Illustration of Moses on Mount Nebo, © Providence Collection/licensed from goodsalt.com

May 16–22

Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34

“Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord”

Moses was inspired to teach the children of Israel based on their needs (see Deuteronomy 6:1). As you study Deuteronomy, seek inspiration to know what principles to teach, based on class members’ needs.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

Because Deuteronomy contains Moses’s final words to the children of Israel, you might invite class members to share something they found in Deuteronomy that they would want to include in their final words to their children or grandchildren. As they share, ask them to explain why they chose those words.

Teach the Doctrine

Deuteronomy 6:4–7, 20–25; 8:2–5, 11–17; 29:18–20; 30:6–10, 15–20

The Lord wants us to love Him with all our hearts.

• Throughout Deuteronomy, there are passages that can prompt us to think about the spiritual condition of our hearts. To help class members share their thoughts about these passages, you could draw a heart on the board. Then divide the following scriptures among class members: Deuteronomy 6:4–7, 20–25; 8:2–5, 11–17; 29:18–20; 30:6–10, 15–20. Invite class members to write the reference inside the heart if it teaches about something we should have in our hearts or to write the reference outside the heart if it teaches something we should avoid. What does it mean to devote our whole hearts to Heavenly Father?

• How do we explain to our family and others why we obey God’s commandments? After pondering this question, class members could read Deuteronomy 6:4–7, 20–25 or the statement in “Additional Resources” and share their thoughts. How do these insights affect the way we feel about commandments or covenants?

Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 20–25

“Teach [the Lord’s words] diligently unto thy children.”

• Sometimes it helps to hear ideas about ways others are teaching and learning the gospel in their homes. Discussing how class members are following the counsel in Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 20–25 can give your class an opportunity to learn from each other. What do we do to teach and “talk of” (verse 7) the word of God as these verses describe? What experiences can we share in which the Lord guided us in our efforts?

Deuteronomy 15:1–15

Helping the needy involves generous hands and willing hearts.

• We haven’t yet arrived at the day “when there shall be no poor among you” (Deuteronomy 15:4), so the principles about helping the poor in Deuteronomy 15 are still valuable, even if the particular practices regarding debts and servants have changed. You could invite class members to review verses 1–15 and find principles about helping the poor and needy that they would like to discuss. Questions like these could help the discussion: What does it mean to “open thine hand wide” to those in need? (verses 8, 11). What role does our heart play in helping others? (see verses 7, 9–10). What can we learn about helping the needy from the Lord’s example? (see verse 15).

Deuteronomy 29:9; 30:15–20

The Lord invites us to choose between “life and good, and death and evil.”

• It might be interesting to compare Moses’s words in Deuteronomy with some of Lehi’s final teachings to his family in 2 Nephi 1–4. Perhaps class members could find similarities and differences between these passages: Deuteronomy 29:9 and 2 Nephi 4:4; Deuteronomy 30:15–20 and 2 Nephi 2:26–29. How did Lehi expand on what Moses taught? Why are words like life and death a good way to describe our choices to “keep” or “turn away” from God’s commandments? (Deuteronomy 30:16–17). Class members could share what they find in these passages that inspires them to “choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Additional Resources

We keep our covenants because we love God.

President Linda K. Burton taught:

“Of all the reasons we ought to be more diligent in our covenant keeping, this reason is more compelling than all—love. …

“‘If we fully appreciated the many blessings which are ours through the redemption made for us, there is nothing that the Lord could ask of us that we would not anxiously and willingly do’ [Joseph Fielding Smith, “Importance of the Sacrament Meeting,” Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1943, 592]. According to this statement by President Joseph Fielding Smith, covenant keeping is one way to express our love for the incomprehensible, infinite Atonement of our Savior and Redeemer and the perfect love of our Father in Heaven” (“The Power, Joy, and Love of Covenant Keeping,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 114).

Improving Our Teaching

Listen. “Listening is an act of love. … Ask Heavenly Father to help you understand what your class members say. As you pay careful attention to their spoken and unspoken messages, you will come to better understand their needs, their concerns, and their desires” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 34).