Deuteronomy 6–8; 15, 18; 29–30; 34: Lesson 59

Deuteronomy 6:6–25; 7:1–26; 8:1–20

“Thou Shalt Remember the Lord Thy God”

After years of being guided and protected by God through the wilderness, the Israelites were about to settle in their promised land. Though arriving at their new home would be a welcomed change, comfort could also tempt them to forget God. Through Moses, the Lord taught the Israelites how important it would be for them to remember what He had done for them. This lesson is intended to help students increase their desire to remember what God has done for them.

Student preparation: Invite students to think of five things they feel the Lord has done for them in the past week. Invite them to reflect on how noticing what the Lord is doing for them can bless their life.

Possible Learning Activities

It can be easy to “forget the Lord”

Consider beginning class by discussing the temptation to forget God when things are going well in our lives. One way to do this is to show pictures such as the following and ask the questions below.

• In which of these situations might people be more likely to remember and rely on God? Why?

• Why might it be more difficult to remember God and rely on Him when life is going well for us?

• Why is it important to remember God in all circumstances?

Invite students to finish the following sentences in their study journal.

Thinking specifically about your relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, complete the following statements:

When things are going well in my life, I tend to .

When things are going poorly in my life, I tend to .

Encourage students to seek the Spirit to help them better understand the value of remembering Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and what They have done for them.

Remembering the Lord

Consider reading or summarizing the following paragraph to help students understand what was happening in the Israelites’ lives in the book of Deuteronomy.

After leading the children of Israel for 40 years in the wilderness, the Lord was ready to bring them over the Jordan River into the promised land. Since leaving Egypt, the Israelites had depended on the Lord for food, water, and protection. The Israelites had now become a mighty army, and the promised land had many natural resources that would make their lives much more comfortable.

Consider inviting students to read the following verses and discuss the questions below with partners or in small groups.

Read Deuteronomy 4:7–9; 6:10–13; and 8:7–14, looking for a repeated warning Moses gave the Israelites.

• Why do you think Moses was worried about this?

• Why do you think Moses’s counsel is still needed by members of the Savior’s Church today?

If needed, help students see that Moses was worried that prosperity would cause the Israelites to forget God.

Display the following statement for students to refer to as they identify bolded truths.

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained why Heavenly Father wants us to remember Him and His Son.

Our Heavenly Father wants us to recall His and His Beloved Son’s goodness, not for Their own gratification but for the influence such remembrance has on us. By considering Their kindness, our perspective and understanding are enlarged. By reflecting on Their compassion, we become more humble, prayerful, and steadfast. …

Every time we use, benefit from, or even think of these gifts, we ought to consider the sacrifice, generosity, and compassion of the givers. Reverence for the givers does more than just make us grateful. Reflecting on Their gifts can and should transform us. (“Consider the Goodness and Greatness of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 41–42)

• What stands out to you from Elder Renlund’s statement?

  Based on what stands out to them, invite students to complete the following statement in their journals:

  By remembering the goodness of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, …

  Students might come up with several ways to complete the statement. Some examples include:

  … our perspective and understanding are enlarged.

  … we become more humble, prayerful, and steadfast.

  … we can be transformed (or changed).

  You may want to list students’ answers on the board. Make sure students understand the meaning of these blessings. One way to do this is to ask what it looks like to receive these blessings. For example, what might it look like to be prayerful or to be more steadfast?

• Why do you think remembering the Lord leads to such significant blessings?

• How have you experienced any of the truths that Elder Renlund shared?

Remembering the Lord can help us face challenges

To obtain the promised land, the Israelites faced a challenge. The Lord told them they would have to defeat mightier nations (Deuteronomy 7:1). Knowing that the nations were mightier than they were might have made many of the Israelites nervous.

To help students relate the scriptures to their own lives, consider asking them to list on the board situations that they are facing or will face that they know they need the Lord’s help with.

Read Deuteronomy 7:17–21; 8:2–4, 15 to see what the Lord wanted the Israelites to remember as they dealt with future challenges.

• How could remembering what the Lord has done in the past be helpful when facing challenges in the future?

You might invite students to list situations when they know the Lord helped them or others in the past. If you invited students to do the student preparation, this could be a good opportunity to ask them what the Lord has done for them in the past week.

Ask students to share how remembering what the Lord has done in the past can help them as they face current and future difficulties.

How we can remember the Lord

To help students feel the value of remembering Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and to see one way to help us remember Them, consider showing the video “O Remember, Remember” (1:28) found on Gospel Library. You could invite students to look for what President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency did to see the Lord’s hand and the results that followed.

• What effect might it have on you to see God’s hand in your daily life?

To conclude, consider inviting students to write one or two ways they could better remember Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and invite Their blessings into their lives.

Additional Resources

What distractions can cause us to forget God?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency shared:

[T]he challenge to remember has always been the hardest for those who are blessed abundantly. Those who are faithful to God are protected and prospered. That comes as the result of serving God and keeping His commandments. But with those blessings comes the temptation to forget their source. It is easy to begin to feel the blessings were granted not by a loving God on whom we depend but by our own powers. …

Sadly, prosperity is not the only reason people forget God. It can also be hard to remember Him when our lives go badly. When we struggle, as so many do, in grinding poverty or when our enemies prevail against us or when sickness is not healed, the enemy of our souls can send his evil message that there is no God or that if He exists He does not care about us. Then it can be hard for the Holy Ghost to bring to our remembrance the lifetime of blessings the Lord has given us from our infancy and in the midst of our distress. (“O Remember, Remember,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 67–68)

What else can we do to remember God?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught:

The key to … remembering … is receiving the Holy Ghost as a companion. It is the Holy Ghost who helps us see what God has done for us. It is the Holy Ghost who can help those we serve to see what God has done for them. (“O Remember, Remember,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 68)

Milton Camargo of the Sunday School General Presidency stated:

By partaking of the sacrament, we declare that we do “always remember him.” The word always is so significant. It extends the Savior’s influence into every part of our lives. We don’t remember Him only at church or only during our morning prayers or only when we’re in trouble and we need something.

Yes, we sometimes get distracted. We forget. We lose our focus. But renewing our covenants means that we want to always remember the Savior, that we will try to do so throughout the week, and that we will recommit and refocus on Him again at the sacrament table next week. (“Focus on Jesus Christ,” Liahona, May 2023, 65)

How did the Savior exemplify remembering God?

President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared:

Jesus’s entire being, His complete purpose and delight, were centered in pleasing His Father and obeying His will. Of Him He seemed always to be thinking; to Him He seemed always to be praying. Unlike us, He needed no crisis, no discouraging shift in events to direct His hopes heavenward. He was already instinctively, longingly looking that way. (“The Hands of the Fathers,” Ensign, May 1999, 14–15)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternative way to begin class

In place of showing pictures, you could begin class by asking students, “What are some circumstances that cause a lot of people to remember their need for God in their lives?”

You could then discuss why people are more likely to turn to God in those moments as well as less likely to turn to Him in other moments.

One way the Israelites sought to remember God

To add to the conversation about how to remember the Lord, you may want to do the following.

Display the following images. Then ask students to read Deuteronomy 6:5–9, looking for what the Lord commanded the Israelites to do. You could then read or summarize the following paragraphs in your own words.

According to the Lord’s instructions in these verses, the Israelites were to always keep the Lord’s words in their minds, hearts, and doorposts of their homes. Jewish communities developed customs centered around this. One custom involves writing scripture passages on pieces of parchment placed in small leather boxes called tefillin, or phylacteries. These boxes are worn over the forehead and on the inside of the biceps of the nondominant arm, with the box pointed toward the heart.

Another custom involves writing several scripture passages on parchment placed in a small container called a mezuzah, which hangs on the right side of the doorframe of a home. Many people of the Jewish faith still recite scriptures (which include Deuteronomy 6:4–5), known as the Shema, daily as part of an evening and a morning prayer.

• How can we remember the Lord’s word in our homes?

• How can we keep His word in our minds and hearts when outside our homes?

• How can your efforts to consistently remember the Lord affect your actions?

Possible scenario to deepen understanding

You might use the following scenario or one you create to help students better understand ways to remember the goodness of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Students could work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to answer the questions.

Josh enjoys attending church on Sunday with his family. But he is so busy with school, work, and sports that he often goes the rest of the week without consciously thinking about Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ. He rarely recognizes the blessings They have given him.

• How could remembering Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ help Josh as he deals with his busy life?

• What helps you remember Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that you would suggest to Josh?