Nehemiah Inspects the Walls of Jerusalem, by Robert T. Barrett

Ezra 1; 3–7; Nehemiah 2; 4–6; 8

In around 586 BC, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and took many Jews captive to Babylon. After several decades of exile, King Cyrus of Persia issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Despite opposition, the Jews rebuilt the temple under Zerubbabel’s leadership and restored the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah’s guidance. Ezra and Nehemiah also helped the Jews renew their commitment to God’s laws and covenant.

Additional Resources

Scripture Helps: Old Testament, “Ezra 1; 3–7; Nehemiah 2; 4–6; 8”

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:

What are some words that come to mind when you think of the temple? For the Israelites who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, the temple was a source of great joy. As you study Ezra 1; 3; and 6, think about how the temple can be a place of joy for you.
What can distract or prevent us from accomplishing God’s will? As you study Nehemiah 1–2; 4; and 6, look for truths from the account of Nehemiah and his people that can help you remain focused on accomplishing God’s work in your life.
How have God’s words in the scriptures affected your life? As you study Nehemiah 8, think about what you can do to make the Lord’s words in the scriptures a greater part of your life.

Questions and Sharing

Provide time for students to ask questions and share insights and truths they discovered in their personal study of Ezra 1; 3–7; Nehemiah 2; 4–6; 8.

Skill Training

The learning activity for Nehemiah 8 might be a helpful place to use the skill “Likening 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

Pray for students by name. Praying for your students by name can help prepare you to receive inspiration to better help individuals in your class come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. To learn more, see “The Savior Prayed for Those He Taught” (in Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 13).

Ezra 1–6

How can worshipping the Lord in the temple be a source of joy in my life?

Consider displaying a picture of a temple such as the one above. Invite students to ponder or write responses to the following questions:

What are some words that come to mind when you think of the temple?
How can the temple bring us closer to God?

Encourage students as they study today to consider how worshipping in the temple can bring them joy.

Explain that about 70 years after the first group of Israelites from the Southern Kingdom of Judah were taken captive to Babylon, the Persian king Cyrus, who had defeated the Babylonians, allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. You could read Cyrus’s declaration in Ezra 1:1–4. (For additional context, see “What is the book of Ezra?” and “Ezra 1:1. Who was Cyrus?” in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.)

Eventually, around 50,000 Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple under the direction of a man named Zerubbabel (see Ezra 2:1–2, 64–65). As a fulfillment of prophecy (see Isaiah 44:28; Jeremiah 29:10), the temple was rebuilt 70 years after it was destroyed.

Invite students to work together in pairs. Have one student read Ezra 3:8–13 while the other reads Ezra 6:14–22. Encourage each student to look for how the people reacted to the building and completion of the temple. After sufficient time, have students summarize what they learned with their partner. You could display questions like the following for them to discuss:

What was meaningful to you about the reactions and feelings of the people?
What can we learn about the house of the Lord from their experience?

Invite a few students to share what they learned with the class. If needed, help them identify a truth like this one: The house of the Lord is a place of joy.

What is it about temples that can help us experience joy?

Consider displaying the following instructions. Give students a few minutes to complete them on their own:

Find one or more scriptures or statements from Church leaders that describe blessings associated with the temple.
Respond to the following question: What in the scriptures or statements you found demonstrates that the house of the Lord is a place of joy?

After sufficient time, invite students to share their answers with a partner or small group. You could also have a few students share their insights with the class. Then consider asking questions like the following:

What are some reasons the temple can be a source of joy for you and others?
What experiences have helped you to feel the joy associated with the temple?

Encourage students to think of ways they can more fully experience the joy of temple worship. They could write down their plans or impressions they receive from the Holy Ghost.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”

Nehemiah 1–6

How can I overcome distractions and opposition to God’s work?

Consider beginning by sharing the following statement by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency.

Before sharing the statement, you could show the story shared by President Uchtdorf in the video “We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down” (time code 1:07 to 3:47).

18:37

Pause for a moment and check where your own heart and thoughts are. Are you focused on the things that matter most? How you spend your quiet time may provide a valuable clue. Where do your thoughts go when the pressure of deadlines is gone? Are your thoughts and heart focused on those short-lived fleeting things that matter only in the moment or on things that matter most? (“We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 60)

Invite students to reflect quietly on how they would personally answer President Uchtdorf’s questions. Encourage them as they study today to pay attention to impressions they receive from the Holy Ghost about how they can place more focus on what matters most.

You or a student could share the following to help students understand the context for what they will study today:

An Israelite named Nehemiah was a servant of Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Many Israelites had returned to Jerusalem years earlier to rebuild the temple after the Babylonian exile. Nehemiah learned that Jerusalem was in danger of attack because the protective walls and gates around Jerusalem were broken down. He asked the king to allow him to travel to Jerusalem and rebuild the city walls, and the king granted his request. (For more context, see “What is the book of Nehemiah?” in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.)

Invite students to read Nehemiah 2:17–20. Have them look for what Nehemiah announced when he came to Jerusalem and how the people there reacted. (It may be helpful to explain that the men mentioned in verse 19 were leaders of other groups who lived near Jerusalem.)

To help students share their insights, consider asking questions like the following:

How did Sanballat and the other local leaders react to Nehemiah’s announcement?
What stands out to you about Nehemiah’s response to the people who opposed him?

Explain that Nehemiah and his group continued to face opposition as they worked to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. You could divide the class into pairs and have each person study one of the following sets of verses:

After students read their assigned passages, invite them to answer the following questions in their groups:

What words or phrases did you find that demonstrated the faith that Nehemiah and his people had in the Lord?
What truths do you learn from their example?

Invite students to share insights from their discussion with the class. They may share various truths, including this one: As we press forward in doing God’s work, He will help us overcome opposition and distraction.

Consider dividing the class into small groups and giving them time to complete the following instructions:

Make a list of distractions or influences we experience today that can prevent us from following the Lord.
Discuss what can make these distractions or influences difficult to overcome.
Discuss how you can seek the Savior’s help in overcoming these distractions or influences.

After sufficient time, invite various students to share insights they had from their group discussions.

If time permits, consider singing together or listening to the hymn “Let Us All Press On” (Hymns, no. 243). Students could look for meaningful words or phrases that can inspire them to persevere despite the opposition or distractions they face. You could have a few students share some of these meaningful words or phrases with the class.

4:39

Encourage students to reflect on things that may be preventing them from fully following the Lord. Invite them to seek inspiration as they write down one way they could exercise more faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to follow Them more fully.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”

Nehemiah 8

How can the word of God affect me?

Begin the learning activity by helping students reflect on the power of the Lord’s words in the scriptures. One way you could do this is by watching the video “Read the Bible” (1:05).

1:12

You could also share the following statement by Elder Michael John U. Teh and discuss the accompanying questions:

I believe that few other activities will bring us greater spiritual benefit than the daily, consistent study of the scriptures.” (Michael John U. Teh, “The Power of the Word of God,” Ensign, Mar. 2013, 52)

What do you think makes the scriptures so powerful?
What recent experiences have helped you feel the power of the word of God?

Encourage students to ponder how they could improve their experience with the scriptures as they study Nehemiah 8.

As needed, you could explain that after the Babylonians conquered the Jews, many of the people were carried captive into Babylon. This period of captivity lasted about 70 years. After King Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BC, he allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. Nehemiah led another group back to Jerusalem in about 444 BC. The Jews who had returned to Jerusalem lived without regular access to the scriptures for many years. (For more context, see “What is the book of Nehemiah?” and “Nehemiah 8:1–12. What was significant about Ezra reading the law to the people?” in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.)

Before beginning the following learning activity, consider introducing the skill “Likening the Scriptures” in Scripture Study Skills. You could then have students practice this skill as they study Nehemiah 8:1–12, looking for words and phrases they could liken to themselves.

Consider showing the following example before giving students time to find their own:

Phrase	Likening
Phrase “And all the people gathered themselves together” (Nehemiah 8:1).	Likening I can gather with others to study the scriptures in places like church, institute, or home with my loved ones.

After students have had sufficient time to study, ask them to share any insights or truths they gained from their study. As they share, they could identify truths like these:

As we gather together to hear the word of the Lord, we can be edified together.
The Holy Ghost, along with inspired teachers, can help us to understand the scriptures.
Studying the word of God increases our gratitude for Him.

To help students think more deeply about the power and importance of the word of God, consider asking questions like the following:

How would your life be different without God’s word in the scriptures? What blessings would you not have?
What advice would you give to someone who wishes to improve their personal scripture study?
What are some scripture passages that help you feel closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Encourage students to create a plan to improve their personal experience with the scriptures. They could share their plan with a partner and offer feedback to help each other. You could follow up on the plans they made in a future class period.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”