Lesson # 43 Mormon 1-6, Moroni 9. “How Could Ye Have Departed from the Ways of the Lord?” Strength in Bearing Testimony

Attention Activity:
Break the class up into small groups of 4 or 5 people. Tell the class that they are going to be in charge of a booth at an upcoming Christmas Boutique or craft show or market. Give them one minute to decide what they are going to sell at their booth. After one minute take a few answers just to see what people are going to be doing. Now give them 4 minutes and have them come up with a strategy for getting lots of people to come to their booth and eventually buy their product. Get a few answers on this. (What you are hoping for is that someone will be giving away samples or doing a drawing to give something away. If you get that move on. If not you might ask, “How much interest would be generated if you gave away free samples or did a drawing for a free prize?”) At this point you can ask, “How many of you are going to give something away in order to generate interest?” Eventually you want to get to the question, “Why does giving something away for free help build interest and sales?” “Is there anything else in life that will give you big returns if you just give it away? Today we are going to learn about something that will.”

Class Discussion:
Have listed on the board scriptures like the following: (All from Mormon unless otherwise noted.)
1:13, 1:14, 1:18, 1:19, 2:13, 2:14, 2:18, 2:19, 2;27, 3:11, 3:14, 4:10, 4:11, 4:12, 5:2, 5:16, 5:18, Moroni 9:9-10, 18-19.
Give the class a few minutes to look through as many of these scriptures as they can. Ask, “How would you describe the times and situations that Mormon lived in?” “If you had to pick one verse out of this list that best describes the situation of the people, which one would you choose?” Discuss for a little while about how bad the situation was that Mormon had to deal with. Ask, “How do you suppose he stayed faithful when everyone around him was being wicked? How difficult is it to stand for righteousness when everyone is being wicked?” The main question to get to is, “What do you think gave Mormon the strength to stay strong in these conditions?” Take a few answers. A study of these chapters only describes Mormon doing two things. Leading the Nephite army is the first. Let’s see if we can find the second. List:
1:16, 2:23, 3:3, 3:20-21 (even when his own people wouldn’t listen, he was testifying to someone). “According to the scriptures, what was the one thing that Mormon did that helped him stay strong?” “What do you think is the connection between sharing testimony and being strong in times of trial?” “When have you felt the strengthening influence of sharing your testimony?”

Application
The application section of this lesson can take a little longer if you would like. Ask, “What opportunities do we have to testify like Mormon did?” Try to move beyond just ‘missionary work’ answers. Talk about things like Family Home Evening and mostly about informal ways to share your testimony.

Great Quote For this Lesson
It is not unusual to have a missionary say, “How can I bear testimony until I get one? How can I testify that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that the gospel is true? If I do not have such a testimony, would that not be dishonest?”
Oh, if I could teach you this one principle. A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it! Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that “leap of faith,” as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two. “The spirit of man,” is as the scripture says, indeed “is the candle of the Lord.” (Prov. 20:27.)
It is one thing to receive a witness from what you have read or what another has said; and that is a necessary beginning. It is quite another to have the Spirit confirm to you in your bosom that what you have testified is true. Can you not see that it will be supplied as you share it? As you give that which you have, there is a replacement, with increase!
Boyd K. Packer, “The Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, Jan 1983, 51