Lesson 143: James 4–5
Introduction
James
counseled the Saints to resist the devil, to draw closer to God, and to
patiently endure affliction while awaiting the Second Coming of the Savior. He
taught that the sick should “call for the elders of the church” (James 5:14) to administer to them. James also
taught about the importance of helping sinners repent.
---Invite
students to think of a family member or friend they feel close to.
- Who did you think of? Why do you feel close to this person?
- How did you become close to this person?
---Ask
students to ponder how close they feel to God.
- How will our lives be blessed by having a strong relationship with God?
---Invite
students as they study James 4 to look for truths that can help
them strengthen their relationship with God.
---Summarize
James 4:1–3 by explaining that James rebuked the
Saints for giving in to worldly desires.
---Invite
a student to read James 4:4 aloud. Ask the class to follow along,
looking for the type of friendship James warned the Saints about. Explain that enmity
means hostility or hatred.
- What type of friendship did James warn the Saints about?
- What do you think it means to “be a friend of the world”? (If necessary, explain that James’s counsel in verse 4 does not mean we should avoid associating with individuals who are not members of the Church. Rather, we should avoid embracing the false teachings and unrighteous desires, standards, and practices of the world.)
- According to James, what happens to someone who befriends the world?
---Invite
students to read James 4:6–8 silently, looking for what James
counseled the Saints to do.
- What did James counsel the Saints to do?
- How can submitting ourselves to God help us resist the devil?
- According to verse 8, what must we do if we want to be closer to God? (After students respond, write the following principle on the board: As we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.)
- What can we do to draw near to God? (List students’ answers on the board.)
---To
help students understand one way in which we can draw near to God, point out
Paul’s instruction to “cleanse your hands” and “purify your hearts” (James 4:8). Explain that as used in the
scriptures, hands can represent our actions and the heart can represent our
desires.
- How do you think having clean hands and a pure heart helps us draw closer to God?
---Invite
a student to read James 4:9–12, 17 aloud. Ask the class to
follow along, looking for additional counsel James gave the Saints to help them
draw closer to God. Explain that the phrase “let your laughter be turned to
mourning” (verse 9) refers to having godly sorrow for
sin.
- What additional counsel did James give that could help someone draw closer to God?
- According to verse 17, what did James teach is a sin? (After students respond, write the following principle on the board: If we know to do good but choose not to do it, we commit sin.)
- Why do you think it is a sin to know the good things we should do but choose not to do them?
---Invite
a student to read aloud the following statement by President James E.
Faust, who served in the First Presidency:
“I fear that some of our greatest
sins are sins of omission. These are some of the weightier matters of the law
the Savior said we should not leave undone [see Matthew 23:23]. These are the thoughtful, caring
deeds we fail to do and feel so guilty for having neglected them.
“As a small boy on the farm during
the searing heat of the summer, I remember my grandmother Mary Finlinson
cooking our delicious meals on a hot woodstove. When the wood box next to the
stove became empty, Grandmother would silently pick up the box, go out to
refill it from the pile of cedar wood outside, and bring the heavily laden box
back into the house. I was so insensitive and interested in the conversation in
the kitchen, I sat there and let my beloved grandmother refill the kitchen wood
box. I feel ashamed of myself and have regretted my omission for all of my
life. I hope someday to ask for her forgiveness” (“The Weightier Matters of the Law: Judgment, Mercy, and
Faith,” Ensign, Nov. 1997, 59).
- What good act did President Faust neglect to do as a young boy? How did he feel as a result?
- What are examples of sins of omission that can prevent us from drawing closer to God?
- What can prevent us from doing the good acts that the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to do?
- When have you drawn closer to God by doing the good things you have been taught to do?
---Invite
students to write in their class notebooks or scripture study journals what
they will do to draw closer to God. Encourage them to act on any promptings
they receive.
II.
James 5 James teaches the Saints to
patiently endure affliction and instructs the sick to call for the elders
---Summarize
James 5:1–6 by explaining that James condemned
the rich who misused their wealth and persecuted the just. He warned that
misery and judgment awaited them.
---Invite
a few students to take turns reading aloud from James 5:7–11. Ask the class to follow along,
looking for what James instructed the Saints to do as they faced affliction
while awaiting the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
- According to verses 7–8, what did James counsel the Saints to do as they awaited the Savior’s Second Coming?
- According to verse 10, whom could the Saints look to for examples of people who patiently endured affliction?
- What are examples from the scriptures of prophets who patiently endured affliction?
---Explain
that James 5:13–16 records James’s counsel to the sick
and afflicted. Invite a student to read aloud the following scenario:
---A
friend says: “I feel awful. I have been sick for over a week. I have visited a
doctor and have been taking medication, but I still do not feel any better. I
do not know what else to do.”
---Ask
students to ponder what they would say to this friend. Invite a student to read
James 5:13–16 aloud. Ask the class to follow
along, looking for what James counseled the sick and afflicted to do.
- What did James counsel the sick and afflicted to do?
- What did James instruct elders to do for the sick? (To administer to the sick by the authority of the priesthood and to anoint them with oil.)
---Explain
that Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that
“when elders anoint a sick person and seal the anointing, they open the windows
of heaven for the Lord to pour forth the blessing He wills for the person
afflicted” (“Healing the Sick,” Ensign or Liahona, May
2010, 48).
- In addition to the power of the priesthood, what else did James say would save or heal the sick? (“The prayer of faith” [James 5:15].)
- What truth can we learn from James about how the sick can be healed? (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify the following truth: Through the prayer of faith and the power of the priesthood, the sick can be healed. Write this truth on the board.)
---To
help students understand this truth, provide the following statement by Elder
Dallin H. Oaks as a handout. Divide students into pairs, and invite each
pair to read the statement aloud together. Ask them to look for what Elder Oaks
taught about the prayer of faith and the healing power of the priesthood.
“As we exercise the undoubted power
of the priesthood of God and as we treasure His promise that He will hear and
answer the prayer of faith, we must always remember that faith and the healing
power of the priesthood cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him
whose priesthood it is. …
“… Even the servants of the
Lord, exercising His divine power in a circumstance where there is sufficient
faith to be healed, cannot give a priesthood blessing that will cause a person
to be healed if that healing is not the will of the Lord.
“As children of God, knowing of His
great love and His ultimate knowledge of what is best for our eternal welfare,
we trust in Him. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and faith means trust. … I felt that same trust in the words of the
father of [a] choice girl whose life was taken by cancer in her teen years. He
declared, ‘Our family’s faith is in Jesus Christ and is not dependent on
outcomes.’ Those teachings ring true to me. We do all that we can for the
healing of a loved one, and then we trust in the Lord for the outcome” (“Healing the Sick,” 50).
- How do Elder Oaks’s teachings help us understand the healing power of the priesthood?
- Why is it important for our faith in Jesus Christ to not depend on the outcome of a priesthood blessing?
---Invite
students to ponder experiences in which they or people they know have been
blessed through prayers of faith and the power of the priesthood. Ask students
to share how these experiences have strengthened their faith and testimonies.
(Remind them not to share anything too personal or sacred.)
---Point
out in verse 15 the relationship between the
healing of the sick and forgiveness
of sin. The kind of humility and faith required for us to be healed physically
is the same kind of humility and faith required for us to receive forgiveness
(see Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 297–98).
---Summarize
James 5:17–20 by explaining that James referred
to the prophet Elijah as an example of someone who used the power of fervent
prayer. He also counseled the Saints to help sinners repent.
---Conclude
by testifying of the truths taught in this lesson.
Commentary and Background Information
James
4:8. “Cleanse your hands … and purify your hearts”
Elder
David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained how we can
have clean hands and a pure heart:
“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” (“Clean Hands and a Pure Heart,” Ensign or Liahona,
Nov. 2007, 82).
James
5:15. “If he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him”
Elder
Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained the
connection between the healing of the sick and the forgiveness
of sin:
“The
person who by faith, devotion, righteousness, and personal worthiness, is in a
position to be healed, is also in a position to have the justifying approval of
the Spirit for his course of life, and his sins are forgiven him, as witnessed
by the fact that he receives the companionship of the Spirit, which he could
not have if he were unworthy” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 297–98).
James
5:20. “Hide a multitude of sins”
“James
taught that when a sinner is converted and receives the ordinances of
salvation, his sins are ‘hidden’—covered or forgiven—through the Atonement of Jesus
Christ and he is saved from spiritual death” (New Testament Student
Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 499).
Likewise,
the one who helps another person become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ
also receives great blessings. President Spencer W. Kimball taught the
following:
“Through
this missionary work of saving souls of others, one
comes to the point of bringing salvation and sanctification to himself. …
“The
proper motivation for missionary work of any kind, as for all Church service,
is of course love for fellowmen, but always such work has its by-product effect
on one’s own life. Thus as we become instruments in God’s hands in changing the
lives of others our own lives cannot help being lifted. One can hardly help
another to the top of the hill without climbing there himself” (The Miracle of Forgiveness
[1969], 205).
© 2016 by
Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Interesting,
relevant, and edifying lessons
When
you consistently present edifying lessons, students will develop an expectation
that they will learn something valuable each time they attend class. President
Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that students
“will not return with any enthusiasm unless they are being taught something.
They must learn something to want to return. They will come willingly, even
eagerly, to a class … in which they are fed” (Teach Ye Diligently [1975], 153–54).
Lesson 144: 1 Peter 1–2
Introduction
Peter
wrote to strengthen the faith of the Saints as they were suffering intense
persecution from the Roman Empire. He emphasized that they had been redeemed
through the precious blood of Jesus
Christ and reminded them of their divine heritage as God’s peculiar
people. Peter instructed the Saints to glorify God among men and endure
suffering as Jesus Christ did.
Note:
See the sidebar “Advance preparation” to prepare for lesson 149.
Advance
preparation
Lesson 149
includes a teaching suggestion that involves students receiving letters. If you
use this teaching suggestion, you will need to prepare several days in advance.
Contact each student’s parents or local Church leaders, and invite them to
write a short letter to the student expressing their joy at seeing the
student’s efforts to live the gospel. Collect the letters, and ensure that each
student has a letter when you teach lesson 149.
I.
1 Peter 1
Peter
teaches the Saints of their potential inheritance and the necessity of trials
---Display
or draw a picture of a crucible, and explain that a crucible is a container in
which metals or other substances are refined, which means they are heated and
melted in order to remove impurities and strengthen the final product.
---Invite
a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder M. Russell
Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
“As I travel throughout the Church, I see
members being tried in the crucible of affliction” (“Hyrum Smith: ‘Firm As the Pillars of Heaven,’”
Ensign, Nov. 1995, 9).
- What do you think Elder Ballard meant by the term “crucible of affliction”? (The challenging trials or adversities of life.)
---Explain
that Peter wrote his First Epistle to strengthen and encourage the Saints as
they experienced a crucible of affliction. Explain that until approximately A.D. 64,
about the time when Peter wrote this epistle, the Roman government displayed a
general tolerance for Christianity. In July of that year a fire destroyed much
of Rome. Some prominent Romans accused the Christians of starting the fire.
This led to the intense persecution of Christians throughout the Roman Empire.
Some of the mistreatment experienced by Christians came from their former
friends and neighbors.
---Invite
students to look for truths as they study 1 Peter 1–2 that can help us remain faithful
when we are tried in our crucibles of affliction.
---Summarize
1 Peter 1:1–2 by explaining that Peter
greeted the Saints in the Roman provinces of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and
reminded them that they were an elect people, meaning that they were chosen to
receive special blessings as they lived faithfully.
---Invite
a student to read 1 Peter 1:3–5 aloud. Ask the class to follow
along, looking for what Peter reminded Saints that Christ had done and for
future blessings promised to the Saints.
- What future blessings would the Saints receive if they remained faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ?
---Invite
a student to read 1 Peter 1:6 aloud, and ask the class to look
for how the Saints responded to the promise of these future blessings. Explain
that the word temptations in verse 6 refers to trials and afflictions
(see footnote b).
- How did the Saints respond to the promise of these future blessings? (They greatly rejoiced.)
- What principle can we learn from verses 3–6? (Students should identify a principle similar to the following: Although we experience trials, we can rejoice in Jesus Christ’s Atonement and in the future blessings God has promised to give us.)
- How can remembering the future blessings God has promised to give us help us rejoice even when we are experiencing trials?
----Invite
a student to read 1 Peter 1:7–9 aloud. Ask the class to follow
along, looking for what Peter taught about the Saints’ trial of faith.
- According to 1 Peter 1:7, what did Peter compare the Saints’ tried, or tested, faith to?
- In what ways might tried faith be like gold? (Faith that has been tried, like gold, is precious. However, faith is more precious than gold because gold “perisheth” [verse 7] while faith in Jesus Christ leads to salvation [see verse 9], which is eternal. In addition, gold is refined by fire. Similarly, our faith in Jesus Christ is tested and refined as we faithfully endure trials. Write this truth on the board.)
--Invite
a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Neil L. Andersen
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who explained how we can remain steadfast
and immovable during a trial of faith:
“How do you remain ‘steadfast and
immovable’ [Alma 1:25] during a trial of faith? You immerse
yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith: you exercise
faith in Christ, you pray, you ponder the scriptures, you repent, you keep the
commandments, and you serve others.
“When faced with a trial of
faith—whatever you do, you don’t step away from the Church! Distancing yourself
from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a
secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view” (“Trial of Your Faith,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov.
2012, 40).
- What did Elder Andersen encourage us to do in our trials of faith?
- Why do you think it is important to do these things when our faith is tested?
---Point
out that some of the Saints whom Paul wrote to may have been tempted to abandon
their faith as they experienced religious persecution. Invite students to read 1 Peter 1:13–17 silently, looking for
exhortations Peter gave to help the Saints faithfully endure their trials.
Consider inviting students to mark what they find.
- What did Peter exhort the Saints to do?
- How might Peter’s counsel have helped them faithfully endure their trials?
---Invite
a student to read 1 Peter 1:18–21 aloud. Ask the class to
follow along, looking for additional truths Peter taught the Saints to help
them faithfully endure their trials rather than abandon their faith.
- What truths did Peter teach the Saints in these verses? (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify one or more of the following truths: We are redeemed through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, He could offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice for us. Jesus Christ was foreordained to be our Redeemer.)
- How might remembering these truths have helped the Saints faithfully endure their trials?
---To
help students feel the importance of the truths they have identified in 1 Peter 1, invite them to think of a
time when they or someone they know chose to endure a trial with faith in Jesus
Christ. Ask a few students to share their experiences with the class.
---Encourage
students to ponder what they will do to remain faithful when they are tested in
the crucible of affliction.
---Summarize
1 Peter 1:22–25 by explaining that Peter
encouraged the Saints to love one another and to remember that they had been
born again by embracing the word of God, which endures forever.
II.
1 Peter 2:1–12 Peter emphasizes the Saints’
responsibilities
- What are some ways Church members are different from the world?
- What are some challenges we might face because we are different?
---Invite
students to look for a principle as they study 1 Peter 2 that will strengthen their
desire to be different from the world as members of the Lord’s Church.
---Summarize
1 Peter 2:1–8 by explaining that Peter taught
that the Saints are like living stones and that Jesus Christ is like a
cornerstone or foundation to the faithful. But to those who are disobedient, He
is “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” (verse 8), meaning that they are offended by Him.
---Invite
a student to read 1 Peter 2:9–10 aloud. Ask the class to
follow along, looking for how Peter described the faithful Saints.
- How did Peter describe the faithful Saints?
---Point
out that the word peculiar in verse 9 was translated from a Greek word
that means purchased or preserved and corresponds with a Hebrew word in Exodus 19:5 indicating God’s covenant people are
a special possession or valued treasure to Him (see 1 Peter 2:9, footnote f).
- How might the words Peter used to describe the Saints in verses 9–10 have helped them take courage as they experienced religious persecution?
---Invite
a student to read 1 Peter 2:11–12 aloud. Ask the class to
follow along, looking for what Peter pleaded with the Saints to do as the Lord’s
peculiar people. Explain that Peter may have called the Saints “strangers” and
“pilgrims” either because they lived among people who were culturally and
religiously different from the Saints or because they were away from their
heavenly home, living as mortals temporarily.
- According to verse 11, what did Peter say that the Saints must do to be separate from the world?
- According to verse 12, what influence did Peter say the Saints could have on others as God’s chosen and peculiar people?
- What truth do we learn from Peter about what God calls His Saints to do? (Students should identify a truth similar to the following: God calls His Saints to be separate and distinct from the world so that others can see their example and glorify Him.)
---Invite
a student to read aloud the following statement by Sister Elaine S.
Dalton, who served as general president of the Young Women organization:
“If you desire to make a difference
in the world, you must be different from the world” (“Now Is the Time to Arise and Shine!” Ensign or Liahona,
May 2012, 124).
- How has your choice to be separate and distinct from the world impacted others for good or helped lead them to God?
---Encourage
students to consider what they can do better to be separate and distinct from
the world so they can be an example. Invite them to act upon any impressions
they may receive.
III.
1 Peter 2:13–25 Peter counsels the Saints to endure suffering as the Savior
did
---Summarize
1 Peter 2:13–18 by explaining that Peter
taught the Saints to submit themselves to the laws and civil authorities that
governed them (including the Roman emperor who promoted persecution against
them; see also D&C 58:21–22). He encouraged those who
suffered hardship as servants to bear their suffering with patience and to
remember that God was aware of them.
---Invite
a student to read 1 Peter 2:19–20 aloud. Ask the class to
follow along, looking for Peter’s counsel to the Saints on how they should
endure sufferings.
- What was Peter’s counsel on how the Saints should endure their sufferings?
---Ask
students to read 1 Peter 2:21–25 silently, looking for
Peter’s description of how Jesus Christ responded to persecution.
- How did Christ respond to persecution?
- According to verse 21, what was one reason the Savior suffered for us?
- What truth can we identify from verses 21–25 about enduring trials? (Students should identify a truth similar to the following: We can follow the Savior’s example in patiently enduring trials.)
---Share
your testimony of the Savior, and invite students to consider what they can do
better to follow His example in enduring trials patiently.
Commentary and Background Information
1 Peter
1:6–8. “The trial of your faith … might be found unto praise and honor and
glory”
Elder
Orson F. Whitney of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught what can come
from the trials we suffer in this life:
“No
pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our
education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude
and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we
endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our
souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the
children of God … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation,
that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us
more like our Father and Mother in heaven” (in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith
Precedes the Miracle [1972], 98.)
1 Peter
2:18–25. Jesus Christ exemplified how we should endure
suffering
Elder
Alexander B. Morrison of the Seventy taught:
“Peter,
the great apostle, who himself suffered a martyr’s death (see John 21:18–19), recognized that divine merit is
associated with patient suffering for Christ’s sake but that little glory
accrues to us if we suffer [as a result of] our own sins. He wrote: ‘This is
thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering
wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye
shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it
patiently, this is acceptable with God.’ (1 Peter 2:19–20.) As we endure undeserved
suffering, we develop Christlike attributes that perfect our souls and bring us
closer to Him” (Feed My Sheep: Leadership Ideas for Latter-day Shepherds [1992], 166).
© 2016 by
Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Give
students time to answer
Students
might not respond to a question immediately, but do not be troubled by this
silence. Sometimes students simply need an opportunity to reflect on the
question and how to respond. This reflection can facilitate instruction by the Holy
Ghost.
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