that he obtained revelation for himself sufficient to convince him of the truth of our assertions to him…” (HC 1:44)

Lucy Mack Smith’s relation of the story:

“One morning [it was Friday, May 15, 1829], [Joseph and Oliver] sat down to their usual work, when the first thing that presented itself to Joseph was a commandment from God that he and Oliver should repair to the water and each of them be baptized.  They immediately went down to the Susquehanna River and obeyed the mandate given them through the Urim and Thummim.  As they were on their return to the house, they overheard Samuel, in a secluded spot, engaged in secret prayer.  They had now received the authority to baptize, and Joseph said that he considered it a sufficient testimony of Samuel’s honesty of heart and zeal for religion that they had found him privately bowing before the Lord in prayer, and he thought it was an evidence of readiness for baptism.”

Repentance

There are no specifics recorded about Samuel’s praying for repentance, but certainly he did so or he would not have been baptized or remained faithful.

Baptism

Samuel Smith was the third person baptized in this dispensation, preceded only by his older brother Joseph, and Oliver Cowdery.  Although Lucy recorded that they immediately baptized him, that very day, Joseph recorded that it was ten days later:

“…on the twenty-fifth day of that same month [May] in which we had been baptized and ordained, Oliver Cowdery baptized him; and he returned to his father’s house [in New York], greatly glorifying and praising God, being filled with the Holy Spirit.” (HC 1:44)

Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost

Samuel is thought to have been one of the first six members of the Church, present at its organization on April 6, 1830.  In the 1839 draft of Joseph’s history, he recorded this about that day:

“We had received commandment to organize the Church, and accordingly we met together…and proceeded as follows at the house of…Mr. Whitmer—Having opened the meeting by solemn prayer to our Heavenly Father…I proceeded to lay my hands upon Oliver Cowdery and ordained him an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after which he ordained me…We then took bread, blessed it, and brake it with them; also wine, blessed it, and drank it with them.  We then laid our hands on each individual member of the Church present, to confirm them members of the Church of Jesus Christ, and that they might receive the Holy Ghost, when immediately the Holy Ghost was poured out upon us all.”  (Quoted in History of Joseph Smith, edited by Proctor, p.228)

Enduring to the End

Four years later (1834), Samuel was married to Mary Bailey.  She had been a member of the Church for two years.  Their life together was filled with nothing but trial.

In January 1836 they moved to Missouri with their tiny baby, Susanna, where they were subjected to mob violence.

“[Mary was] taken by the mob from her house (they took her by picking up the feather bed and carried her with her babe out into the sleet and rain and placed the bed on the ground).  [They then] burned the house down to the ground.” (Letter to her granddaughter, quoted in Who’s Who in the D&C, p.296)

She never fully recovered from the persecution and it was said that “she never spoke above a whisper” following the experience.  (Interview with her granddaughter, ibid.)

In 1838, when the Saints were driven from Ohio, Samuel and Mary had a two-year-old, Susanna, a one-year-old, Mary, and Mary (the mother) was expecting another baby in two months.  They settled in Marrowbone, which was 30 miles from Far West, where his parents settled, and Mary gave birth.  When this baby boy was three days old, Samuel was away from home when “A number of the men who lived near him went to his wife and told her that the mob was coming there to drive all the Mormons from the country into Far West and perhaps they would kill them.  They accordingly advised her to go immediately into Far West at all hazards and proffered to find her a wagon and a boy to drive the horses.  She consented and they brought an open lumber wagon and put her into it on a bed with a very little clothing for herself and her children.  In this way, she started for Far West with no one but a small boy to take care of her, the children and the team, and nothing to eat by the way.  When they had traveled for some miles they stopped for the night, and in the latter part of the night it began to rain.  The water fell upon her in torrents, for she had no shelter for herself or her infant.  The bedding was soon completely saturated as the rain continued falling for some time with great violence.

“The next day Samuel started from Far West to go to his own house, but met his wife along the way in this situation.  He returned with her to Far West, where she arrived about 36 hours after she had left Marrowbone without having taken any nourishment.  Every garment upon her body, as well as her bed and bedding, was so wet with the rain that the water might have been wrung from them.  She was speechless and almost stiff with the cold and effects of her exposure.  We laid her on a bed, and my husband and my sons administered to her by the laying on of hands.  We then changed her clothing, put her into a bed covered with warm blankets, and after pouring a little rice water into her mouth, she was administered to again.  This time she raised her eyes and seemed to revive a little.”  (Lucy Mack Smith, HJS Revised, p.365)

Mary had one more child in January of 1841, which they named Lucy, and within the month Mary died.  She was 32 years old.  The blame was placed upon the health complications caused by the mob violence she had endured.  (HJS Revised, p.332)

“In 1844 the events that led to the martyrdom of Samuel’s brothers impacted his own life.  When he learned of the imprisonment of his brothers in Carthage, he attempted to aid them.  He was met by a mob who intercepted him and prevented his traveling to Carthage.  He returned home and purchased a horse noted for its speed, and rode toward Carthage again.  As he neared the town for the second time, he learned that his brothers were dead.  His daughter…wrote, “The terrible shock was too much for him, and for an instant he reeled in his saddle and they expected him to fall.…He steadied himself, saying,

‘God help me!  I must go to them.’”

“The mob hid in a thicket, and as they saw him approach they gave chase.  Samuel managed to stay out of range of their bullets and arrived in Carthage.

“The next day he escorted the bodies of his brothers back to Nauvoo.  After Mother Smith had viewed the bodies and retired to her room, Samuel said to her, “Mother, I have had a dreadful distress in my side ever since I was chased by the mob, and I think I have received some injury which is going to make me sick.”  He suffered from bilious fever (what sounds like liver infection), [and died thirty-three days after his brothers were killed] on July 30, 1844, at the age of 36.  His obituary stated, ‘If ever there lived a good man upon the earth, Samuel H. Smith was that person.”  (Who’s Who in the D&C, pp.296-7)

DOCTRINAL DISCUSSION/OBJECT LESSONS

Now discuss how these gospel principles and ordinances affect our lives, as well as our eternal salvation. 

• Galations 5:22 (Fruit of Spirit)
• Mosiah 4 discusses the elements of the Gospel Cycle
• 2 Nephi 31:13, 20-21 (endure to the end)
• 3 Nephi 27 27:15-16,19-20

 When we receive the ordinances, the Gift of the Holy Ghost further strengthens our faith.  What makes the cycle continue and even spiral upward in increased spiritual development (what turns the wheel) is enduring to the end.  As we keep our covenants, the confirmation of the Spirit and its validating joy and peace further increases our faith.

Divide class into four groups.  Give each group one of the circles from the gospel cycle diagram and one of the bags.  Assign them to brainstorm ways that they could teach about their principle or ordinance using the items in their bag (can use Bible Dictionary if they like).  Give them time to share their ideas.  As they do, post each arrow on the board.

Here is what my class came up with, in case you need ideas:

Faith

• Empty bag – Everything in the room could be put in this bag as an example of faith.
• Flashlight – Faith requires some effort on our part to turn it on and find Christ, the Light.
• Matches – The Spirit of God is like a fire.
• Ball of yarn – Faith is the first string in the Gospel.
• Battery – Faith has power even though you can’t see the power.

Repentance

• Screwdriver – Sometimes we mess up and poke holes in our lives.
• Glue – Through repentance, the Lord helps us fix those mistakes.
• Cassette tapes – Even though our mistakes are recorded in Heaven, through repentance, the recording can be erased and overwritten.
• Kleenexes – Repentance requires a broken heart and a contrite spirit, tears of godly sorrow for our sins.

Baptism

• Legos – Baptism is a brick in the foundation of the Gospel.
• Pencil – The eraser is like baptism in correcting our mistakes.
• Animal shaped vitamins – The Lord baptized the earth at the great flood in Noah’s time.
• Nails – Baptism puts the nails in the coffin of the natural man.
• Keys – Baptism is the key that unlocks the gate to the Kingdom of God.
• Spearmint gum – Baptism refreshes our life.

Gift of the Holy Ghost

• Treasure box – The Holy Ghost is a great treasure.
• Empty picture frame – This is what the Holy Ghost looks like. OR The Holy Ghost protects us from the stains of the earth like the glass protects the picture.
• Swimming goggles – The Holy Ghost helps us to see in the murky earth existence, like goggles help us see in the chlorinated swimming pool.
• Seashell – To hear the Holy Ghost requires that we be still, like we must be to hear the ocean in the shell.

 

Doctrine and Covenants 2

Finish this sentence:  Because of the Atonement..." 

Answer this question: "When have you felt the power of the Atonement in your life?"   

You may want to begin class by singing together the hymn, "I Stand All Amazed." 

"[The Atonement of Jesus Christ] is the very root of Christian doctrine, You may know much about the gospel as it branches out from there, but if you only know the branches and those branches do not touch that root, if they have been cut free from that truth, there will be no life nor substance nor redemption in them" (Elder Boyd K. Packer, April 1977 General Conference).

Once a branch is cut from a tree, it no longer grows or produces fruit.  It becomes firewood.

 

"The Atonement is the central act of human history, the pivotal point in all time, the doctrine of doctrines.  Everything we do and everything we teach should somehow be anchored to the Atonement" (Tad E. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p. ix).

"The pursuit of this doctrine requires the total person, for the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the most supernal, mind-expanding, passionate doctrine this world or universe will ever know" (Callister, 2). 

"The Atonement gives purpose and potency to every event in history.  President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of its relationship to other events in world history:  'When all is said and done, when all of history is examined, when the deepest depths of the human mind have been explored, there is nothing so wonderful, so majestic, so tremendous as this act of grace'" (Callister, 3).


"The Prophet Joseph Smith said: '...all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it'" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 121).

"It is indeed the keystone of Christianity and the foundation of a spiritual life.  It is the beacon light for a benighted world.  It is the foundation from which all hopes spring....The Atonement is our singular hope for a meaningful life" (Callister, 9).


"Every attempt to reflect upon the Atonement, to study it, to embrace it, to express appreciation for it, however small or feeble it may be, will kindle the fires of faith and work its miracle towards a more Christlike life.  It is an inescapable consequence of so doing" (Callister, 17).


WHAT IS THE ATONEMENT?

When we speak of the Atonement, what exactly is involved?  "It is, in short, that suffering endured, that power displayed, and that love manifested by the Savior in three principal locations, namely, the Garden of Gethsemane, the cross of Calvary, and the tomb of Arimathaea" (Callister, 23).

 Lorenzo Snow said, "It required all the power that He had and all the faith that He could summon for Him to accomplish that which the Father required of Him" (Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, 98).

"He took upon him infinite suffering, but chose to defend with only mortal faculties, with but one exception--his godhood was summoned to hold off unconsciousness and death (i.e., the twin relief mechanisms of man) that would otherwise overpower a mere mortal when he reached his threshold of pain.  For the Savior, however, there would be no such relief.  His divinity would be called upon, not to immunize him from pain, but to enlarge the receptacle that would hold it" (Callister, 119).

President Ezra Taft Benson said, "We may never understand nor comprehend in mortality how He accomplished what He did, but we must not fail to understand why he did what He did.  All that He did was prompted by His unselfish, infinite love for us" (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 15).  

One of the purposes of the Doctrine and Covenants is to help us know and understand the Savior and His Atonement:

"I give unto you these sayings [specifically the writings of John the Baptist recorded in D&C 93:6-17, but generally the entire book] that you may know and understand how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.  For if ye keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace" (D&C 93:19-20).

The Doctrine and Covenants is the only scripture that contains the Savior's description of the extreme difficulty of His ultimate sacrifice, D&C 19:16-19:  "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit--and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink--Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men." 

President Joseph F. Smith's great vision of the redemption of the dead is also found in the Doctrine and Covenants:  "And reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world; and the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world; that through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved...[I saw] an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality; and who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer's name.  All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  And I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand" (D&C 138: 2-4, 12-15).

The Doctrine and Covenants contains over 60 names for Jesus Christ.  You may want to mark them or list them as you read through the book.  It truly testifies of Christ. There is a beautiful list of D&C scriptures that testify of different aspects of Christ's character in the Gospel Doctrine manual on p. 9.

HOW DOES THE ATONEMENT AFFECT OUR DAILY LIVES?

Here is the place to have your class members volunteer to finish the sentence on the board.  Encourage them to share personal experiences as they feel moved by the Spirit.  There should be many and varied answers, some of which may align with these shared by Elder Callister:

• We can be resurrected
• We can repent
• We can have peace of mind
• We can be succored in our challenges
• We can be motivated
• We can be exalted
• We can be made free
• We can receive grace

Because of the Atonement, "Every event, every encounter, every disaster, however despairing it may seem to the outward eye, may be met with spiritual success.  A temporal tragedy need never result in a spiritual defeat" (Callister, p. 244).

THE SCOPE OF THE ATONEMENT

Why doesn't God just hack down someone who is excessively evil and make life better for the rest of us?

There are many answers, but one is that often in His mercy, He "lengthens out their probation," to give them time to prepare to meet him, whereas those that the evil person torments or even kills are more prepared for judgment.

"Wickedness alone seldom, if ever, has been the cause of man's destruction; the greater tragedy is wickedness coupled with an unwillingness to repent" (Callister, 182).  Examples from the scriptures of extremely wicked people who eventually gained a willingness to repent are plentiful:  The people of Ninevah to whom Jonah preached, the people of Melchizedek, Alma the Elder, the Sons of Mosiah, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, Zeezrom.  In more recent world history, the author of the lyrics to the beloved hymn "Amazing Grace," is another example of the Lord's amazing patience with sinners who still have "the embers of repentance" inside.  Listening to his story may help Latter-day Saints to realize that they can also fall within the loving embrace of the Savior's grace, even if their sins are scarlet.

John Newton was born before the Restoration, in the year 1725.  He was British, a slave buyer in Africa, and the captain of slave ships.  He became a Christian in the year 1748 at the young age of 23, after surviving a violent storm at sea.  

"Though he might have become a Christian, he did not yet allow it to interfere with his making a living...He was hardly the poster boy for the truly penitent" (Barbara Mikkelson, Snopes.com).

He didn't quit the slave trade until 1754-55, when his wife begged him to settle down.  At that point, he became a "tides surveyor," or customs officer.

By 1764, his heart had changed enough that he was ordained a priest in the Church of England.

Around 1772, with a growing awareness of his grave past sins, and in gratitude for the Atonement, he composed the hymn, "Amazing Grace."  Originally, it was set to a different tune than we sing it to today, but the words have remained unchanged.

In the year 1780, he expressed regrets about his role as a slave trader.

In 1785 he began to fight to abolish slavery, speaking out in public, and encouraging William Wilberforce to fight it from within the British Parliament.  He continued this crusade until his death in 1807, the same year in which the abolition of the slave trade in England was finally achieved, over 50 years before it was achieved in the United States, and without a civil war. 

(This was portrayed beautifully in the stirring film, "Amazing Grace," directed by Michael Apted. There are some disturbingly accurate scenes depicting the horrors of the slave ships, but overall, the movie is triumphant, stunning, and definitely enlightening, appropriate for later teens and adults.)

"Newton did eventually grow into his conversion, so that by the end of his days he actually was the godly man one would expect to have penned 'Amazing Grace.'  But it was a slow process effected over the passage of decades, not something that happened with a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning.  In Newton's case, the 'amazing grace' he wrote of might well have referred to God's unending patience with him.  Still, Newton's story gives us all hope--even the greatest of sinners can ultimately and meaningfully repent" (Barbara Mikkelson, Snopes.com  Urban Legends Reference Pages, 5 biographical sources listed at the end of the article).

In his own words, "Only God's amazing grace could and would take a rude, profane, slave-trading sailor and transform him into a child of God."  (I'm finding the quote all over the internet, but I'm getting tired of looking for the original reference.  If anyone else knows it, please post it in the comments.)

John Newton's hymn, "Amazing Grace," has been recorded over 1800 times.  You can see it sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir outdoors with beautiful scenery on YouTube.  Here are the complete original words:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear, 
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be forever mine.

A final verse was included in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, which may have been written by her or taken from another hymn, but is commonly included with the hymn today:

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

CONCLUSION

"When we more fully understand the depths to which the Savior descended, the breadth to which he reached, and the heights to which he ascended, we can more readily accept that our own sins are within the vast sphere of his conquered domain.  We then become believers, not only in the Atonement's infinite expanse, but in its intimate reach" (Callister, 197).

"[The Atonement] replaces despair with hope, darkness with light, and turmoil with peace" (Callister, 203).

     

New Youth Curriculum

I have launched another blog of teaching aids for the new youth "Come Unto Me" curriculum.  While I won't treat every discussion topic since I'm still doing this blog, I will have at least a couple of ideas for each month.  Follow the link on the upper right of this blog to get there.

Christmas Lessons

If you have more weeks than lessons in the month of December, here are some ideas for a Christmas lesson:

The Purpose of Christmas

Unto You Is Born a Savior

The Measure of Our Faith

Moroni 7-9

IDEAS FOR STUDY OF CHAPTER SEVEN

“And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning faith, hope, and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the synagogue which they had built for the place of worship.” (Moroni 7:1)

This is Mormon's great discourse on faith, hope and charity, almost identical in parts to another chapter of scripture—Where? 1 Corinthians 13, written by Paul, and D&C 46 revealed to Joseph Smith. The writing is so similar, we can only conclude that they must have gotten it from the same Source.  Here is a thought regarding these triplet chapters on faith, hope, and charity: They both follow instructions on how church organizations are to run, how meetings are to be conducted, and/or how church members are to view each other. What can we learn from that?

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CHAPTER EIGHT

The text of chapter eight is a letter from Mormon lambasting a terrible wickedness among the people. “Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and an endless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they stand against you at the judgment-seat of Christ.” (Moroni 8:21) What is this terrible wickedness? It's infant baptism! Why is this so awful? (Wait for class response.) 

The answer can be found in verse 20: “And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption.” Because of their mortal fallen state, being pure and sinless is not enough to save infants, but it is enough to qualify them to be saved by Christ through the Atonement. Saying that children need baptism denies the power of Christ. Those who believe thus do not know Christ, and knowing Christ is essential to being saved in his kingdom. Therefore, they are consigned to hell and endless torment.

Moroni 1-6

A PRIESTHOOD HANDBOOK

After recording the story of the Jaredite civilization, Moroni was surprised to find himself still alive and decided there must be something else he could contribute to the record.  Perhaps he considered that he was the last member of the Church before an apostasy, and that the Church would have to be restored from the ground up, so he added a brief Priesthood handbook, chapters 1-5.

It is very interesting to think that his society, so different than ours today, had the exact ordinances that we do, and with the exact wording.  This was also revealed to Joseph Smith (a revelation possibly initiated by his reading Moroni's words), so we know we are supposed to do the ordinances in the same way.  In our worldwide church, we have many, many different societies, many different cultures, and yet we all participate in the very same ordinances.  Beyond that, our meetings, unlike those of many other denominations, are conducted under the direction of the Spirit.  (Moroni 6:9)

If you have a well-traveled member in your ward, you may like to ask him or her to share some experiences of attending church in other wards and branches around the world.

 REQUIREMENTS FOR BAPTISM

Moroni then listed five requirements for prospective members to meet if they desired to join the Church through baptism:

1. "And now I speak concerning baptism.  Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.
2. "Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit,
3. "And witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.
4. "And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ,
5. "Having a determination to serve him to the end."  (Moroni 6:1-3)

 And then he gave the expectations for those who were already in the Church regarding the new members: 

"And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken..."

Why was this important?  To meet a quota?  To make sure their tithing got collected?  No.  It was so the members could be aware of them in order to follow the Savior's injunction in the New Testament to "feed my lambs."

"...that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith."  (Moroni 6:4)

"All of us have tried at some time to nourish another person’s faith. Most of us have felt the concern of others for our own faith, and with it we have felt their love. More than a few of us have had a child look up to us and say, 'Would you like to go to church with me?' or, 'Would you pray with me?' And we have had our disappointments. Someone we love may not have accepted our attempts to nourish his or her faith. We know from painful experience that God respects the choice of His children not to be nourished. Yet this is a time to feel renewed optimism and hope that our power to nourish will be increased.

"The Lord through His living prophet has told us that He will preserve the bounteous harvest of new converts entering the waters of baptism. And the Lord will do it through us. So we can have confidence that by doing simple things, things that even a child can do, we will be granted greater power to nourish tender faith...

"Those new members of the Church are His children. He has known them and they have known Him in the world before this one. His purpose and that of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is to have them return to Him and to give them eternal life if they will only choose it. He has led and sustained His missionaries by the Holy Spirit to find and teach and baptize them. He allowed His Son to pay the price of their sins. Our Father and the Savior see those converts as tender lambs, purchased with a price we cannot fathom.

"A mortal parent may appreciate, in some small way, the feelings of a loving Heavenly Father. When our children come to the age when they must leave our direct care, we feel anxiety for their safety and concern that those who are to help them will not fail them. We can feel at least some of the Father’s and the Savior’s love for the new members of the Church and the trust They place in us to nourish."  (Elder Henry B. Eyring, "Feeding His Lambs", February 2008 Ensign.)

This would be a great time to have class members share times when they or members of their family were "remembered and nourished by the good word of God" through members of their congregations.

"We can by simple obedience help the Lord to take the lambs, His lambs, into His hands and take them in His arms home to their Father and our Father. I know that God will pour out the powers of heaven upon us as we join in preserving that sacred harvest of souls."  (Elder Eyring, ibid.)

(Pictures in this post are from lds.org and are legal to use for teaching purposes.)

Ether 6-11

Putting Ourselves in the Hands of the Lord

The Jaredites headed off to sea in their barges, as chapter 6, verse 4, says, “commending themselves unto the Lord their God.”  They put themselves in the Lord’s hands.  And then what happened?  The Lord provided for them a mighty rough ride!

“And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.   And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.  And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters” (Ether 6:5-7).  They commended themselves unto the Lord, trusting that he would do what was best for them.  And what the Lord thought was best for them was a lengthy period of trial as they crossed the sea, a lot of difficulties and fearful situations that would require them to continue to ask for his help. 

But their response teaches us a lesson: while still experiencing these hard times, while still suffering in their freight cars on the ocean waves, they recognized the Lord’s help and thanked him for it without ceasing. 

“And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.  And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.  And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water” (Ether 6:9-11). 

They could not learn that no monster could break them, they could not learn that no whale could mar them, unless they actually encountered monsters and whales.  They learned what the Lord wanted them to learn from this trial, and that was that they could survive terrible situations because He would not forsake them.  For almost a year (344 days) in all of these extremities, “whether above the water or below the water,”  they had the light provided by His finger.  This is a great truth that we will also need to learn, and our trials will help to teach us. 

“And they did land upon the shore of the promised land.  And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them” (Ether 6:12).

The Scriptures Help Us Have Faith Through Trials

Way back at the beginning of this study year, we read Nephi’s goal in keeping his record.  Chapter 1 of First Nephi closes with Nephi’s explanation of what he wanted to show by writing the story of his life and his great trials. It was simply this:

“But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.” (1 Nephi 1:20)

The story of the brother of Jared is just one more example of how enriched we are when we recognize the tender mercies of the Lord despite of—or because of—our problems.