The following summary of the events, doctrines, and principles students learned about as they studied Doctrine and Covenants 98–101:42 (unit 21) is not intended to be taught as part of your lesson. The lesson you teach concentrates on only a few of these doctrines and principles. Follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit as you consider the needs of your students.
As students studied about some of the mob violence the Saints experienced in Jackson County, Missouri, they learned that we prove ourselves to the Lord by keeping our covenants, even when it is difficult to do so. Students also learned that if we bear mistreatment patiently and without retaliating, then the Lord will reward us. Finally, they learned that entering war can be justified under circumstances prescribed by the Lord.
In this lesson students learned that we represent the Lord when we serve missions and that those who receive the gospel “as a little child” (D&C 99:3) obtain mercy. They also learned that if we will lift up our voices to share the gospel with others in solemnity of heart and in the spirit of meekness, then the Lord will help us know what to say and the Holy Ghost will bear witness of our message. Students also discovered that all things will work together for our good if we walk uprightly before the Lord.
As students studied about the Saints’ expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri, they learned that when we violate the commandments, God allows us to suffer; this is different from the trials and difficult experiences of those who are righteous. They also learned that if we will not endure chastening, we cannot be sanctified. Students discovered that even when we have sinned, the Lord will have compassion toward us. When we live righteously, we can find comfort in the knowledge that all people are in the Lord’s hands.
As part of this lesson, students learned ways we can prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming. They also identified the principle that those who suffer persecution for the name of the Savior and endure in faith shall partake of God’s glory. Additionally, they discovered that to help the people of the earth receive God’s blessings, we must repent of our sins and be humble.
Introduction
This lesson focuses on some of the instructions in Doctrine and Covenants 98 that the Lord gave to the Saints who were being persecuted by mobs. This lesson can help students understand how we should react to difficult situations, and it can help strengthen their testimonies of the Lord’s power and kindness.
The Lord reassures the Saints during their afflictions
Before class begins, write the following questions on the board: How would you feel? What would you do?
Explain to students that in today’s lesson they will learn about some of the trials and persecution the Saints living in Jackson County, Missouri, experienced in July 1833. Explain that some of the Missourians had become angry at the Saints because of political, social, economic, and religious differences.
Invite a student to read the following paragraph aloud:
On Saturday, July 20, 1833, between 400 and 500 angry Missouri citizens met at the courthouse in Independence, Missouri. They chose a committee to draft a document outlining their demands of the Mormons. They demanded that no more Latter-day Saints be allowed to move to Jackson County and said that those already living there must pledge to leave as soon as possible. In addition, they demanded that the Church newspaper stop publication. When these demands were presented to the Church leaders in Missouri, the Church leaders were startled and asked for three months to consider the proposition and to consult with Church leaders in Ohio. The group of Missouri citizens presenting the demands denied the Church leaders’ request. The Saints then asked for 10 days, but they were allowed only 15 minutes to respond. (See Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 132–33.)
Ask students to respond to the questions on the board.
Invite another student to read the following paragraph aloud:
The Missourians at the meeting in the Independence courthouse quickly turned into a mob and decided to destroy the printing office and the press. The mob broke into the printing office, threw the furniture into the street and garden, broke the press, scattered the type, and destroyed nearly all of the printed work, including most of the unbound sheets of the Book of Commandments. The mob next wanted to destroy the Gilbert and Whitney Store. However, Sidney Gilbert met the mob before they could carry out their plan and promised that he would pack the goods and leave in three days. (See Church History in the Fulness of Times, 133.)
Ask students to again respond to the questions on the board.
Invite another student to read the following paragraph aloud:
Three days later, on July 23, a mob appeared again in Jackson County, Missouri, this time armed with rifles, pistols, whips, and clubs. The mob set fire to haystacks and grain fields and destroyed several homes, barns, and businesses. The mob eventually confronted six Church leaders, who, seeing that the property and lives of the Saints were in jeopardy, offered their lives as a ransom. Rejecting this offer, the mob leaders threatened that every man, woman, and child would be whipped unless they consented to leave the county. Under pressure, the Brethren signed an agreement to leave Jackson County—half of the Church members and most of the leaders would leave by January 1, 1834, and the remainder by April 1, 1834. The mob allowed John Corrill and Sidney Gilbert to remain to sell the property of the Saints who had been driven out. (See Church History in the Fulness of Times, 134.)
Ask students to again respond to the questions on the board.
Invite a student to read the section introduction for Doctrine and Covenants 98 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what prompted this revelation. Invite students to report what they find.
According to the section introduction, what is remarkable about the timing of this revelation?
Invite a student to read Doctrine and Covenants 98:1–2 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for the counsel the Lord gave the Saints. (It may be helpful to explain that Sabaoth, in verse 2, is a Hebrew word usually meaning hosts or armies. Its use here implies that the Lord has angelic armies, or hosts, and the armies of Israel, or the Saints, at His command. [See Bible Dictionary, “Sabaoth.”])
What counsel did the Lord give the Saints? (Write students’ responses on the board.)
Why is it important for the Saints to give thanks during difficult times?
What do you think it means to wait patiently on the Lord?
Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Ask the class to listen for what it means to wait patiently on the Lord.
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Elder Robert D. Hales
“What … does it mean to wait upon the Lord? In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end” (“Waiting upon the Lord: Thy Will Be Done,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 72).
How does Elder Hales’s statement help you to understand what it means to wait patiently upon the Lord?
Why would the counsel to wait patiently on the Lord have been important for the Saints in Missouri?
What words of comfort did the Lord give the Saints in verse 2?
Write the following incomplete principle on the board: If we give thanks in all things and wait patiently on the Lord, then …
Invite a student to read Doctrine and Covenants 98:3 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the Lord promised the Saints if they would obey His counsel.
How would you complete the principle on the board, based on verse 3? (The following is one way to complete the principle: If we give thanks in all things and wait patiently on the Lord, then the Lord can make our afflictions work together for our good.)
Invite students to think about someone they know who has waited patiently on the Lord during difficult times and found reasons to be grateful.
In what ways did the afflictions bring about good in the life of that person?
Invite a student to read Doctrine and Covenants 98:18 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for a blessing that the faithful will receive.
Conclude by testifying of the principles you have discussed in class today.
Invite students to imagine how they might respond if they were called by the Lord to march hundreds of miles over several months to help Church members in need. Explain that as they study the rest of Doctrine and Covenants 101 and sections 102 through 105 during the coming week, they will learn about a group of people who volunteered to travel from Ohio to Missouri to help fellow Church members. This group was known as Zion’s Camp.