Welcome to April!
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April, Week 1
Day 1
Primary
1. Today read Jacob 1.
2. Before Nephi died, he gave his younger brother Jacob the responsibility to preserve the plates and record on them what was “most precious”. make. The small plates focus on spiritual things and other plates were dedicated to the people’s history. Jacob’s message pointed others to Jesus Christ, helping them avoid the consequences of unbelief and sin. What other reasons can you think of for inviting others to come unto Christ?
3. Listen to the song “Books in the Book of Mormon.” Make sure you can sing it through Jacob.
Youth
1. Today read Jacob 1.
2. Before Nephi died, he gave his younger brother Jacob the responsibility to preserve the plates and record on them what was “most precious”. make. The small plates focus on spiritual things and other plates were dedicated to the people’s history. Jacob’s message pointed others to Jesus Christ, helping them avoid the consequences of unbelief and sin.
3. How can I minister to others and lead them to Christ? President Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women General President, explained:
As we strive to follow the Savior’s example, we must first know and number His sheep. … Numbering, however, is not really about numbers; it is about making certain each person feels the love of the Savior through someone who serves for Him. In that way, all can recognize that they are known by a loving Father in Heaven. …
… As you seek the Lord’s direction on how to convey His love and see the needs of those to whom you minister, your eyes will be opened. (Bonnie H. Cordon, “Becoming a Shepherd,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 75–76)
4. How can the Lord bless me as I help others come unto Him? President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught:
Your power will be multiplied many times by the Lord. All He asks is that you give your best effort and your whole heart. Do it cheerfully and with the prayer of faith. The Father and His Beloved Son will send the Holy Ghost as your companion to guide you. Your efforts will be magnified in the lives of the people you serve. (Henry B. Eyring, “Rise to Your Call,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2002, 78)
5. Listen to the song “Books in the Book of Mormon.” Make sure you can sing it through Jacob.
Day 2
Primary
1. Read Jacob 2.
2. The Nephites had a problem with pride and focusing on riches (see Jacob 2:13), and that problem wasn’t unique to them or their day. How does the adversary promote the love of riches today? Read Jacob 2:12–21. How does God wants you to view material wealth?
3. Listen to the song “A Child’s Prayer.”
Youth
1. Read Jacob 2.
2. The prophet Jacob knew by revelation from God that the Nephite people were struggling with several sins. He preached a sermon at the temple to address these sins, including the sin of pride. All of us struggle with pride at times. President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) taught:
Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson [2014], 235)
3. One truth we can learn from this passage is that pride destroys our souls (Jacob 2:16). How do you think pride can destroy our souls? Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, shared additional ways that pride can be manifest in our lives.
The great enemy of charity is pride. Pride is one of the biggest reasons marriages and families struggle. Pride is short-tempered, unkind, and envious. Pride exaggerates its own strength and ignores the virtues of others. Pride is selfish and easily provoked. Pride assumes evil intent where there is none and hides its own weaknesses behind clever excuses. Pride is cynical, pessimistic, angry, and impatient. Indeed, if charity is the pure love of Christ, then pride is the defining characteristic of Satan. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “In Praise of Those Who Save,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 80)
4. Watch the video “Jacob Teaches About Pride and Chastity.”
Day 3
Primary
1. Today read Jacob 3.
2. Jacob taught the people about how they should treat each other in their families. Read Jacob 3:7. He was talking about the Lamanites and how at least the way they treated each other in their families was righteous.
3. Listen to the song “Have I Done Any Good?”
Youth
1. Today read Jacob 3.
2. The world is abandoning standards of sexual purity, but the Lord’s standard of sexual purity remains unchanged. After obtaining his errand from the Lord, Jacob taught his people about the law of chastity. Jacob’s teachings still apply today.
3. President Russell M. Nelson shared one way the world is moving away from the Lord’s standard.
It takes faith to live a chaste life when the world shouts that God’s law of chastity is now outmoded. (Russell M. Nelson, “Christ Is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains,” Liahona, May 2021, 104)
4. The Lord’s law of chastity is clear and unchanging. “Chastity is sexual purity. Those who are chaste are morally clean in their thoughts, words, and actions. Chastity means not having any sexual relations before marriage. It also means complete fidelity to husband or wife during marriage” (Gospel Topics, “Chastity”).
5. What is the role of sexual relations in Heavenly Father’s plan? Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles instructed:
The power of procreation is spiritually significant. Misuse of this power subverts the purposes of the Father’s plan and of our mortal existence. Our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son are creators and have entrusted each of us with a portion of Their creative power. Specific guidelines for the proper use of the ability to create life are vital elements in the Father’s plan. How we feel about and use that supernal power will determine in large measure our happiness in mortality and our destiny in eternity. …
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God’s plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God—and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies. (David A. Bednar, “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 41–42)
Day 4
Primary
1. Read Jacob 4.
2. I can be reconciled to God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Jacob pleaded with his people to “be reconciled unto [God] through the atonement of Christ” (Jacob 4:11). One definition of reconcile is to restore to friendship or harmony. As you ponder your own life, think about a time when you may have felt distant from Heavenly Father. How does the Savior help you restore this relationship?
3. As Jacob worked to turn his people more completely to the Lord, he warned them not to be spiritually blind and not to despise the gospel’s “words of plainness” (see Jacob 4:13–14). What can we do to avoid spiritual blindness?
Youth
1. Read Jacob 4.
2. Carving words into metal plates was not an easy task (see Jacob 4:1). So why would Jacob go through the effort to do it? He had experienced the joy of knowing the Savior and desired to help us come unto the Savior as well.
3. Jacob 4:10. How can good people fall into the trap of not taking counsel from God? President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988) of the First Presidency explained:
I do not think that many members of the Church consciously [follow] the persuasions of men or their own counsel instead of heeding the Lord’s. However, when we do not keep ourselves advised as to what the counsel of the Lord is, we are prone to substitute our own counsel for His. As a matter of fact, there is nothing else we can do but follow our own counsel when we do not know the Lord’s instructions. (Marion G. Romney, “Seek Not to Counsel the Lord,” Ensign, Aug. 1985, 5)
4. What are some ways people look “beyond the mark” today? Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
Some members elevate causes, many of which are good, to a status superior to basic gospel doctrine. They substitute their devotion to the cause as their first commitment and relegate their commitment to the Savior and His teachings to a secondary position. If we elevate anything above our devotion to the Savior, if our conduct recognizes Him as just another teacher and not the divine Son of God, then we are looking beyond the mark. Jesus Christ is the mark! (Quentin L. Cook, “Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 43)
Week 2
Day 1
Primary
1. Today read Jacob 5:1-49.
2. God cares about all of His children, those who are righteous and those who choose to be unrighteous. Jacob shared an “allegory” (a story with hidden meanings) about olive trees, which symbolically illustrates the scattering of some who were righteous and some who were not. This allegory also illustrates the Lord’s efforts to gather Israel in the last days.
3. Watch the video “The Olive Trees.”
Youth
1. Today read Jacob 5:1-49.
2. Go over this chart explaining the portions of the allegory and study it a little.
3. Today watch Part 1 and Part 2 of “Lord of the Vineyard.”
4. God cares about all of His children, those who are righteous and those who choose to be unrighteous. Jacob shared Zenos’s allegory of the olive trees, which symbolically illustrates the scattering of some who were righteous and some who were not. This allegory also illustrates the Lord’s efforts to gather Israel in the last days.
5. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared one lesson we can learn about God from these verses:
After digging and dunging, watering and weeding, trimming, pruning, transplanting, and grafting, the great Lord of the vineyard throws down his spade and his pruning shears and weeps, crying out to any who would listen, “What could I have done more for my vineyard?” [Jacob 5:41, 49].
What an indelible image of God’s engagement in our lives! What anguish in a parent when His children do not choose Him nor “the gospel of God” [Romans 1:1] He sent! How easy to love someone who so singularly loves us! (Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Grandeur of God,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2003, 72)
6. Does God wait to love me until I overcome my weaknesses? President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, taught:
God loves you this very day and always.
He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. … He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Living the Gospel Joyful,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 123)
Day 2
Primary
1. Today read Jacob 5:50-77.
2. The final part of this allegory symbolizes the Lord’s work in the last days, including the efforts He and His servants make to gather souls to Him for a final time. One truth we can learn from this portion of the allegory is that the Lord invites His latter-day servants to labor in His vineyard by participating in the gathering of Israel.
3. Listen to the song “A Child’s Prayer.”
Youth
1. Today read Jacob 5:50-77.
2. The final part of this allegory symbolizes the Lord’s work in the last days, including the efforts He and His servants make to gather souls to Him for a final time. One truth we can learn from this portion of the allegory is that the Lord invites His latter-day servants to labor in His vineyard by participating in the gathering of Israel.
3. President Russell M. Nelson discussed the work the Lord and His servants perform in the last days:
The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that now, meaning our day, is the eleventh hour and the last time that He will call laborers into His vineyard for the express purpose of gathering the elect from the four quarters of the earth [see Doctrine and Covenants 33:3, 6]. …
Would you like to help gather Israel during these precious latter days? …
… Think of it! Of all the people who have ever lived on planet earth, we are the ones who get to participate in this final, great gathering event. How exciting is that!
Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits — perhaps, I might say, His finest team — for this final phase. Those noble spirits — those finest players, those heroes — are you! (Russell M. Nelson and Wendy W. Nelson, “Hope of Israel” [worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018], supplement to the New Era and Ensign, 8, ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
4. Watch “The Lord of the Vineyard” part 3 and part 4.
Day 3
Primary
1. Today read Jacob 7.
2. Jacob wrote of a man named Sherem who tried to destroy the faith of the people. Jacob held on to his faith and stood up for what was true. What can you do now to prepare for times when your faith is challenged?
3. Watch the video “Jacob and Sherem.”
4. Listen to the song “Have I Done Any Good?”
Youth
1. Today read Jacob 7.
2. If you feel like some people today are intentionally trying to shake the faith of members of the Savior’s Church, you are right. This is nothing new. Among the Nephites, a man named Sherem “labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people” (Jacob 7:3).
3. President Russell M. Nelson shared the following about a difficult challenge that we will face:
Difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord “shall suffer persecution” [2 Timothy 3:12]. That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives. (Russell M. Nelson, “Face the Future with Faith,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 35–36)
4. Jacob’s faith could not be shaken by Sherem. We can overcome challenges to our faith in Jesus Christ by remembering past spiritual experiences that strengthened our faith. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
Along with the peaceful direction we receive from the Holy Ghost, from time to time, God powerfully and very personally assures each of us that He knows us and loves us and that He is blessing us specifically and openly. Then, in our moments of difficulty, the Savior brings these experiences back into our mind. …
Embrace your sacred memories. Believe them. Write them down. … I promise you that as you willingly acknowledge and carefully treasure the spiritually defining events in your life, more and more will come to you. Heavenly Father knows you and loves you! (Neil L. Andersen, “Spiritually Defining Memories,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 19, 21–22)
5. How can I recognize the teachings of those who seek to destroy faith in Christ in our day? Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:
The way of the world, as you know, is anti-Christ, or “anything but Christ.” Our day is a replay of Book of Mormon history in which charismatic figures pursue unrighteous dominion over others, celebrate sexual license, and promote accumulating wealth as the object of our existence. Their philosophies “justify in committing a little sin” [2 Nephi 28:8] or even a lot of sin, but none can offer redemption. That comes only through the blood of the Lamb. The best the “anything but Christ” or “anything but repentance” crowd can offer is the unfounded claim that sin does not exist or that if it exists, it ultimately has no consequences. I can’t see that argument getting much traction at the Final Judgment. (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Love of God,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 17)
6. Watch the video “Sherem Denies Christ.”
Week 3
Day 1
Primary
1. Today read Enos 1.
2. Although Enos went to the forest to hunt beasts to satisfy physical hunger, he ended up staying there all day and into the night because his “soul hungered.” This hunger led Enos to “raise [his] voice high that it reached the heavens.” He described this experience as a wrestle before God (see Enos 1:2–4). From Enos we learn that prayer is a sincere effort to draw near to God and seek to know His will. When you pray with this intent, you are more likely to discover, as Enos did, that God hears you and truly cares about you, your loved ones, and even your enemies.
3. Watch the video “Enos.”
3. Listen to the song “Books in the Book of Mormon.” Make sure you can sing it through Enos.
Youth
1. Today read Enos 1.
2. Although Enos went to the forest to hunt beasts to satisfy physical hunger, he ended up staying there all day and into the night because his “soul hungered.” This hunger led Enos to “raise [his] voice high that it reached the heavens.” He described this experience as a wrestle before God (see Enos 1:2–4). From Enos we learn that prayer is a sincere effort to draw near to God and seek to know His will. When you pray with this intent, you are more likely to discover, as Enos did, that God hears you and truly cares about you, your loved ones, and even your enemies.
3. One important principle we learn in Enos is that as we repent and exercise our faith in Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven of our sins, and we can be made whole. Read the following statement from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Once we have truly repented, Christ will take away the burden of guilt for our sins. We can know for ourselves that we have been forgiven and made clean. The Holy Ghost will verify this to us; He is the Sanctifier. No other testimony of forgiveness can be greater. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Point of Safe Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 101)
4. What can I do to improve the way I pray? Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:
The object of our prayers should not be to present a wish list or a series of requests but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is eager to bestow, according to His will and timing. Every sincere prayer is heard and answered by our Heavenly Father, but the answers we receive may not be what we expect or come to us when we want or in the way we anticipate. …
Prayer is a privilege and the soul’s sincere desire. We can move beyond routine and “checklist” prayers and engage in meaningful prayer as we appropriately ask in faith and act, as we patiently persevere through the trial of our faith, and as we humbly acknowledge and accept “not my will, but Thine, be done.” (David A. Bednar, “Ask in Faith,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 97)
5. Today watch the video “Enos Prays Mightily.”
6. Listen to the song “Books in the Book of Mormon.” Make sure you can sing it through Enos.
Day 2
Primary
1. Today read Jarom and Omni.
2. The books of Jarom and Omni contain the final writings in the small plates of Nephi and include many principles that can bless our lives. Jarom received the plates from his father, Enos, and recorded the Nephites’ struggles and blessings over a period of approximately 40 years. He then passed the plates to his son Omni. The book of Omni contains the writings of five different Nephite record keepers and covers approximately 190 years.
3. In the book of Omni, we learn of three groups of people whom the Lord brought to the land of promise. The first group mentioned was Lehi’s family and their descendants. A second group, called the people of Zarahemla, or the Mulekites, left Jerusalem and traveled to the Americas around the same time as Lehi’s family. They joined with the Nephites under the rule of King Mosiah (see Omni 1:19). The third group was the Jaredites, who came to the land of promise long before the first two groups. They destroyed themselves in civil wars sometime between 600 and 300 BC. The last king of the Jaredites, a man named Coriantumr, survived the destruction and apparently wandered until he found the people of Zarahemla before dying (see Omni 1:21). The book of Ether contains Moroni’s abridgement of a record of the Jaredites.
4. Listen to the song “Have I Done Any Good?”
Youth
1. Today read Jarom and Omni.
2. The books of Jarom and Omni contain the final writings in the small plates of Nephi and include many principles that can bless our lives. Jarom received the plates from his father, Enos, and recorded the Nephites’ struggles and blessings over a period of approximately 40 years. He then passed the plates to his son Omni. The book of Omni contains the writings of five different Nephite record keepers and covers approximately 190 years.
3. In the book of Omni, we learn of three groups of people whom the Lord brought to the land of promise. The first group mentioned was Lehi’s family and their descendants. A second group, called the people of Zarahemla, or the Mulekites, left Jerusalem and traveled to the Americas around the same time as Lehi’s family. They joined with the Nephites under the rule of King Mosiah (see Omni 1:19). The third group was the Jaredites, who came to the land of promise long before the first two groups. They destroyed themselves in civil wars sometime between 600 and 300 BC. The last king of the Jaredites, a man named Coriantumr, survived the destruction and apparently wandered until he found the people of Zarahemla before dying (see Omni 1:21). The book of Ether contains Moroni’s abridgement of a record of the Jaredites.
4. In Omni 1:26 we see that if we come unto Christ and offer our whole souls unto Him, we will be saved. What do you think it means to offer your whole soul to Jesus Christ?
5. Brother Russell T. Osguthorpe, former Sunday School General President, said:
Giving our will to the Lord is something we do every day. It is not an isolated act. It is not the end, but just the beginning. We can say what He wants said. We can do what He wants done. We can be a witness to the world of God’s Beloved Son—all because we want to do these things. When this change happens in our heart, our gratitude for the Atonement increases so much that we are strengthened by it continually. (Russell T. Osguthorpe, “I Will Give Myself to Him” [Church Educational System devotional for young adults, Nov. 3, 2013])
Day 3
Primary
1. Today read The Words of Mormon, the shortest book in the Book of Mormon.
2. Imagine what it might have been like to be the prophet Mormon, who lived nearly 1,000 years after Lehi’s family left Jerusalem. He was one of the last keepers of the Nephite records and worked to condense a millennium of Nephite history into a single set of plates. How would you decide which events to include and which to leave out? When his work on the abridgment of the Nephite plates reached King Benjamin’s time, Mormon made an important discovery. He inserted a short explanation of his experience in the book titled Words of Mormon.
3. Mormon discovered the small plates of Nephi after he had already made an abridgment of part of the Nephite records. Guided by the Spirit of the Lord, Mormon included the small plates “for a wise purpose,” according to the Lord’s will (see Words of Mormon 1:3–7).
4. Listen to the song “Books in the Book of Mormon.” Make sure you can sing it through Words of Mormon.
5. Listen to the song “A Child’s Prayer.”
Youth
1. Today read The Words of Mormon, the shortest book in the Book of Mormon.
2. Imagine what it might have been like to be the prophet Mormon, who lived nearly 1,000 years after Lehi’s family left Jerusalem. He was one of the last keepers of the Nephite records and worked to condense a millennium of Nephite history into a single set of plates. How would you decide which events to include and which to leave out? When his work on the abridgment of the Nephite plates reached King Benjamin’s time, Mormon made an important discovery. He inserted a short explanation of his experience in the book titled Words of Mormon.
3. Mormon discovered the small plates of Nephi after he had already made an abridgment of part of the Nephite records. Guided by the Spirit of the Lord, Mormon included the small plates “for a wise purpose,” according to the Lord’s will (see Words of Mormon 1:3–7).
4. How can I increase my desire to respond to spiritual promptings? Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we rationalize; we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it is just our own thoughts. When we begin to second-guess, even third-guess, our feelings — and we all have — we are dismissing the Spirit; we are questioning divine counsel. …
If we pay attention to the promptings that come to us, we will grow in the spirit of revelation and receive more and more Spirit-driven insight and direction. The Lord has said, “Put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good” [Doctrine and Covenants 11:12]. (Ronald A. Rasband, “Let the Holy Spirit Guide,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 95–96)
5. Listen to the song “Books in the Book of Mormon.” Make sure you can sing it through Words of Mormon.
Week 4
Day 1
Primary
1. Read Mosiah 1.
2. When you hear the word king, you might think of crowns, servants, and thrones. In Mosiah 1–3, you will read about a different kind of king. Rather than living off the labors of his people, King Benjamin “labored with [his] own hands” (Mosiah 2:14). Instead of having others serve him, he served his people “with all the might, mind and strength which the Lord [had] granted unto [him]” (Mosiah 2:11). This king did not want his people to worship him; rather, he taught them to worship their Heavenly King, Jesus Christ. King Benjamin understood that it is “the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth” (Mosiah 3:5), who came “down from heaven” and went “forth amongst men, … that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name” (Mosiah 3:5, 9).
3. King Benjamin told his sons to search the scriptures diligently. These sacred records blessed King Benjamin’s people. How is your life better because you have the scriptures?
4. Listen to the song “Books in the Book of Mormon.” Make sure you can sing it through Mosiah.
Youth
1. Read Mosiah 1.
2. When you hear the word king, you might think of crowns, servants, and thrones. In Mosiah 1–3, you will read about a different kind of king. Rather than living off the labors of his people, King Benjamin “labored with [his] own hands” (Mosiah 2:14). Instead of having others serve him, he served his people “with all the might, mind and strength which the Lord [had] granted unto [him]” (Mosiah 2:11). This king did not want his people to worship him; rather, he taught them to worship their Heavenly King, Jesus Christ. King Benjamin understood that it is “the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth” (Mosiah 3:5), who came “down from heaven” and went “forth amongst men, … that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name” (Mosiah 3:5, 9).
3. King Benjamin told his sons to search the scriptures diligently. These sacred records blessed King Benjamin’s people. How is your life better because you have the scriptures?
4. A close examination of the Book of Mormon reveals numerous traditions and customs that have their origins in ancient Israel. Some notable similarities between Book of Mormon and Old Testament coronation ceremonies include: (1) a belief that kings were chosen by heaven, (2) the sanctuary as the place of the coronation, (3) bestowal of sacred relics, artifacts, or other objects at the time of coronation, and (4) anointing.
“In addition, the ideal was that the new king take office before the death of the old one, and this transfer of power was connected with the ceremony where the people make or renew their covenant with God.” (Ricks, in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, 216) This took place a little later with King Benjamin’s people when they proclaimed, “we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments.” (Mosiah 5:5)
5. The major purpose for King Benjamin to gather his people together was to give them a name. He wanted to lift them spiritually. He and many other holy prophets had spent years preaching to the people and preparing them to be spiritually ready to take upon them the name of Christ (see Words of Mormon 1:5–18). Throughout his address, King Benjamin spoke of how to worthily accept the name he desired to give them. Then, in Mosiah 5:8–11, he clearly identified the name as being that of Jesus Christ.
6. Listen to the song “Books in the Book of Mormon.” Make sure you can sing it through Mosiah.
Day 2
Primary
1. Read Mosiah 2:1-18.
2. There is a doctrinal mastery verse in this section, Mosiah 2:17. (There is a song you can listen to, too!)
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
3. What makes a great leader? In King Benjamin’s address, we get a glimpse of the type of leader and example he was to his people. King Benjamin was one who served God by serving his people and teaching them to serve one another.
4. Watch the video “King Benjamin.”
Youth
1. Read Mosiah 2:1-18.
2. There is a doctrinal mastery verse in this section, Mosiah 2:17. (There is a song you can listen to, too!)
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
3. What makes a great leader? In King Benjamin’s address, we get a glimpse of the type of leader and example he was to his people. King Benjamin was one who served God by serving his people and teaching them to serve one another.
4. Read the following statement by President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018), and look for what he teaches about the relationship between our service to others and our relationship with God:
As we look heavenward, we inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward. To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. … The New Testament teaches that it is impossible to take a right attitude toward Christ without taking an unselfish attitude toward men. …
We look to the Savior as our example of service. Although He came to earth as the Son of God, He humbly served those around Him. He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick; He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life. (Thomas S. Monson, “The Joy of Service,” New Era, Oct. 2009, 4, 6)
5. Today watch “King Benjamin Teaches About Serving God.”
Day 3
Primary
1. Today read Mosiah 2:19-41.
2. There’s another doctrinal mastery scripture today! Mosiah 2:41. (Sorry! No song.)
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
3. What would you be willing to do to receive never-ending happiness? After teaching about service, King Benjamin invited the Nephites to think about how they seek and receive Heavenly Father’s blessings. He invited his people to seek this happiness through righteous living and devotion to God.
4. Listen to the song “A Child’s Prayer.”
Youth
1. Today read Mosiah 2:19-41.
2. There’s another doctrinal mastery scripture today! Mosiah 2:41. (Sorry! No song.)
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
3. Read Mosiah 2:19–25, looking for the answer to any of the following questions: In what ways did God bless the Nephites? What does God do when we keep His commandments? How quickly does He do it?
4. After helping the Nephites recognize their blessings, King Benjamin announced that his son Mosiah would be their new king. He reminded them of the many ways the people could lose their blessings through contention, transgression, rebellion, and breaking God’s commandments. He also taught the eternal consequences of those actions and gave a promise to those who keep the commandments. (See Mosiah 2:29–40.)
5.Why does it seem like people can break the commandments and still be happy? Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
Not infrequently, people who [disregard] divine directives such as the law of chastity, the standard of honesty, and the holiness of the Sabbath seem to prosper and enjoy the good things of life, at times even more so than those who are striving to be obedient. Some begin to wonder if the effort and sacrifices are worth it. …
Just wait, said the Lord, until “that day when I make up my jewels. … Then shall ye … discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not” [Malachi 3:17–18]. The wicked may “have joy in their works for a season” [3 Nephi 27:11], but it is always temporary. The joy of the Saints is enduring. …
I haven’t met anyone who found the gospel later in life who didn’t wish it could have been earlier. “Oh, the poor choices and mistakes I could have avoided,” they will say. The Lord’s commandments are our guide to better choices and happier outcomes. How we ought to rejoice and thank Him for showing us this more excellent way. (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Joy of the Saints,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 15–16)
6. Watch the video “King Benjamin Teaches His People to Keep the Commandments of God.”
Day 4
Primary
1. Read Mosiah 3.
2. There is a doctrinal mastery scripture in this chapter, too! Mosiah 3:19. (This one has a song!)
19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
3. Throughout history, angels have visited the earth to testify of Jesus Christ and declare “glad tidings of great joy” (Mosiah 3:3; Alma 13:22; Helaman 16:14). King Benjamin received such a visit. He shared with his people the angel’s testimony of Jesus Christ, the things the Savior would experience, and the truth that salvation comes only through the name of Christ.
4. Listen to the song “Have I Done Any Good?”
Youth
1. Read Mosiah 3.
2. There is a doctrinal mastery scripture in this chapter, too! Mosiah 3:19. (This one has a song!)
19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
3. Throughout history, angels have visited the earth to testify of Jesus Christ and declare “glad tidings of great joy” (Mosiah 3:3; Alma 13:22; Helaman 16:14). King Benjamin received such a visit. He shared with his people the angel’s testimony of Jesus Christ, the things the Savior would experience, and the truth that salvation comes only through the name of Christ.
4. Read the following statement from Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles looking for what Jesus Christ saves us from:
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, through the incalculable gift of His Atonement, not only saves us from death and offers us, through repentance, forgiveness for our sins, but He also stands ready to save us from the sorrows and pains of our wounded souls. (Neil L. Andersen, “Wounded,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 85)
5. How can I experience joy through repentance? Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
I invite you to feel more joy in your life: joy in the knowledge that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real; joy in the Savior’s ability, willingness, and desire to forgive; and joy in choosing to repent. Let us follow the instruction to “with joy … draw water out of the wells of salvation” [Isaiah 12:3]. May we choose to repent, forsake our sins, and turn our hearts and wills around to follow our Savior. (Dale G. Renlund, “Repentance: A Joyful Choice,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 124)
6. Watch “King Benjamin Delivers and Angel’s Prophecy of Jesus Christ.”
