As the Prophet united with the struggling Saints in Ohio, the Lord testified that He delights in blessing those who hear Him. This lesson is intended to help students feel confident that the Lord will bless them as they hear and obey Him.
Possible Learning Activities
How confident are you that … ?
Draw a graphic like the following on the board:
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Confidence scale
Point to the right side of the scale. Invite students to share something they feel confident in and why.
Write the following statement on the board: The Lord will bless us if we hear and obey Him. Ask students to use the scale to rank their confidence in this statement on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = not confident, and 5 = very confident). Invite students to think about why they ranked their confidence the way they did.
What difference can it make to feel very confident that the Lord will bless you?
Invite students to seek help from the Lord to increase their confidence that He will bless them as they strive to hear and obey Him.
The Lord’s attitude toward blessing us
In December 1830, the Lord commanded the Saints to move to Ohio (see Doctrine and Covenants 37:3). A short time later, in January and February 1831, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma, traveled hundreds of miles to Kirtland, Ohio. The Prophet then received revelation giving some instructions as the Saints from other areas began settling in Kirtland.
As students share what they found, write the following truth on the board: The Lord delights to bless those who hear Him. You might encourage students to mark this truth in their scriptures.
What do you think it means to delight in something?
Listen to students’ answers. If it would be useful, invite students to read the following statement, looking for ways we can hear the Lord.
President Russell M. Nelson taught:
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President Russell M. Nelson
It takes conscious and consistent effort to fill our daily lives with His words, His teachings, His truths. …
We can go to the scriptures. They teach us about Jesus Christ and His gospel, the magnitude of His Atonement, and our Father’s great plan of happiness and redemption. … As we feast on the words of Christ daily, the words of Christ will tell us how to respond to difficulties we never thought we would face.
We can also hear Him in the temple. The house of the Lord is a house of learning. There the Lord teaches in His own way. …
… We hear Him as we heed the words of prophets, seers, and revelators. Ordained Apostles of Jesus Christ always testify of Him. They point the way as we make our way through the heart-wrenching maze of our mortal experiences. (Russell M. Nelson, “Hear Him,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 89–90)
Consider asking students to review verse 1 to see what happens to those who refuse to hear the Lord. It may be helpful to point out that the word “cursings” as used in this verse refers to judgments or consequences.
Why is it important to know that refusing to hear the Lord can lead to negative consequences?
Examples of the Lord blessing those who hear Him
Encourage several students to share their responses to the following questions. Sharing their excitement and love may help them relate to the Lord’s delight. This could also be a good opportunity to get to know your students better.
What do you love or delight in?
Explain that there are many examples of the Lord truly delighting in blessing those who hear Him.
Read the following verses looking for how the Lord blesses His Saints as they hear Him.
Consider dividing the class into groups to read the verses and answer the accompanying questions. Students can then share with each other what they learned.
How might receiving the Lord’s law or direction be a blessing? (See verse 3.)
How might obeying the Lord’s law and becoming better disciples of Christ help us? (See verse 5.)
For a modern example, see President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) share how the Lord blessed someone who heard and obeyed Him, in the video “We Walk by Faith,” found at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 7:30 to 12:39.
Additional examples
Invite students to search for or think of at least two additional examples that build their confidence that the Lord will bless those who hear Him. Encourage them to seek the Lord’s guidance to find examples that will bless them and the class.
Find one example from the scriptures. This could be:
An account of when the Lord blessed those who heard and obeyed Him. (Some examples are as follows: Noah building the ark and being saved from the Flood [see Genesis 6–8]; Deborah obeying the Lord’s command to free Israel from captivity [Judges 4:1–8, 13–15]; Mary accepting the role to be the Savior’s mother and feeling the Lord’s blessings [Luke 1:38, 46–49]; Nephi gaining the brass plates [see 1 Nephi 3–5]; Joseph Smith being able to protect the plates [see Joseph Smith—History 1:46, 60]; Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery baptizing one another after receiving the Aaronic Priesthood and then receiving a manifestation of the Holy Ghost [see Joseph Smith—History 1:68–74].)
A personal experience when the Lord has blessed you.
An experience from a friend or loved one.
A talk from general conference.
A video at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Invite students to write their examples on separate pieces of paper. Tell students that what they write may be shared with the rest of the class. Gather the papers, shuffle them, and then pick some out or invite a student to do so. You may want to read one example at a time and ask if the student who wrote it would be willing to share why they chose that example. Ask how the example may increase the student’s confidence that the Lord will bless them as they hear Him. As students share, thank them for their effort and try to help them feel the importance of sharing their thoughts and experiences in class.
To conclude this lesson, record your thoughts and feelings about the Lord blessing us as we hear Him. Do you feel confident He will bless you? What could you do to increase your confidence?
Consider inviting students to share what they learned and felt in class today. Share your own testimony and confidence that the Lord will bless us as we hear Him.