Week 5 Jan 29-Feb 4 - Lessons from a Hungry Family

Cindy:   Welcome back to Primarily Scripture. I am Cindy Young. This is a beginner's guide to scripture study and we follow the Come Follow Me curriculum and I always have someone on with me to help me study.

This week it's Monson. Hey, Monson.  
Monson: Hello. 
C: Is there anything we should know about you?  
M: I'm crazy. I love sports and I do music. 

C: Awesome. Okay, so we've got worksheets. These are available for free for anybody who wants them to use them as a help. They're on the website:

PrimarilyScripture.com/Resources

and this week we are in week 5 studying 1st Nephi chapters 16 through 22.  Monson, should we read some of the scriptures first and then we'll talk about the activities? 

M: Yeah.  

C: Great.  Let's look at 1st Nephi chapter 16. So this is page 2 of the worksheets. I'll read a verse and then Monson can  tell us what it means. He's reading out of the second column on the worksheet.  Here we go.  
"And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, ... and... my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food."

M: One day I, Nephi, went hunting so we could have something to eat, but then my bow broke. My brothers were so angry with me because we couldn't get food. 

C: "And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael... and also my father, began to murmur against the Lord..." 

M: and then my brothers, and the sons of Ishmael, and even Lehi,  started to complain against God because of this trial.

C: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick an arrow... And I said unto my father: Wither shall I go to obtain food?" 

M: So then I Nephi made a bow out of wood and an arrow out of a stick, and I asked my father, Where shall I go to hunt? 

C: "And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words..."

M: My dad prayed and asked the Lord. He felt sorry that he had been complaining. 

C: "And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives." 

M: Then my dad saw what was written on the ball, and he was really scared. He shook with fear, and so did my brothers, and sons of Ishmael, and our wives. 

C: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them." 

M: And I saw the pointers which were in the ball only worked when we had faith and made an effort to listen and pay attention. 

C: "And there was also written upon them a new writing... which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things."

M: And there was also a new writing, and it helped us understand the ways of the Lord. And the writings changed every now and then when we had faith and tried to follow. And from this we learned that the Lord can use small things to help big things happen. 

C: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth... according to the directions which were given upon the ball."

M: So then I, Nephi, went out and followed the directions that were on the ball. 

C: "And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families." 

M: And I was able to find animals so that our family could have food. 

C: "And now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto Him." 

M: When I got back to camp, everyone saw that I had food. They were so happy! They realized that the Lord had blessed us, and they gave thanks unto Him.  

C: Excellent.  All right, that's a fun story. I think it's one that everybody knows.  

M: My favorite. One of them. 

C: Okay, so we've got down the side of the worksheet four different things to help us study.  Which one do you want to talk about? What did you like? 

M: Um, How to Respond to Trials.

 C: So why don't you read, what do those questions say in that box? 

M: What trial was Nephi's family facing? 

C: What trial were they facing? 

M: I think not very much food and that they had kids and wives because like, you broke your bow and so now we can't have food and we'll all die.

C: Yeah, that's like a pretty big deal! Okay, so, how did Laman and Lemuel respond? 

M: Just like,  you broke your bow! We can't have food!  Like that. 

C: So upset! But the Prophet Lehi probably responded better. Yes? We hope?  

M: Uh, maybe a little bit better, but not very much  

C: Yeah, that even he was murmuring. And that kind of shows us that nobody's perfect, right? Even the prophet 

M: Yeah. 

C: was upset. Yeah.  But how did Nephi respond? 

M: I think he probably went back into his tent or something and just thought about it. And then  prayed, and  I also think that the Lord definitely helped him, but instead of just sitting and complaining, he actually did something, and that helped because if he didn't do that, they would probably all starve and die.  So, yeah.  

C: I love how you said that you picture that Nephi, when this trial came up, he went into his tent and prayed. It doesn't say that in the scriptures, but I think you're right, that he probably did. And we know that because  that's what his life was like. Something happened, so he prayed. He always turned to the Lord.

 M: Yeah.  

C: I think that's a great example for us. The next time you have a trial, you can use this to remember to turn to the Lord.   You don't want to lose all these great ideas that you found. Mark it in your real scriptures. Open the actual Book of Mormon, and mark it in there. Because that's where you're going to go later. So Monson, what did you mark in your scriptures? Can we open and you can show me?  

M: Yeah

C: Let's find it. First, Nephi. 

M: Yeah, so chapter 16,  verse  32.  "And now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord and did give thanks unto him." So I highlighted that  and then 

C: Did you do the whole thing or just part of it, 

M: Just that part,  

C: Just there at the end,  "they did humble themselves"  Why did you like that?  

M: Because, I mean, you could just be happy once you got the food. But still not been sorry for getting mad  

C: That's true. 

M: And,  but they humbled themselves before the Lord and they were happy. That's sometimes hard, and I really liked that part, and then 

C: Yeah. 

M: The other part 

C: I love it. 

M: Was on 16: 23,  the last  sentence. "Whither shall I go to obtain food."  I liked that one because,  I mean, he  didn't, He probably could have just prayed and had the same place where he could have gone. But  he asked his dad. Maybe he did that because  if you do this, you'll teach them a good lesson, which it did show them.  Like, I wrote this down:   
the ball worked on the faith they gave unto it, and  He can do things for us,  but we can't just go around being mean to people and still Him give us all the blessings. We have to be faithful, keep the commandments, read the scriptures, go to the temple, and do all that, and then we get the blessings.   

C: Yeah, that's great! So that's at the end of verse 23 and into verse 24 "whither shall I go...  and he did inquire of the Lord." I love that a lot and I'm going to mark that right now. That's really good. And I like that you pointed out that the Lord wants us to put in our own effort. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have all power. They could do anything they want to without us putting forth any effort. But how would it help us?  It wouldn't, right? And isn't that how scripture study is? We've got so many answers in the scriptures, but sometimes they're a little bit hidden. You have to stop and think about them, just like we did with this. What's the lesson when Nephi says to his dad, where should I go? There's a lesson there and stopping, slowing down, and thinking about it, you, Monson, put in the work to find and to learn a spiritual lesson.  That is exactly what scripture study is for. That's what I want all of our viewers and listeners to do is take that time. You guys, whether you get the worksheets or not, please open up your scriptures this week. The Lord wants to teach you things. Take the time, look for things, think about them, and you will find answers.

 Alright, podcast friends, this is just for you. In the YouTube version of most episodes, we have tips that pop onto the screen to highlight what strategies we're using right then as we study. And I don't want you to miss out, so I'm gonna try to remember to put them in the podcast for you. Today's episode had six tips pop up. They were 
1: understand the story
2: think about what happened
3: use your imagination
4: I can do this too, also known as apply this to yourself,
5: mark your scriptures, and 
6: put in the effort to find a lesson. 

I'm Cindy Young. This is Primarily Scripture. I'll see you guys next time.  
M: Bye.    

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