Steadfastly Minded, by Eva Timothy

Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7

Naomi, her husband, and their two sons moved from Bethlehem to the land of Moab because of a famine. Naomi’s husband and her two sons died in Moab, and Naomi returned to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth. There a man named Boaz married Ruth and provided for the needs of both Ruth and Naomi. Hannah, a righteous Israelite woman, longed to have a child. Her humble prayers were answered, and she was blessed with a son she named Samuel. While in the temple, Samuel heard a voice calling him. With the help of Eli the priest, Samuel recognized it as the voice of the Lord.

Additional Resources

Scripture Helps: Old Testament, “Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7”

Note: The “Introduction to the Course” provides guidance on how to use the standard lesson elements that follow.

Encouraging Personal Study

Before class, consider sending students one or more of the following messages or some of your own:

Think about the sacrifices you have made to live the gospel. How has the Lord blessed you for making these sacrifices? As you study Ruth 1–2, consider Ruth’s sacrifices and how the Lord blessed her.
As you study Ruth 2–4, consider these questions: In what ways might we be like Ruth? In what ways is Boaz like Jesus Christ?
What do you do when you face serious challenges or trials? Ponder what you can learn from Hannah’s example as you study 1 Samuel 1–2.
In a world with so many competing voices, how do you recognize and respond to the voice of the Lord? Consider how you might hear His voice better as you study 1 Samuel 3.

Questions and Sharing

Provide time for students to ask questions and share insights and truths they discovered in their personal study of Ruth and 1 Samuel 1–7.

Skill Training

The learning activity for 1 Samuel 3 might be a helpful place to use the skill “Identifying Gospel Truths in the Scriptures” in Scripture Study Skills.

Learning Activity Options

Multiple learning options are provided for you and your students. Prayerfully choose which option or options will be most meaningful for your class. You could also seek input from your students.

Improving Our Teaching and Learning

Find appropriate ways to express your love. There are many ways you can appropriately express love to students. Showing love can help students feel more comfortable in class and open their hearts to the impressions of the Holy Ghost. The Savior was the perfect example of showing love. To learn more, see “The Savior Expressed His Love for Those He Taught,” in Teaching in the Savior’s Way (2022), 14.

Ruth 1–2

What sacrifices can I make to follow the Lord?

Consider sharing the following statement by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and discussing the accompanying question:

We all have things, large and small, we need to sacrifice in order to follow Jesus Christ more completely. Our sacrifices show what we truly value. Sacrifices are sacred and honored by the Lord. (“Our Heartfelt All,” Liahona, May 2022, 124)

What are examples of sacrifices that someone like you might need to make to follow the Lord more completely? (List students’ responses on the board so you can refer to them later in the learning activity.)

Encourage students as they study today to seek guidance from the Holy Ghost to identify sacrifices they can make that could help them follow Jesus Christ more completely.

To help students understand the context for Ruth 1–2, you or a student could share the following summary:

In a time of famine, an Israelite woman named Naomi, her husband, and her two sons moved to Moab from Bethlehem. While in Moab, Naomi’s sons married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. When Naomi’s husband and two sons died, the three women became widows and Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem.

Invite students to read Ruth 1:8–19, looking for Naomi’s instructions to Orpah and Ruth and how each responded. Then consider asking questions like the following:

What Christlike attributes did you notice in Ruth?
What are some sacrifices Ruth might have had to make to go to Bethlehem with Naomi?

Explain that because Naomi and Ruth were extremely poor, they had no way to provide for themselves in Bethlehem. To obtain food for Naomi and herself, Ruth went to the fields of Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s husband. Ruth gathered leftover crops in the fields. (To help students better understand this practice, consider having them read “Ruth 2:1–3. What did it mean to glean a field?” in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.)

Invite students to read Ruth 2:5–18, looking for ways Boaz helped Ruth. Then consider asking:

What truths do you learn about following the Lord from the account of Ruth? (One example of a truth students could identify is this: the Lord will send blessings when we trust Him and make sacrifices to follow Him.)

Consider referring students to the list of sacrifices you wrote on the board at the beginning of the learning activity. Then invite students to share their responses to the following question:

What do you know about the Lord that inspires you to trust Him and make sacrifices to follow Him?

Invite students to ponder how they have been blessed when they, like Ruth, trusted the Lord and made sacrifices to follow Him. Consider asking a few willing students to share their experiences with the class. You could also share an example from your own life.

To conclude, invite students to consider sacrifices they could make to better follow the Lord. Invite them to record their plans and other impressions they have felt from the Holy Ghost.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”

Ruth 2–4

What can I learn about my Redeemer from the account of Ruth and Boaz?

Consider displaying an image of Jesus Christ and discussing the following statement by Elder D. Todd Christofferson:

Among the most significant of Jesus Christ’s descriptive titles is Redeemer. … The word redeem means to pay off an obligation or a debt. Redeem can also mean to rescue or set free. (“Redemption,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 109)

Thinking of your life, in what ways might you need redemption, rescue, or freedom through Jesus Christ?

Explain that the account of Ruth and Boaz can help us better understand Jesus Christ’s role as our Redeemer. Encourage students to think about their own need for redemption. Invite them to look for truths as they study that can help them gain access to the redeeming power of Jesus Christ.

As needed, ask students to share what they know about the circumstances that led to Ruth meeting Boaz, and remind them that Ruth was a Moabite woman who moved to Bethlehem with her Israelite mother-in-law, Naomi. Both women had recently become widows and were extremely poor. In Bethlehem, Ruth went to the fields of Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s deceased husband, to gather food. Boaz treated Ruth with kindness and allowed her to take extra crops from his fields.

To help students study what took place between Ruth and Boaz, consider dividing students into groups of three and assigning each student to study one of the following sets of verses and its corresponding entry in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.

Verses to study	Related entry in Scripture Helps: Old Testament
Verses to study Ruth 2:15–20	Related entry in Scripture Helps: Old Testament “Ruth 2:18–20. Why was it significant that Boaz was Naomi’s ‘next kinsman’?”
Verses to study Ruth 3:1–13	Related entry in Scripture Helps: Old Testament “Ruth 3:1–9. Why did Naomi instruct Ruth to lay at the feet of Boaz?”
Verses to study Ruth 4:1–10, 13–17	Related entry in Scripture Helps: Old Testament “Ruth 4:1–8. Why did the nearest kinsman decline to marry Ruth?”

When students have finished studying, invite them to share the following with their group:

A summary of the verses they studied.
Insights they gained from the corresponding Scripture Helps entry.

Invite a few students to share their insights with the class. You could also consider discussing questions like the following:

In what ways might we be like Ruth?
In what ways is Boaz like Jesus Christ?

As part of your discussion, students may point out a truth like the following: If we come unto Jesus Christ, He can help us experience redemption.

Consider sharing the following statement by Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., made while serving as a member of the Seventy, and discussing the accompanying question:

The scriptures, literature, and the experiences of life are filled with stories of redemption. Through Christ, people can and do change their lives and obtain redemption. I love stories of redemption. (“Redemption,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 36)

What are examples in the scriptures or your own life experience where people received redemption through Jesus Christ? (If students need help, they could search for examples in Guide to the Scriptures, “Redeem, Redeemed, Redemption.”

You could also show the video “Redemption,” from time code 4:31 to 7:45.

9:2

Invite students to reflect on their feelings about Jesus Christ as their personal Redeemer. Encourage them to consider what they could do to seek His redemption and to record thoughts or impressions from the Holy Ghost.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”

1 Samuel 1–2

How can praying to God bring me peace and strength?

You could begin by singing or listening to a hymn about prayer, such as “Did You Think to Pray?” or “Secret Prayer” (Hymns, nos. 140, 144). Students could share words or phrases that stand out to them.

Encourage students as they study today to reflect on their own prayers. Invite them to look for truths that can help them enhance their worship of God through prayer.

Explain that 1 Samuel begins with the account of a righteous Israelite named Elkanah who lived with his two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Hannah had an unfulfilled desire that she desperately prayed would be granted.

To help students study Hannah’s experience, consider displaying the following table. Invite students to study the verses and look for ways to complete the chart. You could also watch “Hannah’s Faith” (3:08).

3:9

Hannah’s challenges (1 Samuel 1:1–8)	How Hannah responded (1 Samuel 1:9–20; 2:1–2)

Invite students to share what they learned from their study. Then consider discussing questions like the following:

What might it look like for us to pour out our souls before God?
What truths can we learn about prayer from Hannah’s experience? (Students could identify truths like the following: We can bring all our problems and challenges to Heavenly Father in prayer. Heavenly Father hears our prayers and answers them according to His will and timing.)
What can keep us from bringing our challenges to Heavenly Father in prayer? What can help us overcome these obstacles?

Consider inviting students to find additional examples from the scriptures of people who received answers or help from God because they prayed to Him. (If they need help, you could suggest that they study one or more of the following: Luke 22:39–44; Enos 1:1–10, 17; Mosiah 24:8–17; Alma 36:6–10, 16–20; Alma 58:6–12; Joseph Smith—History 1:13–17.)

Invite students to share what they found with a partner or small group. They could also share insights they gained about Heavenly Father from the accounts they studied.

After students have finished their discussions, invite them to share their insights with the class. Then consider inviting a few students to share experiences when God heard and answered their prayers. You could also show the video “God Wants You to Pray” (3:29).

3:29

Invite students to create a plan to help them enhance their prayers to Heavenly Father. A few willing students could share their plans with the class.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”

1 Samuel 3

How can I grow in my ability to hear the voice of the Lord?

Consider displaying the following statements and inviting students to evaluate themselves on a scale of 1 (“Not usually true of me”) to 5 (“Usually true of me”).

I desire to receive the Lord’s guidance in my life.
I make intentional efforts to receive and recognize revelation from the Holy Ghost.
I recognize how the Lord communicates with me.

As students study 1 Samuel 3, invite them to ponder how they could increase their ability to receive and recognize revelation from the Lord.

Remind students that after Hannah humbly pleaded with God in prayer, He blessed her with a son she named Samuel (see 1 Samuel 1:10–11, 19–20). As a child, Samuel served in the tabernacle under the high priest, Eli.

Invite students to study 1 Samuel 3:2–10, 19 with a partner, looking for principles they can learn about hearing the Lord’s voice. Invite them to make a list of the principles they identify. (This might be a helpful place to introduce the skill “Identifying Gospel Truths in the Scriptures” in Scripture Study Skills.)

After sufficient time, ask students to share some of the truths they identified. They could mention truths like the following: If we are willing and receptive, we can grow in our ability to recognize the voice of the Lord. As we increase our ability to receive and understand personal revelation, we will be able to recognize the voice of the Lord more easily.

You could choose one or more of the following options to help students deepen their understanding of these truths:

Ask students to find and share scriptures that describe different ways the Lord speaks to us through the Holy Ghost. (If students need help, you could suggest examples like the following: John 14:26; Doctrine and Covenants 6:22–23; 8:2–3; 11:12–13.)
View one or more videos from the “Hear Him” video collection in Gospel Library.
Give students time to study a general conference address that focuses on receiving and recognizing revelation from the Holy Ghost; for example, President Russell M. Nelson’s message “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 93–96).

You could then invite students to share insights they gained about hearing the voice of the Lord. You could also ask questions like the following:

How can you grow in your ability to recognize the voice of the Lord?
Why do you think it is important to know that recognizing God’s voice can take time and effort?

Consider inviting students to share recent experiences where they were blessed with personal revelation from the Holy Ghost. They could explain what those experiences helped them to learn or feel about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Caution students to not share experiences that are too personal.

To conclude, you could share the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson:

Does God really want to speak to you? Yes! …

My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation. … Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly. (“Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 95–96)

Invite students to record a plan to increase their spiritual capacity to receive revelation.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”