Lesson 18 Teacher Material

Providing for Temporal Needs

The Lord entrusts parents with the responsibility of providing for the temporal needs of their children. In this lesson, students will explore how becoming self-reliant can improve their ability to fulfill this responsibility. Students will also be invited to determine how they can improve their efforts to live by wise financial principles.

Suggestions for Teaching

Parents are responsible for providing for the temporal needs of their family.

Display the following truth on the board: Parents have a sacred duty to provide for their children’s physical needs (see “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

• What feelings or questions do you have about this sacred duty?

• What are you currently doing to prepare for or fulfill this duty?

Write the word self-reliance on the board. Invite students to list words on the board that describe someone who is self-reliant. Ask a few students to share why they chose those words.

• Why is it important for us to develop self-reliance? (As part of this discussion, you might use the teachings in Doctrine and Covenants 75:28–29 and the other teachings in section 1 of the preparation material. You could then help students identify truths like the following: Diligent labor helps parents be self-reliant and provide for their family’s spiritual and temporal needs. Developing self-reliance helps us become more like the Savior. Becoming self-reliant increases our ability to serve others.)

Improving Our Teaching and Learning

Listen closely to students’ comments and responses. Teachers are sometimes so concerned about what they will say or do next that they do not really pay attention to what students are saying. By observing and listening carefully to students, teachers can discern their needs and guide the discussion as directed by the Holy Ghost. Be willing to adjust your lesson plan to address the questions, needs, and concerns of your students.

Select from the following questions those that are most relevant to your students, and discuss them together as a class or in small groups:

• How do you think becoming self-reliant fits in Heavenly Father’s plan?

• What experiences have helped you appreciate the value of diligent labor? What blessings have you experienced from hard work? (Consider reviewing together Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s statement about work in section 2 of the preparation material.)

• What benefits can education bring to us and our families? How can it help us in becoming more like God? (If needed, refer to the teachings about education in section 2 of the preparation material to deepen the discussion.)

• How has the Lord helped you, or how can He help you, develop a diligent work ethic or obtain more education? (While discussing this question, consider showing the video “Wagner’s Story” [2:05], which is included in the “Want More?” section of the preparation material.)

Explain that to guide and bless His children, our Heavenly Father has appointed certain responsibilities to fathers and mothers. Write or display the following statement on the board: By divine design, fathers are responsible to provide the necessities of life for their families (see “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”).

Help students understand that because couples’ and families’ circumstances vary, in some cases, both the father and the mother need to be employed to provide the basic necessities for their family.

• What did you learn from President M. Russell Ballard’s counsel about how a husband and wife can make these kinds of decisions? (Consider inviting students to review President Ballard’s statement in section 2 of the preparation material.)

• What are your thoughts about this counsel? (As part of this discussion, consider summarizing the article “Striving to Become an Intelligent and Noble Mother” [Lilian Pagaduan-Villamor, Ensign, Aug. 2018, 16–17]. This article is included in the “Want More?” section of the preparation material.)

Testify that Heavenly Father will guide students in their unique circumstances as they study the teachings of prophets and counsel together with their spouse and with Him.

Principles of wise financial management can guide us in providing for our family.

Invite students to briefly review the scripture passages they selected for the study activity in section 3 of the preparation material. (You might need to provide students with time to review some of the passages.)

Arrange students into pairs or small groups. Invite them to share with each other the financial principles they learned from these scripture passages and to discuss the following question (you may want to display this question on the board):

• How can applying these wise financial principles bless you personally or bless your family?

The following is a list of principles students might identify from the scripture passages provided in the preparation material:

• Obey the law of tithes and offerings (see Malachi 3:8–10).

• Avoid setting your heart on worldly possessions (see Matthew 6:19–21).

• Use a budget and wise planning (see Luke 14:28–30).

• Be content with what you have (see 1 Timothy 6:6–10).

• Seek God before seeking for riches, and if you seek for riches, seek them for righteous purposes (see Jacob 2:18–19).

• Use your temporal blessings to help the poor and needy (see Doctrine and Covenants 104:13–18).

• Pay off debt (see Doctrine and Covenants 104:78).

After sufficient time, invite a few students to share with the class the principles they identified. Then write or display the following principle on the board: By applying wise financial principles, individuals and families can improve their own financial stability and help those in need.

• When have you or your family experienced blessings from applying wise financial principles?

• What can we learn about the Lord and His character from the fact that He has provided us with financial principles like these?

Consider providing students with time to reflect on what they have learned about becoming self-reliant, developing a diligent work ethic, obtaining education or professional training, and applying wise financial principles. Invite students to record one thing they can start doing, or keep doing, to strengthen their self-reliance and their efforts to live by these principles. (As part of this activity, you might invite students to review what they wrote in response to the “Record Your Thoughts” prompt in section 3 of the preparation material.)

Conclude by sharing your testimony of the Lord’s desire to help us provide for our temporal needs.

For Next Time

Invite students to think about what they appreciate about their mother or a mother figure in their lives. Encourage them to consider the value of mothers while studying the preparation material for lesson 19. You might invite students to write a note of appreciation to their mother or a mother figure.