Lesson #44 “I Speak unto You As If Ye Were Present” God is a God of Miracles

Lesson #44 “I Speak unto You As If Ye Were Present” God is a God of Miracles

Attention Activity:
There is two ways to do this. If the class is talkative and you can start with a question you can just ask the following question. If the class is less talkative and you want to get some conversation started, break the class up into groups of two or three and have them write down answers to the following question and then have them share answers. This will get them talking a little more so you can keep rolling with the conversion. Ask the class to list all the bad things that come with owning and driving a car. (Answers will include: paying for gas, oil changes, maintenance, car payment, insurance, pollution, accidents that could cause injury or death, paying for possible tickets, traffic on the freeway, road rage, etc.) Ask, “If cars are so bad, why do so many people drive them? Would it not be better to just outlaw them?” (Answers should be that there are many positives as well. You can go over some of those.) Ask, “How is that like life?” (Answer: There is some good and some bad. But we were not in heaven and are not now willing to throw away all the good just because there are some times of bad.) Today we will look at both the good and the bad of one time in life.

Class Discussion:
We will start with something that is more on the bad side. Look in Mormon 8:2-3 to find the major event that happens in these verses. (Moroni is now left as the last Nephite. After 1000 years of history—which is nearly 5 times as long as The United States of America has been a country—the Nephites have been totally destroyed.) You might spend some time here talking about some of the classes favorite Nephites and some of the great stories from The Book of Mormon. We hear stories of extreme tragedy when one person in a family dies, or when a group of people die in an accident. Imagine watching thousand of your friends, brothers, sisters, and other relatives all die. Moroni then teaches an interesting lesson in verse 8. “Who does he attribute this destruction to?” Is he blaming God or trying to help us learn something? What is the main idea that he is trying to teach here? “What does this teach us about God and life here on earth?” (Answer: There is good and bad. But most importantly, there are consequences. If we choose to disobey, there are inevitable consequences. God is always in control, but He has to exact punishment just as he has to reward righteousness.)
Now for the good part. Moroni is now writing to a group of people that he hopes to help in the future. Knowing that he is talking to people far in the future, what is the message that he would want us to understand? Look in Mormon 9:11 for the answer. (That miracles still happen) “Why do you think that is such an important lesson for us to understand today?” “How could Moroni have believed that after seeing his whole nation destroyed?” Have class members search through the rest of the chapter looking for 3 things. What are some of the miracles mentioned? Which ones have happened and which still need to happen? And most importantly, how do we qualify for the miracles?

Application:
Ask the class, “What are some of the miracles that you are looking for today, and what will you do to show faith that God can do the miracle?” (It is important to point out that there is a difference in the ability and the willingness of God to perform a miracle. God can do all things. That doesn’t mean he will do all things. You might share 2 Nephi 2:24-25. God is in charge of everything and will do all that he can to bring us joy.)