On July 9, 1841, the Lord gave a revelation to Brigham Young through the Prophet Joseph Smith. After Brigham served multiple missions in the United States, Canada, and England, the Lord said his missionary journeys were acceptable to Him. He said it was time for Brigham to take special care of his family. This lesson can help students increase their desire to labor diligently for the Lord as Brigham Young did.
Possible Learning Activities
Serving the Lord
Write the phrase Serving the Lord on the board, and invite students to do the following:
Imagine that a stake or district leader surveyed teenage Church members in your area and asked the following questions. What might some of their answers be?
In what ways do you try to serve Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? Why do you serve Them?
What gets in the way of serving the Lord? Why might we not always want to serve Him?
After students share, ask them to ponder how they personally might answer the questions above.
As they study about the example of Brigham Young during this lesson, invite students to seek the Holy Ghost to help them overcome any obstacles to serving the Lord diligently.
How the Lord felt about Brigham Young
Consider giving the following information to a few students at the beginning of class. Invite them to summarize what was meaningful or interesting to them about Brigham Young.
Brigham Young grew up poor, the ninth of eleven children.
At age 14, his mother passed away.
At 16, he set off to make his own way in the world, becoming an apprentice carpenter, glass worker, and painter.
At 23, he married Miriam Works, and they later had two daughters.
Brigham studied the Book of Mormon for two years, comparing it to the Bible, before he joined the Church. He later reported, “I knew it was true, as well as I knew that I could see with my eyes, or feel by the touch of my fingers” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 2).
Brigham served 10 missions in the United States, Canada, and England.
He became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at age 33.
On July 9, 1841, the Lord gave a revelation to Brigham Young through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Listen carefully as students share. If you find it useful, ask follow-up questions like these: “What words are used in the revelation to refer to Brigham?” “How do you think these words would make Brigham feel?” “What do these verses teach you about the Lord?”
If students do not naturally identify a principle, consider asking, “How could the Lord’s instructions to Brigham Young apply to us?” Students may use different words but should identify a principle similar to the following: If we labor diligently for the Lord, then He will accept our righteous offering. You may suggest that students record this principle in their scriptures.
What do you think people like Brigham Young know that motivates them to serve the Lord so diligently? How might that help us?
The example of Brigham Young
The following handout has three possible discussions to help students learn about laboring diligently for the Lord from the example of Brigham Young. Before class, invite three students to serve the class by leading one of the following discussions. Or divide the class into groups of three and invite each of the group members to lead one of the discussions. Tell students that they can adapt any of the questions to make the discussion more meaningful or effective for their classmates.
The Example of Brigham Young
Discussion 1
The Challenge of Public Speaking
Begin by asking questions like the following:
How do you feel about public speaking? Why?
Read or summarize the following:
One of Brigham Young’s greatest challenges was public speaking. He said, “I was about as destitute of language as a man could well be” (in Journal of Discourses, 5:97). He recalled a time one week after his baptism when he expected four experienced speakers who were members of the Church to preach, but they did not. He said:
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President Brigham Young
I was but a child, so far as public speaking and a knowledge of the world was concerned; but the Spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I felt as though my bones would consume within me unless I spoke to the people and told them what I had seen, heard and learned—what I had experienced and rejoiced in; and the first discourse I ever delivered I occupied over an hour. I opened my mouth and the Lord filled it. (Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 13:211)
How was Brigham Young’s experience related to these verses?
What do you learn about the Lord that could help you?
Share how you feel about trusting in the Lord and being willing to share what you know.
Discussion 2
Brigham’s Sacrifice to Serve
Begin by asking a question like the following:
What sacrifices does it take to serve a mission?
Read or summarize the following:
The same year Brigham Young was baptized, his wife passed away. At great sacrifice, he arranged for the care of his two children and served missions to New York and upper Canada, where he baptized several people.
After serving a mission for about a year, Brigham described his arrival in Kirtland, Ohio:
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President Brigham Young
If any man that ever did gather with the Saints was any poorer than I was—it was because he had nothing. … I had two children to take care of. … I was a widower. … [I had] not a shoe to my foot, except a pair of borrowed boots. I had no winter clothing, except a homemade coat that I had had three or four years. … I had travelled and preached and given away every dollar of my property. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 243)
Invite a student to read Luke 18:18–23, looking for how Brigham Young’s response to invitations to serve was different from the man who interacted with the Savior in this account.
What do you know about the Lord that may help us be willing to make sacrifices like Brigham Young did?
In addition to serving missions, what are some other ways the Lord may want us to sacrifice to serve Him?
Share how you feel about being willing to sacrifice to serve the Lord.
Discussion 3
Brigham’s Mission to England
Begin by asking a question like the following:
What are some reasons a missionary needs the Lord’s help?
Read or summarize the following:
After remarrying and serving five other missions, Brigham was called, with other Apostles, to serve a mission to England.
Brigham described his mission:
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President Brigham Young
We landed … as strangers in a strange land and penniless, but through the mercy of God we have gained many friends, established Churches in almost every noted town and city in the kingdom of Great Britain, baptized between seven and eight thousand, printed 5,000 Books of Mormon, … and have left sown in the hearts of many thousands the seeds of eternal truth … : in all these things I acknowledge the hand of God. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 6)
Invite a student to read Ammon’s words in Alma 26:12–13. Then ask:
How does Brigham Young’s statement compare to Ammon’s?
Why do you think relying on the Lord is essential when striving to serve Him?
How have you tried to rely on the Lord as you serve Him?
Share your thoughts or feelings about relying on the Lord as you serve Him.
What you have learned
After the discussions, you might encourage students to seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost and write down what they are learning and feeling about serving the Lord. They might answer these questions:
What have you learned from the example of Brigham Young and how the Lord helped him?
What has increased your desire to serve the Lord?
Conclude by inviting students to share some of the thoughts and feelings they wrote. You could share as well.