“June 6–12. Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–3: ‘My Heart Rejoiceth in the Lord,’” Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School: Old Testament 2022 (2021)

“June 6–12. Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–3,” Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School: 2022

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Ruth and Naomi

Whither Thou Goest, by Sandy Freckleton Gagon

June 6–12

Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–3

“My Heart Rejoiceth in the Lord”

It’s important to be prepared to teach, but make sure that your plans include giving class members opportunities to share what they have learned.

Record Your Impressions

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Invite Sharing

To encourage class members to share what they learned this week, you could invite them to write on the board a word or phrase from Ruth 1–4 or 1 Samuel 1–3 that inspired them during their individual or family study. Read a few aloud, asking class members to share how these words and phrases inspired them.

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Teach the Doctrine

Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–2

Christ can turn tragedy into triumph.

Though your class members may have individual trials that are different from those of Ruth and Hannah, they can learn from the ways these faithful women responded to loss and heartache. To help them do this, you could divide the class into small groups and invite each group to read a chapter from Ruth 1–4 or 1 Samuel 1. On the board, you could write questions like these: What trials were Ruth or Hannah facing? How did they show their trust in the Lord during their trials? The groups could look for answers to one or more of the questions and share what they find. What do we learn from these accounts about how the Lord can help us in our trials?

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Hannah and Samuel

For This Child I Prayed, by Elspeth Young
Not everyone who prays for a child receives one, and not everyone whose spouse dies remarries. But our personal challenges, no matter what they are, can be opportunities to turn to the Savior and strengthen our faith in Him. You might ask class members to read Ruth 2:11–12 and 1 Samuel 1:9–11 and talk about how Ruth’s and Hannah’s trials affected their relationships with the Lord. Class members could also share how their own faith was strengthened because they turned to Jesus Christ during times of trial.

To support this discussion, you could invite one or more class members to come prepared to share insights from one of the following: Sister Reyna I. Aburto’s message “Thru Cloud and Sunshine, Lord, Abide with Me!” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 57–60); the section titled “The Joy of Overcoming through Christ” from Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s message “The Joy of the Saints” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 16–17); or President Elaine S. Dalton’s words in “Additional Resources.” Ask class members to share what they learned about how our trials can be opportunities for greater faith in Jesus Christ.

1 Samuel 2:18–36; 3

We should listen to and obey the voice of the Lord.

There may be people in your class who, like Samuel, have heard the Lord’s voice but did not recognize it as His. You might invite class members to review 1 Samuel 3, looking for what Samuel did that could help us in our efforts to hear and obey the Lord’s voice. You might also ask two class members to reenact the interactions between Samuel and Eli.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation like Eli’s—we have an opportunity to help someone recognize the voice of the Lord. Perhaps class members could share how they have done this for friends, family members, or others. What scriptures or experiences have we shared to help others understand how the Lord communicates with us? (see, for example, Doctrine and Covenants 6:22–23; 8:2–3; 9:7–9).

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Additional Resources

We are never alone.

President Elaine S. Dalton taught:

“Life’s journey sometimes takes us on unexpected paths. There are twists and turns in the road that none of us can anticipate. But with each of these twists and turns there is also opportunity—opportunity to choose our response and our plan of action. Difficulties in life can be opportunities to help us draw closer to the Savior and to trust in Him more fully. In the process of living close to Him each day, we develop Christlike attributes and qualities. …

“Like Ruth and Hannah, all of us will experience adversity. We may not always understand the Lord’s design for our lives, but it is my testimony that we are never alone. He is ever with us, and He promises us, ‘Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation’ [Doctrine and Covenants 58:3]” (“Lessons from Ruth and Hannah,” Ensign, Apr. 2006, 35, 37).