Lesson 106: Esther
---Before
class, write the following questions on the board:
If you could have lived during any other
time period in history, when would it have been and why?
If you could have been born in any other
place in the present, where would it have been and why?
---Divide
students into pairs. Invite one student in each partnership to respond to the
first question on the board and the other student in each partnership to
respond to the second question.
---Invite
a few students to share their responses with the class.
---Then
write the following question on the board:
Why has the Lord sent me to the earth at
this time and placed me in my circumstances?
---The
book of Esther relates the story of a young woman who was placed in a situation
in which she had an opportunity to perform a great act of service for the Lord’s
people.
---Open
to Bible Maps, no. 7,
“The Persian Empire,” in the Bible
appendix. Esther was born when the Jews were in captivity and exile. In
Esther’s day, the Persian Empire controlled a large portion of the Middle East.
Esther lived in Shushan, which was the capital of the Persian Empire.
---Why did
Mordecai’s suggestion for Esther to go to the king concern her?
---When
Mordecai received Esther’s response describing her concern, he sent her another
message.
(the
phrase “holdest thy peace” means to not
speak, and the word enlargement in verse 14 means relief [see footnote a].)
---What do you think Mordecai
meant when he told Esther that she might have come to the kingdom “for such a
time as this” (verse 14)?
---What truths can we learn from
Mordecai’s suggestion about why Esther might have become queen?
The Lord can place us in particular
circumstances so we can help others.
---Briefly
ponder the third question written on the board at the beginning of class.
---Like
Esther, we have a responsibility to help other people in the various
circumstances and situations we are in, even when we may feel hesitant to do
so.
President
Spencer W. Kimball taught that the Lord has placed specific people within
our sphere of influence whom we can help save:
“I
feel the Lord has placed, in a very natural way within our circles of friends
and acquaintances, many persons who are ready to enter into his Church. We ask
that you prayerfully identify those persons and then ask the Lord’s assistance
in helping you introduce them to the gospel” (Teachings of Presidents of the
Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 262).
---President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Ask students to listen for what the Lord expects of
us:
“The
Lord gave you your responsibilities for a reason. There may be people and
hearts only you can reach and touch. Perhaps no one else could do it in quite
the same way” (“Lift Where You Stand,” Ensign or
Liahona, Nov. 2008, 56).
---According to President
Uchtdorf’s statement, what can each of us do in a unique way?
---Write
the following questions on the board,
---Invite
students to respond to them in their class notebooks:
When have you seen someone use his or her
position or circumstances to bless the lives of others?
In the particular circumstances the Lord
has placed you in, how can you bless the lives of others?
---Invite
a few students to share their thoughts with the class.
--Ponder
whether you have ever worried that you may not be strong enough to do something
that God wants you to do.
---Esther
sent another response to Mordecai through the palace messengers.
---What was courageous about
Esther’s decision?
---Why do you think Esther asked
that all of the Jews in the city fast for three days before she went in to see
the king?
---President
Thomas S. Monson taught the following about courage:
“We
will all face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us—all of
us—have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle.
Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a
living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness
to die manfully but also as the determination to live decently. As we move
forward, striving to live as we should, we will surely receive help from the
Lord and can find comfort in His words” (“Be Strong and of a Good Courage,” Ensign, May
2014, 69).
---What principle can we learn
from Esther about preparing to do difficult things?
If we fast and pray for the Lord’s
help, He can bless us with spiritual strength to do difficult things.
---Encourage
students to fast and pray for greater spiritual strength and courage to do
difficult things in their lives. You may want to suggest that students also
consider asking loved ones to join them in their fasting and prayers.
---Ask
students to read Esther
5:1
silently and try to imagine how Esther might have been feeling as she entered
the king’s inner court.
---Invite students to share their thoughts
with the class.
---Why do you think Esther was
willing to risk her life?
---Read
Esther
5:2–3
aloud looking for what happened when the king saw Esther. Invite students to
report what they find.
---The
remaining chapters of Esther, we will read the account of Esther aloud in a way
that resembles how it is read on the Jewish holiday of Purim (see Bible
Dictionary, “Feasts”). As part of this
celebration, the story of Esther is read aloud to children. When the name
Mordecai is read, they all cheer. In contrast, when the name Haman is read,
they all boo or show disapproval.
---Write
the following scripture passages on the board:
---Invite
two students to read these passages aloud at the appropriate times in the
following script. Invite the class to follow along as the students read aloud.
---You can read
the part of the narrator.
|
Narrator:
|
After the king
asked Esther what she wanted from him, she asked if he and Haman would come
to a banquet that she would prepare for them. The king and Haman gladly
accepted the invitation.
|
|
Student 1:
|
|
|
Narrator:
|
The king could
not sleep the night before the banquet. He had some official reports read to
him and learned that Mordecai had saved his life by stopping the
assassination attempt. As a result, he had Haman bestow a great honor on
Mordecai, further fueling Haman’s hatred of Mordecai and the Jews.
|
|
Student 2:
|
|
|
Narrator:
|
After Haman
died, King Ahasuerus gave a second decree to preserve the Jews and give them
power to destroy their enemies within the kingdom. The Feast of Purim was
instituted to help the Jews remember their deliverance from Haman. Mordecai
was elevated to second-in-command in the kingdom.
|
---What were the consequences of
Esther acting courageously to save the Jews? What principles can we learn from
the example of Queen Esther?
If we act courageously to do what
is right, then our efforts can bless the lives of many people.
---When have you or someone you
know acted courageously to do the right thing? How were others blessed because
of this courageous action?
RAND
PACK STORY
---How were the
lives of others blessed by Rick’s courageous action?
---Conclude
the lesson by inviting students to testify of truths they have learned from the
account of Esther.
---Invite
students to follow the example of Esther by acting courageously to choose the
right in difficult situations and finding ways to serve others.
President
Spencer W. Kimball taught that the Lord has placed specific people within
our sphere of influence whom we can help save:
“I
feel the Lord has placed, in a very natural way within our circles of friends
and acquaintances, many persons who are ready to enter into his Church. We ask
that you prayerfully identify those persons and then ask the Lord’s assistance
in helping you introduce them to the gospel” (Teachings of Presidents of the
Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 262).
Esther
4:16. “If I perish, I perish”
President
Thomas S. Monson taught the following about courage:
“We
will all face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us—all of
us—have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle.
Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a
living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness
to die manfully but also as the determination to live decently. As we move
forward, striving to live as we should, we will surely receive help from the
Lord and can find comfort in His words” (“Be Strong and of a Good Courage,” Ensign, May
2014, 69).
RAND
PACKER STORY
“When
I was 14, I went camping with some friends. As we sat in a circle talking, one
of the guys reached into his pack and pulled out a can of beer. Everyone went
silent as he popped the lid and held it high above his head. ‘If any of you are
men,’ he bellowed, ‘you’ll have a drink with me.’ Tilting the can to his lips,
he took a large swallow.
“All
the eyes were on the can as the boy next to him received it in his waiting
hand. He didn’t hesitate. He took a swig with great bravado in front of us all.
The can moved to the next boy in the circle.
“As
it moved in my direction, my mind searched for a quick solution, a cool
response that would rescue me. …
“… The
can found its way to the third boy. … Try as he did, he could not handle the
pressure. He took a drink and hurriedly passed the can to my friend—my
example—Rick.
“My
heart was pounding as I realized that I was the next one in the circle to
receive the can. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of this one. …
‘Rick,’ I thought to myself, ‘if you take one sip of that, I’m going to slug
you.’ …
“For
a moment, Rick just stared at the can. Then he casually put it down, reached
into his pack, and fished around until he found what he was looking for. He
raised a purple can into the air for all to see.
“‘If
any of you are men,’ Rick yelled, ‘you’ll have a drink of grape soda with me!’
Rick popped the lid, brought the can to his lips, and tilted his head back
dramatically as he drank from it. Then he passed it back in the direction from
which the beer had come.
“The
kid next to Rick found himself holding the soda now. Everyone was staring at
him. He gladly drank some and passed it on. As they were enjoying the grape
soda, Rick grabbed the beer can and threw it as far as he could. The can,
frothing at one end as it twirled in the air, dropped into the gully below.
“It
takes just one person to stand up for what’s right, to stop the darkness from
creeping in. Just as one bulb can light a dark room, so can one person chase
away the adversary. I’ll always remember Rick for the light he turned on for us
all” (Rand Packer, “Gulp!” New Era, July
2004, 26–27).
After the king asked Esther what she
wanted from him, she asked if he and Haman would come to a banquet that she
would prepare for them. The king and Haman gladly accepted the invitation.
Student 1:
9 ¶Then
went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai
in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of
indignation against Mordecai.
12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no
man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself;
and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
14 ¶Then
said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of
fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be
hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the
thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
Narrator:
The
king could not sleep the night before the banquet. He had some official reports
read to him and learned that Mordecai had saved his life by stopping the
assassination attempt. As a result, he had Haman bestow a great honor on
Mordecai, further fueling Haman’s hatred of Mordecai and the Jews.
1 So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the
queen.
2 And the king
said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen
Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of
the kingdom.
3 Then Esther the
queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it
please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my
request:
4 For we are
sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we
had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the
enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.
5 ¶Then the king
Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he,
that durst presume in his heart to do so?
6 And Esther
said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king
and the queen.
9 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the
king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for
Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman.
Then the king said, Hang him thereon.
10 So they hanged
Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s
wrath pacified.
Narrator:
After
Haman died, King Ahasuerus gave a second decree to preserve the Jews and give
them power to destroy their enemies within the kingdom. The Feast of Purim was
instituted to help the Jews remember their deliverance from Haman. Mordecai was
elevated to second-in-command in the kingdom.
When have you seen
someone use his or her position or circumstances to bless the lives of others?
In the particular
circumstances the Lord has placed you in, how can you bless the lives of
others?
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