Ezra 1; 3–7; Nehemiah 2; 4–6; 8: Lesson 92

Ezra

Preparing to Attend the House of the Lord

Our level of preparation for important events in our lives can greatly affect the experience we have. Many Israelites were able to experience deep joy after years of physical and spiritual preparation to rebuild and worship in a temple of God. Our Heavenly Father and Savior have also blessed us with opportunities to experience joy by worshipping in the house of the Lord. Our efforts to prepare for that blessing can affect our experience. This lesson can help students feel a greater desire to prepare to worship the Lord in His holy temple.

Student preparation: Invite students to make a list of both short- and long-term things they could do to prepare to worship the Lord in the temple. They could then consider how their preparation can affect their temple experience.

Possible Learning Activities

Looking forward to the temple

You might begin class by inviting students to write on the board some future events they are excited to experience. Examples could include graduation, marriage, and careers. Students could then pick one event from the board and share with a partner one or two things someone could do to prepare for that event.

Consider displaying the following image of the Salt Lake temple when it was nearly ready to be dedicated in the 1890s.

Read the following statement from President Wilford Woodruff (1807–98), looking for something that he had been preparing for and looking forward to for many years.

[At the dedication of the Salt Lake temple] President Wilford Woodruff then arose to address the Saints. “I have looked forward to this day for the last fifty years of my life,” he said. (Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, vol. 2, No Unhallowed Hand, 1846–1893 [2020], 663–64)

• What do you know about temples that may have caused Wilford Woodruff to look forward to the completion of the Salt Lake temple?

  If students did not mention God as they answered the previous question, you could help them make that connection by asking a question like, “What connection do you see between attending the temple and our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?”

  Invite students to write their thoughts about the following questions in their study journal. You may want to explain that taking time to reflect on our current feelings and experiences can help prepare us to learn from the Holy Ghost.

• What are my feelings as I look ahead to attending the temple in the future?

• What am I doing to prepare myself to worship the Lord in His house?

Joy in temple service

Around 605 BC Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and began deporting captive Jews to Babylon. In 587 BC, they destroyed the temple, and the deportations escalated. About 50 years later, Persia conquered Babylon under the command of King Cyrus.

If your students remember a temple being announced in their area, you might remind them of that experience as they read the following verses. Or you might ask students to try to imagine how they will feel if a temple were to be announced in their area.

Read Ezra 1:1–3, looking for what God inspired King Cyrus to do.

• What thoughts and feelings do you think the Jews might have had? Why?

Eventually, around 50,000 Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple under the direction of 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 had been destroyed.

Read Ezra 6:15–16, 22 and mark how the Jews felt when the temple was finally dedicated after many years of hard work and spiritual preparation.

As students continue to study the account of the people in Ezra, invite them to watch for evidence of this truth: As we prepare to worship the Lord in the temple, He will bless us with joy You may want to write this truth on the board.

Help students understand what this truth could look like in a teenager’s life. One way to do this is to invite the class to briefly describe two teenagers: one who simply attends the temple and one who prepares to worship the Lord in the temple.

Before asking the following question, you might invite students to ponder experiences they have had preparing for, or attending, the temple.

• How can worshipping the Lord in the temple bring us joy?

To give students an example of how worshipping the Lord in the temple can bring joy, consider watching the experience of Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy in “Hearts, Love, and the Temple,” available at byui.edu/devotionals from time code 21:46 to 24:05.

After the video, you could invite students to share how our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can be strengthened through temple worship.

Preparing to attend the temple

The following statement can help students transition from learning about the Jews building the temple in Jerusalem to their own preparation to worship in the temple. Students could write or link the statement in their scriptures next to Ezra 6:15–16.

President Russell M. Nelson taught:

In some respects, it is easier to build a temple than it is to build a people prepared for a temple. (“Closing Remarks,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 122–23)

Invite students to share reasons why it might be easier to build a temple than to be prepared to worship the Lord in the temple.

We can learn about preparing to worship the Lord in the temple by studying the Jews’ experience rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem.

The accompanying handout can help students find greater relevance in the book of Ezra to their lives by comparing the Jews’ efforts to build the temple to our preparations to worship the Lord in His temples.

Students could complete the handout in small groups. To do this, each member of the group could complete one or two sections of the handout. They could then share what they learned with their group.

Alternatively, you could cut the handout into sections and place them throughout the classroom. Groups of students could rotate through the classroom and complete each section of the handout, answering the questions in their study journals.

After students have completed the handout, ensure that they have time to discuss insights that stood out to them.

Consider displaying the following questions. Make three columns on the board titled “1,” “2,” and “3.” Invite students to write their name in the column under the question number that they would be willing to answer. Invite volunteers from each column to share their answers with the class.

1. How do you think preparing to attend the Lord’s house can help us experience joy as we attend the temple?

2. How has the Lord blessed you with joy as you have attended the temple?

3. What do you know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that would motivate you to prepare to attend Their holy house?

Consider sharing your witness of the joy we receive from the Lord when we prepare ourselves to worship Him in the temple.

Additional Resources

Why do I need to prepare myself to attend the temple?

President Russell M. Nelson explained:

Inscribed on each temple are the words “holiness to the Lord.” That statement designates both the temple and its purposes as holy. Those who enter the temple are also to bear the attribute of holiness. As temples are prepared for the people, the people need to prepare themselves for the temple. (“Prepare for the Blessings of the Temple,” Liahona, Oct. 2010, 41)

Why is making sacrifices to attend the temple worth it?

President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) explained:

Some degree of sacrifice has ever been associated with temple building and with temple attendance. Countless are those who have labored and struggled in order to obtain for themselves and for their families the blessings which are found in the temples of God.

Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort. (“The Holy Temple—A Beacon to the World,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 92)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Obstacles in building modern-day temples

It might be interesting for students to see some modern-day examples of obstacles the Saints have faced in building temples. To begin, you might watch the experience of Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy in “A Voice of Gladness,” from time code 5:42 to 6:39. Invite students to identify why Satan seeks to stop the building of temples.

You could then share one or more of the following examples to build on what students learned in Ezra 4:4–5, 24.

Read “A Mountain of a Challenge” to see how Saints in American Samoa waited over 40 years to see a temple built in Pago Pago after plans were announced to build a temple there in 1977.

Watch “God Will Use You, God Will Bless You” from time code 5:14 to 12:41. Bishop Dean M. Davies, former member of the Presiding Bishopric, shared how obstacles in building the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple were overcome.

You could then discuss how the joy available in the Lord’s house could have motivated the Saints in their efforts to build the temple.

See ourselves in the temple

One way we can prepare ourselves to attend the temple is to see ourselves in the temple. To help students understand what this means, you could show “See Yourself in the Temple” from Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from time code 3:04 to 3:48.

You could then lead a discussion on what it might mean to see ourselves in the temple. Students could identify ways they can do this. They could then select one thing they want to do better to see themselves in the temple.

Ezra 8: The power of fasting and prayer

Students may benefit from learning about the blessings of fasting and praying from the book of Ezra. To help them do this, consider explaining the following:

More than 60 years after the completion of the temple in Jerusalem, King Artaxerxes of Persia sent a Jewish scribe named Ezra to Jerusalem to appoint government leaders (see Ezra 7:25) and present an offering to beautify the temple. Seeking the Lord’s guidance and protection, Ezra decided that he and his people should fast and pray.

Students could then read Ezra 8:21, 23, 31, looking for what they can learn about the blessings of fasting and praying.

What are some ways the Lord can bless us as we fast and pray?

For additional blessings of fasting, refer students to the doctrinal mastery passage in Isaiah 58:6–7. You could also help students understand what they can do to fast and pray. Consider using the section “Fasting and Fast Offerings” in Topics and Questions in Gospel Library.

What experiences have you had with fasting and praying? What blessings have you received from the Lord?