February 28–March 6

Genesis 28–33

“Surely the Lord Is in This Place”

As you prepare to teach, prayerfully consider which principles in Genesis 28–33 might be most helpful to your class members. The following ideas are meant to add to your personal study and inspiration.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

One blessing of being gathered in a Sunday School class is that members can help each other find meaning in the scriptures. Encourage class members to share with someone sitting nearby what the Holy Ghost taught them as they studied the scriptures this week. A few could be invited to share with the class what they discussed. This might create a good starting place for your class discussion.

Teach the Doctrine

Genesis 28:10–22

In the temple we make covenants with God.

• How might you help class members find meaning in Jacob’s experience at Bethel, as described in Genesis 28:10–22? They could start by reviewing Genesis 27:41–45; 28:1–5 and considering Jacob’s life at the time. How might Jacob have been feeling? Class members could then explore Genesis 28:10–22. How did this experience bless Jacob? How might he have been comforted? How might Jacob’s experience inspire us as we worship in the temple? The class could also sing, read, or listen to “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” which is based on these verses (Hymns, no. 100). They could share phrases from the song or from Genesis 28:10–22 that remind them of experiences they have had with trying to draw nearer to the Savior.

• The ladder Jacob saw in his dream has often been compared to temple covenants. Maybe you could show or draw a picture of a ladder and a temple. Class members could review Genesis 28:10–22 and talk about what the ladder in Jacob’s dream teaches us about the temple. What else do we find in these verses that reminds us of blessings we receive because of our temple covenants? (See “About the Temple Endowment” and “About a Temple Sealing” [temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org].)

• To help class members ponder the promises of the Abrahamic covenant, which the Lord renewed with Jacob, you could invite them to read Genesis 28:10–15 and talk about how we can receive these blessings today (see also Genesis 12:2–3). They could also read President Russell M. Nelson’s statement in “Additional Resources,” looking for blessings that come from making and keeping covenants. How was Jacob blessed by receiving the promises found in Genesis 28:10–15? What connections do we see between the events in these verses and the events in Genesis 29 and 30 (Jacob getting married and the births of his children)? How does the Lord bless us as we make and keep sacred covenants?

Illustration of Jacob and Esau embracing, by Robert T. Barrett

Genesis 32–33

The Savior can help us overcome discord in our families.

• Genesis 32–33 could be inspiring to class members who want to find healing in their family relationships. It might be helpful to ask a class member to briefly summarize the events recorded in Genesis 27. This week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families includes questions to ponder while studying Genesis 32–33. Perhaps class members could select one of these questions and look for answers in the chapters. They may also be willing to share experiences they have had with strengthening strained relationships in their families. Encourage them to talk about how Heavenly Father helped them.

Additional Resources

We are children of the covenant.

President Russell M. Nelson taught:

“At baptism we covenant to serve the Lord and keep His commandments. When we partake of the sacrament, we renew that covenant and declare our willingness to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. Thereby we are adopted as His sons and daughters and are known as brothers and sisters. He is the father of our new life. Ultimately, in the holy temple, we may become joint heirs to the blessings of an eternal family, as once promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their posterity. Thus, celestial marriage is the covenant of exaltation.

“When we realize that we are children of the covenant, we know who we are and what God expects of us. His law is written in our hearts. He is our God and we are His people. Committed children of the covenant remain steadfast, even in the midst of adversity. When that doctrine is deeply implanted in our hearts, even the sting of death is soothed and our spiritual stamina is strengthened” (“Covenants,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 88).

Improving Our Teaching

Help learners act on promptings. “True conversion involves more than just feeling the Spirit confirming truth to our souls; we must also act on those truths. In addition to helping learners feel and recognize the Spirit, help them act on the promptings they receive” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 10).