Doctrinal Mastery: 2 Nephi 32:8–9

“Ye Must Pray Always”

youth praying

In a previous lesson, “2 Nephi 32:8–9,” you learned that if we pray always, Heavenly Father will consecrate our performance for the welfare of our souls. This lesson can help you memorize the doctrinal mastery reference and key scripture phrase for 2 Nephi 32:8–9, explain the doctrine, and apply principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge to realistic scenarios.

Encouraging students to pray. Encourage students to pray daily to express heartfelt gratitude and to seek help in times of need (see 3 Nephi 18:19). Students will come to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ more as they understand and apply the principles of prayer.

Student preparation: Consider inviting students to identify a time in their life or the life of someone they know when sincere prayer helped them come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Possible Learning Activities

This doctrinal mastery passage lesson is designed to be taught after the lesson “2 Nephi 32:8–9,” which is the contextual lesson for the doctrinal mastery passage 2 Nephi 32:8–9. If this doctrinal mastery passage lesson needs to be moved to a different week, be sure to teach the corresponding contextual lesson during that week as well.

Explain and memorize

Help students to memorize the reference and key scripture phrase for 2 Nephi 32:8–9. Encourage your students to consider memorizing as much of the doctrinal mastery passage as they can but do not require this. The doctrinal mastery app can help them with memorization.

Review the doctrinal mastery scripture reference “2 Nephi 32:8–9” and the key scripture phrase “Ye must pray always.” Make up a brief story to connect each of the numbers in the scripture reference to the key phrase—for example, “Addi prayed 32 hours a day.” It is OK if what you make up is not logical. The point is to help you connect the reference to the key scripture phrase.

Help students explain the doctrine taught in 2 Nephi 32:8–9. Be sure to give each student an opportunity to practice explaining the doctrine. If students work in pairs, every student will be able to practice without the activity taking too much class time. You could use the following scenario and instructions or use a scenario that you have adapted or created.

Imagine that you are talking with a friend who does not feel worthy to pray. Use phrases from 2 Nephi 32:8–9 to help them understand why we need to pray always. Include in your explanation what you think it means to pray always.

Practice application

Display or invite students to recall the three principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge. Invite students to select one principle and write as much as they can remember about it in one minute. To see what more they could add, they could then compare what they wrote with another student who reviewed the same principle, or they could compare it with paragraphs 5–12 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2023).

When finished reviewing the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge, invite students to write on the board concerns or questions people might have about praying to Heavenly Father. Then have them each select one and practice using the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge to prepare a response to the concern. If needed, you could include the questions that come later in the lesson to help guide students in their study.

Alternatively, you could use one of the following to help students practice.

1. Invite students to choose one of the challenges listed on the board and make up a scenario of a youth who has this challenge. Students could name this person, give them a reason they don’t pray, and add other relevant details.

2. Share the following scenario and invite students to use the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge to respond: A friend sends you a message that says, “While I was listening to a talk in church, I realized that instead of helping me connect with Heavenly Father, my prayers have become routine. I don’t feel like I get answers to my prayers anymore. I am starting to worry about how Heavenly Father feels about me. I want that connection back again. I was hoping we could talk sometime tomorrow and maybe you could help me figure out what to do.”

Seek further understanding through divinely appointed sources

• What divinely appointed sources would you use to respond?

Use a divinely appointed source to help you prepare a response. You could send a message to a parent or Church leader asking for help with possible answers. You could also search the scriptures or materials on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. For some concerns, the following statement by President Brigham Young (1801–1877) may help:

President Brigham Young

It matters not whether you or I feel like praying, when the time comes to pray, pray. If we do not feel like it, we should pray till we do. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 45)

Examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective

• What do you know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that relates to this question or concern?

• What eternal truths from 2 Nephi 32:8–9 could help someone with this question or concern?

Act in faith

• What would you suggest this person do to act with faith in Jesus Christ? Why?

• What would you invite this person to remember that could help them act in faith?

Invite students to discuss how using the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge helped them respond. Encourage them to use these principles in the future when questions or concerns arise for them or others.

Doctrinal mastery review

During an upcoming lesson, spend no more than five minutes reviewing the reference and key scripture phrase “2 Nephi 32:8–9: ‘Ye must pray always.’” One way to review is to display an image of someone praying and ask students to recall the scripture reference and key scripture phrase as they look at the image.

first 12 doctrinal mastery chart