2 Nephi 5

Living after the Manner of Happiness

After separating from his brothers, Nephi and those who followed him established a new community. The people of Nephi flourished and lived lives that resulted in happiness. This lesson can help you discover what you can do to live after the manner of happiness.

Encouraging active participation. While preparing lessons and interacting with students, look for ways to invite students to actively participate. Doing so will help students engage in learning and help them grow closer to the Savior.

Student preparation: Invite students to discuss with a trusted friend or family member the difference between happiness and fun.

Possible Learning Activities

The manner of happiness

Consider writing the question “What makes a person happy?” on the board and asking students to share how an average teenager might answer; then discuss how the Savior would answer.

Invite students to silently reflect on how their response compares to how they think the Savior would respond. Invite them to seek revelation as they study this lesson to know what Heavenly Father would have them know or do.

The chapter 2 Nephi 5 details the separation of Lehi’s family into the Nephites and the Lamanites. When Laman and Lemuel planned to kill Nephi, the Lord warned Nephi to separate from his brothers (see 2 Nephi 5:1–5). Nephi obeyed the Lord and departed with those who “believed in the warnings and the revelations of God” (2 Nephi 5:6) and established a new community.

The Lamanites remained in the land and rebelled against the Lord. They “were cut off from his presence” (2 Nephi 5:20). The curse mentioned in this chapter was separation from God (see 2 Nephi 5:20–24). The changing of the Lamanites’ skin was a mark or sign of the curse. The nature of this mark is not fully understood. The mark initially distinguished the Lamanites from the Nephites. Later, as both the Nephites and Lamanites each went through periods of wickedness and righteousness, the mark became irrelevant as an indicator of the Lamanites’ standing before God.

Do not speculate on the curse. If students have questions, more information is available in the “Commentary and Background Information” section.

Read 2 Nephi 5:27 and notice how Nephi describes the new community he established.

• What do you think it means to live after the manner of happiness?

• What challenges might there be in living after the manner of happiness?

Look at the earlier verses in the chapter to gain insight into what the Nephites did that led them to live after the manner of happiness.

Read 2 Nephi 5:10–17, 26 and complete the following statement with what you find:

can help me follow the Savior and live after the manner of happiness.

You could write the statement on the board and have students come up and write what they find after they read.

• What else do you think could help you live after the manner of happiness?

• How often do you engage in these types of activities?

The following activities are designed as mini lessons for students to teach one another. Here are a few ideas of how to use them:

1. Split the class into groups of three and have each group member prepare and teach one of the three lessons to their group.

2. Assign the lessons ahead of time to three capable students who could prepare and come ready to teach the class.

3. Discuss one or more lessons as a class.

Three possible ways to finish this sentence are “Obedience to God’s laws,” “Work,” and “The temple.” The activities that follow explore each of these more in depth.

Activity 1

Obedience to God’s laws

Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)—“2 Nephi 5: Living after the Manner of Happiness”

Consider inviting students to discuss the following questions in pairs:

• What are some of the laws in your community?

• What would be the result of consistently following or not following those laws?

• How is this comparison similar to or different from God’s laws?

Nephi and his followers obeyed the commandments of the Lord (see 2 Nephi 5:10). Read the doctrinal mastery passage Mosiah 2:41 and look for what King Benjamin wanted his people to understand about keeping God’s commandments. You may consider cross-referencing this verse to 2 Nephi 5:10.

• How do you think obedience to God’s laws helps us to be happy?

• How did Jesus Christ exemplify obedience?

  Consider writing on the board or a piece of paper a list of commandments that help us to be happier. Ask students why they chose the commandments they did.

• What are some of God’s commandments that have brought you greater happiness?

Consider sharing your own experience or sharing your testimony about the connection between happiness and obedience to God’s commandments.

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

Activity 2

Work and self-reliance

Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)—“2 Nephi 5: Living after the Manner of Happiness”

On a sheet of paper or in your study journal, take a moment to make a list of the benefits you would say come from hard work.

You might invite some students to share what they wrote.

Read 2 Nephi 5:11, 15, 17 and identify the different ways the Nephites worked and the results of their labors.

• What did you find?

Consider having students do the following in pairs.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 42:42 and the following statement from Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and see what you learn about the principle of work.

God has designed this mortal existence to require nearly constant exertion. … By work we sustain and enrich life. … Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, …sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, … lifts, [and] aspires. (D.Todd Christofferson, “Reflections on a Consecrated Life,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 17)

• What additional benefits of work did you find? (Consider adding these to your list.)

• Which of these benefits have you experienced?

• How might work help a person become more like Jesus Christ?

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

Activity 3

The temple

Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)—“2 Nephi 5: Living after the Manner of Happiness”

Read 2 Nephi 5:16 and see what you learn about the Nephite temple.

• Why do you think that Nephi and his people made such great efforts to build the temple?

• Why do you think the Lord has asked and continues to ask His people to sacrifice to build temples?

President Russell M. Nelson said the following about the purpose and blessings of temples. You may want to watch the video “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation” from time code 4:27 to 5:55 or read the statement below:

The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ. His essential ordinances bind us to Him through sacred priesthood covenants. Then, as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power. And oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead.

We have been promised that “if [we] are prepared [we] shall not fear.” This assurance has profound implications today. The Lord has declared that despite today’s unprecedented challenges, those who build their foundations upon Jesus Christ, and have learned how to draw upon His power, need not succumb to the unique anxieties of this era. (Russell M. Nelson, “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 93–94)

• What impresses you from President Nelson’s statement?

• How can attending the temple help you better build your foundation on Jesus Christ? You might share an experience if you can think of one.

• How has the temple brought greater happiness to you or someone you know?

When students finish teaching, you could invite them to share how they may have felt greater happiness in following principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ like the ones discussed today. Consider sharing your own testimony about how these principles have brought you greater happiness.

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

Commentary and Background Information

What else can we do to invite happiness into our lives?

Elder Claudio R. M. Costa of the Seventy taught:

We learn that happiness lies in doing small things that build us up, that increase our faith and testimony. Small things we do in our everyday lives, such as:

We are happy as we pray every morning and every night, when we can feel that the Lord hears us and is always willing to bless, forgive, and help us. We are happy as we feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost in our lives—as we feel the Spirit when we have to make important life decisions. … In short, we can feel happiness every day in our lives through little things we do, and we are fully happy as we keep the commandments of a loving God who cares about us. (Claudio R. M. Costa, “Fun and Happiness,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2002, 92–93)

2 Nephi 5:20–21. What was the curse that came upon the Lamanites?

In Nephi’s day the curse of the Lamanites was that they were “cut off from [the Lord’s] presence … because of their iniquity” (2 Nephi 5:20–21). This meant the Spirit of the Lord was withdrawn from their lives. When Lamanites later embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ, “the curse of God did no more follow them” (Alma 23:18).

The Book of Mormon also states that a mark of dark skin came upon the Lamanites after the Nephites separated from them. The nature and appearance of this mark are not fully understood. The mark initially distinguished the Lamanites from the Nephites. Later, as both the Nephites and Lamanites each went through periods of wickedness and righteousness, the mark became irrelevant as an indicator of the Lamanites’ standing before God.

Prophets affirm in our day that dark skin is not a sign of divine disfavor or cursing. The Church embraces Nephi’s teaching that the Lord “denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female” (2 Nephi 26:33). President Russell M. Nelson declared:

“The Lord has stressed His essential doctrine of equal opportunity for His children. …

“… Differences in culture, language, gender, race, and nationality fade into insignificance as the faithful enter the covenant path and come unto our beloved Redeemer” (“President Nelson Remarks at Worldwide Priesthood Celebration,” June 1, 2018, newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

“I assure you that your standing before God is not determined by the color of your skin. Favor or disfavor with God is dependent upon your devotion to God and His commandments and not the color of your skin” (“Let God Prevail,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 94).

Supplemental Learning Activities

Other ways the Nephites lived after the manner of happiness

Consider discussing other decisions the Nephites made that helped them live after the manner of happiness. For example:

• 2 Nephi 5:12. They had the scriptures.

• 2 Nephi 5:6, 13. They lived in families and had children.

• 2 Nephi 5:26. They established a church.

Book of Mormon video

The following video, “The Nephites Live after the Manner of Happiness” (3:01), depicts Nephi describing living after the manner of happiness from 2 Nephi 5. It can be found at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.