“Mormon 1–2: The Prophet Mormon,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)

“Mormon 1–2,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual

Mormon 1–2

The Prophet Mormon

As you strive to follow Christ, sometimes you might notice that you behave differently than people around you. Maybe you have thought, “How can I be strong enough to follow Christ when others don’t seem to be following Him?” The prophet Mormon experienced similar circumstances when he was young. This lesson can help you understand from Mormon’s example how to follow Christ regardless of what others choose to do.

Teach students to look for attributes of the Savior in the lives of others. The scriptures contain many accounts of faithful men and women who demonstrate attributes of Jesus Christ. Help students learn about the Savior by examining the lives of those who strive to emulate Him.

Student preparation: Invite students to come prepared to share experiences when they chose to be different from others in order to follow Jesus Christ and why it was worth it.

Possible Learning Activities

Standing out as a disciple of Jesus Christ

one purple rubber duck in a group of yellow rubber ducks

Consider displaying a picture like this that shows something that is clearly different from the things around it. Then ask the following questions:

What comparisons could you make between this picture and someone striving to follow Christ in the world today?
What are some situations in which youth have to choose between doing what is right and following what others around them are doing?

As you begin your study of the life and teachings of the prophet Mormon, look for insights that can help you follow the Savior when others around you may choose differently.

The prophet Mormon

Consider displaying the following image of Mormon. Ask a volunteer to explain what the metal plates are that he is working on. If needed, share the information from the following paragraph.

Mormon was chosen by God to preserve and protect the sacred records of his people and to add his own history and experiences to them. Some of the records that he wrote, abridged, and preserved would later be translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith as the Book of Mormon.

For a more interactive experience, you could do the following: Invite students to imagine they are creating a social media profile for Mormon or preparing to introduce him to a group of people. Pause after each set of verses and invite students to add something they learned to the profile or introduction.

Read the following scripture passages to learn a few things about Mormon:

What stood out to you from Mormon’s descriptions?

Even as a young man, Mormon had to decide if he would follow what many around him were doing or if he was willing to stand out as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

You might remember learning about the righteous civilization that was established after the Savior’s visit to the Americas. Sadly, after nearly 200 years of righteous living, the Nephites and Lamanites began to be prideful. Eventually, they became very wicked and contentious (see 4 Nephi 1:24–49).

Read Mormon 1:13–14, 16; 2:18–19, looking for Mormon’s description of the society he grew up in.

What can you learn from Mormon’s example?

One truth students might identify is that we can choose to follow the Savior, even when others around us do not. You might want to write this truth on the board.

Because of Mormon’s righteousness, he received amazing blessings from God, even as a teenager. Read Mormon 1:15, looking for one of these blessings.

What are ways a teenager today might be blessed to “[taste] and [know] of the goodness of Jesus”?

Possible answers to this question include being forgiven for sins or experiencing peace during troubled times. Students might also mention occasions when they felt Jesus’s strength help them do something they didn’t feel qualified or able to do.
How has Heavenly Father blessed you for following the example of Jesus Christ even if others are not?

If students prepared to introduce Mormon or prepared a social media profile for him, invite them to share what they prepared with a small group.

Mormon’s example

Mormon’s example can help you identify some specific ways you can follow Christ even when others around you do not. The following activities can help you deepen your understanding of Mormon’s attributes and identify ways to apply them in following Christ.

Consider dividing the class into small groups. Assign each group one of the following qualities to study, and give them the corresponding handouts. Then invite students to report what they learned to a group that studied the other quality.

Activity 1

Being sober

Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)—“Mormon 1–2: The Prophet Mormon”

Read Mormon 1:2, 15, and consider marking the word “sober.” (You might record in your scriptures that sober can mean reverent, serious, and thoughtful.)

Read the following statement by President Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

We have watched patterns of reverence and irreverence in the Church. While many are to be highly commended, we are drifting. We have reason to be deeply concerned. …

Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit. (Boyd K. Packer, “Reverence Invites Revelation,” Ensign, Nov. 1991, 22)

What are some things that should be treated with reverence and seriousness that are treated irreverently by some?
What are some ways the Savior exemplifies being sober (reverent, serious, and thoughtful)?

Activity 2

Being quick to observe

Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)—“Mormon 1–2: The Prophet Mormon”

Read Mormon 1:2 and consider marking the phrase “quick to observe.”

Read the following statement by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

When we are quick to observe, we promptly look or notice and obey. Both of these fundamental elements—looking and obeying—are essential to being quick to observe. And the prophet Mormon is an impressive example of this gift in action. (David A. Bednar, “Quick to Observe,” Ensign, Dec. 2006, 32)

What teachings have you found it helpful to be quick to notice and to obey? Why?
What advice would you give to a friend who feels that obedience to the Lord can wait until later in life?
In what ways did Jesus Christ exemplify being quick to observe?

Help and strength to remain faithful

Consider dividing students into small groups to complete the following activity. Then invite them to share their answers with the class.

To help you identify ways to apply these Christlike attributes in your own life, list at least two challenges youth face living in today’s world. Then write how one or both of the attributes you studied could help youth receive help and strength from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Consider sharing blessings you have received by following Christ. Then encourage students to make a plan to act on what they learned and felt today.

Commentary and Background Information

Mormon 1:16–17. Why was Mormon forbidden to preach to his people for a time?

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

As God occasionally does when those with so much light reject it, Mormon literally had his mouth shut. He was forbidden to preach to a nation that had wilfully rebelled against their God. These people had rejected the miracles and messages delivered them by the three translated Nephite disciples, who had now also been silenced in their ministry and been taken from the nation to whom they had been sent. (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant [1997], 318)

How can we overcome our fears about standing out as a disciple of Christ?

President Russell M. Nelson taught:

True disciples of Jesus Christ are willing to stand out, speak up, and be different from the people of the world. They are undaunted, devoted, and courageous. …

There is nothing easy or automatic about becoming such powerful disciples. Our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His gospel. It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought. But when we do, our doubts and fears flee. (Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 40–41)

What blessings can we receive for following Jesus Christ even when others do not?

Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:

Now to each of you: at times you may feel lonely and misunderstood—I have—because you don’t fit in with the crowd. Be grateful that your righteous life molds you so that you don’t fit where you don’t belong. This is a temporary period of personal testing and growth. It will be replaced in time with true friends and greater happiness. (Richard G. Scott, “The Power of Righteousness,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 70)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternate beginning to the lesson

To introduce the prophet Mormon and to show similarities between his life and Joseph Smith’s life, consider reading the following clues to students and then asking them to guess who the clues are referring to. (Do not read the scripture references to students.) After students guess, help them see how the clues are true about Joseph Smith. Then display the clues with the scripture references. Invite students to read them with a partner, looking for how the statements are also true about the prophet Mormon.

He was born during a time of apostasy (see Mormon 1:13–14).
He had the same name as his father (see Mormon 1:5).
In his mid-teens, he was visited of the Lord (see Mormon 1:15).
A prophet came to him when he was young and told him of records engraved on metal plates that he had hidden in a hill (see 4 Nephi 1:48–49; Mormon 1:1–4).
He was forced by his enemies to leave his home and move with his people from city to city (see Mormon 2:4–5).
His enemies finally succeeded in killing him (see Mormon 8:1–3).

Christlike attributes

After helping students identify Mormon’s example of being sober and quick to observe, consider dividing the class into two groups and assigning each group one of the attributes. Invite groups to identify how Jesus Christ exemplified those attributes. The following scripture passages can help:

Sober: Luke 2:46–49; Matthew 21:12–14
Quick to observe: Abraham 3:27

After sufficient time, invite students to share what they learned. Then you could lead a discussion by asking questions like the following about each attribute:

How can being [attribute] help you become more like Jesus Christ?
What are some situations in which you can be [attribute] in order to follow Jesus Christ?