Mosiah 4:9–10

“Believe in God”

Have you ever stopped to ponder the impact your beliefs have on your actions and on who you are becoming? While teaching what we must do to retain a remission of our sins, King Benjamin emphasized the importance of believing in God. This lesson can help you strengthen your belief in and love for God.

Teaching the scriptures and words of prophets with conviction and purpose. At every opportunity, inspire those you teach to turn to the word of God for guidance, answers to questions, and support. If students will “feast upon the words of Christ,” the truths they find will “tell [them] all things what [they] should do” (2 Nephi 32:3).

Student preparation: Invite students to come to class with a list of three to five things they believe about God.

Possible Learning Activities

The impact of our beliefs

The following are a few false ideas people once thought to be true. Ponder the impact these beliefs may have had on the lives of those individuals

Consider displaying the following statements on the board.

• The world is flat.

• Toads give you warts.

• Stars revolve around the earth.

• What problems can come from believing in false ideas?

• How have you seen your beliefs or those of others influence attitudes or actions?

• How might what we believe impact us spiritually?

Believe in God

King Benjamin taught the importance of believing in God. Before beginning your study, take a moment to reflect on what you believe about God. How do your beliefs about God influence your actions? Consider listing in your study journal some of these beliefs and pondering why you believe what you do. Throughout your study, add any thoughts or impressions you may have.

Consider also drawing the following image on the board and inviting students to assist in filling in the circles with teachings from Mosiah 4:9–10.

Copy the following image in your study journal. In the center circle, write believe in God and Mosiah 4:9–10.

Read Mosiah 4:9–10, looking for the different things King Benjamin invited his people to believe about God. Write each of these in the outside circles. If needed, you can add more circles to your image.

• In one simple sentence, how might you summarize King Benjamin’s teachings in Mosiah 4:9–10? Consider using your summary sentence as the title of the visual you created.

Give multiple students an opportunity to share their summaries of these verses with the class. Possible truths they might identify as part of this summary include the following: The Lord’s prophets invite us to believe in God. God created all things and has all power and wisdom. We can demonstrate our belief in God through our actions.

Consider dividing the class into small groups and assigning each group to focus on one or more of King Benjamin’s teachings from verses 9–10. Students could discuss the following questions about the truths they are assigned to focus on and then share their answers with the class.

• How might understanding and believing these teachings from King Benjamin impact your life?

• How do you see these teachings opposed or ignored by the world today?

President Russell M. Nelson shared the following advice for those who are not sure they believe in God:

If you are not sure you even believe in God, start there. Understand that in the absence of experiences with God, one can doubt the existence of God. So, put yourself in a position to begin having experiences with Him. … Ask Him to tell you if He is really there—if He knows you. Ask Him how He feels about you. And then listen. (Russell M. Nelson, “Come, Follow Me,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 90)

• What experiences have you had that strengthened your belief in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

If students would benefit from further discussion about choosing to believe in God, consider using the statement by Elder L. Whitney Clayton in the “Commentary and Background Information” section.

Going deeper

One way we can strengthen our belief and trust in God is by learning from the inspired teachings and experiences of others (see Bible Dictionary, “Faith”). Choose at least one of the following three activities to help you enhance your belief in God:

Display the following three options and give students sufficient time to complete one of the activities. These activities could be completed individually, or students could complete them with others who chose to focus on the same activity. Consider including different activities according to the needs and abilities of your students.

• Hymns: Search the hymnbook for words, phrases, verses, or entire hymns that teach about God’s nature and character or that can strengthen your belief in Him.

• Other scripture accounts: Find and study accounts in the scriptures where others testified of their beliefs about our Heavenly Father or His Son, Jesus Christ. Examples of passages you could study include Alma 26:16, 35–37; 34:8–10; and Doctrine and Covenants 76:22–24.

  Consider providing students with current copies of the general conference edition of the Liahona if the following option is used. Students could also use the Gospel Library app.

• General conference: Using recent general conference addresses, look for words, phrases, accounts, or stories that teach about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and strengthen your belief in Them. (Consider searching general conference addresses by topics such as “Heavenly Father,” “Godhead,” or “Jesus Christ.”)

Give multiple students an opportunity to share what they learned or felt from their studies.

After inviting students to share their insights, consider providing them with small slips of paper, and invite willing students to write something they believe about God. These statements of belief could be posted in the classroom for the next week for others to see and ponder.

Your next steps

Whether you have a strong belief in God or are trying to determine what you believe, there are things each of us can do to strengthen our belief in and love for God. Take a moment to reflect on what you feel your next step is to knowing God better. Record your thoughts and impressions in your study journal.

Consider concluding the lesson by sharing your testimony of God. Encourage the students to act on the impressions they have felt today.

Commentary and Background Information

Is it wrong to only “believe” if we’re not yet comfortable saying “I know”?

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

A 14-year-old boy recently said to me a little hesitantly, “Brother Holland, I can’t say yet that I know the Church is true, but I believe it is.” I hugged that boy until his eyes bulged out. I told him with all the fervor of my soul that belief is a precious word, an even more precious act, and he need never apologize for “only believing.” I told him that Christ Himself said, “Be not afraid, only believe” [Mark 5:36], a phrase which, by the way, carried young Gordon B. Hinckley into the mission field. I told this boy that belief was always the first step toward conviction and that the definitive articles of our collective faith forcefully reiterate the phrase “We believe.” And I told him how very proud I was of him for the honesty of his quest. (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Lord, I Believe,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 94–95)

What role do gospel ordinances play in our retaining a remission of our sins?

Elder L. Whitney Clayton, emeritus General Authority Seventy, shared the following:

Prophets across the ages have encouraged us and even implored us to believe in Christ. Their exhortations reflect a fundamental fact: God does not force us to believe. Instead He invites us to believe by sending living prophets and apostles to teach us, by providing scriptures, and by beckoning to us through His Spirit. We are the ones who must choose to embrace those spiritual invitations, electing to see with inward eyes the spiritual light with which He calls us. The decision to believe is the most important choice we ever make. It shapes all our other decisions. (L. Whitney Clayton, “Choose to Believe,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 38)

How can I help others who do not believe in Jesus Christ?

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

There are many on the earth who know very little of Jesus Christ, and in some parts of the world where His name has been proclaimed for centuries, faith in Jesus Christ is diminishing. … A recent study revealed that in the last 10 years, 30 million people in the United States have stepped away from believing in the divinity of Jesus Christ. Looking worldwide, another study predicts that in the decades ahead, more than twice as many will leave Christianity as will embrace it. …

You and I speak of Jesus Christ, but maybe we can do a little better. If the world is going to speak less of Him, who is going to speak more of Him? We are! Along with other devoted Christians! (Neil L. Andersen, “We Talk of Christ,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 88, 89)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternative way to begin the lesson

Consider creating a scenario for students where someone asks, “What do members of your Church believe about God?” and then inviting students to respond before writing their own beliefs about God.

God’s “character, perfections and attributes”

Lectures on Faith states that “a correct idea of [God’s] character, perfections and attributes” influences our ability to exercise faith in Him (Lectures on Faith [1985], 38). Consider helping students understand this principle by inviting them to specifically list what they know and believe related to God’s character, perfections, and attributes. How might understanding and believing these things influence your relationship with Him? How might they enhance your trust in and reliance on Him?

“I believe” versus “I know”

Ask students how they might respond to someone who wonders if it’s okay to say “I believe” as an expression of their testimony instead of “I know.” Consider using the statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in the “Commentary and Background Information” section and asking students what stands out to them from this statement.