“Lesson 9: Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge (Part 2),” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Material (2018)
“Lesson 9,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Material
Lesson 9
Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge (Part 2)
Introduction
The teaching materials for Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge are divided into three parts. Part 2 is intended to help students understand, feel the truth and importance of, and apply the following principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge: “act in faith”; “examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective”; and “seek further understanding through divinely appointed resources” (Doctrinal Mastery Core Document [2018], 4). Students will study paragraphs 4–12 from the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document as well as the doctrinal mastery passages Proverbs 3:5–6 and Isaiah 5:20. Helping students understand and feel the truth and importance of these principles may require more than one 40-minute class session. Part 3 has some flexible time built into it that can be used to finish Part 2, if needed. In addition, it is important that you review these principles with students throughout this seminary course so they can remember and apply them while responding to questions, concerns, and issues that arise during doctrinal mastery practice exercises and outside of class.
Suggestions for Teaching
Principles That Can Help Us as We Seek Answers to Questions
Begin by reminding students of God’s divine pattern for acquiring spiritual knowledge, which students studied in the previous lesson. (It may be helpful to invite students to scan paragraph 2 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document.) Explain that there are three important principles that can help us as we strive to apply God’s divine pattern for acquiring spiritual knowledge. Invite students to consider marking these three principles, which are listed in paragraph 4 of “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” in their copies of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document.
“Act in Faith”
To help students prepare to understand the first principle of acquiring spiritual knowledge—“act in faith”—invite a student to come to the front of the class to be blindfolded. After you have placed a blindfold on the student, inform the student that you are going to ask him or her to walk across the room without bumping into anything (if this would be too easy, consider placing a few objects throughout the room that would make this task more difficult without jeopardizing the student’s safety). Before the blindfolded student attempts to walk across the room, ask him or her to choose someone in the class to guide him or her to the other side of the room by giving verbal directions. After the two students have successfully accomplished this task, remove the blindfold from the student who walked across the room and invite the student to take his or her seat. Ask the student who was blindfolded:
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Why did you choose (name of the student who was chosen as the guide) to guide you across the room?
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What does it mean to trust someone?
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Who in your life do you trust to help you make it safely through mortality?
Explain that learning how to trust in the Lord is vital to being able to act in faith. Invite a student to read aloud paragraph 5 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document. Ask the class to follow along, looking for how we can demonstrate that we trust God and want to act in faith. Ask students to report what they find.
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How would turning to God first in prayer show that you trust Him?
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How does a willingness to pray, study the Lord’s teachings, and obey His commandments show that we trust Him and want to act in faith?
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How does an unwillingness to do these things show a lack of trust in Him?
Invite two students to take turns reading aloud paragraphs 6–7 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document. Ask the class to follow along, looking for times when it may be difficult to trust God and act in faith.
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When might it be especially difficult to trust in God and act in faith? (When concerns or questions arise and answers to those questions or concerns do not come as quickly as we would like.)
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What counsel did Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles give to help us when we experience these challenges? Why do you think Elder Holland would offer that counsel when facing challenging issues?
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According to paragraph 7, what must we do if we want to “eventually receive the answers we seek”? (Invite students to consider marking the following key statement of doctrine in their copies of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document: As we continue to seek for answers, we must live by faith—trusting that we will eventually receive the answers we seek.)
Point out that this key statement of doctrine is associated with Proverbs 3:5–6, which is a doctrinal mastery passage. Invite students to turn to this scripture passage and to consider marking it in a distinctive way so that they can locate it easily.
Invite a student to read Proverbs 3:5–6 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for how this passage helps teach the key statement of doctrine they identified in paragraph 7. Ask students to report what they find.
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What do you think it means to “trust in the Lord with all thine heart” (verse 5; italics added)?
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What do you think “in all thy ways acknowledge him” means (verse 6; italics added)?
To help students further understand how Proverbs 3:5–6 helps teach the key statement of doctrine they just identified, invite them to imagine the following scenario: You have a friend who is not a member of the Church. He or she has recently asked you a very difficult Church history or doctrinal question. You told this friend that you would get back to him or her with an answer, but when you researched this question on LDS.org, you could not find any answers. The more you search for an answer, the bigger the question seems to become in your own mind as well. You start to worry not only that you won’t be able to answer your friend’s question, but also that there really is no satisfactory answer to this question at all.
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How can the doctrine taught in Proverbs 3:5–6 help you act in faith in this situation?
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How do you think God could “direct [your] paths” (verse 6) in this situation?
Consider showing the video “Act in Faith: The Stonemason” (4:57), available on LDS.org. This video is intended to help students better understand the principle of acting in faith in situations such as the one described in the previous scenario. As students watch the video, invite them to look for what we should do when we have or are faced with a question or concern that we cannot currently find the answer to, in spite of applying the divine pattern for acquiring spiritual knowledge.
After the video, ask students to share what they learned about what we should do when we are faced with a question or concern that we cannot currently find the answer to.
Invite students to ponder whether they have any questions to which they have not been able to find a satisfactory answer. Encourage them to be willing to temporarily set their questions aside so they can continue building and strengthening their testimonies.
“Examine Concepts and Questions with an Eternal Perspective”
Invite three students to take turns reading aloud from paragraphs 8–10 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document. Ask the class to follow along, looking for how we can examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective.
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According to these paragraphs, how can we examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective?
Invite students to consider marking the following truth in their copies of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document: To examine doctrinal concepts, questions, and social issues with an eternal perspective, we consider them in the context of the plan of salvation and the teachings of the Savior.
Point out that because of our knowledge of Heavenly Father and His plan of salvation, we may view certain concepts or questions differently than do those who do not share our faith.
To help students understand how to examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective, consider showing the video entitled “Examining Questions with an Eternal Perspective” (2:56), available on LDS.org. This video uses the imagery of picture frames to illustrate how to reframe a concept or question in order to view it with an eternal perspective.
After the video, invite students to share what they learned about how to examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective. You might also invite them to share any experiences they have had in which their knowledge of the plan of salvation or the Savior’s teachings helped them to examine a doctrinal concept, question, or social issue with an eternal perspective.
“Seek Further Understanding through Divinely Appointed Sources”
Remind students of the object lesson at the beginning of class, in which a student was blindfolded and had to rely on the directions given by a classmate in order to walk across the room without bumping into obstacles. Invite a student to read aloud paragraph 11 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what God has done to provide guidance for us as we go through life. Ask students to report what they find.
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What divinely appointed sources does this paragraph mention?
Invite students to consider how their understanding of gospel truths has increased as a result of the Light of Christ, the Holy Ghost, the scriptures, parents, or Church leaders.
Display a picture of the current First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and ask:
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Why do you think prophets and apostles are “a vital source of truth” for us in our day?
Ask students to silently ponder the following question:
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If you were the blindfolded person in the object lesson, what kind of person would you not want to guide you across the room, and why not?
Invite a student to read aloud paragraph 12 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document. Ask the class to follow along, looking for a caution this paragraph gives about some sources of information that are available to us.
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What do we need to be careful of as we search additional sources for answers to our concerns or questions?
After students have responded, invite them to consider marking the following key statements of doctrine in their copies of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document: Sincere seekers of truth should be wary of unreliable sources of information. We live in a time when many “call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20).
Invite students to turn to Isaiah 5:20 and to consider marking it in a distinctive way so that they can locate it easily. Explain that this passage is part of a prophecy in which the prophet Isaiah foretold Israel’s apostasy and the afflictions that would come upon the house of Israel as a result. Invite a student to read this passage aloud.
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What do you think it means to “call evil good, and good evil”?
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What are some “light” or “sweet” things that the world tries to convince you are “dark” or “bitter”? (For example, the way in which the world views the law of chastity and traditional marriage.)
To help students better understand this doctrinal mastery passage and the key statement of doctrine it helps teach, invite a student to read aloud the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson:
“The temptation to be popular may prioritize public opinion above the word of God. Political campaigns and marketing strategies widely employ public opinion polls to shape their plans. Results of those polls are informative. But they could hardly be used as grounds to justify disobedience to God’s commandments! Even if ‘everyone is doing it,’ wrong is never right. Evil, error, and darkness will never be truth, even if popular. A scriptural warning so declares: ‘Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness’ [Isaiah 5:20]” (Russell M. Nelson, “Let Your Faith Show,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 30–31).
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How can popularity or public opinion make it difficult to recognize good and evil?
Invite students to silently read the fourth sentence of paragraph 12 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (the sentence that begins, “Satan is the father of lies”). Refer again to the picture of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and explain that one of the key ways Satan tries to turn people away from the Lord’s prophets and apostles is by influencing them to think negatively of the Lord’s chosen servants. Sometimes people focus on prophets’ and apostles’ shortcomings or weaknesses rather than on their divine calling as the Lord’s spokesmen.
Invite several students to take turns reading aloud from the following statement by President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
“The Church of Jesus Christ has always been led by living prophets and apostles. Though mortal and subject to human imperfection, the Lord’s servants are inspired to help us avoid obstacles that are spiritually life threatening and to help us pass safely through mortality to our final, ultimate, heavenly destination. …
“Too many people think Church leaders and members should be perfect or nearly perfect. They forget that the Lord’s grace is sufficient to accomplish His work through mortals. Our leaders have the best intentions, but sometimes we make mistakes. This is not unique to Church relationships, as the same thing occurs in our relationships among friends, neighbors, and workplace associates and even between spouses and in families.
“Looking for human weakness in others is rather easy. However, we make a serious mistake by noticing only the human nature of one another and then failing to see God’s hand working through those He has called.
“Focusing on how the Lord inspires His chosen leaders and how He moves the Saints to do remarkable and extraordinary things despite their humanity is one way that we hold on to the gospel of Jesus Christ and stay safely aboard the Old Ship Zion” (M. Russell Ballard, “God Is at the Helm,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 24–25).
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How can understanding that the Lord leads His Church through ordinary people help us not turn away from His chosen prophets and apostles?
Consider sharing your testimony that the men we sustain in the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are truly prophets of the Lord, chosen and authorized by God to lead us.
Invite students to ponder how prophets and apostles have helped them avoid being deceived. Invite a few willing students to share their thoughts and experiences with the class.
Encourage students to apply the principles they have identified in today’s lesson.
Commentary and Background Information
“Act in Faith”
Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy taught about the difference between questions and doubt:
“Still others conflate [combine into one] the idea of questions with the concept of doubt. Questions and doubt are not the same thing. We can seek answers to honest questions with doubt, or we can do so with faith. The choice is ours. To do so through doubt is, frankly, to put ourselves—and others—at the risk of spiritual paralysis. On the other hand, to do so through faith is to progress, learn, and grow. …
“As you know, ‘faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true’ [Alma 32:21]. Having faith means that we do not know all the answers to all the questions all the time, but we choose to live our lives consistent with the gospel truths we do know because we trust our God! So heed not [see 1 Nephi 8:33–34; see also verses 1–38] the mocking and often condescending voices of those who have lost faith, including the online Iagos [see William Shakespeare, Othello], whose object is to cultivate doubt. Rather, with the light of your faith, engage your reason, study prayerfully, be patient, and keep yourself anchored in the scriptures and in the guidance of the Spirit [see D&C 88:118].
“Remember, we receive a witness after the trial of our faith—not of our doubt! [See Ether 12:6]” (Marcus B. Nash, “Guided Safely Home” [Brigham Young University devotional, Feb. 2, 2016], 5, speeches.byu.edu).
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared the following testimony about the importance of acting in faith when we have questions:
“These things I declare to you with the conviction Peter called the ‘more sure word of prophecy’ [2 Peter 1:19]. What was once a tiny seed of belief for me has grown into the tree of life, so if your faith is a little tested in this or any season, I invite you to lean on mine. I know this work is God’s very truth, and I know that only at our peril would we allow doubt or devils to sway us from its path. Hope on. Journey on. Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Lord, I Believe,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 95).
“Although Heavenly Father has revealed all that is necessary for our salvation, He has not yet revealed all truth”
Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–1985) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said the following about the revelation of all truth:
“All things are to be revealed in the millennial day. The sealed part of the Book of Mormon will come forth; the brass plates will be translated; the writings of Adam and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and prophets without number will be revealed. We shall learn a thousand times more about the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus than we now know. We shall learn great mysteries of the kingdom that were not even known to those of old who walked and talked with the Eternal One. We shall learn the details of the creation and the origin of man. … Nothing in or on or over the earth will be withheld” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man [1982], 676).
“Seek Further Understanding through Divinely Appointed Sources”
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, taught about the importance of not turning away from the Lord’s prophets:
“Much of what the Lord reveals to His prophets is intended to prevent sorrow for us as individuals and as societies. When God speaks, He does so to teach, inspire, refine, and warn His children. When individuals and societies ignore their Heavenly Father’s instructions, they do so at the risk of trial, torment, and toil.
“God loves all His children. That is why He pleads so earnestly with us through His prophets. Just as we want what is best for our loved ones, Heavenly Father wants what is best for us. That is why His instructions are so crucial and sometimes so urgent. That is why He has not abandoned us today but continues to reveal His will to us through His prophets. Our fate and the fate of our world hinge on our hearing and heeding the revealed word of God to His children” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Why Do We Need Prophets?” Ensign, Mar. 2012, 4).
President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught that prophets are a vital source of truth:
“There seems to be no end to the Savior’s desire to lead us to safety. And there is constancy in the way He shows us the path. He calls by more than one means so that it will reach those willing to accept it. And those means always include sending the message by the mouths of His prophets, whenever people have qualified to have the prophets of God among them. Those authorized servants are always charged with warning the people, telling them the way to safety” (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel,” Ensign, May 1997, 24).
President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency explained:
“The Church is making great efforts to be transparent with the records we have, but after all we can publish, our members are sometimes left with basic questions that cannot be resolved by study. … Some things can be learned only by faith (see D&C 88:118). Our ultimate reliance must be on faith in the witness we have received from the Holy Ghost” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Opposition in All Things,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 117).
President Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared an account that can help us understand how God uses ordinary men to lead His Church:
“On one occasion, Karl G. Maeser was leading a party of young missionaries across the Alps. As they reached the summit, he looked back and saw a row of sticks thrust into the snow to mark the one safe path across the otherwise treacherous glacier.
“Halting the company of missionaries, he gestured toward the sticks and said, ‘Brethren, there stands the priesthood [meaning the priesthood leaders God has put in place to guide His people]. They are just common sticks like the rest of us, … but the position they hold makes them what they are to us. If we step aside from the path they mark, we are lost.’ (In Alma P. Burton, Karl G. Maeser, Mormon Educator, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1953, p. 22.)
“Although no one of us is perfect, the Church moves forward, led by ordinary people.
“The Lord promised:
“‘If my people will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of my servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily I say unto you, they shall not be moved out of their place.
“‘But if they will not hearken to my voice, nor unto the voice of these men whom I have appointed, they shall not be blest.’ (D&C 124:45–46.)
“I bear witness, brethren and sisters, that the leaders of the Church were called of God by proper authority, and it is known to the Church that they have that authority and have been properly ordained by the regularly ordained heads of the Church. If we follow them we will be saved” (Boyd K. Packer, “From Such Turn Away,” Ensign, May 1985, 35).