The Cry of Jeremiah the Prophet, from an engraving by the Nazarene School

October 17–23

Jeremiah 30–33; 36; Lamentations 1; 3

“I Will Turn Their Mourning into Joy”

Ponder the impressions you received during your personal study of Jeremiah and Lamentations. What passages from these chapters do you feel will be meaningful to those you teach?

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

To help class members share what they learned from their scripture study, you could write on the board phrases like I have learned that … , I have a testimony of … , or I have experienced … Class members could share something from Jeremiah or Lamentations to complete these statements.

Teach the Doctrine

Jeremiah 30–31; 33; Lamentations 1:1–7; 3:1–5

The Lord will bring Israel out of captivity and gather them.

• The messages of hope in Jeremiah’s prophecies can give class members hope in their own circumstances. Perhaps your class could discuss circumstances that might cause people in our day to feel hopeless like the people in Jeremiah’s time felt (see Jeremiah 30:5; 31:15; Lamentations 1:1–7; 3:1–5; and the quotation in “Additional Resources”). You could then divide class members into three groups and invite each group to review Jeremiah 30; 31; and 33 for messages that could bring hope to people today. How has hope in the Lord helped us endure trials?

Jeremiah 31:31–34; 32:37–42

“They shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

• Reviewing Jeremiah 31:31–34; 32:37–42 can help your class ponder the covenants they have made. One way to encourage a discussion about these verses is to give class members a few minutes to read the verses and then write on a slip of paper a question they would like to ask the class about what they read. For instance, they might want to discuss what it means to have God’s law written in our hearts (see Jeremiah 31:33) or how covenants help us to come to know the Lord (see Jeremiah 31:34). You could collect the questions and pick a few to discuss together. What do we learn from these verses that inspires us to be valiant in keeping our covenants?

The scriptures can inspire us to repent and turn to the Lord.

Jeremiah 36

The scriptures have power to turn us away from evil.

• Members of your class may have gained insights about the scriptures as they studied Jeremiah 36 at home. Invite them to share what they learned. You could also assign class members the name of a person in the chapter and invite them to read about what that person did with the word of God. Class members could study the words and actions of the Lord (see verses 1–3, 27–31); Jeremiah (see verses 4–7, 32); Baruch (see verses 4, 8–10, 14–18); Jehudi and King Jehoiakim (see verses 20–26); and Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah (see verse 25). How do our words and actions show how we feel about the scriptures?

Additional Resources

You can always have hope.

President M. Russell Ballard mentioned some situations that may cause some to lose hope, and he offered counsel about where to find hope:

“Some of us may find our lives laden with frustration, disappointment, and sorrow. Many feel helpless to deal with the chaos that seems to prevail in the world. Others anguish over family members who are being carried downstream in a swift, raging current of weakening values and declining moral standards. … Many have even resigned themselves to accept the wickedness and cruelty of the world as being irreparable. They have given up hope. …

“… Some among us may have lost all hope because of sin and transgression. A person can become so deeply immersed in the ways of the world that he sees no way out and loses all hope. My plea to all who have fallen into this trap of the adversary is to never give up! Regardless of how desperate things may seem or how desperate they may yet become, please believe me, you can always have hope. Always” (“The Joy of Hope Fulfilled,” Ensign, Nov. 1992, 31–32).

“Quite simply, our one hope for spiritual safety during these turbulent times is to turn our minds and our hearts to Jesus Christ. … Faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, is absolutely essential for us to maintain a balanced perspective through times of trial and difficulty” (“The Joy of Hope Fulfilled,” 32).

Improving Our Teaching

Follow the Spirit. You can’t predict how every lesson will go, but as you listen for the promptings of the Spirit, He will guide the lesson. When you are spiritually prepared, the Lord will give you “in the very moment, what ye shall say” (Doctrine and Covenants 100:6; see also Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 10).