December 12–18

Malachi

“I Have Loved You, Saith the Lord”

Some messages in Malachi may be especially important for your class to learn. As you study, pray to discern what those messages might be. Doing this will also help you feel the love that the Lord has for those you teach.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

You might begin a discussion about the book of Malachi by writing the word Message on the board. Encourage class members to share important messages that they found in each chapter of Malachi. To help class members remember and ponder what is shared, you could write those messages on the board.

Teach the Doctrine

Malachi 1:6–14

The Lord asks for “a pure offering.”

• To encourage class members to share what they learned about offerings from Malachi 1:6–14, you could invite them to review these verses silently and discuss with another class member something that the Israelite priests did not understand about offerings. Why does the Lord ask for the best from us? Class members could make a list of offerings, or sacrifices, that we make to the Lord today. For each item on the list, they could discuss what might make it a “polluted” offering or a “pure” offering (Malachi 1:7, 11).

Malachi 3–4

Malachi’s prophecies are being fulfilled in the latter days.

• You could begin a discussion about Malachi 3–4 by pointing out that Moroni shared verses from these chapters when he appeared to Joseph Smith (see Joseph Smith—History 1:36–39). What truths in these chapters do class members feel might have been especially important for Joseph—and us—to know? Class members could get into small groups and list as many truths as they can. Encourage groups to share their lists and discuss why these truths are important in the latter days.

Malachi 3:8–12

The Lord opens the windows of heaven when we pay our tithing.

• To encourage class members to share their testimonies of the law of tithing, you could invite them to find principles in Malachi 3:8–12 and to share how they came to know these principles are true. They could talk about how the Lord has blessed them—spiritually and temporally—for paying tithing. Or they could discuss lessons about tithing that Elder David A. Bednar shared in his message “The Windows of Heaven” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 17–20) and share what they have learned as they have strived to live this law.

• Ask class members to read Malachi 3:8–12 silently while pondering how they might teach someone why the Lord asks us to pay tithing. They could also read the statement by President Gordon B. Hinckley in “Additional Resources.” What would we want others to understand about tithing? For example, what does it mean to pay tithing? Why does the Lord want us to do it? How are the “windows of heaven” (verse 10) opened when we pay tithing? What concerns might someone have about paying tithing, and how would we respond? Ask class members to share how keeping this commandment has strengthened their faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Illustration of Elijah appearing to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, by Robert T. Barrett

Malachi 4:5–6

“I will send you Elijah the prophet.”

• Class members might gain helpful insights about Malachi 4:5–6 by comparing these verses to the way Moroni quoted them to Joseph Smith in Joseph Smith—History 1:38–39. (It might help to have someone write each version side by side on the board.) What does Moroni’s wording add to our understanding of the verses in Malachi? You might also discuss questions like these: Who are “the fathers”? (see Deuteronomy 29:13). How do our hearts turn to our fathers, and how do their hearts turn to us? To help your class understand how Malachi’s prophecy was fulfilled, they could read about when Elijah committed the sealing keys to Joseph Smith (see Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16). Why are class members grateful these keys have been restored?

• Malachi 4:5–6 provides a great opportunity to talk about temple and family history work. Perhaps class members could share experiences they have had while doing this work and how those experiences have helped them turn their hearts to their fathers. What can we do to help future generations turn their hearts toward us?

Additional Resources

Tithing is a matter of faith.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “We can pay our tithing. This is not so much a matter of money as it is a matter of faith. I have yet to find a faithful tithe payer who cannot testify that in a very literal and wonderful way the windows of heaven have been opened and blessings have been poured out upon him or her” (“Let Us Move This Work Forward,” Ensign, Nov. 1985, 85).

Improving Our Teaching

Share your struggles and your faith. Sometimes people who are experiencing trials feel alone. It may be appropriate to occasionally share a personal experience about a time when you struggled and how the Savior helped you.