Come, Follow Me
Why does the Lord want me to be healthy?

Why does the Lord want me to be healthy?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

Good health is an important part of being self-reliant. Safeguarding our health will allow us to fulfill our divine potential and serve others more effectively. The way we treat our bodies affects our spiritual health and our ability to receive guidance from the Holy Ghost. In order to preserve our health, we should obey the Word of Wisdom, eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and get adequate sleep.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

Questions to Ponder before You Teach

What is the relationship between your physical and emotional health and your spiritual health? How has maintaining your health allowed you to serve the Lord more effectively? What other blessings have you received as you have strived to live a healthy life?

What temptations do the young men face that could harm their physical and emotional health? How can you help them see the blessings of living the Lord’s laws of health? How will living these laws affect their priesthood service?

What can the young men do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

During His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ invited His disciples to act in faith and live the truths He taught. In all His teaching, He focused on helping His followers live the gospel with all their hearts. To accomplish this, He provided opportunities for them to learn through powerful experiences. As you instruct the young men, invite them to share experiences they have had living the Word of Wisdom.

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the quorum presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

  • Our quorum: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?

  • Our duties: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?

  • Our lives: Remind the quorum of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a quorum presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the quorum; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help quorum members understand the doctrine.

  • Experiences that show the blessings of obeying the Word of Wisdom can inspire the young men to be more committed to living this law. You could share an experience from your own life or from President Thomas S. Monson’s talk “Principles and Promises.” You could also show the video “Leave the Party.” Quorum members may be able to share experiences from their own lives or the lives of their family members.

  • Invite the young men to turn to pages 31–32 in their Duty to God books and complete steps 1 and 2 as a quorum. Encourage the quorum to plan a quorum project, in addition to their individual projects, that will help them maintain their physical health. Invite any of the young men who have already completed their projects to share how living their plans has affected them. Tell the young men that for the next several weeks, you will be asking them to share the experiences they are having fulfilling the plans they have made.

  • If possible, bring a fishing lure or fly to the quorum meeting, show a picture of one, or show the video “You Will Be Freed.” Have the young men explain how fishing lures and flies work in deceiving fish. What are some ways Satan deceives or tricks young men into violating the Word of Wisdom? Divide the quorum into two groups. Have one group read Doctrine and Covenants 89:5–15 and identify the things the Lord has forbidden or wants us to use sparingly. Have the other group read verses 10–20 and identify what the Lord has ordained for man’s use. Define or clarify any unfamiliar words or phrases (see “Word of Wisdom” in True to the Faith, 186–88). Have the young men share what they can do to avoid situations in which they could be deceived or tempted.

  • Write two headings on the board: Spiritual Blessings and Physical Blessings. Invite the young men to read Doctrine and Covenants 89:18–21, looking for blessings and then listing them under the appropriate headings on the board. What do the young men understand about these blessings in their lives? Which of the blessings listed have the young men already experienced?

  • Show the video “God Gave Them Knowledge,” and ask the young men to look for the ways in which Daniel and his friends were blessed for obeying their law of health. (You may choose to pause the video and discuss these things as the young men discover them.) You could also ask the young men to search Daniel 1:3–20 for these ways. Ask questions such as the following: How have you been blessed for obeying the Word of Wisdom? How will obeying the Word of Wisdom help you fulfill your priesthood duties? What are some of the challenges youth face today as they strive to live the Word of Wisdom? What can they do to overcome those challenges? Bear your testimony of the importance of obeying the Word of Wisdom in order to maintain the Spirit in your life.

  • Invite the young men to read “Physical and Emotional Health” in For the Strength of Youth. Ask some of the young men to list on the board several items of counsel they find, and ask others to list the blessings promised to those who follow this counsel. Ask them to discuss how the way they treat their bodies affects their spirits. How could they use the lists on the board to explain their standards to friends of other faiths?

3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the quorum presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

  • Ask the young men to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a quorum to apply what they have learned?

  • Give the young men a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.

  • Remind the young men that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.

Related Youth Activities

Plan a Mutual activity that will help the young men apply what they learned in this lesson.