David Anointed King

Student Choice Assignment #2: 2 Samuel 1-10
David Anointed King

1. Search 2 Samuel 1-10 and make a list of King David's accomplishments.

• slays the man who killed King Saul
• anointed King over Judah
• all tribes commit to follow David
• made King over Israel
• defeats Philistines
• brings ark into the city of David
• destroys many nations during war & makes them be under Israel control
• restores lost lands to Saul's grandson Mephibosheth
• defeats children of Ammon & Syrians 

2. Read 1 Chron. 22:7-8 & Institute manual "Why was David not allowed to build a temple?". Write explanation of why the Lord did not want David to build a temple.

The Lord told David through Nathan that he was not to build a temple because of all the wars that he had been involved in and the great bloodshed he had seen.  So even though David was a great leader and did good things for his people and the land, he had seen and done too much to be clean and pure to build a temple unto the Lord.

3. Read 2 Samuel 7:12-17. Write sentences describing how I would feel in a similar situation. Describe how 2 Samuel 7:16 is a Messianic prophecy.  Read 2 Samuel 7:18-29 and summarize David's response to the Lord's message to him.

So the Lord had just told David that he was not to build a temple.  I think in a similar situation I would have felt disappointed and confused wondering why I was not being given the chance to do something wonderful since I am a righteous person.  (Actually I have had these feelings!  When my husband and I were trying so hard to get pregnant, I would question all the time why I was not able to get pregnant and raise a family when I was doing what was right and living correct principles.  I learned a valuable lesson from this time.  I needed to be patient and things would come to me in the Lord's time.)  2 Samuel 7:16 is a Messianic prophecy because it talks about how David's house and kingdom would be established and reign forever.  This was not something that David personally would fulfill but rather Jesus Christ who came through the line of David.  David's response to the Lord telling him not to build a temple was to tell the Lord all that he appreciated and had learned from Him and to tell the Lord to complete those promises He had made.  He said that he understand  that God was God and that he, David, was a servant.  That God was all-knowing and that God had the power to make things great.

Every man did that which was right in his own eyes

Student Choice assignment #2
Judges 17-21

1. Read chapter summaries for Judges 17-21. Read institute manual commentary for "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes".  Write brief summary of events described in these chapters.

*Micah the Levite made graven images to worship and consecrated a priest for himself.
*Danites went in search of an inheritance.
* Rape of concubine at Gibeah
*Tribe of Benjamin almost all killed in a war

It was easy to tell from reading these chapter summaries why the statement is made that "every man did that which was right in his own eyes".  The people did not make the best choices and in doing what they felt was RIGHT, they made grievous mistakes that cost them so much.  Micah thought that having his own priest would make the Lord bless him because he had a priest, but he missed the boat by going about it the wrong way.  The Benjaminites abused a concubine and she died and that essentially started a war which did not help the Benjaminites because they were almost all wiped out and they started out being the smallest tribe anyway.  The Danites went in search of a land to dwell in, an inheritance, and passed by where Micah dwelt and took his priest and his graven images and went to a land that was quiet and peaceful and burnt it and took it over. 

2.  Read Judges 21:25. Explain why this is such an accurate description of this terrible time of Israel's history.  Read John 14:6; 2 Ne 9:28-29; Isaiah 55:8-9.  Write the reasons these verses give for why doing things the Lord's way is so much better than our own.

The people had no king at this time.  They had no leader.  No one who was guiding them and giving them counsel to help them make good choices and be peaceful one with another.  Therefore they acted selfishly and only seemed to care about themselves and how they could get ahead no matter the cost to others.  The scripture in Isaiah spoke about how the "heavens are higher than the earth" and so God knows so much more than we do.  In John it said the Christ is "the way, the truth and the life", the only way for us to know or to get to be with Heavenly Father is through Christ.  And in 2 Nephi it talked about the "cunning plan of the evil one" and how we don't listen to the counsels of God because we think we are wise and already know everything.  Our so called "wisdom" is not true wisdom and it doesn't help us or do us any favors.  We NEED the Lord's help!  We need His guidance because we can not possibly get back to our Father without Him in our lives guiding us.

Choose You This Day Whom Ye Will Serve

Student choice assignment #1 Joshua 7-24

1.  Read Joshua 10:12-14 & Institute manual "Did the sun really stand still in the heavens?".  Did the sun really stand still?  Write paragraph how you could explain these verses to someone who says he or she won't believe the Bible because of contradiction to science.

No, the sun really did not stand still.  Just like in Nephite times when they had a day and a night and a day with no darkness, and also when there was the day and night and day with no sun, God can make anything happen.  He created this earth and can create things to happen to this earth as well as make things change from their normal pattern on this earth.  In this instance, God stopped the earth from moving so that it seemed as though the sun stood still.  People that only look to science should recognize that magnificent events can happen and does not have to be explained by science.  Some things are just miracles.

2.  Read chapter summaries of Joshua 7-22.   Make two lists, one that lists Israel's successes and the other that lists Israel's failures.

Successes                                                                                    Failures
Israel defeats Ai, slays inhabitants                                            Israel defeated by people of Ai
Make servants of the Gibeonites
defeats Amorites and their allies
Conquer the whole land
2 kings on east of Jordan, 31 on west of Jordan defeated by Israel

3. Read Joshua 23-24 & Institute manual "Choose you this day whom ye will serve".  What was the major theme of Joshua's final address to his people?  Why did Joshua choose to deliver his final address on this topic?

I think that the theme of his address to his people was to decide whom they will serve and then to serve faithfully.  Of course he wanted them to serve God and so he reminded them all that God had done for them in helping them to defeat different nations and the blessings they had received as well.  His speech was very motivational and I believe gave the Israelites hope that even though he would be gone, that they could still go on because they had learned the things they needed to know and that living faithful to their covenants they would be able to keep their inheritances and blessings and receive more.

Israel Commanded to Destroy the Wicked

Student Choice #1 : Israel Commanded to Destroy the Wicked

1. The different nations that the Lord identified are: Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites. 
     Israel was commanded to "utterly destroy" them and all things related to them.  They destroyed their places of worship, their idols, etc.  Israel was commanded to do this because of the wickedness of the Canaanite people and the disobedience and sin that they were involved in.  If just their idols were destroyed then they might have tried to rebuild elsewhere and pick up their practices again.  I like how God makes it clear that he doesn't senselessly destroy nations of people.  Everyone is given the chance to choose to be obedient to His commands so the Canaanites also could have chosen differently and saved themselves.

2. These nations were destroyed because of the wicked practices they were involved in like worshipping idols and intermarriage, prostitution and homosexuality.  The manual stated that it was so bad the things they were doing were "kinds of evil...so infectious".  When I read that I thought of the flu bug and how it can literally take over a house and everyone gets sick just because they are near to the first sick person.  Not because they too were sick but simply by proximity.  Israel was commanded to give justice in the way that the Lord wanted it done.  The people had to know that their disobedience violated the law and that they could and should have chosen differently.

3.  I think that many of the sins that the Canaanites were involved in doing are sins that we can sometimes find ourselves close to or exposed to on a daily basis and it is our responsibility to keep our spirits clean and pure by staying as far away from those sins as possible.  Like I already related, sometimes just being close to them makes it easier for us to pick them up.  We need to keep our standards high and  focus on the Lord and on His teachings...align our will and our desires to match His and that sort of focus can help us to stay where we need to be. 

Nazarite Vows

Student Choice assignment #3
Numbers 6: Nazarite Vows

1. Read Numbers 6:2-6, 14, 18; Judges 13:5, 24; 1 Samuel 1:11, 19-20, 28; Luke 1:13-15; Bible Dictionary "Nazarite" and Institute Manual "What was a Nazarite?"

First of all, a Nazarite was a man or woman (even though the scriptures that I read did not mention any women's names that were Nazarites) that consecrates themselves to God for a short period of time or lifelong service.  They vow to separate themselves and serve Him.  The requirements for doing this are that they may not drink any wine or strong drink or partake of anything that comes from the vine.  They are not to shave their hair at all, but to let it grow.  They are to stay away from dead bodies even if it is a member of their own family.

Some of the better known (famous) Nazarites from the scriptures are Samson, Samuel the boy prophet, and John the Baptist.  Now I understand a little more fully why Samson never wanted to have his hair cut. :)

2. Read Alma 5:57.  Write about how the Lord  wants us to live differently from the world today.

This was easy.  I think that the Lord wants us to stay away from things that could tempt us and persuade us to follow the adversary because that will take our hearts away from the Lord.  If we were to act as Nazarites, then we would vow to stay away from unclean things and follow Christ and have our name numbered among the righteous.  How often in our day to day living do we consciously think of what we are doing and if it is in accordance with our Savior's counsels to us?  Are we keeping our vows (covenants)?  There is so much filth in this world and the Lord wants better for us than that.  That is why he asks us to cleave unto the good and leave behind all those things that are not helpful for us or our spirits.

The Ten Commandments

Student Choice Assignment #1 : The Ten Commandments

1. Read Exodus 20:3-17, make a list of 10 commandments.  Read Matthew 22:36-40 and identify what the Lord said were the two "great" commandments.  Place each of the 10 commandments withing the two by writing "Love God" or "Love Neighbor" next to them on the list.

• Have no other Gods before me.                                        Love God
• Not make any graven image.                                              Love God
• Not take name of God in vain.                                           Love God
• Keep Sabbath day holy.                                                      Love God
• Honor thy Father & thy Mother                                        Love Neighbor
• Not kill                                                                                Love Neighbor
• Not commit adultery                                                          Love Neighbor
• Not steal                                                                              Love Neighbor
• Not bear false witness                                                        Love Neighbor
• Not covet                                                                             Love Neighbor

     -The scripture in Matthew said that the two great commandments were to "love the Lord thy God" and to "Love thy neighbor as thyself".

2. List 3 commandments from Exodus 20:3-17 that you feel are most commonly neglected by the world.  Read the Institute Manual for those commandments.  Write a paragraph about the difference it would make in the world if all God's children kept these commandments.

 My list of 3 commandments that I feel are most neglected by mankind are: 1)Not take the name of God in vain, 2) Not commit adultery, and 3) Not bear false witness.

The world would definitely be a different and much better world in which to live if we kept all the commandments, but the 3 that I chose are the ones that I know would be easier to change and would help us to feel safer both spiritually, physically and emotionally.  When we take God's name in vain we show our lack of reverence for Him and as the Institute Manual points out, we are seeming to forget our oath and promise made at our baptism to take His name upon us.  I had not thought of that and that helped me to think that using foul language is such an epidemic in society that we just do and don't even think about or realize we are doing.  We NEED to reverence God and show Him our respect for Him in order to understand who WE are.  The next one I chose was adultery.  With the rise in cohabiting partners and children being born out of wedlock, it's clear that the family and the institute of marriage are under attack.  Committing adultery is just one more stone added upon a rocky pile that will tumble and ruin all beneath it.  It is sad that so many feel they can not trust another to marry them, or they don't want to commit, or it is just "easier" for them to do it this way and then others just give in to the natural man and forget about the laws that are there for our help and safety.  Marriage is a covenant and it is a covenant that if more people were abiding by and keeping, we would be able to trust each other more.  The last commandment that I chose was Bearing false witness.  Oh how sad this one makes me!  I have been on the losing end of gossip too many times and know just how deeply those wounds can go and how long they take to heal, if at all.  Why do we do that?  Why do we talk about others in hurtful ways?  Why do we share information that isn't true?  If we kept this commandment, then people would feel loved by others...by their neighbors, by their friends, by coworkers, etc.  We all would be able to walk with our heads held high and be proud of who we are instead of waiting for the next rumor about us to circulate and destroy our hearts and our self-worth.

Murmuring in the Wilderness

Student choice assignment #5
Exodus 15:23-27, 16-17

• What did the children of Israel murmur about?

They murmured about their living conditions.  They had bitter water to drink, then they didn't want to be in the Wilderness, they were hungry and thirsty again.

• How did the Lord respond to their murmuring?

The Lord gave them water to drink from a tree and the water tasted fresh.  Then he sent manna to feed them each day providing sufficient for their needs and allowing them to not have to collect it on the Sabbath day in order to keep it holy.  He also had Moses smite a rock to make water for them to drink.

• Why do you think people murmur against God and those He has chosen as His leaders? (1Ne 16:1-3)

The Lord asks hard things of us or at least things that may appear hard to us if we are not currently living righteously.  Sometimes we feel guilt if we are not doing as we should, or as quoted in the scriptures "the guilty taketh the truth to be hard".  It's our way of figuring out how we are not doing what we should be doing and venting our frustrations about it.

•  Read 2 Ne 27:35, describe what Nephi suggested as an antidote for murmuring.

Nephi said we need to come to an understanding and learn the doctrine.  I believe what he means is that we need to get our crap together and do what the Lord has asked of us no matter how hard or uncomfortable it may feel to us.  This is a hard thing, especially if the sin or disobedience has gone on for some time.  It is hard to break habits and create new, better ones.  That doesn't mean it is impossible, just that it will take time and effort on our part.  The Lord asks us to have a willing attitude to make the change and therein lies the secret.

• What counsel would you give to a friend/family member who murmurs against the commandments of God?

I would give the same counsel that I give myself everyday...."BUCK UP!"  I would suggest making it a matter of prayer first and study of scriptures and the words of the Latter-day prophets to help me have the strength to do what I need to do without complaint.  I would also suggest that they start small.  Rome wasn't built in a day and so it is with changes we make in our lives.  Not that we need to make the progress so slow that we aren't actually changing, but not put so much added pressure to change overnight that it is impossible or feels impossible for us to manage.  The Lord wants us to succeed and He will bless us but we need to put forth the effort and care about it too.