2 Nephi 4

Nephi’s Psalm

Everyone faces temptation and feels down or discouraged at times. The prophet Nephi also felt this way. After experiencing the death of his father, Lehi, and facing his angry brothers, Nephi wrote about some of his deepest feelings. He expressed his joy as well as his sorrow. His example shows us how we can turn to the Lord when we experience the challenges of mortality. This lesson can help you respond faithfully to temptation and discouragement by turning to the Lord.

Inviting learners to share their feelings, experiences, and testimonies. Each individual in your class can contribute. As you help students share their feelings, experiences, and testimonies, they can bless the lives of those around them. Everyone in class can be edified by the Holy Ghost.

Student preparation: Consider inviting students to ask God for help with a temptation or challenge they are facing.

Possible Learning Activities

Challenges of mortality

One way to begin the lesson is to discuss life challenges that are common to all. For example, we all face temptation and feel sad or discouraged at times. Consider giving students time to silently ponder the following questions. Students could also write down in their journal a specific temptation or reason they may feel discouraged.

• Why do you think everyone is tempted and feels discouraged at times?

• On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you feel you are managing these difficulties?

• How would your life be blessed if you were better able to overcome temptation and discouragement?

Nephi’s psalm

Read 2 Nephi 4:12–13, 18, looking for some of the challenges Nephi faced.

• How do you imagine these challenges caused Nephi to feel?

The verses 2 Nephi 4:16–35 are often referred to as Nephi’s psalm. A psalm is “an inspired poem or hymn” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Psalm,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). In these verses Nephi wrote about some of his deepest feelings. He shared his challenges and how he responded to temptation and discouragement. As you study these verses, seek inspiration through the Holy Ghost to know what you can do in the specific challenges you are facing.

You may recall four steps to help you liken the scriptures to your life:

1. Find important details.

2. Make comparisons to your life.

3. Discover valuable lessons.

4. Determine personal application.

Provide students with a copy of the handout to fill out individually. Another option is to complete the first two rows as a class and then divide the last three rows among groups and have each group report on what they learned.

Students could be encouraged to write personal thoughts and feelings about these verses in their scriptures.

Nephi’s Psalm and Me (2 Nephi 4:16–35)

Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)—“2 Nephi 4: Nephi’s Psalm”

	Nephi’s Experience	My Experience
2 Nephi 4:16	Nephi’s Experience How was Nephi feeling?	My Experience When have I had similar feelings?
2 Nephi 4:17–19	Nephi’s Experience How was Nephi feeling?	My Experience When have I had similar feelings?
2 Nephi 4:20–25	Nephi’s Experience What experiences with God helped Nephi respond faithfully to his temptations and discouragement?	My Experience What are some spiritual experiences that I could remember when I am tempted or discouraged?
2 Nephi 4:26–29	Nephi’s Experience What kinds of thoughts helped Nephi to be strong when feeling tempted or discouraged?	My Experience What kinds of thoughts can help me be strong when feeling tempted or discouraged?
2 Nephi 4:30–35	Nephi’s Experience What impresses me from Nephi’s prayer?	My Experience How can I apply Nephi’s example to my own prayers?

© 2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Encourage students to discuss their experiences studying 2 Nephi 4:16–35. Consider asking some of the following questions.

Some of the statements in the “Commentary and Background Information” section may enhance the discussion.

• What verses or phrases in 2 Nephi 4 stand out to you? Why?

• What did you learn about the Savior from 2 Nephi 4?

• How did likening the scriptures to your life influence your study of 2 Nephi 4?

• What are some principles you identified?

  As part of the discussion, help students identify a variety of principles. For example:

  • Trusting in the Lord and remembering past spiritual experiences can help me respond faithfully to temptation and discouragement.

  • If I pray to God sincerely, I can receive His help when I am tempted and feel discouraged.

• How do you think these principles can help you turn to the Lord when you are tempted or feel discouraged?

My plan to overcome temptation and discouragement

To see how one young woman turned to the Lord in a difficult time, watch “Heavenly Father Knows Me” (3:18), available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

To help students see how others have turned to the Lord in times of trial, consider showing one of the videos suggested in the “Supplemental Learning Activities” section.

Consider inviting students to talk about when they have turned to the Lord in a difficult time.

Follow Nephi’s example and write your own psalm. Some of the following questions can help:

• What principle, teaching, or verse(s) from 2 Nephi 4 can you apply to your life?

• How will you apply it to your life?

• How do you think doing this will help you turn to the Savior?

• When life gets difficult, how can you respond with faith in the Savior?

Invite willing students to share their psalm with the class. Consider sharing your testimony of the Savior. It may be helpful to remind students that they will face obstacles and will often need to make repeated attempts to overcome them. However, through the grace of Jesus Christ, they can receive the strength to overcome or endure all things.

Commentary and Background Information

How can remembering past spiritual experiences help me?

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Along with the peaceful direction we receive from the Holy Ghost, from time to time, God powerfully and very personally assures each of us that He knows us and loves us and that He is blessing us specifically and openly. Then, in our moments of difficulty, the Savior brings these experiences back into our mind. …

You might think of your spiritual memories this way. With constant prayer, a determination to keep our covenants, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, we navigate our way through life. When personal difficulty, doubt, or discouragement darken our path, or when world conditions beyond our control lead us to wonder about the future, the spiritually defining memories from our book of life are like luminous stones that help brighten the road ahead, assuring us that God knows us, loves us, and has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to help us return home. (Neil L. Andersen, “Spiritually Defining Memories,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 19, 21)

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

I encourage you now, to recall, especially in times of crisis, when you felt the Spirit and your testimony was strong; remember the spiritual foundations you have built. (Ronald A. Rasband, “Lest Thou Forget,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 114)

How can I overcome temptation and discouragement?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

When we face … temptations in our time, we must declare, as young Nephi did in his, “[I will] give place no more for the enemy of my soul” [2 Nephi 4:28]. We can reject the evil one. If we want it dearly and deeply enough, that enemy can and will be rebuked by the redeeming power of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 46)

Elder Allen D. Haynie of the Seventy taught:

Brothers and sisters, if you feel discouraged or wonder if you can ever get out of the spiritual hole that you have dug, please remember who stands “betwixt [us] and justice,” who is “filled with compassion towards the children of men,” and who has taken upon Himself our iniquities and transgressions and “satisfied the demands of justice” [Mosiah 15:9]. In other words, as Nephi did in his moment of self-doubt, simply remember “in whom [you] have trusted” [2 Nephi 4:19], even Jesus Christ, and then repent and experience yet again “a perfect brightness of hope” [2 Nephi 31:20]. (Allen D. Haynie, “Remembering in Whom We Have Trusted,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 123)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Videos

In the video “Heavenly Father Knows Me” (3:18), a young woman shares how the Lord was with her in a difficult time.

In the video “Wheelz: Overcoming Is Possible” (7:13), a young man shares how he has overcome adversity through the Savior’s Atonement.

In the music video “Fragile” (3:46), a young woman sings about how the Lord is there with us when we are hurt and feel broken. If you use this video, consider displaying the lyrics for students.

2 Nephi 4:17, 19. “Nevertheless”

Draw students’ attention to the word “nevertheless” in 2 Nephi 4:17, 19. Notice the change in the feelings Nephi expressed directly before and after this word. Discuss what students can learn from Nephi’s life experiences and example.

2 Nephi 4:17. “O wretched man”

Students may benefit from comparing Nephi and the Apostle Paul. See 2 Nephi 4:17–19; Romans 7:22–25; 2 Corinthians 12:7–10. Discuss how Jesus Christ can help all of us overcome our weakness. It may be helpful to point out that the closer we get to Heavenly Father, the more sensitive we become to deviations from righteousness (see Bruce C. Hafen, “The Atonement: All for All,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 97–99).

2 Nephi 4:15. “My soul delighteth in the scriptures”

Invite students to share scriptures they delight in. Students could write the scripture references on the board and discuss why those passages are meaningful to them. Additionally, students could be invited to share a selected verse with family or friends in a home evening, in a text message, or on social media.

2 Nephi 4:15–16. “The things of my soul”

Consider inviting students to think carefully about and write the things of their soul. To begin this activity, you might share this statement by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in which he quoted Nephi:

“‘Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard’ [2 Nephi 4:16; emphasis added].

“Nephi’s words raise the questions ‘What things do you ponder?’ ‘What things really matter to you?’ ‘What are the things of your soul?’” (“The Things of My Soul,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 39).

Nephi’s psalm in song

The words of Nephi’s psalm have been set to music and sung in general conference. Consider playing the song in class and inviting students to compare the words of the hymn with the feelings and thoughts expressed in 2 Nephi 4:16–35. To do so, watch the priesthood session of the April 2007 general conference from time code 1:46:17 to 1:51:18.