After suffering great afflictions, Job defended himself against his friends’ accusations and testified of his Redeemer. Elihu, one of Job’s friends, challenged Job’s claims of innocence. God responded to Job’s pleas and reminded him that He is all-knowing and all-powerful. Job replied humbly and was instructed further about the Lord’s power. The Lord chastised Job’s friends, accepted Job’s repentance, and made the remaining part of Job’s life more prosperous than it was at the beginning.
Job responds to the words of his friends and testifies of his Redeemer
Consider beginning class by singing “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” (Hymns, no. 136). Invite students to look for words and phrases in this hymn that could comfort someone who is facing challenges. Ask a few students to share what they found.
Explain that Job found comfort in his knowledge of the Savior and declared, “I know that my redeemer liveth” (Job 19:25). Invite students, as they continue their study of the book of Job, to look for truths that can help us when we face challenges.
Remind students that Job’s children had died in an accident (see Job 1:18–19) and that he was afflicted with boils (see Job 2:7).
Invite a student to read Job 17:1, 15 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Job said about his condition and how he felt. Invite students to report what they find.
Summarize Job 18 by explaining that after Job mentioned that he might soon die, one of his friends, Bildad, spoke about the state of the wicked who do not know God, implying that Job was also wicked.
Invite a few students to take turns reading aloud from Job 19:1–3, 14, 19–22. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Job said to his friends.
How would you summarize Job’s response to his friends?
You might explain that God did not persecute Job as Job questions in verse 22, but rather God allowed Job to experience trials (see D&C 121:7–8; 122:5–7).
Invite a student to read Job 19:23–27 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Job testified that he knew.
What did Job testify that he knew?
Explain that the phrase “after my skin worms destroy this body” in verse 26 refers to the death and decay of Job’s physical body. Then point out the phrase “yet in my flesh shall I see God.”
How is it possible for Job to see God in his physical body after he dies and his physical body decomposes? (Job was referring to his future resurrection. Job knew that because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, all mankind will be resurrected.)
How can knowing that Jesus Christ has brought about the Resurrection of all mankind help us as we experience trials? (Students may use different words, but they should identify the following truth: Our testimony of the Savior and the Resurrection can give us hope in the midst of our trials. Consider writing this truth on the board.)
Point out that our testimony of the Savior and the Resurrection can give us hope not only when we are confronted with death but also when we experience other challenges. Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency:
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Dallin H. Oaks
“The assurance of resurrection gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love, such things as the physical, mental, or emotional deficiencies we bring with us at birth or acquire during mortal life. Because of the resurrection, we know that these mortal deficiencies are only temporary!” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Resurrection,” Ensign, May 2000, 15).
How can a testimony of the Savior and the Resurrection provide hope to someone who is enduring a challenge?
When have you witnessed someone’s faith and testimony in the Savior and the Resurrection give him or her hope in the midst of a trial? What did you learn from his or her faith?
Remind students that Job desired to record his testimony of the Savior in a way that would last forever (see Job 19:23–24).
Ask students to write in their study journals their testimonies concerning Jesus Christ and the Resurrection. Invite students to share their testimonies of the Savior with the class. You may also want to share your testimony.
Invite students to prayerfully seek opportunities to write down, preserve, and share their testimonies of Jesus Christ with others.
Summarize Job 20–37 by explaining that Job’s friends insisted that the wicked cannot prosper. Job acknowledged that sometimes the wicked do prosper in terms of their worldly possessions, but ultimately the Lord will administer justice on the Day of Judgment. Job told of the ways the Lord had blessed him by allowing him to experience trials. Elihu, another of Job’s friends, spoke out against Job and his other friends because Elihu believed they had not been firm enough with Job and had failed to answer Job’s questions. Elihu also discussed some challenges that are common to all people.
Ask students to roll up a sheet of paper and look through it with one eye while closing their other eye. Invite a few students to explain what difficulties they might experience if they went about their daily activities with their vision limited in this way.
Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Ask the class to listen for some things that might cause us to have a limited perspective.
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Quentin L. Cook
“From the limited perspective of those who do not have knowledge, understanding, or faith in the Father’s plan—who look at the world only through the lens of mortality with its wars, violence, disease, and evil—this life can seem depressing, chaotic, unfair, and meaningless” (Quentin L. Cook, “The Songs They Could Not Sing,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 104).
According to Elder Cook, what can cause us to have a limited perspective? (Viewing earth life and its challenges without knowledge or understanding of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness or faith in that plan.)
Explain that, as recorded in Job 38, the Lord taught Job by asking him many questions. Invite students to consider what the Lord taught Job that gave him a better understanding of Heavenly Father and His plan of happiness.
Ask a student to read Job 38:4–7 aloud, and invite the class to follow along, looking for the questions the Lord asked Job.
How would you summarize the questions the Lord asked Job? (The Lord asked Job to consider where he was when the earth was created and who created the earth, implying that the Lord has all power.)
To help the class understand verse 7, invite a student to read aloud the following statement by President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018). Invite students to follow along, looking for who was among the “sons of God” who “shouted for joy” (Job 38:7).
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Thomas S. Monson
“We lived before our birth into mortality. In our premortal state, we were doubtless among the sons and daughters of God who shouted for joy because of the opportunity to come to this challenging yet necessary mortal existence [see Job 38:7]. We knew that our purpose was to gain a physical body, to overcome trials, and to prove that we would keep the commandments of God” (Thomas S. Monson, “He Is Risen!” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 88).
How does President Monson’s statement help you understand the meaning of verse 7? (After students respond, you may want to suggest that they record the following truth in their scriptures: Before we were born on earth, we lived with Heavenly Father and rejoiced in His plan of happiness.)
How might understanding this truth help us when we face challenges?
Summarize the remainder of Job 38 as well as Job 39–41 by explaining that the Lord illustrated His knowledge and power by asking Job many questions about how He created and still directs the earth, emphasizing the limited knowledge and power of humans.
The Lord blesses Job so that he is more prosperous than when he began
Summarize Job 42:1–9 by explaining that Job acknowledged the Lord’s power, humbled himself, and repented. The Lord chastised Job’s friends and told them to offer a burnt offering as part of their repentance. The Lord also said Job would pray for his friends.
Invite a few students to take turns reading aloud from Job 42:10–17. Ask the class to follow along and look for what Job experienced in the remainder of his life.
How did the Lord bless Job after he remained faithful and endured such great trials?
What principles can we learn from Job’s experience? (As students share the principles they have identified, emphasize the following: If we remain faithful to the Lord in our trials, then He will bless us abundantly according to His will and timeline.)
Invite students to come to the board and list some things we can do to show we are faithful to the Lord during our trials. After students have written a list on the board, you may also want to ask them to give examples of ways the Lord can bless us when we do the things listed on the board.
To help students understand ways the Lord may bless us as we remain faithful in our trials, consider inviting a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Invite the class to listen for ways the Lord may bless those who are faithful to Him during their trials.
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Joseph B. Wirthlin
“The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Come What May, and Love It,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 28).
According to Elder Wirthlin, how can the Lord bless us if we are faithful during our trials?
How have you been blessed as you have remained faithful to the Lord during your trials?
Conclude this lesson by testifying of the truths you have discussed today. Invite students to select from the list on the board one thing they can work on to help them remain faithful during their trials. Encourage them to do the thing they chose.
President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught that Job’s knowledge of the plan of happiness helped Job to find comfort and strength during his trials:
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Henry B. Eyring
“It was the witness of the Spirit of the coming Atonement which saw Job through the tests life is intended to include for all of us. That is part of the great plan of happiness the Father gave us. He allowed His Son to provide, by His atoning sacrifice, the hope that comforts us no matter how hard the way home to Him may be” (Henry B. Eyring, “The Comforter,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 20).
Job 42:12. “The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning”
President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) explained that the trials we experience can be a source of personal growth:
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Spencer W. Kimball
“Is there not wisdom in [God’s] giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?
“If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.
“If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls” (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 97).
Job 42. When we remain faithful to the Lord, He will bless us
Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy taught how individuals have been blessed as a result of remaining faithful to the Lord during trials:
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Paul V. Johnson
“A pattern in the scriptures and in life shows that many times the darkest, most dangerous tests immediately precede remarkable events and tremendous growth. ‘After much tribulation come the blessings’ [D&C 58:4]. The children of Israel were trapped against the Red Sea before it was parted [see Exodus 14:5–30]. Nephi faced danger, anger from his brothers, and multiple failures before he was able to procure the brass plates [see 1 Nephi 3–4]. Joseph Smith was overcome by an evil power so strong that it seemed he was doomed to utter destruction. When he was almost ready to sink into despair, he exerted himself to call upon God, and at that very moment he was visited by the Father and the Son. [See Joseph Smith—History 1:15–17.] Often investigators face opposition and tribulation as they near baptism. Mothers know that the challenges of labor precede the miracle of birth. Time after time we see marvelous blessings on the heels of great trials” (Paul V. Johnson, “More Than Conquerors through Him That Loved Us,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 78–79).