Amos; Obadiah; Jonah: Lesson 151

Jonah

“Thou Art a Gracious God, and Merciful”

The Lord extended His arms of mercy toward Jonah and the people of Nineveh, despite the great mistakes they made. As we recognize that this same love and mercy is extended toward us, we too can exclaim that the Lord is “a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (Jonah 4:2). This lesson can help students feel the Lord’s love and mercy for them and for others.

Student preparation: Invite students to study the story of Jonah with their family or review it on their own and ponder what they feel is its main message. They could also come up with questions or insights from their study.

This invitation is an example of helping students connect what they are learning at home with their study in class. This can help students deepen their learning about the scripture and the Savior. For additional training on connecting what students are learning at home with their experience in the classroom see “Develop and ask questions that help learners connect what they have learned in their personal and family scripture study to the classroom experience” in Teacher Development Skills.

Possible Learning Activities

Our perception

Consider beginning class by drawing the following scale on the board with the accompanying words on the sides. As you ask students how others might see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, you could place a few different lines in different places on the scale to represent their responses.

Imagine this scale represents how someone could see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

• Why may some people see Them as loving, merciful, and kind while others do not?

To help students assess how they perceive Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, consider inviting them to reflect on the following.

Ponder where on the line you would place your view of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Consider why you chose that place on the line.

Now imagine this scale represents how you think about or treat others.

• What are reasons we might treat some people one way and other people in a completely different way?

As you study the story of Jonah, seek the Holy Ghost to help you see the true nature of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Consider how what you learn about Them can affect the way you see, think about, or treat others.

The story of Jonah

It may be helpful to explain that Jonah lived in Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam II (see 2 Kings 13–15, especially 14:25). The prophets Amos and Hosea also prophesied around this time. You may want to display an image that provides an overview of the Old Testament and invite students to find Jonah.

Read Jonah 1:1–3, looking for the Lord’s instructions to Jonah and how Jonah responded.

Consider explaining that Ninevah was a major city of the Assyrians. The Assyrian kings and soldiers were known for their brutality, such as torturing and murdering the people they conquered.

You could also explain that Tarshish might be in present-day Spain, indicating that Jonah left Israel and traveled in the opposite direction of Ninevah. You may want to display a map for students and have them locate Nineveh and Tarshish.

• What does Jonah’s response indicate to you about how he felt about the Lord’s instructions to preach to the people of Nineveh?

To help students study Jonah’s account, you could invite them to complete the handout “The Story of Jonah” individually, in pairs, or in small groups. Alternatively, you could provide students with only the scripture passages from the handout and invite them to sketch a simple illustration and write summary of each passage.

After giving students time to complete the exercise, invite them to ask questions they have or share insights they gained from studying this account.

If needed, explain that Jonah 4 shows that although Jonah was grateful the Lord was merciful and forgiving toward him, he resented these attributes when the Lord showed them to the people of Nineveh. The Lord taught Jonah that the people of Nineveh were of great value to Him, much more than a gourd.

Consider writing the following incomplete truths on the board. Invite students to complete the truths using what they just learned from the story of Jonah.

The Lord is …

To become like the Lord, we must …

Consider completing the statements on the board with words or phrases the students share, such as:

The Lord is merciful, kind, and forgiving.

To become like the Lord, we must be merciful, kind, and forgiving as He is.

You could invite students to share specific examples from Jonah’s account that illustrate these truths. They could also share why they feel the words or phrases they chose are important for them to know.

• Why can it be difficult for us at times to love or be merciful toward others?

• How can learning about the Lord’s mercy and love affect the way we see, think about, or treat others?

Becoming as the Lord

Students may have identified other truths than those listed above. If they did, consider ways to deepen students’ understanding of the truths they identified. The following activities can help students better understand both above truths and feel the love of the Lord for them and others.

You could organize students into pairs and have each student complete one of the activities individually. They could then teach each other what they found. Or partners could complete the same activity and share with each other what they learn.

Choose one of the following scenarios:

Scenario A. Imagine you have a friend who feels Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are cruel, unmerciful, or unforgiving.

Scenario B. Imagine you have a friend who struggles to be merciful, kind, or forgiving toward someone else.

Do the following:

1. Find a verse from the story of Jonah that you would share with your friend. (You could also find additional scripture passages that might help.)

2. Think of an experience that may help. For scenario A: consider when the Lord has shown love or mercy toward you or someone you know. For scenario B: consider when the Lord helped you or someone you know show love or mercy toward others.

Some examples of additional scriptures that could help include the following: for scenario A: Isaiah 1:18 or Ether 12:27; for scenario B: Moroni 7:45–48 or Doctrine and Covenants 64:9–11.

Willing students could then explain to the class which verse or verses they would share with their friend and why. They could also share their experiences. Students’ answers could invite the Holy Ghost to help them feel the Lord’s love for them and for others.

If time permits, consider showing a video that demonstrates the Lord’s love and mercy, such as “Moving On from Past Mistakes” (3:43), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Invite students to look for how the Lord demonstrated love and mercy toward Rachel after she made a mistake as a teenager.

What did you learn?

To help students see and feel the Lord’s love and mercy for them and for others, consider inviting them to draw something in their study journal that could remind them of the story of Jonah, such as a whale or a large plant. They could then write their answer to one of the questions below, inside, or next to their drawing.

Consider answering one of the following questions in your study journal:

• What did you learn today that helps you feel that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are merciful, kind, and forgiving?

• What did you experience today that helps you feel Their love for those you may struggle to love or forgive?

Additional Resources

What can help me understand Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s true nature?

Elder Robert M. Daines of the Seventy testified:

As President Nelson taught, “The more you learn about the Savior, the easier it will be to trust in His mercy, His infinite love.” And the more you will trust and love your Heavenly Father.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has taught us that Jesus came to show “us who and what God our Eternal Father is like, how completely devoted He is to His children in every age and nation.”

Paul says God is “the Father of [all] mercies, and the God of all comfort.”

If you see Him differently, please keep trying. (“Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus,” Liahona, Nov. 2023, 14)

How should we act when we see God blessing others, especially when we feel they don’t deserve it?

Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. of the Seventy explained:

Heavenly Father’s love for all His children is unbounded, and there is no need to resent that love when it is manifested in the lives of others. There is plenty of love for us, and we share more fully in that love as we not only celebrate the return of the prodigal but also assist as many as possible to return to the fold “safe and sound” (Luke 15:27). (“He Ran, and Fell on His Neck, and Kissed Him,” Ensign or Liahona, Jan. 2015, 47)

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

There are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those. (“The Laborers in the Vineyard,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 31)

Because God is so merciful and loving, do I really need to repent?

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Because God’s love is all-embracing, some speak of it as “unconditional,” and in their minds they may project that thought to mean that God’s blessings are “unconditional” and that salvation is “unconditional.” They are not. Some are wont to say, “The Savior loves me just as I am,” and that is certainly true. But He cannot take any of us into His kingdom just as we are, “for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence” (see Moses 6:57). Our sins must first be resolved. (“The Love of God,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 16)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Visualization of the account of Jonah

If helpful for your students, consider showing “Jonah the Prophet” (2:30). This video can help your students visualize the account of Jonah before or after they complete the handout.

A modern-day example of Jonah

In place of the video in the section “Becoming as the Lord,” you could share a story from the article “It’s Not Too Late for a Second Chance”. This article includes the account of a young woman who lost all hope of ever succeeding in school but received comfort and hope through her father. After sharing the story, you could ask students to share how the father in the story is like our Heavenly Father. They then could share personal experiences of when they felt Heavenly Father demonstrate mercy or love in their lives.

Showing love and mercy to others

In place of the video in the “Becoming as the Lord” section, consider showing the video “President Uchtdorf: Forgiveness” (3:40). This video can be used to help students see the importance of being as merciful and forgiving as the Lord is with us. Students could watch the video thinking about someone they may struggle to like or forgive.

Jonah 2. Experiencing the Lord’s mercy through repentance

If you think students could benefit from spending more time discussing the importance of repentance, you could invite students to study Jonah 2:1–10 in pairs. They could look for phrases in Jonah’s prayer that indicate Jonah’s sincere desire to repent.

You could ask students what evidence from Jonah’s account indicates the Lord forgave him because he repented. You could then help students identify other examples from scriptures where individuals experienced the Lord’s mercy through sincere repentance.