1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16

1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16

Overview

The Israelites wanted to have a king “like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5) instead of having the Lord reign over them. After their first king, Saul, disobeyed the prophet Samuel’s counsel, the Lord chose David as the next king of Israel. Through this experience, Samuel learned that unlike how we tend to see and judge each other, the Lord looks on our hearts.

Prepare yourself spiritually. When teachers humbly prepare themselves and the learning activities for their students, the Holy Ghost can guide their preparation. For more on how the Savior prepared Himself to teach, see “The Savior Prepared Himself Spiritually to Teach” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way [2022], 16–17).

For training on inviting the Spirit to refine your preparations to teach, see the skill “Use the document ‘Improving as a Christlike Teacher—A Personal Evaluation’ to invite the Holy Ghost to help you refine your preparations to teach” in Teacher Development Skills.

Prepare to teach

The following information provides you with ideas of what you may need to prepare in advance for each lesson.

1 Samuel 8

Lesson purpose: To help students understand the importance of choosing to follow Jesus Christ instead of worldly influences.

• Student preparation: Invite students to make a list of any peer pressures that they face to disobey standards and commandments of the Lord. Invite students to ponder the difference it would make in their lives to follow Jesus Christ instead of giving in to those pressures.

• Image: A line chart to help students ponder whether Jesus Christ or the world is the strongest influence on their decision making

• Video: “Choose Eternal Life” (10:09) from time code 0:00 to 2:08 and from time code 5:08 to 6:43

• Content to display: Instructions for activity in the “Choosing the Lord instead of worldly pressures” section

1 Samuel 15

Lesson purpose: To help students understand the importance of striving to obey all of God’s commandments.

• Student preparation: Invite students to think of reasons people might have for choosing to disobey God’s commandments. Students could record their list in a note on their phone or write it on a small piece of paper. Invite students to bring their lists to class.

• Items to display: Several kinds of food (or pictures of several kinds of food)

• Videos: “Face the Future with Faith” (14:29) from time code 5:16 to 6:07; “Honesty: You Better Believe It!” (4:46); “The Love of God” (13:11) from time code 7:58 to 8:48

• Content to display: Instructions for activities at the end of the lesson

1 Samuel 16

Lesson purpose: To help students feel the importance of seeing themselves and others like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do.

• Student preparation: Invite students to read 1 Samuel 16:7. Ask them to list next to the verse differences between what others sometimes value in people and what Heavenly Father values in us.

• Items to display: Two identical items in contrasting packages or items of different value in two identical packages

• Content to display: Self-reflection prompts toward the beginning of the lesson; statements from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Sister Michelle D. Craig; journal instructions at the end of the lesson

• Video: “Our True Identity” (3:39)