Lesson 34: “I Will Betroth Thee unto Me in Righteousness”, Old Testament Class Member Study Guide, 23
Hosea 1–3; 11; 13–14
Who was Hosea?
Son of Beeri, and the only prophet of the northern kingdom who has left written prophecies. He began to prophesy during the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II. He probably died before the accession of Pekah, 736 B.C., for he makes no allusion to the Syro-Ephraimitic war nor to the deportation of the northern tribes by Tiglath-pileser two years later. He lived during a time of national decline and ruin, the result of the sin of Israel. Hosea’s fundamental idea is the love of God for his people. In love God redeemed them from Egypt (Hosea 11: 1); their history has been but an illustration of his love (11 - 13); all his chastisements are inflicted in love (Hosea 2: 14; Hosea 3); and their restoration shall be due to his love (Hosea 2: 19; Hosea 14: 4). In contrast with this moral Being, who is Love, Hosea sets Israel, characterized always by want of affection, by treachery and infidelity. Yet he is able to look forward to a final redemption (Hosea 2: 19; Hosea 11: 12 - 14: 9). The profound thought and pathos of this prophet of the north deeply influenced succeeding writers (see Isa. 40 - 66); Jer. 2; Jer. 3; Ezek. 16; Ezek. 33). (Bible Dictionary, also known as the sealed portion of the Bible)
In this lesson, the prophet Hosea uses the metaphor of the Lord compared to a bridge groom and his bride compared to an unfaithful wife.
The differences between a metaphor and simile can easily confuse people. It’s handy to understand how these two figures of speech differ, so that you can easily recognize one or the other when you encounter them in common speech, any type of writing and most especially literature. It can be said that the simile is much simpler than the metaphor. Actually the metaphor has numerous types, while the simile is a very straightforward comparison.
When you think of the word simile, think of the concept of “similar to,” when you’re making a comparison. You will almost always notice that this type of comparison is preceded by the words like or as.
As we have discussed so often, there are at least 4 key doctrines that answer the question "why" in life: Atonement, Plan of Happiness, Priesthood and Godhead.
This lesson focuses upon the later? As you read Hosea, ponder the following questions"
What is my relationship with Heavenly Father?
How often do I think about Heavenly Father and in what context?
This lesson at first brush seems a bit confusing, but if you think of it in terms of the metaphor Hosea is using and apply it to our day, you will find this lesson particularly relevant. Enjoy your study!
Study the following scriptures:
a. Hosea 1–3. Using the similitude of a faithful husband and an adulterous wife, the prophet Hosea describes the relationship between the Lord and Israel. In these chapters Hosea represents the Lord as the husband, and Gomer represents Israel as the wife.
b. Hosea 11; 13–14. Because of his love for his people, the Lord continues to invite Israel to repent and return to him.
• What does the comparison in Hosea 1–3 teach us about the level of commitment and devotion the Lord expects from us?
• Who or what were Israel’s “lovers”—the things that caused the people to turn from the Lord? What things may divert us from our dedication to following the Savior?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
“Lesson 33: Sharing the Gospel with the World,” Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 162
1. Introduction
a) Speaking of two prophets today – Jonah and Micah
i) Sometimes called "minor prophets", not because their message was not important, but because records of much of what they did are not included in the Bible.
ii) Some scholars have speculated that Jonah was not a real person and his story is only an allegory or a parable.
(1) Christ spoke of Jonah
(a) Reading 1 – Matthew 12:38-40
38 ¶ Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
1. Jonah in the belly of the whale for three days before he came out alive
2. Christ in the tomb for three days before he came out as resurrected being
(2) One of Jonah's prophesies is mentioned as being fulfilled in 2 Kings 14:25
iii) Important when dealing with Jonah not to get so caught up speculation about the great fish and a fast-growing gourd plant and miss the bigger messages.
2. Jonah Receives a Mission Call
a) Reading 2 – Jonah 1:1-2
1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
b) ASK – Can anyone tell us about Nineveh?
i) Capital of the Assyrian Empire
ii) Reading 3 – Nahum 3:1-5
1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
iii) Nineveh was not only wicked, but the Assyrians had a terrible reputation for torture and bloodshed in their conquests and when tributes were not paid to them. Their victims included the people of Israel and Judah.
(1) At the time of Jonah, Assyria had probably already taken some of the people of the Northern Kingdom – Israel – into captivity.
(2) Would eventually take almost all the people of the Northern Kingdom captive – the Ten Tribes
iv) A call to Nineveh in Jonah's day would be the approximate equivalent of someone today receiving a call to Tehran or Karachi with instructions to stand on the street corner and tell all the people that they were worshipping false idols and they needed to change their religious beliefs.
c) Jonah's Response to the Call
i) Reading 4 – Jonah 1:3
3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
(1) The location of Tarshish is not clear, but everyone agrees that it was a long way from Nineveh
(2) Some have speculated that Jonah wasn't seeking to be released as prophet, but wanted someplace to hide out until an unpleasant situation passed him by.
ii) Dave Hatton – Speak about concerns he had before he and Evonne went on a mission to the West Indies
iii) While Jonah was on the ship to Tarshish, a great storm arose and, after casting lots, it was clear that Jonah was the cause of the storm, which endangered the ship and the lives of all aboard.
iv) Reading 5 – Jonah 1:10-17
10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 ¶ Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
14 Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.
15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.
17 ¶ Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
v) Jonah has a lot of time to think and pray while in the belly of the great fish
(1) Reading 6 – Jonah 2:1-9
1 Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.
vi) The great fish spits Jonah on the shore and he receives a second call to go to Nineveh. This time he obeys.
vii) ASK – This is a mission call for Jonah, a call to preach the gospel to people who are not familiar with it or are not living it. Are there any easy missions?
3. Nineveh Repents
a) Reading 7 – Jonah 3:3-8
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5 ¶ So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
b) God's response to the actions of the people of Nineveh
i) READ – Jonah 3:10 – Note Footnote C
10 ¶ And God asaw their works, that they bturned from their evil way; cand God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it dnot.
ii) Footnote C – Joseph Smith Translation - And God asaw their works, that they bturned from their evil way "and repented; and God turned away the evil that he had said he would bring upon them."
(1) The people are repenting, not God
c) Jonah's response to God's forgiveness
i) Reading 8 - Jonah 4:1-3
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
(1) ASK - What's going on with Jonah here?
(2) ASK – Do we ever have problems forgiving people who have harmed us even when we know the Lord has forgiven them?
ii) Interesting story of the gourd – footnote says Castor Bean Plant, which is a fast-growing bushy plant which can become as large as a small tree. – Jonah 4, beginning in verse 6
(1) Jonah builds a shed outside of Nineveh and the Lord causes a gourd to grow very rapidly and provide shade for Jonah, which Jonah appreciates very much.
(2) God then causes a worm to eat the plant so it dies and Jonah is left in the hot sun, augmented by an East wind, which makes him very hot and Jonah wants to die because the plant is lost.
(3) The Lord then asks Jonah if it makes sense to worry more about the death of a plant than the death of 120,000 people in Nineveh. Jonah is worried about the plant and the Lord is worried about the people of Nineveh.
4. Micah Prophesies
a) About Micah
i) About 740-697 BC
ii) About 40 years after Jonah
iii) The Northern Kingdom – Israel – first had some of its people taken into captivity by Assyria in 721 BC – 20 years after Micah began prophesying
iv) Began his work when Hosea was also a prophet
v) Isaiah was also a contemporary prophet with Micah – 740-701 BC
vi) Micah prophesied about the destruction of both Israel – Northern Kingdom – and Judah – Southern Kingdom
(1) Prophesies of Israel began to be fulfilled during Micah's lifetime
(2) Jerusalem was destroyed and Judah taken captive by the Babylonians in 587 BC.
b) Micah's prophesies concerning the Savior
i) Reading 9 – Micah 5:2
2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
(1) This was the only Old Testament prophesy that identified the birthplace of the Messiah
c) Micah's Prophesies Concerning Latter-day Israel
i) Reading 10 – Micah 2:12-13
12 ¶ I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.
13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.
(1) Bozrah – Footnote C – the Hebrew word means "the sheepfold."
ii) Reading 11 – Micah 4:1-7
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 ¶ And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
6 In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
(1) We have a very similar scripture from Micah's contemporary, Isaiah – Isaiah 2:2-3
(2) READ – Speaking of these two scriptures, President Hinckly said:
Ever since the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated, we have interpreted that scripture from Isaiah, repeated again in Micah (see Micah 4:1–2), as applying to this sacred house of the Lord. And of this place, since the day of its dedication, an ever-increasing number from across the world have said in effect, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He might teach us of His ways, that we might walk in His paths.”
I believe and testify that it is the mission of this Church to stand as an ensign to the nations and a light to the world. We have had placed upon us a great, all-encompassing mandate from which we cannot shrink nor turn aside. We accept that mandate and are determined to fulfill it, and with the help of God we shall do it.
There are forces all around us that would deter us from that effort. The world is constantly crowding in on us. From all sides we feel the pressure to soften our stance, to give in here a little and there a little.
We must never lose sight of our objective. We must ever keep before us the goal which the Lord has set for us. (Gordon B. Hinckley, “An Ensign to the Nations, a Light to the World,” Liahona, Nov 2003, 82–85)
iii) Reading 12 – Micah 5:7-9
7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
8 ¶ And the aremnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a blion among the beasts of the forest, as a young clion among the flocks of dsheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
iv) READ - In 1842 the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (History of the Church, 4:540).
5. Conclusion
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Lesson 33: Sharing the Gospel with the World
Reading 1 – Matthew 12:38-40
Reading 2 – Jonah 1:1-2
Reading 3 – Nahum 3:1-5
Reading 4 – Jonah 1:3
Reading 5 – Jonah 1:10-17
Reading 6 – Jonah 2:1-9
Reading 7 – Jonah 3:3-8
Jonah 3:10 – Note Footnote C
Reading 8 - Jonah 4:1-3
Reading 9 – Micah 5:2
Reading 10 – Micah 2:12-13
Reading 11 – Micah 4:1-7
President Hinckly said:
Ever since the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated, we have interpreted that scripture from Isaiah, repeated again in Micah (see Micah 4:1–2), as applying to this sacred house of the Lord. And of this place, since the day of its dedication, an ever-increasing number from across the world have said in effect, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He might teach us of His ways, that we might walk in His paths.”
I believe and testify that it is the mission of this Church to stand as an ensign to the nations and a light to the world. We have had placed upon us a great, all-encompassing mandate from which we cannot shrink nor turn aside. We accept that mandate and are determined to fulfill it, and with the help of God we shall do it.
There are forces all around us that would deter us from that effort. The world is constantly crowding in on us. From all sides we feel the pressure to soften our stance, to give in here a little and there a little.
We must never lose sight of our objective. We must ever keep before us the goal which the Lord has set for us. (Gordon B. Hinckley, “An Ensign to the Nations, a Light to the World,” Liahona, Nov 2003, 82–85)
Reading 12 – Micah 5:7-9
In 1842 the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (History of the Church, 4:540).
Monday, August 23, 2010
Lesson 33 Study Guide
“Lesson 33: Sharing the Gospel with the World,” Old Testament Class Member Study Guide, 22
Study the following scriptures:
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a. Jonah 1–2. The Lord calls Jonah to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. Jonah tries to flee from the Lord on a ship, is swallowed by a great fish, prays, and is delivered from the belly of the fish.
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b. Jonah 3–4. Jonah prophesies the downfall of Nineveh and is angry when the people of Nineveh repent and the Lord spares the city (the Joseph Smith Translation of Jonah 3:9–10 explains that the people, not God, repented). The Lord teaches Jonah to love all people.
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c. Micah 2:12–13; 4:1–7, 11–13; 5:2–4, 7–8; 6:6–8; 7:18–20. Micah prophesies of the mission of Israel in the last days.
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• Why did the Lord want Jonah to go to Nineveh? (See Jonah 1:2.) Why did Jonah go to Tarshish instead? (See Jonah 1:3.) What are some reasons why we choose not to share the gospel? What can we learn from the story of Jonah that can help us be more valiant in obeying the Lord and sharing the gospel?
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• What did Micah prophesy about the latter-day temple? (See Micah 4:1–2.)
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• How can Micah 6:6–8 help us when we feel overwhelmed by all that is expected of us?
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Lesson 32 - I Know That My Redeemer Liveth - JOB
Lesson 32: “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth”, Old Testament Gospel Doctrine
Learning Objective
To develop strength to face adversity by trusting the Lord, building testimonies of him, and maintain personal integrity. To insure that your testimony is strong enough to withstand the trials that we are dealt.
Attention Activity
President Monson Quote:
Centuries ago the man Job—so long blessed with every material gift, only to find himself sorely afflicted by all that can befall a human being—sat with his companions and uttered the timeless, ageless question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” Job spoke what every other living man or woman has pondered.
The setting for my final example of one who persevered and ultimately prevailed, despite overwhelmingly difficult circumstances, begins in East Prussia following World War II.
In about March 1946, less than a year after the end of the war, Ezra Taft Benson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, accompanied by Frederick W. Babbel, was assigned a special postwar tour of Europe for the express purpose of meeting with the Saints, assessing their needs, and providing assistance to them. Elder Benson and Brother Babbel later recounted, from a testimony they heard, the experience of a Church member who found herself in an area no longer controlled by the government under which she had resided.
She and her husband had lived an idyllic life in East Prussia. Then had come the second great world war within their lifetimes. Her beloved young husband was killed during the final days of the frightful battles in their homeland, leaving her alone to care for their four children.
The occupying forces determined that the Germans in East Prussia must go to Western Germany to seek a new home. The woman was German, and so it was necessary for her to go. The journey was over a thousand miles (1,600 km), and she had no way to accomplish it but on foot. She was allowed to take only such bare necessities as she could load into her small wooden-wheeled wagon. Besides her children and these meager possessions, she took with her a strong faith in God and in the gospel as revealed to the latter-day prophet Joseph Smith.
She and the children began the journey in late summer. Having neither food nor money among her few possessions, she was forced to gather a daily subsistence from the fields and forests along the way. She was constantly faced with dangers from panic-stricken refugees and plundering troops.
As the days turned into weeks and the weeks to months, the temperatures dropped below freezing. Each day, she stumbled over the frozen ground, her smallest child—a baby—in her arms. Her three other children struggled along behind her, with the oldest—seven years old—pulling the tiny wooden wagon containing their belongings. Ragged and torn burlap was wrapped around their feet, providing the only protection for them, since their shoes had long since disintegrated. Their thin, tattered jackets covered their thin, tattered clothing, providing their only protection against the cold.
Soon the snows came, and the days and nights became a nightmare. In the evenings she and the children would try to find some kind of shelter—a barn or a shed—and would huddle together for warmth, with a few thin blankets from the wagon on top of them.
She constantly struggled to force from her mind overwhelming fears that they would perish before reaching their destination.
And then one morning the unthinkable happened. As she awakened, she felt a chill in her heart. The tiny form of her three-year-old daughter was cold and still, and she realized that death had claimed the child. Though overwhelmed with grief, she knew that she must take the other children and travel on. First, however, she used the only implement she had—a tablespoon—to dig a grave in the frozen ground for her tiny, precious child.
Death, however, was to be her companion again and again on the journey. Her seven-year-old son died, either from starvation or from freezing or both. Again her only shovel was the tablespoon, and again she dug hour after hour to lay his mortal remains gently into the earth. Next, her five-year-old son died, and again she used her tablespoon as a shovel.
Her despair was all consuming. She had only her tiny baby daughter left, and the poor thing was failing. Finally, as she was reaching the end of her journey, the baby died in her arms. The spoon was gone now, so hour after hour she dug a grave in the frozen earth with her bare fingers. Her grief became unbearable. How could she possibly be kneeling in the snow at the graveside of her last child? She had lost her husband and all her children. She had given up her earthly goods, her home, and even her homeland.
In this moment of overwhelming sorrow and complete bewilderment, she felt her heart would literally break. In despair she contemplated how she might end her own life, as so many of her fellow countrymen were doing. How easy it would be to jump off a nearby bridge, she thought, or to throw herself in front of an oncoming train.
And then, as these thoughts assailed her, something within her said, “Get down on your knees and pray.” She ignored the prompting until she could resist it no longer. She knelt and prayed more fervently than she had in her entire life:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I do not know how I can go on. I have nothing left—except my faith in Thee. I feel, Father, amidst the desolation of my soul, an overwhelming gratitude for the atoning sacrifice of Thy Son, Jesus Christ. I cannot express adequately my love for Him. I know that because He suffered and died, I shall live again with my family; that because He broke the chains of death, I shall see my children again and will have the joy of raising them. Though I do not at this moment wish to live, I will do so, that we may be reunited as a family and return—together—to Thee.”
When she finally reached her destination of Karlsruhe, Germany, she was emaciated. Brother Babbel said that her face was a purple-gray, her eyes red and swollen, her joints protruding. She was literally in the advanced stages of starvation. In a Church meeting shortly thereafter, she bore a glorious testimony, stating that of all the ailing people in her saddened land, she was one of the happiest because she knew that God lived, that Jesus is the Christ, and that He died and was resurrected so that we might live again. She testified that she knew if she continued faithful and true to the end, she would be reunited with those she had lost and would be saved in the celestial kingdom of God.
(President Monson – April 2009, General Conference)
Question: What can we learn about enduring adversity from this story?
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Quote:
“Many farmers in the hot desert of northwest Mexico “grow varieties of corn and beans that are unusually hardy and drought resistant. These varieties survive and flourish in a harsh climate where other plants would wither and die. One of these plants is the white tepary bean. Its seed will sprout and the plant will grow even when very little rain falls. It sends its roots as deep as six feet into the rocky, sandy earth to find the moisture it needs. It can flower and fruit in the 115-degree (Fahrenheit) desert temperatures with only one yearly rainfall. Its foliage remains remarkably green, with little irrigation, even in the heat of mid-July.”
Question: What can we learn from this analogy that can help us endure adversity?
Elder Wirthlin suggested: “Perhaps members of the Church could emulate the example of these hardy, sturdy plants. We should send our roots deep into the soil of the gospel. We should grow, flourish, flower, and bear good fruit in abundance despite the evil, temptation, or criticism we might encounter. We should learn to thrive in the heat of adversity” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1989, 7; or Ensign, May 1989, 7).
Today’s lesson is about Job, a man whose faith and righteousness helped him endure severe adversity.
Some scholars do not believe Job was a real person. They think the book of Job is simply a story. Others think it was a great proverb and still others a parable.
We do not know who Job was nor when he lived nor how long the story takes place.
Ezekial believes he was real: “Through these 3 men, Noah, Daniel and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 14:4)
James believes he was a great man: “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lrod for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience, Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end fo the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.”
In the Doctrine & Covenants 121:10, the Lord told Joseph “Thou are not yet as Job.” (liberty jail)
Question: What type of man was job? (Job 1-2)
o a. He was a good man who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1).
o b. He was wealthy but not caught up in wealth (Job 1:3, 21).
o c. He had integrity (Job 2:3).
o d. He strengthened the weak (Job 4:3–4).
o e. He walked in the Lord’s paths and esteemed the Lord’s words (Job 23:10–12).
o f. He was compassionate to the widow, the poor, the lame, and the blind (Job 29:12–16).
o g. He was concerned for his enemies and forgave them (Job 31:29–30).
Question: What trials did Job experience?
o a. Loss of servants, property, and income (Job 1:13–17).
o b. Loss of children (Job 1:18–19).
o c. Physical illness and pain (Job 2:7; 7:5; 16:16).
o d. Restless sleep filled with nightmares (Job 7:4, 13–14).
o e. Cruel accusations and loss of support from friends and family (Job 2:9; 4:1, 7–8; 11:1–6; 19:13–22).
o f. Confusion about why he was asked to go through these trials (Job 10:15).
o g. Mockery by those who delighted in his downfall (Job 16:10–11; 30:1, 8–10).
o h. The feeling that God had forgotten him or was not listening (Job 19:6–8; 23:3–4; note that the word him in Job 23:3–4 refers to God).
Question: Why do bad things happen to Good People?
President Spencer W. Kimball said:
“If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.
“… Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?
“If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith” (Faith Precedes the Miracle [1975], 97).
Questions: How did Satan predict Job would react when his wealth and other blessings were taken away? (See Job 1:11; 2:4–5.)
How did Job react when this happened? (See Job 1:20–22; 2:10.)
What can we learn from these reactions?
(Some people charge God foolishly when sorrow, misfortune or tragedy hits. They may blame God or question his wisdom or providence, feeling that he does not understand or love them. Some may even question his existence.)
Questions: How did Eliphas and Bildad, two of Job’s friends explain his suffering? (Job 8:6)
What should we do to comfort others in their trials?
Key Lesson Point – Job’s strength was in the Lord. Job knew God:
Question: How do we know this?
Job 19:25-26
25 For I aknow that my bredeemer liveth, and that che shall dstand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this abody, yet in my bflesh shall I csee God:
Question: What evidence did you discover in your study of Job, that Job finds strength in the Lord by personal righteousness & integrity
Job 27
4 My lips shall not speak awickedness, nor my tongue utter bdeceit.
5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not aremove mine bintegrity from me.
Discuss Recent Talk By Clayton Christensen’s Commencement Address in the most recent Harvard Business Review.
Title: How will you measure your life?
In this talk he addressed three questions:
1) How can I be sure that I will be happy in my career
2) How can I be sure that my relationships with my spouse & family become an enduring source of happiness?
3) How can I be sure I’ll stay out of jail (how to live a life of integrity)
In this last area, he spoke of the potential damage of the “just this once” decision we make so often…It is easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than 98% of the time. You need to define for yourself what you stand for and draw the line in a safe spot. (Turning point moment of truth – basketball championship where he refused to play because it was Sunday). He called this the marginal costs mistakes.
If we make such decisions, what will be the results in our lives? Long term?
Ask: Do you search for inspired questions when you study the scriptures? Here is a classic example?
Job 28
12 But where shall awisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
Reading further, verse 28 gives us the answer:
And unto man he said, Behold, the afear of the Lord, that is bwisdom; and to depart from evil is cunderstanding.
Ask Diane to explain the “purity paradigm.”
The most famous inspired question of all is found in Job 14:14 and is the scripture we began with today in President Monson’s quote:
If a man die, shall he alive again?
Elder Orson F. Whitney said: “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” (quoted in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, 98).
The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, … knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 304).
Conclusion: We can receive strength to endure our trials by trusting in the Lord, building our testimonies of him, and maintaining our integrity so we can know our lives are pleasing to him.
Elder Richard G. Scott said: “When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial?” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 18; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 17).
Doctrine – Principles – Application
Doctrine is the plan of happiness, Principle is obedience. Application is to endure to the end. If we can think long term and decide now what our actions will be, we will have a much stronger testimony – one that is able to face adversity.
Learning Objective
To develop strength to face adversity by trusting the Lord, building testimonies of him, and maintain personal integrity. To insure that your testimony is strong enough to withstand the trials that we are dealt.
Attention Activity
President Monson Quote:
Centuries ago the man Job—so long blessed with every material gift, only to find himself sorely afflicted by all that can befall a human being—sat with his companions and uttered the timeless, ageless question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” Job spoke what every other living man or woman has pondered.
The setting for my final example of one who persevered and ultimately prevailed, despite overwhelmingly difficult circumstances, begins in East Prussia following World War II.
In about March 1946, less than a year after the end of the war, Ezra Taft Benson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, accompanied by Frederick W. Babbel, was assigned a special postwar tour of Europe for the express purpose of meeting with the Saints, assessing their needs, and providing assistance to them. Elder Benson and Brother Babbel later recounted, from a testimony they heard, the experience of a Church member who found herself in an area no longer controlled by the government under which she had resided.
She and her husband had lived an idyllic life in East Prussia. Then had come the second great world war within their lifetimes. Her beloved young husband was killed during the final days of the frightful battles in their homeland, leaving her alone to care for their four children.
The occupying forces determined that the Germans in East Prussia must go to Western Germany to seek a new home. The woman was German, and so it was necessary for her to go. The journey was over a thousand miles (1,600 km), and she had no way to accomplish it but on foot. She was allowed to take only such bare necessities as she could load into her small wooden-wheeled wagon. Besides her children and these meager possessions, she took with her a strong faith in God and in the gospel as revealed to the latter-day prophet Joseph Smith.
She and the children began the journey in late summer. Having neither food nor money among her few possessions, she was forced to gather a daily subsistence from the fields and forests along the way. She was constantly faced with dangers from panic-stricken refugees and plundering troops.
As the days turned into weeks and the weeks to months, the temperatures dropped below freezing. Each day, she stumbled over the frozen ground, her smallest child—a baby—in her arms. Her three other children struggled along behind her, with the oldest—seven years old—pulling the tiny wooden wagon containing their belongings. Ragged and torn burlap was wrapped around their feet, providing the only protection for them, since their shoes had long since disintegrated. Their thin, tattered jackets covered their thin, tattered clothing, providing their only protection against the cold.
Soon the snows came, and the days and nights became a nightmare. In the evenings she and the children would try to find some kind of shelter—a barn or a shed—and would huddle together for warmth, with a few thin blankets from the wagon on top of them.
She constantly struggled to force from her mind overwhelming fears that they would perish before reaching their destination.
And then one morning the unthinkable happened. As she awakened, she felt a chill in her heart. The tiny form of her three-year-old daughter was cold and still, and she realized that death had claimed the child. Though overwhelmed with grief, she knew that she must take the other children and travel on. First, however, she used the only implement she had—a tablespoon—to dig a grave in the frozen ground for her tiny, precious child.
Death, however, was to be her companion again and again on the journey. Her seven-year-old son died, either from starvation or from freezing or both. Again her only shovel was the tablespoon, and again she dug hour after hour to lay his mortal remains gently into the earth. Next, her five-year-old son died, and again she used her tablespoon as a shovel.
Her despair was all consuming. She had only her tiny baby daughter left, and the poor thing was failing. Finally, as she was reaching the end of her journey, the baby died in her arms. The spoon was gone now, so hour after hour she dug a grave in the frozen earth with her bare fingers. Her grief became unbearable. How could she possibly be kneeling in the snow at the graveside of her last child? She had lost her husband and all her children. She had given up her earthly goods, her home, and even her homeland.
In this moment of overwhelming sorrow and complete bewilderment, she felt her heart would literally break. In despair she contemplated how she might end her own life, as so many of her fellow countrymen were doing. How easy it would be to jump off a nearby bridge, she thought, or to throw herself in front of an oncoming train.
And then, as these thoughts assailed her, something within her said, “Get down on your knees and pray.” She ignored the prompting until she could resist it no longer. She knelt and prayed more fervently than she had in her entire life:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I do not know how I can go on. I have nothing left—except my faith in Thee. I feel, Father, amidst the desolation of my soul, an overwhelming gratitude for the atoning sacrifice of Thy Son, Jesus Christ. I cannot express adequately my love for Him. I know that because He suffered and died, I shall live again with my family; that because He broke the chains of death, I shall see my children again and will have the joy of raising them. Though I do not at this moment wish to live, I will do so, that we may be reunited as a family and return—together—to Thee.”
When she finally reached her destination of Karlsruhe, Germany, she was emaciated. Brother Babbel said that her face was a purple-gray, her eyes red and swollen, her joints protruding. She was literally in the advanced stages of starvation. In a Church meeting shortly thereafter, she bore a glorious testimony, stating that of all the ailing people in her saddened land, she was one of the happiest because she knew that God lived, that Jesus is the Christ, and that He died and was resurrected so that we might live again. She testified that she knew if she continued faithful and true to the end, she would be reunited with those she had lost and would be saved in the celestial kingdom of God.
(President Monson – April 2009, General Conference)
Question: What can we learn about enduring adversity from this story?
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Quote:
“Many farmers in the hot desert of northwest Mexico “grow varieties of corn and beans that are unusually hardy and drought resistant. These varieties survive and flourish in a harsh climate where other plants would wither and die. One of these plants is the white tepary bean. Its seed will sprout and the plant will grow even when very little rain falls. It sends its roots as deep as six feet into the rocky, sandy earth to find the moisture it needs. It can flower and fruit in the 115-degree (Fahrenheit) desert temperatures with only one yearly rainfall. Its foliage remains remarkably green, with little irrigation, even in the heat of mid-July.”
Question: What can we learn from this analogy that can help us endure adversity?
Elder Wirthlin suggested: “Perhaps members of the Church could emulate the example of these hardy, sturdy plants. We should send our roots deep into the soil of the gospel. We should grow, flourish, flower, and bear good fruit in abundance despite the evil, temptation, or criticism we might encounter. We should learn to thrive in the heat of adversity” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1989, 7; or Ensign, May 1989, 7).
Today’s lesson is about Job, a man whose faith and righteousness helped him endure severe adversity.
Some scholars do not believe Job was a real person. They think the book of Job is simply a story. Others think it was a great proverb and still others a parable.
We do not know who Job was nor when he lived nor how long the story takes place.
Ezekial believes he was real: “Through these 3 men, Noah, Daniel and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 14:4)
James believes he was a great man: “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lrod for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience, Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end fo the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.”
In the Doctrine & Covenants 121:10, the Lord told Joseph “Thou are not yet as Job.” (liberty jail)
Question: What type of man was job? (Job 1-2)
o a. He was a good man who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1).
o b. He was wealthy but not caught up in wealth (Job 1:3, 21).
o c. He had integrity (Job 2:3).
o d. He strengthened the weak (Job 4:3–4).
o e. He walked in the Lord’s paths and esteemed the Lord’s words (Job 23:10–12).
o f. He was compassionate to the widow, the poor, the lame, and the blind (Job 29:12–16).
o g. He was concerned for his enemies and forgave them (Job 31:29–30).
Question: What trials did Job experience?
o a. Loss of servants, property, and income (Job 1:13–17).
o b. Loss of children (Job 1:18–19).
o c. Physical illness and pain (Job 2:7; 7:5; 16:16).
o d. Restless sleep filled with nightmares (Job 7:4, 13–14).
o e. Cruel accusations and loss of support from friends and family (Job 2:9; 4:1, 7–8; 11:1–6; 19:13–22).
o f. Confusion about why he was asked to go through these trials (Job 10:15).
o g. Mockery by those who delighted in his downfall (Job 16:10–11; 30:1, 8–10).
o h. The feeling that God had forgotten him or was not listening (Job 19:6–8; 23:3–4; note that the word him in Job 23:3–4 refers to God).
Question: Why do bad things happen to Good People?
President Spencer W. Kimball said:
“If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.
“… Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?
“If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith” (Faith Precedes the Miracle [1975], 97).
Questions: How did Satan predict Job would react when his wealth and other blessings were taken away? (See Job 1:11; 2:4–5.)
How did Job react when this happened? (See Job 1:20–22; 2:10.)
What can we learn from these reactions?
(Some people charge God foolishly when sorrow, misfortune or tragedy hits. They may blame God or question his wisdom or providence, feeling that he does not understand or love them. Some may even question his existence.)
Questions: How did Eliphas and Bildad, two of Job’s friends explain his suffering? (Job 8:6)
What should we do to comfort others in their trials?
Key Lesson Point – Job’s strength was in the Lord. Job knew God:
Question: How do we know this?
Job 19:25-26
25 For I aknow that my bredeemer liveth, and that che shall dstand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this abody, yet in my bflesh shall I csee God:
Question: What evidence did you discover in your study of Job, that Job finds strength in the Lord by personal righteousness & integrity
Job 27
4 My lips shall not speak awickedness, nor my tongue utter bdeceit.
5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not aremove mine bintegrity from me.
Discuss Recent Talk By Clayton Christensen’s Commencement Address in the most recent Harvard Business Review.
Title: How will you measure your life?
In this talk he addressed three questions:
1) How can I be sure that I will be happy in my career
2) How can I be sure that my relationships with my spouse & family become an enduring source of happiness?
3) How can I be sure I’ll stay out of jail (how to live a life of integrity)
In this last area, he spoke of the potential damage of the “just this once” decision we make so often…It is easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than 98% of the time. You need to define for yourself what you stand for and draw the line in a safe spot. (Turning point moment of truth – basketball championship where he refused to play because it was Sunday). He called this the marginal costs mistakes.
If we make such decisions, what will be the results in our lives? Long term?
Ask: Do you search for inspired questions when you study the scriptures? Here is a classic example?
Job 28
12 But where shall awisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
Reading further, verse 28 gives us the answer:
And unto man he said, Behold, the afear of the Lord, that is bwisdom; and to depart from evil is cunderstanding.
Ask Diane to explain the “purity paradigm.”
The most famous inspired question of all is found in Job 14:14 and is the scripture we began with today in President Monson’s quote:
If a man die, shall he alive again?
Elder Orson F. Whitney said: “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” (quoted in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, 98).
The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, … knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 304).
Conclusion: We can receive strength to endure our trials by trusting in the Lord, building our testimonies of him, and maintaining our integrity so we can know our lives are pleasing to him.
Elder Richard G. Scott said: “When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial?” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 18; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 17).
Doctrine – Principles – Application
Doctrine is the plan of happiness, Principle is obedience. Application is to endure to the end. If we can think long term and decide now what our actions will be, we will have a much stronger testimony – one that is able to face adversity.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Lesson 32 Reading Assignment - Job
Lesson 32: “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth”, Old Testament Class Member Study Guide, 22
Job 1–2; 13; 19; 27; 42
Study the following scriptures:
a. Job 1–2. Job experiences severe trials. He remains faithful to the Lord despite losing his possessions, children, and health.
b. Job 13:13–16; 19:23–27. Job finds strength in trusting the Lord and in his testimony of the Savior.
c. Job 27:2–6. Job finds strength in his personal righteousness and integrity.
d. Job 42:10–17. After Job has faithfully endured his trials, the Lord blesses him.
• What kind of man was Job? What trials did Job experience?
• How did Job’s testimony of the Savior help him endure his trials? (See Job 19:25–27.) How can a testimony of the Savior give us strength during adversity?
• Job’s integrity was another source of spiritual strength during his afflictions (Job 27:2–6). What is integrity? How did personal integrity strengthen Job during his trials? How can personal integrity help us during times of trial?
• After Job had faithfully endured his trials, how did the Lord bless him? (See Job 42:10–15; James 5:11.) How does the Lord bless us as we faithfully endure trials? (See Job 23:10; 3 Nephi 15:9.)
Additional reading: Other chapters in Job; Doctrine and Covenants 121:1–10.
Job 1–2; 13; 19; 27; 42
Study the following scriptures:
a. Job 1–2. Job experiences severe trials. He remains faithful to the Lord despite losing his possessions, children, and health.
b. Job 13:13–16; 19:23–27. Job finds strength in trusting the Lord and in his testimony of the Savior.
c. Job 27:2–6. Job finds strength in his personal righteousness and integrity.
d. Job 42:10–17. After Job has faithfully endured his trials, the Lord blesses him.
• What kind of man was Job? What trials did Job experience?
• How did Job’s testimony of the Savior help him endure his trials? (See Job 19:25–27.) How can a testimony of the Savior give us strength during adversity?
• Job’s integrity was another source of spiritual strength during his afflictions (Job 27:2–6). What is integrity? How did personal integrity strengthen Job during his trials? How can personal integrity help us during times of trial?
• After Job had faithfully endured his trials, how did the Lord bless him? (See Job 42:10–15; James 5:11.) How does the Lord bless us as we faithfully endure trials? (See Job 23:10; 3 Nephi 15:9.)
Additional reading: Other chapters in Job; Doctrine and Covenants 121:1–10.
Lesson 31: “Happy Is the Man That Findeth Wisdom” - Outline
a) "Wisdom literature"
b) Reading 1 – Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of – page 754
The Heb. word rendered proverb is mashal, a similitude or parable, but the book contains many maxims and sayings not properly so called, and also connected poems of considerable length. There is much in it that does not rise above the plane of worldly wisdom, but throughout it is taken for granted that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1: 7; Prov. 9: 10). The least spiritual of the Proverbs are valuable as reminding us that the voice of Divine Inspiration does not disdain to utter homely truths. The first section, chs. 1 - 9, is the most poetic and contains an exposition of true wisdom. Chs. 10 - 24 contain a collection of proverbs and sentences about the right and wrong ways of living. Chs. 25 - 29 contain the proverbs of Solomon that the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied out. Chs. 30 and 31 contain the “burden” of Agur and Lemuel, the latter including a picture of the ideal wife, arranged in acrostic form. The book is frequently quoted in the N.T., the use of ch. 3 being specially noteworthy.
c) Reading 2 – Bible Dictionary – Ecclesiastes – Page 659
A Greek translation of the Hebrew Koheleth, a word meaning “one who convenes an assembly,” sometimes rendered Preacher. The book of Ecclesiastes consists of reflections on some of the deepest problems of life, as they present themselves to the thoughtful observer. The epilogue (Eccl. 12: 9-14) sets forth the main conclusions at which the writer has arrived. The author describes himself as “son of David, king in Jerusalem” (Eccl. 1: 1).
The book of Ecclesiastes seems permeated with a pessimistic flavor, but must be read in the light of one of its key phrases: “under the sun” (Eccl. 1: 9), meaning “from a worldly point of view.” The term vanity also needs clarification, since as used in Ecclesiastes it means transitory, or fleeting. Thus the Preacher laments that as things appear from the point of view of the world, everything is temporary and soon gone - nothing is permanent. It is in this light also that the reader must understand Eccl. 9: 5 and Eccl. 9: 10, which declare that the dead “know not any thing,” and there is no knowledge “in the grave.” These should not be construed as theological pronouncements on the condition of the soul after death; rather, they are observations by the Preacher about how things appear to men on the earth “under the sun.” The most spiritual part of the book appears in chapters 11 and 12, where it is concluded that the only activity of lasting and permanent value comes from obedience to God’s commandments, since all things will be examined in the judgment that God will render on man.
d) Authors
i) Proverbs
(1) Primarily Solomon
(a) "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel." (Proverbs 1:1)
(b) Solomon spoke or compiled 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs
(i) Solomon “spake three thousand proverbs” (1 Kings 4:32)
(2) Solomon may have compiled some of the sayings of others
ii) Ecclesiastes
(1) "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem." (Ecclesiastes 1:1)
(2) Probably Solomon
e) "The proverbs in this book are not so much popular sayings as the distillation of the wisdom of teachers who knew the law of God and were applying its principles to the whole of life." (former Old Testament Student Manual, p13)
f) Not revelation
i) Authors were wise men, but not prophets
(1) Teacher's Manual – " much of what they wrote was inspired by the Lord."
2. Wisdom
a) The word, "fear" is used often
b) Reading 3 – Bible Dictionary – Fear – page 672
Care should be taken to distinguish between two different uses of this word. The “fear of the Lord” is frequently spoken of as part of man’s duty (e.g., Ps. 111: 10; Eccl. 12: 13; Isa. 11: 2-3; Luke 1: 50); it is also described as “godly fear” (Heb. 12: 28). In such passages fear is equivalent to reverence, awe, worship, and is therefore an essential part of the attitude of mind in which we ought to stand toward the All-holy God. On the other hand fear is spoken of as something unworthy of a child of God, something that “perfect love casteth out” (1 Jn. 4: 18). The first effect of Adam’s sin was that he was afraid (Gen. 3: 10). Sin destroys that feeling of confidence God’s child should feel in a loving Father, and produces instead a feeling of shame and guilt. Ever since the Fall God has been teaching men not to fear, but with penitence to ask forgiveness in full confidence of receiving it.
c) Reading 4 – Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:9-10
7 ¶ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
i) ASK – What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
ii) ASK – When we say that God is omniscient, do we mean he has all wisdom or all knowledge?
d) Reading 5 – Proverbs 2:2-6
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
i) wisdom is a gift of God and is obtained only by our diligent effort.
e) Reading 6 – 2 Nephi 9:9-10
28 O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
29 But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.
f) READ – Ecclesiastes 7:11-12
11 ¶ Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
i) NOTE – Verse 11 – "them that see the sun" - remember the Bible Dictionary told us that "under the sun" is a theme often seen in Ecclesiastes and refers to a worldly point of view or the view of those who live in the world as contrasted with a spiritual view.
3. Trust in the Lord
a) Reading 7 – Proverbs 3:5-7
5 ¶ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7 ¶ Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
i) ASK – What does it mean to acknowledge God?
(1) READ – Doctrine and Covenants 59:21
21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.
4. The words we speak
a) Reading 8 – Proverbs 6:16-19
16 ¶ These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
i) 3 out of 6 things the Lord hates relate to words we speak
b) Reading 9 – Matthew 12:36-37
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
c) READ – Proverbs 15:1
1 A Soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
d) Reading 10 - Elder Gordon B. Hinckley said: “We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1971, 82; or Ensign, June 1971, 72).
5. Pride
a) Reading 11 – Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 13:10, 16:18-19
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
b) Reading 12 - President Ezra Taft Benson said:
“The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means ‘hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.’ It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.
“Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of ‘my will and not thine be done.’ As Paul said, they ‘seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s’ (Philippians 2:21).
“Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled (see Alma 38:12; 3 Nephi 12:30).
“The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives (see Helaman 12:6). They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.
“Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s. …
“Pride is a damning sin in the true sense of that word. It limits or stops progression (see Alma 12:10–11). The proud are not easily taught (see 1 Nephi 15:3, 7–11). They won’t change their minds to accept truths, because to do so implies they have been wrong” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1989, 3–5; or Ensign, May 1989, 4, 6).
i) ASK – I recall reading Pres. Benson's warning about pride more than once in Church manuals and publications over the last few months. Why do we need to be so concerned about this at this time?
ii) READ - President Ezra Taft Benson said: “Another face of pride is contention. Arguments, fights, unrighteous dominion, generation gaps, divorces, spouse abuse, riots, and disturbances all fall into this category of pride.
“Contention in our families drives the Spirit of the Lord away. It also drives many of our family members away. …
“Pride adversely affects all our relationships—our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1989, 5; or Ensign, May 1989, 6).
(1) ASK – In general, do you think the level of contention in our society is greater or less than it was 10-20 years ago?
(2) In the musical, "West Side Story," two New York street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks are getting ready for a "rumble", a street fight, and the song that gangs sing back and forth to each other includes the repeated chorus, "they began it".
(3) Are there adverse consequences for the Church when there is a spirit of contention prevalent in a country?
(a) Missionary work
(b) Proposition 8
(4) ASK – How do we respond to an atmosphere of contention?
6. Friendship
a) Why are we warned about unrighteous friends? (See Proverbs 13:20; 22:24–25.)
b) What are some characteristics of good friends? (See Proverbs 17:17; 27:9.) How have good friends helped you through difficult times?
c) What can we do to gain true friends? (See Proverbs 18:24. Point out that to have good friends we need to be good friends.)
d) How do true friends react when we make unwise choices? (See Ecclesiastes 4:9–10.)
7. Raising Children
a) Proverbs 22:6 says to “train up a child in the way he should go.” What should parents do to follow this counsel? (See D&C 68:25–28.) How can we more effectively teach children the principles of the gospel and nurture their testimonies?
b) Elder Richard G. Scott said: “You must be willing to forgo personal pleasure and self-interest for family-centered activity, and not turn over to church, school, or society the principal role of fostering a child’s well-rounded development. It takes time, great effort, and significant personal sacrifice to ‘train up a child in the way he should go.’ But where can you find greater rewards for a job well done?” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1993, 43; or Ensign, May 1993, 34).
8. Happiness and good humor
a) Proverbs 15:13 and Proverbs 17:22.
9. Why is it important to develop a happy attitude and a good sense of humor? (See Proverbs 15:13; 17:22.)
10. Conclusion
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