Helaman 14

Signs of the Savior

Heavenly Father sends prophets to help His children believe in His Beloved Son, such as when He instructed Samuel the Lamanite to prophesy to the Nephites. As part of his prophecies, Samuel told of signs that would announce the birth and death of Jesus Christ. This lesson can help you strengthen your belief in Jesus Christ as you understand signs God has given us.

Encourage each student to contribute to the learning experience. Provide multiple ways for students to participate in class. These could include drawing, writing on the board, explaining what they understand, or testifying. Recognize students’ efforts and encourage everyone to support the contributions of their peers.

Student preparation: Invite students to prepare to share how light could be compared to Jesus Christ. They could think about flashlights in dark places, light bulbs in a house, or natural lights like the sun and stars.

Possible Learning Activities

Announcements

Think of events in your life that are so important that you will announce them to friends and family ahead of time. In many cultures, formal announcements of graduation, marriage, significant birthdays, and other events are created and sent out weeks or months in advance.

Consider showing students examples of announcements or telling them about an event in your life that was announced to loved ones in advance.

• What are some reasons people would send these announcements before the day of the event?

• What are some events that Heavenly Father has chosen to announce beforehand through His prophets? Why do you think those events are so important to make known?

Through Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecies, God announced to the Nephites important future events and signs that would accompany them.

Read Helaman 14:12, looking for reasons God commanded Samuel to prophesy of these signs.

Help students identify a principle by inviting them to summarize what they learned from this verse. Students may use different words, but the truth they identify could be similar to the following.

One truth we can learn is that knowing signs God has given can affirm our belief in Jesus Christ.

How do you think witnessing the signs given by Samuel to announce the birth and death of Jesus Christ would have affected you? Ponder what signs or experiences God has given you to confirm your belief in the Savior. These might include signs that precede the Savior’s Second Coming.

Signs of the Savior’s birth and death

If you use the following activity, give students a time limit so there will be time for the remaining material your students need. Students could work in small groups, and you could assign different groups to study either Christ’s birth or His death. Remind students to treat His birth and death with respect as they create their announcements.

Another option is for all groups to create announcements about Christ’s birth and discuss in their groups how those signs testify of Him. Afterward, students could study the signs of Christ’s death as a class and discuss how those signs testify of Him.

Provide materials such as crayons and paper as needed. Students could use digital devices, if available, rather than paper.

Using the following prophecies, create announcements for the Nephites in Samuel’s day of the birth and death of the Savior. Strive to capture the excitement of the Savior’s birth and the weight of His death. Also include why people should prepare for these coming events.

• Signs of His birth: Helaman 14:2–8

• Signs of His death: Helaman 14:14–15, 20–27

Invite each group to present their announcement to another group. If different groups focused on different signs, invite them to present to a group that studied a different sign.

Then invite a class discussion about the Savior by asking questions like the following.

• Why do you think signs involving light and darkness announced the Savior’s birth and death?

• How might seeing these signs have affirmed the Nephites’ belief in the Savior?

If it would be helpful to students, consider inviting them to find a place in the scriptures where the Savior is compared to light—for example, John 8:12. Consider asking, “How has Jesus Christ been a light to you?”

Signs of the Second Coming

Just as Heavenly Father used signs to prepare the ancient Nephites for the coming of His Son, He uses signs in our day to help us prepare for the Second Coming of His Son.

This section is meant to help students understand some of the signs preceding the Second Coming. The matching quiz below is one way to help students do this. You could also use other methods, such as displaying a list of the signs while students answer the questions at the end of the lesson. Or you could ask each student to choose one reference to read and then report to the class the sign they discovered.

Answer key: 1-d, 2-b, 3-a, 4-c, 5-e

To help you become familiar with or remember some of the signs preceding the Second Coming, read the following scripture passages and match them with the description of the sign. If you would like to study more signs, see “Signs of the Times” in the Guide to the Scriptures (scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

1 Nephi 14:14	People from all nations will be drawn to the temple of God
2 Nephi 3:6, 11, 15	A descendant of Joseph of Egypt (Joseph Smith) will bring forth God’s word (the Book of Mormon)
Isaiah 2:2–3	The gospel will be preached in all the world
Matthew 24:14	The Lord’s people will be found all over the earth and will be blessed with God’s power
2 Timothy 3:1–7	People will be selfish and sinful and will turn away from God

• How have you seen some of the signs of the Savior’s Second Coming fulfilled?

The following question could be important for students to ponder. Before they answer, consider giving them time to reflect on how the restored Church of Jesus Christ, missionary work, temples, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon have affected their belief in the Savior.

• How has the fulfillment of these signs affirmed your faith in the Savior?

• According to Helaman 14:13, 28–29, why is it so important for us to believe in Christ?

• In what ways has your belief in Jesus Christ been a blessing to you?

Consider inviting students to record impressions they receive about the following in their study journal.

As you study 3 Nephi 1–10 in coming lessons, you will read about the fulfillment of the signs Samuel gave of the Savior’s birth and death. The people in Samuel’s day who believed the prophecies and prepared for the coming of Christ had very different experiences from those who did not.

In your study journal, write about your belief in the Savior and the experiences that led you to it. You might also include how you can strengthen that belief (for example, by continuing to study the Book of Mormon or by attending the temple).

Commentary and Background Information

How is Jesus Christ represented by light?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency explained:

Jesus Christ is the light of the world because he is the source of the light that quickens our understanding, because his teachings and his example illuminate our path, and because his power persuades us to do good. (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Light and Life of the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 64)

What are signs from God and why does He give them?

“Signs are events or experiences that demonstrate the power of God. They are often miraculous. They identify and announce great events, such as the Savior’s birth, death, and Second Coming. …

“Some people claim that they would believe in God or His work if they were able to receive a sign. But faith does not come by signs; it comes through the Holy Ghost as individuals study the scriptures and prayerfully seek to learn the plan of God. … Such signs are given to those who are faithful and obedient to strengthen them in their faith and to help them carry out the will of God” (Gospel Topics, “Signs,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). (See also Doctrine and Covenants 63:7–10.)

How should our knowledge of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ affect our lives?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

Preparation for the Second Coming

What if the day of His coming were tomorrow? If we knew that we would meet the Lord tomorrow—through our premature death or through His unexpected coming—what would we do today? What confessions would we make? What practices would we discontinue? What accounts would we settle? What forgivenesses would we extend? What testimonies would we bear?

If we would do those things then, why not now? Why not seek peace while peace can be obtained? (Dallin H. Oaks, “Preparation for the Second Coming,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 9)

Supplemental Learning Activities

The fulfillment of Samuel’s prophecies

If it would help students to note the fulfillment of Samuel’s prophecies, invite them to cross-reference or link 3 Nephi 1:15–21 to Helaman 14:2–7 and 3 Nephi 8:17–23 to Helaman 14:20–27.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World

After studying the signs of Jesus’s birth and death, consider turning off the lights in the room. Ask students to discuss how life without the Savior could be represented by darkness. Then turn the lights back on and ask students how the Savior is like a light to us.

You could also show the video “Look to the Light” (4:28) to see examples of individuals who were once in spiritual darkness until they found the light Christ offers.

Look To the Light

Helaman 14:13–19. Jesus Christ overcame physical and spiritual death

Help students understand that the word death can be defined as “separation.”

Physical death is the separation of our spirit from our body. Spiritual death is the separation of our spirit from God and things pertaining to righteousness (see Alma 12:16, 32).

Consider displaying the following image and inviting students to study the sections in numerical order.

When students finish studying, invite volunteers to explain to the class how Jesus Christ saved us from physical death and from the first spiritual death. Then invite them to explain how He made it possible for us to be saved from the second spiritual death.