Wednesday
---Ask
students what they think might be required to gain entrance to the following: a
movie theater, an office building with security, a public sporting event, and a
prestigious university.
---Why are there requirements
for entering these or other places?
---Read
Psalm
24:3
aloud and look for another place we can enter only after we have met certain
qualifications.
---What do you think the phrases
“the hill of the Lord” and “his holy place” refer to? (The temple or the Lord’s
presence.
---You
may want to explain that the temple in Jerusalem was built on top of a hill.)
---Read
Psalm
24:4–5
aloud and look for what we must do to qualify to worship in the Lord’s house
and be prepared to dwell in His presence.
---According to verse 4, what must we do
to qualify to worship in the Lord’s house and be prepared to dwell in His
presence? (Using students’ words, write a principle similar to the following on
the board: To be worthy to worship in the
Lord’s house and to be prepared to dwell in His presence, we must have clean
hands and a pure heart.)
---What do you think it means to
have clean hands and a pure heart?
---In what ways can unrighteous
influences make it difficult for us to have clean hands and a pure heart?
---Assure
students that although it may be difficult for us to keep our hands clean and
our hearts pure because of the evil influences that often surround us, it is
possible to do so because of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
---Invite
a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder David A. Bednar
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
---Encourage
students to find and mark phrases that help them understand the Savior’s role
in helping us to have clean hands and a pure heart.
Elder David A. Bednar:
“Let
me suggest that hands are made clean through the process of putting off the
natural man and by overcoming sin and the evil influences in our lives through
the Savior’s Atonement. Hearts are purified as we receive His strengthening
power to do good and become better. All of our worthy desires and good works,
as necessary as they are, can never produce clean hands and a pure heart. It is
the Atonement of Jesus Christ that provides both a cleansing and redeeming
power that helps us to overcome sin and a sanctifying and strengthening power
that helps us to become better than we ever could by relying only upon our own
strength” (“Clean Hands and a Pure Heart,” Ensign or
Liahona, Nov. 2007, 82).
---What phrases in this
statement help you understand what we must do to have clean hands and a pure
heart?
---How does the Savior help us
in this process?
---Invite
students to read Psalm
24:3–5
again silently and to ponder how well they are meeting the Lord’s requirements
to enter His temple and ultimately dwell in His presence.
---Testify
of the Savior’s role in helping us to be worthy to dwell with Him and our
Father in Heaven.
---Encourage
students to do whatever is necessary for them to be able to stand before the
Lord with clean hands and a pure heart.
Wednesday
---Ask
students to tell about a time when they have been in awe of the beauty or
enormity of God’s creations.
---You
might also share a personal experience.
---If
you have a picture that illustrates your experience, you could show that also.
---Explain
that part of Psalm 33 is a song
praising the Lord for His power and goodness, which are manifest in His
creations.
---Invite
students to read Psalm
33:1–3
silently, looking for what the writer of this psalm wants us to do.
---What does the writer of this
psalm want us to do?
---Read
Psalm
33:4–9
aloud looking for reasons why the people of the earth should praise the Lord
and sing to Him.
---Ask students to report what they find.
---What do you think it means in
verse 8 to “fear the
Lord” and “stand in awe of him”? (In this context, to “fear the Lord” means to
respect or reverence Him and His power. To “stand in awe of him” implies that
we should praise and admire Him and His creations.)
---Write
the following incomplete statement on the board:
Pondering about the
Lord and His creations can lead us to …
---Based on what you have read in Psalm 33, how would you
complete this statement? (The following is one way students might complete the
principle: Pondering about the Lord and His
creations can lead us to praise and revere Him. Using students’
words, complete the statement on the board.)
---Give
students a few minutes to ponder about the Lord and what He has created for
them.
---Consider
singing as a class a hymn or song of praise such as “Praise
to the Lord, the Almighty” (Hymns, no. 72), “For
the Beauty of the Earth” (Hymns, no. 92), or “My Heavenly Father Loves
Me” (Children’s Songbook, 228–29).
---Invite
students to share why they are thankful for the Lord and His creations.
Wednesday
Then
ask the following questions:
---What are some of the great
things David did in his life?
---What are some of the sinful
things David did in his life?
---Invite
students to imagine how David may have felt about his sins involving Bathsheba
and Uriah. Explain that David’s sincere remorse for these sins is recorded in Psalm 51. Although David
“hath fallen from his exaltation” because he had planned the death of Uriah (D&C
132:39),
he received a promise that his soul would not be left in hell (see Psalm
16:8–10;
History of the Church, 6:253). David’s humility and heartfelt desire to be
restored to God’s grace and acceptance are examples of true principles of
repentance. (See Bible Dictionary, “David.”)
---As
students study Psalm 51, invite them to
consider what lessons they can learn about repentance and about the Lord from
David’s pleas for forgiveness.
---Divide
students into groups of four.
---Ask
each group to assign each person in the group to look for answers to one of the
following questions (you may want to provide each group with a copy of the
following questions or write the questions on the board).
---Invite
them to mark in their scriptures or write on a piece of paper words and phrases
that help answer the following questions:
1. What is unrepented sin like?
2. What is repentance like?
3. What is forgiveness like?
4. What are some of the characteristics of
God?
---After
students have read the psalm, invite them to share their answers to their
individual questions with the other students in their group.
---You
might suggest that they mark in their scriptures or write on their papers words
and phrases shared by others in the group.
---Then
ask the class:
(Write
the doctrines and principles that students identify on the board. Their
responses could include principles such as the following: If
we acknowledge our sins and offer the Savior a broken heart and contrite
spirit, then He can make us clean. As we understand the merciful character of
God, we will have confidence to turn to Him to seek forgiveness of our sins and
help with our troubles.)
---What does it mean to offer the Savior a
broken heart and a contrite spirit?
---If
possible, provide students with copies of the following statement by Elder
Bruce D. Porter of the Seventy.
---Invite
a student to read the statement aloud. Ask the class to look for and mark what
Elder Porter teaches about having a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
“Those
who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit are willing to do anything and
everything that God asks of them, without resistance or resentment. We cease
doing things our way and learn to do them God’s way instead. In such a
condition of submissiveness, the Atonement can take effect and true repentance
can occur.”
---What can we do to receive a
more broken heart and contrite spirit?
---Share
your testimony that the Lord can make us clean if we acknowledge our sins and
come before Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
---Invite
students to consider what they will do to offer the Lord a broken heart and a
contrite spirit. Encourage them to turn to the Lord and trust that the Lord
will forgive them of their sins and help them with their troubles.
To
help students memorize Psalm
24:3–4,
divide students into pairs and ask each partnership to read the verses aloud
together three times. Invite the class to close their scriptures. Give each
partnership a piece of paper, and ask them to help each other write out the
verses as well as they can from memory. After sufficient time, ask a few pairs
to read what they wrote. Allow students to open their scriptures and determine how
well they wrote out the verses. After a few students share their responses,
read the verses in unison as a class.
Commentary and
Background Information
Psalm
51:17. A broken heart and a contrite spirit
Elder
D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
“In
ancient times when people wanted to worship the Lord and seek His blessings,
they often brought a gift. For example, when they went to the temple, they
brought a sacrifice to place on the altar. After His Atonement and Resurrection, the Savior said
He would no longer accept burnt offerings of animals. The gift or sacrifice He
will accept now is ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit’ [3 Nephi
9:20].
As you seek the blessing of conversion, you can offer the Lord the gift of your
broken, or repentant, heart and your contrite, or obedient, spirit. In reality,
it is the gift of yourself—what you are and what you are becoming” (“When
Thou Art Converted,”
Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 12).
President
Ezra Taft Benson explained what it means to have “a broken heart and a contrite
spirit”:
“Godly
sorrow is a gift of the Spirit. It is a deep realization that our actions have
offended our Father and our God. It is the sharp and keen awareness that our
behavior caused the Savior, He who knew no sin, even the greatest of all, to
endure agony and suffering. Our sins caused Him to bleed at every pore. This
very real mental and spiritual anguish is what the scriptures refer to as
having ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit.’ (See 3 Ne.
9:20;
Moro.
6:2;
D&C
20:37;
59:8; Ps.
34:18;
51:17; Isa.
57:15.)
Such a spirit is the absolute prerequisite for true repentance” (“A
Mighty Change of Heart,” Ensign, Oct. 1989, 4).
Supplemental
Teaching Idea
Psalm
33:10–22. The Lord helps those who respect and trust in Him
Summarize
Psalm
33:10–17
by explaining that it teaches that the Lord looks down from heaven on all of
us. Invite a student to read Psalm
33:18–22
aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for what the Lord does for those
who fear, or respect, Him.
•
What
does the Lord do for those who respect Him and hope in His mercy? (He delivers
their souls from death, keeps them alive in famine, and is their help and
shield.)
•
What
do you think it means that the Lord spiritually delivers our souls from death
and famine? How is He spiritually “our help and our shield”?
•
What
can we learn from these verses about being delivered from spiritual perils in
our lives? (Students may suggest a variety of principles, but make sure they
understand that as we respect the Lord and hope in His mercy, He can deliver us
from spiritual perils. Using students’ words, write this principle on the
board.)
To
help students reflect on experiences they have had that relate to this truth,
ask:
•
When
have you been helped, shielded, or spiritually fed because you showed respect
for the Lord and hoped in His mercy?
One
of the most effective ways to help students invite the influence of the Spirit
into their hearts and to prepare them to act on a principle they have learned
is to encourage them to reflect on personal experiences related to that
principle. Doing so can help students recognize the effect the principle has
had on their lives or the lives of others.
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