1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16: Lesson 71

1 Samuel 8

Israel Desires a King

Like many people today, the ancient Israelites struggled with the temptation to fit in with others rather than obeying the Lord. For many years in the promised land, the Lord guided Israel through judges like Samuel. Later in Samuel’s life, the Israelites desired to have a king “like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5) instead of the Lord to reign over them. This lesson can 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.

Possible Learning Activities

Decision-making

To help students think about what influences their decisions, consider writing the following statement on the board. Students could complete the statement and respond to the accompanying questions as a class or in small groups.

Some teenagers want to because “everybody else is doing it.”

• What challenges might a teenager experience if that is their reason for doing things?

• How could that reason for doing things affect their relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Give students an opportunity to reflect on how peer pressure may be influencing their lives. One way to do this is to give students the following instructions and display the scale.

Think about what influences the decisions you make in your life. Draw the following scale in your study journal. Draw a small stick figure of yourself that represents where you would place yourself on the scale.

To help students recognize what may be influencing specific decisions in their lives, they or you could provide examples of decisions they are facing. Possible examples include the way they dress, entertainment and media choices, and how they spend their time. You could share these examples one at a time and invite students to draw additional stick figures on the scale for each example.

Invite students to seek the influence of the Holy Ghost as they ponder their own decisions while studying 1 Samuel 8.

A king “like all the nations”

For many years in the promised land, the Lord guided the Israelites through judges like Samuel. As Samuel grew older, the elders of Israel came to him with a request.

Read 1 Samuel 8:4–7, looking for how the children of Israel might have finished the statement from the beginning of the lesson.

• What did the children of Israel want?

• Why do you think their reasons for wanting a king would displease Samuel?

It may seem surprising that the Lord would tell Samuel to listen to the poor choice of his people (see verse 7). Heavenly Father honors agency and will not force us to choose the right. Yet, before the Israelites made their final decision, the Lord loved them enough to warn them through Samuel of the consequences of their choice (see 1 Samuel 8:9).

One way you can help students see how the scriptures illustrate gospel truths is by writing a truth on the board. Then have students search a scripture passage, looking for evidence of that truth.

Consider displaying the following truth on the board. Students could read the accompanying verses with a partner, pausing after every couple of verses to discuss what they find.

Choosing to follow the world instead of the Lord’s loving counsel will lead to suffering and regret.

As you study 1 Samuel 8:10–18, look for words or phrases that help teach this truth.

As students answer the following questions, remind them to not share names or specific details about individuals they personally know. Examples could come from their life, the lives of others, or from accounts in the scriptures or Church history.

• What examples have you seen when choosing to follow the world has led to suffering or regret?

• How have you seen choosing to follow Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ lead to joy and a stronger relationship with Them?

To help students see the importance of following Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ instead of worldly influences, you could show Elder Randall K. Bennett’s October 2011 conference talk “Choose Eternal Life,” available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 0:00 to 2:08. Elder Bennett shares the consequences he suffered because he ignored warnings.

Then you could show the same video from time code 5:08 to 6:43 as Elder Bennett teaches how his experience can apply to the currents in the world we may be tempted to follow and how we can avoid them.

Choosing the Lord instead of worldly pressures

The following activity can help students discover counsel the Lord has given to protect them from giving in to temptations they may feel pressured to do or believe. You could have students work in small groups to complete steps 1 and 2. They could then complete step 3 on their own.

Display the following instructions.

1. Choose something that teenage members of the Church around you might feel pressure to do or believe.

2. Use the scriptures, scripture study helps, For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices, or the Gospel Library app to answer the following questions about the pressure you selected:

   1. What counsel has the Lord given us about this?

   2. What blessings has the Lord promised to people who choose Him over worldly influences?

3. Think about what you believe about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Write a couple of sentences about how this knowledge can help you follow Them instead of worldly pressures.

After sufficient time, provide students an opportunity to share with others what they learned from their study.

Demonstrate understanding

This section is designed to give students an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of what they have learned today.

Read 1 Samuel 8:19–22, looking for how Israel responded to the Lord’s warnings about their desire to have a king.

• From what you have learned today, what would you want to tell the Israelites before they made their final choice?

It will be helpful for future lessons for students to know that the Lord honored the Israelites’ agency and instructed Samuel to call Saul as King of Israel (see 1 Samuel 9–10).

Additional Resources

How can we overcome the pressures and voices of the world?

President Russell M. Nelson explained:

The voices and pressures of the world are engaging and numerous. But too many voices are deceptive, seductive, and can pull us off the covenant path. To avoid the inevitable heartbreak that follows, I plead with you today to counter the lure of the world by making time for the Lord in your life—each and every day. (“Make Time for the Lord,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 120)

For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices teaches:

[Heavenly Father] knows you can make a difference in the world, and that requires, in many cases, being different from the world. Seek your Heavenly Father’s guidance as you make choices. He will bless you with inspiration through the Holy Ghost. (“For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices” [2022], 4)

What are the consequences of ignoring the Lord’s counsel?

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

The Book of Mormon frequently reminds us of the consequences of yielding to our carnal nature at the expense of following our Savior. When we do so, our actions inevitably lead to despair, bondage, suffering, and regret.

God has given us the precious gift of being free to choose how we think and how we act. We can reject the words of God or His prophets. We might even think our way is better. This might seem pleasant to us—at least in the beginning. It might even feel good for a time. But we never can escape the consequences of our decisions. (“Avoiding Lighthouses and Searching for Light,” For the Strength of Youth, June 2022, 5)

Why did the Lord tell Samuel to listen to the people and give them a king?

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) explained:

Sometimes [God] temporarily grants to men their unwise requests in order that they might learn from their own sad experiences. Some refer to this as the “Samuel principle.” …

Sometimes in our attempts to mimic the world, and contrary to the prophet’s counsel, we run after the world’s false educational, political, musical, and dress ideas. New worldly standards take over, a gradual breakdown occurs, and finally, after much suffering, a humble people are ready to be taught once again a higher law. (“Jesus Christ—Gifts and Expectations,” New Era, May 1975, 17–18)

Supplemental Learning Activities

1 Samuel 8:20: What Jesus Christ does for us

It could be helpful for students to recognize how the Lord already does for us what the Israelites hoped their new king would do for them in 1 Samuel 8:20. You could write three headings on the board: Jesus Christ is our Judge, Jesus Christ leads us, and Jesus Christ fights our battles. Students could then choose one of the headings and identify scriptures or share personal experiences that support it.

If students need help, you could provide some of the following scriptures:

Jesus Christ is our Judge: Isaiah 33:22; Doctrine and Covenants 64:10–11

Jesus Christ leads us: Exodus 13:18; Isaiah 48:17; Alma 36:28

Jesus Christ fights our battles: Joshua 23:10; 2 Chronicles 20:15; Doctrine and Covenants 105:14

1 Samuel 9: Our divine identity

Students can feel the importance of their identity as children of God by comparing Saul’s feelings about himself to how the Lord viewed him. To do this, students could read 1 Samuel 9:21 to see how Saul felt about himself when Samuel called him to be the king of Israel. Invite students to read 1 Samuel 9:2 and identify phrases that may indicate how the Lord viewed Saul.

Consider giving students a few minutes to ponder how they might view themselves differently than the way their Heavenly Father and Savior view them. To do this, students could write their response to the following:

• How can viewing myself from an eternal perspective help me see my divinity as a child of God?

Additionally, you could watch “It Works Wonderfully” from time code 12:25 to 14:48. Invite students to record any impressions that come to them as they listen to President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency.

1 Samuel 9: The seership of Samuel

Students may benefit from learning more about prophetic seership by looking at how the Lord used His seer, Samuel, in calling Saul to be Israel’s king. Explain that Saul’s father, Kish, had sent Saul and a servant to find his lost animals. After having no success finding them, the servant suggested they visit Samuel, “the seer” and “man of God” (1 Samuel 9:8–11), for help. You might remind students that members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators.

Students could read 1 Samuel 9:14–24, looking for evidence of Samuel’s role as the Lord’s seer. Students could then discuss how prophets and apostles serve as seers in our day.

Consequences of our choices

Consider showing one of the following videos to help students understand the consequences that result from following worldly pressures or following the Lord. They could be used after students finish the activity in the “Choosing the Lord instead of worldly pressures” section of the lesson.

“Leave the Party” (6:26). Students could identify the differences in consequences these young people received based on who they chose to follow.

“Life’s Lessons Learned,” from time code 6:15 to 8:00. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared about a choice he made and the consequences he avoided because of it.

Students could discuss possible consequences Elder Wirthlin may have faced had he made a different decision.