Prepare your mind and heart to learn. As you prayerfully study the scriptures, you can learn through the Spirit and receive personal revelation that meets your needs and circumstances.
Begin your study with prayer.
What are some of your strengths and weaknesses? Can you identify some of each?
As you listen to President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, look for an ability that is necessary for our spiritual development. You can read the text for this video here: “Lord, Is It I?” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 56–57, 58.
What are some of the great things David did in his life? What are some of the sinful things David did in his life?
David “was guilty of grave crimes; but … he was capable of true contrition and was therefore able to find forgiveness, except in the murder of Uriah. As a consequence David is still unforgiven, but he received a promise that the Lord would not leave his soul in hell. …Because of his transgressions, he has fallen from his exaltation (D&C 132:39). …
“… [David] paid, and is paying, a heavy price for his disobedience to the commandments of God” (Bible Dictionary, “David”).
David’s sincere remorse for these sins is recorded in Psalm 51. David’s humility and heartfelt desire to receive God’s forgiveness and acceptance demonstrate the attitude of one who is seeking to truly repent.
As you study Psalm 51, consider what lessons you can learn about repentance and about the Lord from David’s pleas for forgiveness.
1. Read Psalm 51:1–4, 9–17, looking for how David sought to repent and to receive forgiveness for his sins.
How did David demonstrate the attitude of one who is seeking to truly repent?
According to Psalm 51:1–2, 16–17, what did David know about God that motivated him to seek forgiveness?
What truth can you identify from Psalm 51:17 about what we must offer in order for the Savior to make us clean?
A Broken and Contrite Heart
A truth you may have identified from Psalm 51:17 is that if we acknowledge our sins and offer the Savior a broken and contrite heart, then He can make us clean.
Read the following statement by Elder Bruce D. Porter (1952–2016) of the Seventy, looking for what Elder Porter teaches about having a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
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Bruce D. Porter
“Those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit are willing to do anything and everything that God asks of them, without resistance or resentment. We cease doing things our way and learn to do them God’s way instead. In such a condition of submissiveness, the Atonement can take effect and true repentance can occur” (“A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 32).
How can we tell if we have a broken heart and a contrite spirit?
How can a flashlight, a GPS, a map, and a lighthouse each provide someone with guidance or direction?
As you study Psalm 119, look for what can help give spiritual guidance and direction for our lives.
Psalm 119 is a poem containing eight verses of scripture for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Read Psalm 119:1–3, and look for what the Psalmist said makes a person blessed. The word blessed in these verses means happy, and the word undefiled in verse 1 means to be pure or free from sin.
What do you think it means to “walk in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 119:1)?
The writer of Psalm 119 used symbols to describe his love for the word of God and also the blessings that can come through diligently studying and obeying His words.
Quiz 1
Match the verse on the left to the symbol on the right that the Psalmist compared to the word of God.
In Psalm 119:105, the Psalmist compared the word of the Lord to “a lamp unto [our] feet, and a light unto [our] path.” In other words, this verse teaches that as we study the word of God, we can receive guidance for our lives. You may want to record this truth in your scriptures next to Psalm 119:105 or in your Notes on LDS.org.
When has the word of God been like a lamp or a light to you, giving guidance for your life? Write about your experience, and consider sharing Psalm 119:105 and your experience with your family or friends or on social media.
A friend says to you, “Having a family seems like a burden that would prevent me from doing other important things with my life. When I get older, I think I would be much happier if I did not have children.”
What are some priorities people might put ahead of having children? Psalm 127 teaches some of the Lord’s views on having children.
Read Psalm 127:3–5, looking for what these verses teach about children. The word heritage in verse 3 refers to an inheritance, possession, or gift from the Lord. The word quiver in verse 5 refers to a case for holding arrows.
What truths can you identify from these verses about children?
Gifts from the Lord
One truth we can identify from Psalm 127:3–5 is that children are gifts from the Lord and can bring parents great happiness.
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles discussed the joy of parenthood. Look for how remembering that children are gifts from the Lord can influence our attitude toward having and rearing children.
You can read the text for this video here: “Children,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 28, 30–31.
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles discussed the joy of parenthood. Look for how remembering that children are gifts from the Lord can influence our attitude toward having and rearing children.
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Neil L. Andersen
“It is a crowning privilege of a husband and wife who are able to bear children to provide mortal bodies for [the] spirit children of God. We believe in families, and we believe in children. …
“… My daughters recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother (not of our faith) with five children. She commented: ‘[Growing] up in this culture, … children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. … ’ She then adds: ‘Motherhood is not a hobby. … You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for’ [Rachel Jankovic, “Motherhood Is a Calling (and Where Your Children Rank),” July 14, 2011, desiringgod.org]. …
“Families are central to God’s eternal plan. I testify of the great blessing of children and of the happiness they will bring us in this life and in the eternities” (Neil L. Andersen, “Children,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 28, 31).
During this lesson you may have received impressions about the importance of seeking forgiveness, being led by the scriptures, or raising children. You may want to write those thoughts down in a personal journal or in your Notes on LDS.org.
As you act on these impressions, you will receive blessings that Heavenly Father desires you to have and that will help you become more like Him.
Hold out both hands in front of you, and then bring your hands together into a tight clasp. Which doctrinal mastery scripture passage could this action represent?
Read Genesis 2:24. The action described in the previous section can help you remember the content of this verse. For example, the hands could represent a husband and wife, and bringing the hands together could represent cleaving together. Two hands could also remind you of Genesis 2.
