Those who treasure up the word of God will recognize the signs of Christ’s coming and will gather with the elect (see Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:37; see also D&C 84:54–58).
Invite several students to take turns reading Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:22–37 aloud while the rest of the class follows along. Ask students to list as many signs of the Second Coming as they can find. Then ask them to write 1, 2, or 3 next to each of the signs on their lists, depending on which of the following categories each sign belongs to: (1) signs that have already been completely fulfilled, (2) signs that are in the process of being fulfilled, and (3) signs that have not yet begun to be fulfilled. Invite a few students to share their lists with the class. Invite students to share their feelings about living in the last days. Display the following statement by President Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and invite a student to read it aloud:
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Boyd K. Packer
“Teenagers … sometimes think, ‘What’s the use? The world will soon be blown all apart and come to an end.’ That feeling comes from fear, not from faith. … Everything that I have learned from the revelations and from life convinces me that there is time and to spare for you to carefully prepare for a long life” (Boyd K. Packer, “To Young Women and Men,” Ensign, May 1989, 59).
Invite students to share what they think makes living on the earth at this time a privilege and an opportunity.
Ask a student to read Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:22 aloud. Then display the following statement by Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and invite a student to read it aloud:
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Bruce R. McConkie
“What are false prophets? They are teachers and preachers who profess to speak for the Lord when, in fact, they have received no such appointment. …
“False prophets are false teachers; they teach false doctrine; they neither know nor teach the doctrines of salvation. Rather, they have followed cunningly devised fables that they suppose make up the gospel of Christ, and they preach them as such. They are the ministers who proclaim a false way of salvation, the expounders of doctrines that are not of God, and the proclaimers of every man-made system of religion on earth. They are the political leaders … who lead men to accept freedom-destroying systems. They are the philosophers and sages who seek to explain God, existence, right and wrong, agency, immortality, and other religious concepts without reference to revelation. They are all of the political and religious leaders who proclaim philosophies and doctrines that lead men away from God and the salvation he offers to men” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man [1982], 70–71).
Ask students how we can know the difference between true and false prophets and how we can avoid being deceived by false prophets.
Invite a student to read Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:23, 28–29 aloud, and then ask students to make a list of some of the wars that have been fought in the past one hundred years. What rumored or impending wars are there in the world today? Why will wars and rumors of war precede the Second Coming (see 1 Nephi 22:13–14; 3 Nephi 6:20–30)?
Show students a map of the world and ask them to identify nations and lands where the gospel is currently being preached and places where the gospel is not yet being taught. Which nations have recently (in the past several years) been opened for the preaching of the gospel? Discuss events that have occurred to prepare the way for these nations to be opened for the preaching of the gospel and what it may take for all nations to become open.
Invite a student to read Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:31 aloud. Discuss with students what they think will make the difference when it is decided who will be saved with the righteous and who will be destroyed with the wicked at the Second Coming. Ask students to search Isaiah 13:6–11; Malachi 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9; 1 Nephi 22:14–16, 23; Doctrine and Covenants 29:9, 17; 45:49–50; 133:63, 71 and list what the Lord has said will make the difference. Invite a few students to take turns reading 2 Nephi 26:8; 3 Nephi 9:10–13; 10:12, 14 aloud. Note how listening to and following the Lord’s living prophets becomes a matter of life and death—physically as well as spiritually. Encourage students to examine their lives and prepare themselves to ensure that they will be among the righteous at the Second Coming.
Invite a student to read Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:30 aloud. Ask students what they think it means to be “overcome.” Why does sin cause people to lose their ability to love? Invite a student to read verse 37 aloud. Discuss how treasuring up the word of God will protect us from being deceived and help save us.