Mosiah 21–24, Part 2

Turning to the Lord for Deliverance from Trials

How do you respond when you experience trials and difficulties? Why do you think some people draw closer to the Lord while others retreat from Him? In Mosiah 21–24, we learn that the people of Limhi and the people of Alma turned to the Lord for strength and deliverance from captivity. This lesson is intended to help you rely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to help you through your trials.

Assist learners in recognizing the Lord’s influence in their lives. As students learn how the Savior blessed people in the scriptures, help them recognize the role He plays in their lives as well. Invite students to reflect on how the Savior helps them by offering healing and giving them strength.

Student preparation: Students could talk with a family member about a trial or affliction the family member experienced and ways the Lord strengthened him or her to endure it.

Possible Learning Activities

This is the second of two lessons that address Mosiah 21–24. If you have not already done so, teach Part 1 before this lesson. If class time is limited and only one lesson on Mosiah 21–24 can be taught, consider how the two lessons might be effectively combined.

Responding to trials

The following activity is intended to help students do some self-assessment about a trial they are experiencing or have experienced. You may want to include some writing prompts or questions on the board to guide students as they record their thoughts. Students do not need to share their responses at this point in the lesson.

In the previous lesson, you were invited to think about a trial you are experiencing or have experienced. You may have learned some truths in your study of Mosiah 21–24 that helped you understand why the Lord allows you to experience trials. Today, think about your trials again, but this time consider how you have responded to them. You may want to record obstacles or successes you experienced and ways you have felt the Lord’s influence or blessings.

The Lord’s power of deliverance

Consider inviting one or more students to summarize what they remember from the previous lesson about the captivity of the people of Limhi and the people of Alma. If necessary, the following summary could be used.

You might remember studying the people of Limhi (in the land of Nephi) and the people of Alma (in the land of Helam). They both experienced difficult trials while in captivity to the Lamanites. This image illustrates their journeys in Mosiah 21–24.

Today you will learn how the Lord delivered both groups of people out of bondage and into the land of Zarahemla. As you study, keep your trials in mind and look for truths that help you recognize ways the Lord exercises His power of deliverance in your life.

The following activity is intended to help students learn about the deliverance of the people of Limhi and the people of Alma. It may be helpful to divide the class into small groups and assign these groups to study either the people of Limhi or the people of Alma. Students could then summarize their accounts and share meaningful verses or phrases and the principles that stood out to them.

Create the following chart in your study journal. Be sure to leave plenty of room to record multiple answers in each box.

Mosiah 21–24: Strength and Deliverance

Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)—“Mosiah 21–24, Part 2: Turning to the Lord for Deliverance from Trials”

	People of Limhi Mosiah 21:13–16, 36; 22:1–13; 29:18–20	People of Alma Mosiah 23:25–29; 24:8–25
What actions did the people take to receive the Lord’s help?
How was the Lord involved in their deliverance?
What are some favorite phrases to remember from these verses?

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

After students have had sufficient time to study, invite them to share their responses to the questions listed in the chart. Be sure to allow multiple students to share their insights.

• What were some of the actions that the people took to receive the Lord’s help?

• What did you learn about the Lord and His power as you studied these accounts?

• What was a favorite phrase you identified from one of the verses you studied?

Recognizing and rejoicing in the Lord’s power

Among many truths we can learn from these verses, you may have noticed from your studies that as we turn to Him, Heavenly Father will sustain us during our trials and deliver us in His time (see Mosiah 21:14–16). We also learn that when we endure our trials cheerfully and patiently, the Lord can strengthen us to bear our burdens with ease (see Mosiah 24:15).

• How can knowing these things about the Lord influence how you respond to your trials?

• How has the Lord supported and strengthened you or someone you know to endure a trial or carry a burden? How did this experience impact your feelings for Him?

Consider sharing a personal example as part of the discussion of the previous question. Depending on class time, you may also want to show the following video.

Watch the video “Feeling the Lord’s Love and Goodness in Trials” (4:18) on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Look for how the truths or phrases you identified in the scriptures could relate to the experience of the Gutierrez family.

Your next steps

After sharing the following instructions, consider displaying on the board the questions for students to answer so they can refer to the questions as they write.

Reflect on what you have learned today that could help you with the trials you face.

Add a new column to the chart you created earlier in the lesson and label the top row of this column “Me.” Then complete your new column by answering the following questions. (If you do not have room to create a new column, answer the questions in a separate space in your study journal.)

• What actions can you take to receive more of the Lord’s help in your trials?

• What have you learned about the Lord today that can help you understand the kind of help or strength He can provide you?

• What words or phrases from the verses you studied do you think could relate to your circumstances? Why?

Consider inviting a few volunteers to share some of their responses to the previous questions. Testify of the truths you have discussed today and of the Lord’s power to deliver us from our afflictions.

Commentary and Background Information

Why doesn’t God always provide us with immediate deliverance from our trials?

Elder Evan A. Schmutz of the Seventy observed:

God invites us to respond with faith to our own unique afflictions in order that we may reap blessings and gain knowledge that can be learned in no other way. …

Many of us have pleaded with God to remove the cause of our suffering, and when the relief we seek has not come, we have been tempted to think He is not listening. I testify that, even in those moments, He hears our prayers, has a reason for allowing our afflictions to continue [see Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8; 122], and will help us bear them [see Mosiah 24:12–15]. (Evan A. Schmutz, “God Shall Wipe Away All Tears,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 116)

You may want to watch the video or read the talk “Remember Thy Suffering Saints, O Our God” (10:18) by Elder Anthony D. Perkins of the Seventy on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. When Elder Perkins was diagnosed with cancer and learned that his mortal life would likely be cut short, he learned important lessons about trials and suffering.

In what ways might the Lord’s help or deliverance come?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

Healing blessings come in many ways, each suited to our individual needs, as known to Him who loves us best. Sometimes a “healing” cures our illness or lifts our burden. But sometimes we are “healed” by being given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us. (Dallin H. Oaks, “He Heals the Heavy Laden,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 7–8)

Elder L. Tom Perry (1922–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared lessons we can learn from the deliverance of the people of Limhi and of Alma. Watch the video “The Power of Deliverance” to see these lessons.

How can remembering past experiences help me to better endure my trials?

Watch the video “Good Things to Come” (4:55) at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Look for the counsel Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gives as he explains how a trial taught him that trusting in the Lord can offer us hope in challenging times.

Supplemental Learning Activities

Object lesson

This demonstration could be used at the beginning or elsewhere in the lesson.

Fill a glass jar three-fourths full of rice or wheat, place a ping-pong ball on top, and then place the lid on the jar. Explain to students that the ping-pong ball represents them, and the rice or wheat represents trials and afflictions they face. Invite students to describe some trials or difficulties teenagers commonly face. Tip the jar upside down so the rice buries the ping-pong ball. Then shake the jar up and down until the ping-pong ball rises to the top. Invite students to consider how this could be like us doing our part and turning to Heavenly Father for help to rise above our trials.

Learning about the Lord in Mosiah 21–24

You may want to point out that one of the titles of Jesus Christ is Deliverer (see 2 Samuel 22:2; Psalms 40:17; Romans 11:26). The accounts in Mosiah 21–24 describe the actions the Lord took to deliver the people of Limhi and the people of Alma from captivity. Consider writing some or all of the following scripture references on the board and inviting students to mark what they learn about the Lord and His character from those verses (see the following examples for suggestions). Students could discuss how these truths apply to ways the Lord may be delivering them from their trials.

• The Lord was slow to hear the cries of Limhi’s people because of iniquity, but He did hear them.

• The Lord softened the hearts of the Lamanites toward the people of Limhi.

• The Lord prospered them “by degrees.”

Mosiah 23:2

• The Lord strengthened Alma’s people to escape King Noah’s armies.

Mosiah 23:21–22

• The Lord chastens (purifies) His people; He tries their patience and faith.

• The Lord will lift up those who trust in Him at the last day.

Mosiah 23:29

• The Lord softened the hearts of the Lamanites toward the people of Alma.

Mosiah 24:13–19

• The voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions.

• The Lord strengthened them to bear up their burdens with ease.

• The Lord promised that He would deliver them on the morrow.

• The Lord caused a deep sleep to come on the Lamanites.

Mosiah 24:23

• The Lord stopped the Lamanites from following the people of Alma.