Everyone: Name some poor choices that people could make
because of anger or jealousy.
---As
you study 1 Samuel 18, you will learn principles
that will help them better understand the dangers of anger and jealousy and
help them know how to respond when others are angry or jealous.
---Summary
of 1 Samuel
18:1–5:
After David defeated Goliath, he became close friends with Saul’s son Jonathan.
Saul set David over the army. Jonathan could have been jealous of David’s
success, but he instead rejoiced. When Jonathan gave his clothing and weapons
to David, he was showing his friendship and his support of David becoming the
next king.
1.
---How did Saul respond to
David’s success and recognition in battle?
---The
phrase “Saul eyed David from that day and forward” in verse 9, and explain that
it refers to Saul’s growing jealousy and anger toward David.
---Remember
that the Joseph Smith Translation
changes the phrase “the evil spirit from God” to “the evil spirit which was not
of God.”
---Based on this account, what
happens to us when we allow ourselves to be jealous and angry?
When we are jealous and angry, we
allow_____________________________________________________________.
---Why do you think jealousy and
anger allow the influence of the adversary into our lives?
VIDEO
CLIP Avoid Envy
2.
---Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland:
“There
are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected
blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be
hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another
person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a
race against each other. … The race we are really in is the race against sin,
and surely envy is one of the most universal of those.”
---What reasons did Elder
Holland give for why we should not feel envious when others receive blessings?
---Remember
to strive to avoid jealousy when others receive a blessing or some other
recognition but instead to be excited for others’ blessings or achievements.
---What do you think it means to
behave wisely?
---Based on what Alma told his
son, what does it mean to behave wisely?
---What does the phrase “behaved
himself wisely in all his ways” in 1 Samuel
18:14
tell us about David?
---What can we learn about
behaving wisely from this account about David?
As we behave
wisely, we invite
______________________________________________________________________________.
---When have you seen someone
behave wisely in a difficult situation? What lessons did you learn?
---What can you do to behave
wisely in your everyday life? Give specific examples.
---Summary
of 1 Samuel
18:17–27:
Saul devised a plan to have David killed. He offered one of his daughters for
David to marry if David would kill one hundred Philistines. Saul hoped that
David would be killed in battle, but David was victorious and married Saul’s
daughter Michal.
3.
---What
would you do if someone was chasing you and trying to harm you?
---Summary
of 1 Samuel
19:1–17:
Saul commanded his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. Jonathan
informed David of his father’s plans and persuaded Saul to promise not to kill
David. However, after David returned victorious from another battle with the
Philistines, Saul’s jealousy returned and he tried repeatedly to kill David.
---Why do you think it was wise
for David to flee there?
---Summary
of 1 Samuel
19:19–24:
When Saul found out David was with the prophet Samuel, he attempted to capture
David. However, because of the Lord’s influence, Saul was unable to take him.
---In
1 Samuel 20 we learn that
after David left the prophet Samuel, David met with Jonathan and they made a
covenant of friendship. Jonathan covenanted to warn David of danger from his
father and David covenanted to watch over Jonathan’s family, including his posterity. David decided to hide from
the king the next day instead of eating with him, and he requested Jonathan’s
help in discovering Saul’s plot against him. When Saul did not see David at his
table the next day, he became angry and told Jonathan that if David was allowed
to live then Jonathan would never be king. Jonathan sent a message to David to
flee for safety.
---Read
the chapter headings for 1 Samuel
21–22
looking for whom David fled to for safety and what Saul did to those who helped
David.
4.
---Imagine
the following scenario:
You are being continually ridiculed and
belittled by a peer at school. This peer also tries to turn your friends
against you. One day, you discover a way to get revenge or retaliate.
---How should you respond to the
opportunity to get revenge? Why?
---Look
for a principle as you study 1 Samuel
23–24
that can guide you when you are tempted to retaliate against others.
---Summary
of 1 Samuel 23: When Saul
discovered David’s location, he again sent his men to capture David. These men
pursued David into the wilderness. While in the wilderness, Jonathan found
David and encouraged him in his ordeal. While chasing David, Saul learned that
the Philistines had again invaded his land, and he returned home to fight the
Philistines.
---Read
1 Samuel
24:1–3
looking for the situation David found himself in when Saul resumed his pursuit.
---What situation did David find
himself in?
---How might you have felt if
you had been in David’s position and realized that the man who had been trying
to kill you was vulnerable and in the cave where you were hiding?
---What did David do to Saul?
Cutting
off the skirt of Saul’s robe meant that David cut off the border of Saul’s robe
that symbolized Saul’s authority. It also showed that David had been close
enough to Saul to harm him, but he had chosen not to.
---If you had been in Saul’s
position, how might you have felt when you found out that David had spared your
life?
---Read
1 Samuel
24:8–15
looking for why David said he would not kill Saul. Then discuss the following
questions:
---Who did David say was the
judge between him and Saul?
---What does David’s remark that
he would not stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed (see verses 6
and 10)
teach us about David?
---What principle can we learn from David
about not seeking revenge against those who have hurt us?
Because the Lord is a perfect judge,
we do not need _________________________________________________.
---Consider
how this principle might help someone know what to do when they have a chance
to retaliate against someone who has hurt them.
---What might be the danger in
our trying to judge others?
---Remember
to let the Lord be the judge in situations when others hurt you and to not seek
revenge. Pray for help to overcome any desires to seek revenge you may have.
Note: Seeking revenge
is different from seeking justice. Letting the Lord be the judge does not mean
you should not seek help when it is needed. For example, victims of any type of
abuse should still seek help from parents and priesthood leaders as needed.
Everyone together:
Demonstration
---How might the effect of the
first domino falling relate to the good choices we make in our lives?
---Look
for a principle as you study 1 Samuel 25 that relates to
the effects your good choices have on the people around you.
Summary
of 1 Samuel 25–31: Samuel the prophet
died and all the Israelites gathered to mourn his loss. After Samuel’s funeral,
David and his men went into the wilderness. While fleeing from Saul, David’s
men sought supplies from a wealthy man named Nabal. Nabal, who was described as
being “rude, rough, [or] hard,” insulted David’s men and refused to help them. One
of Nabal’s servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, how her husband had mistreated
David’s men. The servant also told Abigail how David and his men had provided
protection to Nabal’s servants and had never tried to take any of Nabal’s
animals. David intended to slay Nabal and his servants, but Nabal’s wife,
Abigail, interceded. When Abigail found David in the wilderness, she bowed
before him and humbly asked him to spare her household despite the iniquities
of her husband. She calmed David, who spared Nabal’s life. Nabal died shortly
after he found out that Abigail had made peace with David. After Nabal’s death,
David sent for Abigail and the two were married.
5.
---What principle does this account
illustrate about the potential influence of one person’s righteous choice?
Our righteous choices can bless not
only us but also _________________________________________________.
---How
does Abigail’s action relate to the effect the first domino had on the other
dominoes?
---Think
about a time when you were blessed because one of your peers made a righteous
choice.
---Remember
to make righteous choices and to look for blessings that come to others because
of those righteous choices.
---Summary
of 1 Samuel
26–27:
King Saul took 3,000 men into the wilderness to find and kill David. When Saul
and his men were asleep in their camp one night, David and one of his servants
went to where Saul was sleeping. David’s servant wanted to kill Saul, but David
refused. Later, when King Saul discovered that David had spared his life again,
he said he would no longer seek David’s life. David did not believe Saul, so he
moved his family to live among the
Philistines.
When
Saul was unable to receive guidance from the Lord, he sought help from the
witch of Endor. The Amalekites attacked the Philistine kingdom where David had
fled, but David’s army repelled the attack. Three of Saul’s sons were killed in
battle with the Philistines, and Saul took his own life.
Another
demonstration:
---Earlier
you discussed how these dominoes could illustrate the effects of righteous
choices.
---How might the effect of these
dominoes represent poor choices?
---As
you study 1 Samuel 28, look for a
principle that relates to the effects our poor choices can have.
---In
1 Samuel
28:1–5
we learn that the king of the Philistines wanted David to go with him to war
against Israel.
---Read
1 Samuel
28:5–6
aloud and look for how Saul felt when he saw the Philistines and what happened
when he asked the Lord for help.
---Why do you think the Lord did
not answer Saul?
---Why can our disobedience make
it difficult to receive personal revelation and answers to our prayers?
---What can we learn from this
account about what happens to us when we disobey God
When we willfully disobey God, _________________________________________________________________.
6.
---What
major decisions will you have to make in the next few years?
---Why might it be important for
you to have God’s strength and guidance in your life as you face those
decisions?
---If you had been one of King
Saul’s advisers, what would you have told him he should do to receive answers
to his prayers?
Instead
of being obedient to the Lord and continuing to seek and strive to be worthy of
revelation, Saul chose to turn to wicked sources. By seeking out the woman from
Endor, Saul broke God’s command not to turn to those with familiar spirits. The
phrase “hath got a familiar spirit” in verse 7 refers to a
person who claimed to be able to speak with the dead.
---Summary
of 1 Samuel
28:11–25:
The woman Saul went to see claimed that she had called the prophet Samuel from
the dead to speak to Saul. She told Saul that he and his sons would be killed
the next day in battle with the Philistines. Despite what she said, it is not
possible for a person like this woman to be able to summon the spirits of the
Lord’s departed servants. She either pretended to see Samuel or was under the
influence of evil powers when she delivered her message to Saul.
From
Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr.:
“It
is beyond rational belief that such persons could at any period in ancient or
modern times, invoke the spirits of departed servants or handmaidens of the
Lord. They are not at the beck and call of witches, wizards, diviners, or
necromancers. Pitiable indeed would be the condition of spirits in paradise if
they were under any such control. They would not be at rest, nor be able to
enjoy that liberty from the troubles and labors of earthly life which is
essential to their happiness, but be in a condition of bondage, subject to the will
and whims of persons who know not God and whose lives and aims are of the
earth, earthy”
---Refer
back to the list of major decisions you made.
---What are some of the positive
consequences that might come from making righteous decisions?
---What are some of the negative
consequences that might come from making unrighteous decisions?
---Summary
of 1 Samuel
29:1–11;
30:1–3: David and his
men were with the armies of the Philistines as they went to fight the
Israelites. Several Philistine leaders did not want David and his men in the
battle, so the king commanded David and his men to return to the land of the
Philistines. When they returned, they found that their city had been destroyed
by the Amalekites and that their families had been taken captive.
---How did David and his men responded?
---Read
1 Samuel
30:6–8
looking for what David did during this time of tragedy. The phrase “encouraged
himself in the Lord his God” meant that he trusted in the Lord (see verse 6,
footnote a).
The breastplate of the high priest, which held the Urim and Thummim, was attached to
the ephod (part of the dress of the high priest; see Exodus
28:26–30).
These were divinely approved instruments of revelation. David had asked the
high priest to bring the ephod so David could inquire of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim.
---Why do you think David was
blessed with the Lord’s direction but King Saul was not?
---What principle can this
account teach us about inviting the Lord to direct our lives
When we are faithful, we invite ____________________________________________________________________.
---Think
of a time when you have felt that the Lord directed their lives.
---Summary
of 1 Samuel
30:9–31;
31:1–13: David and his
army conquered the Amalekites and rescued their families. David then shared the
enemy’s supplies with his people. In the meantime, the Philistines went to
battle against the Israelites. Three of Saul’s sons were killed. Saul was badly
wounded, and when he feared he would be killed in battle by the Philistines, he
took his own life.
---Consider
what effect the choices you are making now will have on you and the people
around you. Make righteous choices so you can be directed by the Lord.
VIDEO
CLIP: Finding Your Purpose in Life: Does Faith Matter? (5:08)
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