“I Know That My Redeemer Liveth”

Teach and discuss Job 1–2.

• What kind of man was Job? You may want to list some of the following characteristics on the chalkboard. Many of the corresponding references are not in the reading assignment, so you may want to ask individual class members to look them up and tell what characteristic is described.

  1. He was a good man who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1).

  2. He was wealthy but not caught up in wealth (Job 1:3, 21).

  3. He had integrity (Job 2:3).

  4. He strengthened the weak (Job 4:3–4).

  5. He walked in the Lord’s paths and esteemed the Lord’s words (Job 23:10–12).

  6. He was compassionate to the widow, the poor, the lame, and the blind (Job 29:12–16).

  7. He was concerned for his enemies and forgave them (Job 31:29–30).

• What trials did Job experience? You may want to list some of these trials on the chalkboard. Many of the corresponding references are not in the reading assignment, so you may want to ask individual class members to look them up and tell what trial is described.

  1. Loss of servants, property, and income (Job 1:13–17).

  2. Loss of children (Job 1:18–19).

  3. Physical illness and pain (Job 2:7; 7:5; 16:16).

  4. Restless sleep filled with nightmares (Job 7:4, 13–14).

  5. Cruel accusations and loss of support from friends and family (Job 2:9; 4:1, 7–8; 11:1–6; 19:13–22).

  6. Confusion about why he was asked to go through these trials (Job 10:15).

  7. Mockery by those who delighted in his downfall (Job 16:10–11; 30:1, 8–10).

  8. 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).

• How do Job’s trials compare with the trials people experience in our day? (The trials are similar: loss of property, loss of children, loss of health, and loss of the love and companionship of friends and family.)

• What did Satan claim was the reason for Job’s righteousness? (See Job 1:9–10.) 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?

• Despite his adversity, Job “sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:22). How do some people charge God foolishly when sorrow, misfortune, or tragedy strike? (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.)

Teach and discuss Job 13:13–16; 19:23–27.

• Job’s trust in the Lord was a great source of spiritual strength for him (Job 13:13–16). What does it mean to trust in the Lord? How can we develop trust in the Lord that will sustain us through trials? (See Romans 8:28; 2 Nephi 2:2, 11, 24; D&C 58:2–4; 122:5–9.) Testify that because the Lord loves us, he has assured us that as we are faithful, all things will be for our good and help us grow.

• In Job 19, Job described the trials that had befallen him, then testified of the Savior. 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?

  You may want to have class members sing “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” (Hymns, no. 136), or you could play a recording of this hymn.

Teach and discuss Job 27:2–6.

• 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? (As we maintain our integrity, we can gain strength from knowing that the course of our lives is pleasing to the Lord.)

  Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin defined integrity as “always doing what is right and good, regardless of the immediate consequences. It means being righteous from the very depth of our soul, not only in our actions but, more important, in our thoughts and in our hearts. Personal integrity implies such trustworthiness and incorruptibility that we are incapable of being false to a trust or covenant” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1990, 38; or Ensign, May 1990, 30).

Teach and discuss Job 42:10–17.

• 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. Encourage class members to share personal experiences. You may want to point out that although the Lord blessed Job with “twice as much as he had before,” the spiritual blessings the Lord gives us as we faithfully endure are even greater than the temporal blessings.)

  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).