Thursday
---Display
several items that help provide people with direction or guidance, such as a
flashlight, a compass or GPS, a map, and a picture of a lighthouse.
---What do all these objects
have in common?
---How can each of these objects
provide someone with guidance and direction?
---What are some situations in
which youth today may need divine guidance and direction?
---Invite
students as they study Psalm 119 to look for what
can help give guidance and direction for our lives.
---Explain
that Psalm 119 is a poem
containing eight verses of scripture for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew
alphabet.
---Explain
that the word blessed in these verses means happy and that the word undefiled
in verse 1 means to be pure
or free from sin.
---According to the Psalmist,
what makes a person blessed or happy?
---How can obeying God’s words
and commandments bring us happiness?
---Point
out the word precepts in verse 4. Explain that
precepts are commandments or teachings to live by. Other words used as synonyms
for God’s words and teachings in this psalm include testimonies, statutes, law,
commandments, ordinances, and ways.
---Consider
listing these words on the board.
---Explain
that the writer of Psalm 119 used symbols to
describe his love for the word of God and the blessings that can come through
diligently studying and obeying His words. To help students understand these
symbolic expressions, write the following references on the board (do not write
the words and phrases in parentheses):
---Divide
students into five groups, and assign each group one of the references on the
board. (For smaller classes, you may need to assign several references to
individual students.)
---Display
the following objects or pictures of these objects: a hymnbook, coins (or
something representing riches), honey (or something sweet), a picture of a
path, and a picture of a counselor (for example, a counselor in the First Presidency
of the Church or a school counselor).
---Provide
each group with the following handout, and invite them to complete the
activities listed:
Handout
1.
Read your assigned scripture passage together, looking for what the Psalmist
compared to the word of God.
2.
Take the object or picture from the front of the classroom that corresponds to
your assigned scripture passage.
3.
Discuss how the object or picture is helpful in understanding the importance of
the word of God.
4.
Share examples or experiences that illustrate how the object or picture is like
the word of God.
---After
students have had sufficient time to complete the instructions on the handout,
ask them to select one student from each group to read their group’s assigned
scripture passage to the class, display their item, and share what they
discussed in their groups.
---What did the Psalmist liken the word of
God to?
---You
may want to dim the lights in the room and turn on a flashlight.
---How might the word of God be
like a lamp or light to us as we study it? (Write the following truth on the
board: As we study the word of God, we can receive guidance
for our lives.
You may want to suggest that students write this truth in their scriptures next
to Psalm
119:105
or in their class notebooks or scripture study journals.)
---What are sources of God’s
word that provide light and guidance for our lives?
---To
help students understand what we can do to obtain guidance from God’s word,
invite a student to read Psalm
119:11, 15–16
aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for what the Psalmist did with
the word of God.
---What did the Psalmist do with
the word of God?
---What do you think the
Psalmist meant in verse 11 by the phrase,
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart”?
---Write
the following question on the board, and ask students to ponder it and then
write a response in their class notebooks or scripture study journals:
When has the word of God been like a lamp
or light to you, giving guidance for your life?
---After
sufficient time, invite a few students to share what they wrote.
---
You may want to share how God’s word has helped guide and bless your life.
---Invite
students to write down a specific goal for what they will do to become more
familiar with the word of God so they can receive the promised guidance.
Thursday
---Display
a picture of children to the class.
---Read
the following scenario, and ask students to consider how they would respond:
A
friend says to you, “Having a family seems like a burden that would prevent me from doing
other important things with my life. When I get older, I think I would be much
happier if I did not have children.”
---How would you respond to your
friend?
---What are some priorities
people might put ahead of having children?
---In verse 3, what words did
the Psalmist use to describe children? (Heritage and reward. Explain that the
word heritage in verse 3 refers to an
inheritance, possession, or gift from the Lord.)
---According to verse 5, what did the
Psalmist say about the man who has a “quiver full” of children?
---What principle do these
verses teach about children? (Although students may state it differently, help
them identify the following principle: Children are gifts
from the Lord and can bring parents great happiness. Write this
principle on the board.)
---To
help students understand why children are cherished gifts from God, invite a
student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Neil L. Andersen of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
“It
is a crowning privilege of a husband and wife who are able to bear children to
provide mortal bodies for [the] spirit children of God. We believe in families,
and we believe in children.
“When
a child is born to a husband and wife, they are fulfilling part of our Heavenly
Father’s plan to bring children to earth. …
“Families
are central to God’s eternal plan. I testify of the great blessing of children
and of the happiness they will bring us in this life and in the eternities.”
---Why do you think bearing
children is a “crowning privilege” for a husband and wife who are able to do
so?
---How can children bring
parents great happiness?
---How can remembering that
children are gifts from the Lord influence our attitude toward having and
rearing children?
---You
may want to share your testimony of the blessings and happiness that can come
from having children.
Thursday
---Write
the following scripture references on the board: Psalm
140:1, 4;
Psalm
141:4;
Psalm
142:5–6;
Psalm
143:8–10;
Psalm
144:11.
---Invite
students to pick two of the scripture passages and read them silently, looking
for what David prayed for.
---What did David pray for?
---What modern enemies might we
pray for Heavenly Father to deliver us from?
---Write
the following phrase on the board:
A
principle I can learn from David is …
---Explain
that in verse 18 the word nigh
means to be close or near and that to call upon God “in truth” implies praying
with real intent and with a sincere heart (see Moroni
10:4).
---Ask
students to complete the statement on the board in their class notebooks or
scripture study journals based on what they have learned from these verses.
---Invite
a few students to share with the class the principle they wrote. Students may
identify a variety of principles, but make sure it is clear that As
we pray to God in sincerity and truth, He will be near us and if we love God,
He will spiritually preserve us.
---What does it mean to have God
near us?
---What blessings do you think
come from having God near us?
---Conclude
the lesson by encouraging students to pray with sincerity as David did.
To
help students memorize Psalm
119:105,
invite them to write the words of the verse on a card or small piece of paper.
Encourage them to place the paper on or near a lamp or a light switch in their
home for the next week and to quote the verse each time they see it.
Before
class, print or write the words from Psalm
127:3
on a piece of paper and make several copies. Cut each word out, and place the
words in an envelope or small bag. Do this for each copy you made. Divide the
class into small teams with two to four students on each team. Give each team
an envelope or bag containing the words from Psalm
127:3.
When you say “go,” each team is to arrange the words in the correct order to
form the passage. The first team to complete the passage wins. Invite each team
to repeat the verse until they can say it together in unison without looking at
it.
Note:
Because of the length of this lesson, you may want to use this activity on
another day when you have more time.
Commentary and
Background Information
Psalms 119.
Why are there Hebrew letters throughout Psalm 119?
Psalm 119 is “an acrostic
poem with eight verses for each of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew
alphabet. … One Hebrew letter and its name appears above each eight-verse
segment” (Ellis T. Rasmussen, A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old
Testament [1993], 455). Each eight-verse segment of the psalm begins with its
corresponding letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm
127:3. “Children are an heritage of the Lord”
“The
family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His
children. …
“Husband
and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for
their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalm
127:3).
Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to
provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and
serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens
wherever they live” (“The
Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 2010, 129).
Sister
Julie B. Beck, former general president of the Relief Society, explained
the importance of the rising generation preparing in their youth to have their
own families:
“The
rising generation need to understand that the command to ‘multiply, and
replenish the earth’ [Genesis
1:28;
Moses
2:28]
remains in force. Bearing children is a faith-based work. … Motherhood and
fatherhood are eternal roles. Each carries the responsibility for either the
male or the female half of the plan. Youth is the time to prepare for those
eternal roles and responsibilities” (“Teaching
the Doctrine of the Family,” Ensign, March 2011, 15).
Right
margin extras:
Origin
(4:57)
The best way to find truth is to go to the origin of truth—our Heavenly Father—and pray for inspiration. Consider showing this video and inviting students to think about how they might apply the following truth: As we study the word of God, we can receive guidance for our lives.
The best way to find truth is to go to the origin of truth—our Heavenly Father—and pray for inspiration. Consider showing this video and inviting students to think about how they might apply the following truth: As we study the word of God, we can receive guidance for our lives.
Having
Children in Faith (2:25)
It is a privilege for a husband and wife to be able to bear children. The decision of when to have children takes faith and is between the husband, the wife, and the Lord. You may want to share this video to help students understand that children are gifts from the Lord and can bring parents great happiness.
It is a privilege for a husband and wife to be able to bear children. The decision of when to have children takes faith and is between the husband, the wife, and the Lord. You may want to share this video to help students understand that children are gifts from the Lord and can bring parents great happiness.
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