3 Nephi 8-11 Lesson 37 Whosover will Come, Him Will I Receive

Destruction and Christ's Visit to America

Attention Activity
Ask the class, “What are some of the things that you were afraid of when you were a little kid?” Write the answers down on the board. You can have some fun with this asking some questions about funny things that they were afraid of. If after a few minutes the fear of the dark hasn’t been brought up ask, “Has anyone had any interesting or funny stories about being afraid of the dark?” (If someone brings up afraid of the dark, ask the question when that fear gets brought up.) Have some fun talking about people and their fear of the dark.

Class Discussion
Tell the class that today we are going to talk about darkness in a different way today. Look in 3 Nephi 8. This darkness would cause real fear. Ask the class, “What are some of the things that would be most frightening during this time? What would you be most worried about?”
Chapter 9 of 3rd Nephi teaches an important principle about dark times in our lives. Times when we might be afraid. Look for the pronoun “I” in chapter 9 and see how many times it is used. (The answer I come up with is 31, correct me if I am wrong. You can encourage class members to circle or mark each of the 31 “I’s” in the chapter.) Now have class members look in the chapter heading to see who is talking. Ask the class, “What does this teach us about the role of God during the dark times in our lives?” (Make sure that if the answer is that he causes them that you point out that while he allows bad things to happen, he is always in control. You can refer to JSH 1:15-17. Here God allows Satan to have a small moment of darkness, but God is in control and delivers Joseph before he is totally destroyed. The same is true here. While many of the wicked were destroyed God was in control and preserved the righteous.) Make sure that the class understands that God is in control of the things that happen here on earth and knows about the things that are happening in our lives. Ask, “What are some other examples, either from the scriptures or from your personal life when God has been there to help and preserve during times of darkness or fear?” (This question is going to cause people to think. ALLOW THEM TO THINK! One big mistake is to ask a great question and then not allow the proper amount of time for them to answer. Don’t be afraid of silence. It just means that people are thinking. You can get things going by giving an example from your life or by asking a class member before class to think of an example from their life and have them start off. Make sure you don’t ask the question, wait 1 second and then move on. People will answer if you give them time to think. The silence is always more uncomfortable for the teacher, but let it happen and you will start to get some great answers.)
Christ comes in chapter 11 to bring the light back into the lives of these people. The word of God is what brings light into the world and into our lives. Have class members look in 3 Nephi 11:10-41 for what they feel is the most significant doctrine that He taught in His first visit.

Application
Sometimes a real simple question can be the best. I would ask from this lesson, “What will you change in your life because of what we have learned today?” I wouldn’t use this question every week, but about once every other month leads to a wonderful last few minutes. Again if you haven’t read my first posts, “Purpose for my Blog” and “A Note About my Blog”(they are in the July section of my blog.) please do so. There is a great quote from Elder Jeffery R. Holland about not cramming too much into one lesson. Make sure that you leave time at the end for application. Don’t teach until the final minute and then have a prayer. You have to get the people to think about how this lesson can help them change their lives. That is why you are teaching!