Ether 7–11

“Surely This Thing Leadeth into Captivity”

Because God loves us, He calls prophets to warn us of evil and encourage us to keep the commandments. The Jaredites did not hearken to a warning from the brother of Jared, and it resulted in difficult consequences for many generations. This lesson can help you feel the importance of following the Lord’s prophets.

Teach the words of prophets with conviction and purpose. The Lord’s will and purposes are communicated through His prophets. Help students recognize that they can rely on prophetic teachings for direction and protection, whether recorded in the scriptures or spoken today.

Student preparation: Invite students to come prepared to share some of the prophetic counsel or warnings we have received in our day. They could find examples in For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices (booklet, 2022) or in recent general conference addresses.

Possible Learning Activities

Captivity

Consider displaying the following image or drawing a simple prison cell on the board.

Look at the following image. What might this person be thinking or feeling?

Consider what previous choices may have gradually led to these circumstances and why this person may have made those choices.

Engaging in sinful behavior can lead people to spiritual and physical captivity.

Today you will study an account that will help you understand an important way to avoid spiritual captivity. As you study, pay attention to the promptings of the Spirit that can help you see how to apply what you learn to your own life.

“Surely this thing leadeth into captivity”

After the Jaredites arrived in the promised land, they faithfully served the Lord and multiplied and grew strong in the land (see Ether 6:17–18). As Jared and his brother neared the end of their lives, they gathered their people together to speak with them.

Read Ether 6:19–23, looking for what the people desired.

• What warning did the brother of Jared give to the people in verse 23?

Consider inviting students to share how they may have responded if they had been in this situation. You could invite them to think about how their knowledge of God and His prophets could have influenced their decision. Their responses can build faith and testimony in God and His prophets.

Warnings fulfilled

Despite the brother of Jared’s warning, the people still chose to have a king. After several of their sons refused, Jared’s son Orihah finally agreed to become king and reigned in righteousness throughout his life (see Ether 6:24–29; 7:1). However, the brother of Jared’s prophecy that having a king would lead to captivity was fulfilled many times throughout the history of the Jaredites.

Read the following passages, looking for examples of how the brother of Jared’s prophecy was fulfilled. You may want to list these references in your scriptures next to Ether 6:23.

Invite willing students to take turns reading some or all of the following verses aloud. If you choose to not read all the verses, be sure to not skip Ether 7:1–5, which specifically states that the brother of Jared’s prophecy was fulfilled (see Ether 7:5). It may also be beneficial to read Ether 11:20–23, which introduces the prophet Ether.

• Ether 7:1–5

• Ether 7:15–17

• Ether 8:2–3

• Ether 9:28–32

• Ether 10:13–15

• Ether 10:29–31

• Ether 11:1–7

• Ether 11:20–23

• What stood out to you from these verses?

• What truth can we learn from this account about the consequences of rejecting the Lord’s prophets?

One truth we can learn from this account is that rejecting the Lord’s prophets can lead to captivity.

• What are some examples of how someone might experience captivity through ignoring or rejecting the Lord’s prophets?

  If students need help with the previous question, consider sharing a few examples, such as the possibility that disobeying the Word of Wisdom or viewing pornography can lead to the captivity of addiction. Be sure students understand that all forms of sin decrease the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

• Why do you think people choose to ignore the counsel and warnings the Lord gives through His prophets?

Modern-day counsel from the Lord’s prophets

Help students see how this truth still applies today. The following activity is one way to do this.

Find counsel or warnings from modern-day prophets and apostles. These could come from For the Strength of Youth (booklet, 2022), or from recent general conference addresses. See if you can find specific words or phrases that describe how we will be blessed as we follow this counsel, as well as consequences we can experience for ignoring it.

It may be helpful to put students into small groups and assign each group a different topic from For the Strength of Youth (booklet, 2022) to study as they complete this activity. Consider displaying the following questions. Give students sufficient time to discuss their answers with their groups.

• What warnings or counsel were you able to find?

• What are some ways the Lord will bless us as we follow this counsel?

• How might ignoring this counsel or these warnings lead someone to captivity?

When the students have finished, invite them to share some of their insights with the class.

It may be helpful to have students share answers they found to the questions listed above. For example, students who studied the counsel from the “Walk In God’s Light” section in For the Strength of Youth could point out that what we watch, read, listen to, or participate in can invite good thoughts or can dull our sensitivity to the Spirit. (see For the Strength of Youth [booklet, 2022], 18).

Applying it to your life

Think about how you respond to the counsel and warnings of the Lord’s prophets, blessings you have received for following them, and counsel you might need to follow more faithfully.

Consider inviting students to share examples of how the Lord has blessed them as they have followed His counsel through His prophets. You may want to share a personal experience as well.

The following can help students who may feel discouraged because of captivity they experience as a result of disregarding counsel from the Lord’s prophets. Consider reading Mosiah 7:33 as a class.

Some may feel discouraged when they experience consequences for disregarding the Lord’s counsel and warnings through His prophets. But even when we have made mistakes, the Savior can deliver us from our captivity when we turn to Him. For example, read Ether 7:25–27, and notice what happened when the people repented and turned back to God.

• What does this passage teach you about the Lord? (see also Mosiah 7:33).

To see an example of how someone experienced the Lord’s deliverance after experiencing spiritual captivity, consider watching “The Immediate Goodness of God,” found on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 3:37 to 6:33.

Testify of the truths discussed today and encourage students to act on their spiritual impressions.

Commentary and Background Information

Why should we hearken to the words of the prophets?

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

Why are we so willing to follow the voice of our prophet? For those diligently seeking eternal life, the prophet’s voice brings spiritual safety in very turbulent times. …

Anchoring our souls to the Lord Jesus Christ requires listening to those He sends. Following the prophet in a world of commotion is like being wrapped in a soothing, warm blanket on a freezing cold day. (Neil L. Andersen, “The Prophet of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 26)

Watch “Sustaining the Prophets” from time code 3:30 to 5:49 to see President Russell M. Nelson share important truths that can help us understand why hearkening to the prophets is so important.

How can ignoring prophetic warnings lead to captivity?

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

God intended that men and women would be free to make choices between good and evil. When evil choices become the dominant characteristic of a culture or nation, there are serious consequences both in this life and the life to come. People can become enslaved or put themselves in bondage not only to harmful, addictive substances but also to harmful, addictive philosophies that detract from righteous living.

Turning from the worship of the true and living God and worshipping false gods like wealth and fame and engaging in immoral and unrighteous conduct result in bondage in all its insidious manifestations. These include spiritual, physical, and intellectual bondage and sometimes bring destruction. (Quentin L. Cook, “Lamentations of Jeremiah: Beware of Bondage,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 88–89)

Supplemental Learning Activities

The pride cycle

Students may have previously learned about a pattern sometimes called “the pride cycle” that is found throughout the scriptures. This pattern involves the following steps:

1. Being prideful and wicked and forgetting the Lord

2. Experiencing suffering and destruction

3. Remembering the Lord, becoming humble, and repenting

4. Being righteous and experiencing prosperity

Consider inviting students to study the following scriptures, looking for this pattern among the Jaredites:

• Ether 7:23–27

• Ether 9:26–35; 10:1–2

• Ether 10:5–7, 15–19, 28, 30–34; 11:1–8

After studying these verses, you could discuss how this cycle relates to us. Consider inviting students to evaluate themselves by thinking about which portion of this cycle they might be in and what they can do to consistently be humble and remember the Lord.

Ether 9:14–22. The blessings of living righteously

Although much of Jaredite history was filled with wickedness, there were times when the people experienced great blessings because of their righteousness.

Consider inviting students to study about one such righteous period, led by a man named Emer. Students could read Ether 9:14–22, looking for the blessings that Emer and his people experienced as they followed the Lord.

It may be helpful for students to cross-reference these verses with Mosiah 2:41 or other scriptures that discuss the blessings of living righteously. Invite students to share examples of how the Lord has blessed them as they have made efforts to keep His commandments.