Following the Savior’s Example of Resisting Temptation
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Jesus is tempted by the devil
In this lesson you can continue studying how the Savior resisted temptations. This lesson can help you follow His example and recall truths from the scriptures to help you resist temptation in your life.
Using the Gospel Library app. Become familiar with the features included in the Gospel Library app to enhance scripture study, such as highlighting, linking, tagging, sharing, searching, and using notebooks. Doing this can help you prepare for lessons and know how to help students use the app.
Student preparation: Invite students to come prepared to share one to two scripture passages they feel they could use to help them resist temptation. If they can’t find any, encourage them to ask parents, other family members, or Church leaders.
Possible Learning Activities
Resisting temptation
If the first lesson for Matthew 4:1–11 was not taught prior to this lesson, consider reviewing it and adjusting this lesson as needed.
An alternate activity for beginning class is located in the “Supplemental Learning Activities” section of this lesson.
When discussing the following scenario, encourage students to not share with their classmates details about specific temptations they are facing.
Imagine that your friend Jacob confides in you that he is having a hard time resisting temptation. He explains that he really wants to resist but that he has a difficult time knowing what to do when temptation comes.
What would you share with him, and why?
Recall the Savior’s experience as recorded in Matthew 4:1–11, when the Savior faced and resisted Satan’s temptations. One of the ways He did this was by exemplifying this principle: Recalling and applying truths from the scriptures can help us draw on the Lord’s power to resist temptation. Study Matthew 4:1–11. Focus on verses 4, 7, and 10, looking for how the Savior applied this principle. Note that when Jesus said, “It is written,” He was referring to words written in the scriptures.
How do the scripture passages the Savior quoted relate to the temptations He overcame?
Spend a few minutes writing down your thoughts about why you need help resisting temptation. Then respond to the following questions:
Students may benefit from responding to the following questions in their study journals before sharing with the class.
How often do you turn to the Lord through the scriptures to help you resist temptation? Why?
What experiences have you had with turning to the Lord through the scriptures to help you resist temptation?
Consider doing the following exercise as a class, in pairs, or in small groups and listing students’ responses on the board. If part 1 of the Matthew 4:1–11 lesson has already been taught, consider inviting students to use their study journals to recall temptations that they identified during that lesson. Invite students to reflect on and reference the scripture passages they found in preparation for class.
Identify and list a few temptations that youth your age commonly face.
Identify and list scripture passages that can help with each of these temptations, along with a brief explanation of how each passage might help.
For example, you may find that the Savior’s words in 3 Nephi 18:15 can help you see that you need to be constantly aware and pray diligently as you strive to resist temptation. If you have difficulty finding helpful scriptures, you can search the doctrinal mastery passages, or you can search references in the Guide to the Scriptures under “Tempt, Temptation,” “Endure,” or another topic related to temptation or a specific temptation.
If students are using electronic scriptures, use the following to help them understand how to create tags.
Consider marking these scripture passages distinctly and making a list of them in your scriptures or study journal where you can easily find them. If you are using electronic scriptures, consider creating a tag and adding the passages to it. If you need to learn how to do this, go to the Gospel Library User Guide (Android) or Gospel Library User Guide (iOS) on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Select Marking content under the “Learning More” heading.
Display the following activities and instructions so students can determine which option best meets their needs.
There are a variety of ways you can follow the Savior’s example and receive strength from the scriptures. Choose to do activity A or B to help you follow the Savior’s example in resisting temptation. Seek inspiration from the Holy Ghost as you decide which activity will be most helpful to you.
Activity A: Memorize
Choose a scripture reference from those you identified, and memorize a key phrase from it or the entire passage. Here are some methods that may help:
Read it several times to yourself, looking at the scripture less and less each time.
Write down the passage or phrase. Erase or cross out words as you memorize them, and repeat until all the words are erased or crossed out and you can repeat the whole thing from memory.
Import the scripture into the Doctrinal Mastery app, and use the memorization tools in the app.
Activity B: Ponder and write
Ponder how regular scripture study can help you resist temptation in your life or what changes you could make to increase the blessings available to you through increased efforts to study the scriptures regularly. Write a social media or blog post that could help others increase their desire to study the scriptures. Write in a way that could help them seek the Lord’s power to help them resist temptation. Include at least one scripture reference you identified today. You could also share an experience you have had with the scriptures that increased your ability to resist temptation, without sharing any details about the temptation.
After sufficient time, consider inviting students to share the results of their activity. Then invite students to respond to the following questions in their study journals.
Personal reflection
To conclude, reflect on what you learned today, and ponder your answers to the following questions:
How might building on what you did today (studying, memorizing, and recalling scriptures) help you become more like Jesus Christ?
What do you feel you need to start doing, stop doing, or continue doing?
Commentary and Background Information
How can studying the scriptures help me?
President Russell M. Nelson explained how regularly studying the Book of Mormon can give us power to resist temptation:
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President Russell M. Nelson
My dear brothers and sisters, I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.
Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
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Elder Richard G. Scott
Be wise in how you embrace technology. Mark important scriptures on your device and refer back to them frequently. If you young people would review a verse of scripture as often as some of you send text messages, you could soon have hundreds of passages of scripture memorized. Those passages would prove to be a powerful source of inspiration and guidance by the Holy Ghost in times of need.
(Richard G. Scott, “For Peace at Home,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 30)
Supplemental Learning Activities
The scriptures can be like good friends
As an alternative way to begin the lesson, consider using this statement to help students see how memorizing and recalling scriptures is similar to having good friends. Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:
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Elder Richard G. Scott
“[The scriptures] can become stalwart friends that are not limited by geography or calendar. They are always available when needed. … Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.”
If it would help students, an alternative lesson focus could be the power of fasting to help us resist temptation. The following resources could be used:
Invite students to watch “My Heart Pondereth Them Continually” from time code 1:18 to 2:54. This video is available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Use the ideas Brother Durrant suggests to help students apply the truth that recalling and applying truths from the scriptures can help us draw on the Lord’s power to resist temptation. If it would help students, share some of the examples that Brother Durrant provides later in his talk.