Lesson 8: Living Righteously in a Wicked World

Lesson 8: Living Righteously in a Wicked World, Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 32

1. Introduction

a) Refer to 2010 Goals

i) What do you want to say you have done at the end of 2010?

ii) What do you want to have become during 2010?

iii) What differences would you want others to notice in you at the end of 2010?

2. Likening Abraham to Ourselves

a) Typically we do this at the end of a lesson

b) I would like to do this at the beginning because this likening can get lost in the weeds of Old Testament accounts

c) Name of the lesson is "Living Righteously in a Wicked World"

i) Abraham lived in a very wicked world

(1) Sodom and Gomorrah

ii) We live in an increasingly wicked world

(1) READ – President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "The traditional family is under heavy attack. I do not know that things were worse in the times of Sodom and Gomorrah. … We see similar conditions today. They prevail all across the world. I think our Father must weep as He looks down upon His wayward sons and daughters." (“Standing Strong and Immovable,” Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, 10 Jan. 2004, 20, quoted by Elder Richard G. Scott, “How to Live Well amid Increasing Evil,” Liahona, May 2004, 100–102)

iii) We will speak about the necessity for Lot, Abraham's nephew, to flee from Sodom very quickly before it was destroyed and the consequences to his family when not all took quick action.

d) Many scriptures make explicit connections between Abraham and the latter days

i) Reading 1 – Doctrine and Covenants 101:1-5

1 Verily I say unto you, concerning your brethren who have been afflicted, and persecuted, and cast out from the land of their inheritance—

2 I, the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their transgressions;

3 Yet I will own them, and they shall be mine in that day when I shall come to make up my jewels.

4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son.

5 For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified.

ii) Reading 2 – Doctrine and Covenants 132:29-32

29 Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.

30 Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.

31 This promise is yours also, because ye are of Abraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself.

32 Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved.

iii) READ Doctrine and Covenants 132:37 – Toward the end of this verse, speaking of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Lord said, they "did none other things than that which they were commanded; because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods."

e) Regarding the sudden exodus from Sodom necessary to save Lot and his family, we have a powerful parallel between words of the Savior while He was on the earth and a warning He gave to Joseph Smith concerning the Saints in the last days.

i) In Luke, the Savior told of conditions surrounding His second coming

(1) Reading 3 – Luke 17:28-32

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

32 Remember Lot’s wife.

ii) Parallel warning for the latter days

(1) Reading 4 – Doctrine and Covenants 133:10-15

10 Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.

11 Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.

12 Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion.

13 And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountains of the Lord’s house.

14 Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon.

15 But verily, thus saith the Lord, let not your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him not look back lest sudden destruction shall come upon him.

(2) In January, 2009, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave a devotional address at BYU entitled, "Remember Lot's Wife" in which he discussed the command to Lot and all who were with him to leave Sodom and not look back. Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

(a) READ – Elder Holland said, " It is possible that Lot’s wife looked back with resentment toward the Lord for what He was asking her to leave behind. We certainly know that Laman and Lemuel were resentful when Lehi and his family were commanded to leave Jerusalem. So it isn’t just that she looked back; she looked back longingly. In short, her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future. That, apparently, was at least part of her sin." (Jeffrey R. Holland, "Remember Lot’s Wife," devotional address at Brigham Young University, 13 January 2009.)

iii) We're finished with the likening of Abraham to ourselves, let's go to the Old Testament history

3. Travels of Abraham

a) Refer to map

i) Raised in Ur of Chaldea, then was told by the Lord to leave his family

ii) Led by the Lord to settle in Haran

iii) The Lord later led him from Haran to the land of Canaan and promised, “Unto thy seed will I give this land” (Genesis 12:7).

iv) Because of a famine in Canaan, Abraham and his family went to Egypt (Genesis 12:10)

v) Genesis 13 begins with Abraham returning to Canaan from Egypt

b) All these travels were a serious trial for Abraham

i) Reminds me of the travels of the early Saints

(1) Colesville Branch

(a) Started in Colesville, New York

(b) Called to move to Kirtland where they remained for only a few months

(c) Moved to Jackson County

(i) Driven out of Jackson County after a couple of years

(d) Moved to Nauvoo

(e) Driven out of Nauvoo to settle in Utah

4. Trials of Abraham

a) Moses, who wrote the Book of Genesis, focused a great deal on Abraham

b) We first see Abraham in Genesis 11 and follow Abraham for 14 chapters until his death in Genesis 25

i) More space devoted to Abraham than the creation, Adam and Eve, Enoch, Noah and the Tower of Babel.

c) One of the most prominent features of Abraham's story is all the trials he endures

i) His father tries to sacrifice him to an idol

ii) He has to move and move again

iii) As soon as he arrives in the land he is promised, he and his family suffer from a famine

iv) His life is in danger in Egypt because of the beauty of his wife Sarah and they have to pretend she is his sister

v) He has problems with Lot, his nephew, which we will discuss further

vi) He has to deal with Sodom and all the other wicked city-states

vii) As Brother Robison will teach us next week, he is asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac

d) READ - Joseph Smith said: "After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.150).

i) We see the trials of Abraham

ii) We know that he is exalted

iii) The account of Abraham is an account of righteous responses to trials and also the account of how Abraham qualifies himself for exaltation

iv) Proving that he will always serve the Lord requires Abraham to suffer more than one trial.

v) The trials build upon one another

(1) Abraham isn't asked to sacrifice Isaac as his first trial, but only after he has successfully endured many trials.

5. Conflicts with Lot

a) Abraham returns from Egypt as a rich man.

i) Genesis 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

ii) Abraham's nephew Lot has also prospered in Egypt.

(1) Genesis 13:5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

b) When they arrive in Canaan, Abraham and Lot stumble into a range war

i) Reading 5 – Genesis 13:6-7

6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

(1) Not enough water and land for their cattle herds to coexist.

c) Abraham's Solution

i) Reading 6 – Genesis 13:8-9

8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

ii) Reading 7 - Elder Neal A. Maxwell has written "We see generosity of spirit in the life of Abraham when he and Lot, who was his nephew, found their cattle grazing on the same land. There was strife between the herdsmen of Abraham's cattle and of Lot's cattle. It is Abraham who took the initiative and said unto Lot, 'Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.' (Genesis 13:7-9.) The complete, genuine willingness of Abraham to adjust to whatever Lot's decision was is the mark of a generosity of spirit of that remarkable patriarch." (That My Family Should Partake, pp92-93)

6. Lot Goes to Sodom

a) Lot chooses the plain of Jordan – Genesis 13:10-12

i) it was well watered every where,

ii) even as the garden of the Lord,

iii) like the land of Egypt,

b) One Little Problem

i) READ Genesis 13:12-13

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

ii) Great material wealth, but excessive sin

iii) Verse 12 – Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom

(1) He wasn't in Sodom, that would come later

(2) He dwelled in the cities of the plain looking at Sodom

(3) Reminds us of the Nephites of King Benjamin's time who pitched their tents facing the temple

7. Abraham Rescues Lot

a) There were lots of city-states in this area in addition to Sodom and Gomorrah and they started fighting with each other.

b) Sodom and Gomorrah lost a battle

i) All the goods of the cities were taken

ii) Lot and his family were taken captive along with all their possessions

c) Abraham learns that Lot and his family are captives and takes 318 of his servants and pursues the captors

d) Abraham and his servants defeat the captors

i) Free Lot, his family and all the other captives of Sodom

ii) Recapture all the goods that were taken from Sodom

8. Two Kings

a) As Abraham returns triumphant, he meets two kings

i) King of Sodom

ii) Melchizedek king of Salem

b) King of Sodom

i) Asks Abraham to release his people and tells Abraham he can keep the fortune in goods that he has recaptures

ii) Reading 8 – Genesis 14:22-23

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

(1) I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet

(a) Shoelachet is a fastening for a sandel – like a shoelace

(2) Abraham will not accept a thread or a shoelace from Sodom

(a) Threads of immorality

(b) Flaxen cords

(c) Abraham didn't even want the slightest beginning of temptation from Sodom

c) Melchizedek king of Salem

i) READ Genesis 14:18-20

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

(1) Melchizedek was righteous – a high priest

(2) Interesting echo of the future sacrament with bread and wine

(3) Melchizedek recognized that Abraham was blessed of God

(4) Abraham paid his tithes to Melchizedek

d) This was a great test of Abraham

i) He rejected mortal rewards in favor of spiritual rewards

ii) Instead of taking the material rewards from the King of Sodom, he paid tithing to Melchizedek

9.
Destruction of Sodom

a) We move to Genesis 18

b)

Three messengers from Jehovah appear to Abraham

c) Abraham learns that the Lord is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness.

d) Abraham pleads with the Lord not to destroy these cities, knowing that Lot and his family live in Sodom

i) Genesis 18:23-32

ii) Abraham asks if the Lord will spare Sodom if there are 50 righteous people in the city and the Lord says He will

iii) Abraham works his way down to 10 righteous people and the Lord says He will spare the city if there are 10 righteous people there

(1) Lot and his family probably comprised 10 people

e) Prayers of the Righteous

i) Reading 9: President Spencer W. Kimball said: “Our world is now much the same as it was in the days of the Nephite prophet who said: ‘… if it were not for the prayers of the righteous … ye would even now be visited with utter destruction. …’ (Al. 10:22.) Of course, there are many many upright and faithful who live all the commandments and whose lives and prayers keep the world from destruction” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1971, 7; or Ensign, June 1971, 16).

f) Three angels (perhaps the same three men who visited Abraham) appear in Sodom and Lot takes them into his house.

i) Lot's house is surrounded by wicked men

(1) Note that the Bible says that Lot offers to give his daughters to these men, but the Joseph Smith Translation says just the opposite

(2) The angels smite the wicked men so they become blind and can't come into the house.

ii) The angels warn Lot that he and his family must leave the city because it will be destroyed.

(1) Lot tries to persuade his married children to leave, but they refuse

iii) The next morning, the angels tell Lot it is time to leave with his wife and two unmarried daughters.

iv) READ Genesis 19:15-17

15 ¶ And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

17 ¶ And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

(1) Verse 15 – The danger to Lot and his family was not just because Sodom would be destroyed, but because of their living in the city, they might be consumed in the iniquity of the city

(2) Verse 17 - look not behind thee

(3) Verse 18 - neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed

v) Read Genesis 19:24-26

24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

26 ¶ But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

10. Conclusion