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Young Women Manual 2

Obeying Commandments Helps Us Fulfill Our Divine Roles

"Lesson 4: Obeying Commandments Helps Us Fulfill Our Divine Roles," Young Women Manual 2, 14

OBJECTIVE

Each young woman will understand how obeying or breaking the commandments of God influences the way she fulfills her divine roles.

PREPARATION

Note to the teacher

This lesson is primarily a workshop. Plan adequate time for the class activities and discussions included here.

SUGGESTED LESSON DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

Teacher presentation

Explain that we live in a world of cause and effect. Ask the young women what the results would be if they (1) stayed up too late, (2) were late for class, (3) broke a traffic law, (4) ate too much, (5) were unfriendly, (6) smiled, (7) prepared well for an examination, (8) practiced the piano, (9) exercised, (10) drove on a flat tire.

Point out that the principle of cause and effect affects every aspect of our lives.

Explain that this principle operates not only in the physical realm, but also in the spiritual realm. The Lord has given us commandments for our protection and guidance. If we keep these commandments, we will be blessed and given everything that the Lord has promised us for our good. Our lives will be happier and we will experience peace and joy. If we choose to break the commandments, we also choose the attendant consequences of misery, now and in the life after this one.

Quotation

Read the following quotation:

"The tenor of our times is permissiveness. A most popular feature of one of the leading newspaper Sunday supplements portrays the idols of the movie screen, the heroes of the athletic field-those whom many young people long to emulate-as flouting the laws of God and rationalizing away sinful practices, seemingly with no ill effect. Don't you believe it! There is a time of reckoning, even a balancing of the ledger. ... It's called judgment day, even the big exam of life. Are we prepared? Are we pleased with our own performances?" (Thomas S. Monson, "The Lighthouse of the Lord," New Era, July 1980, p. 18).

Breaking Commandments Keeps Us from Fulfilling Our Divine Roles

Teacher presentation

Explain that Satan seeks to keep us from fulfilling our divine roles of wife and helpmate, mother, and teacher. One of the ways he does this is by encouraging us to break the commandments. He knows we must live righteously if we are to fulfill these roles as the Lord wants us to.

Activity

Distribute the handouts you have prepared.

Have the young women read the list of commandments in column 1. Give pencils to the young women, and have them match the commandments in column 1 with the ways the commandments can be broken in column 2.

Discussion

Have the young women take turns reading their matching answers on the handout:

1 (in column 1) with 5 (in column 2), 2-12, 3-10, 4-6, 5-11, 6-4, 7-3, 8-1, 9-13, 10-14, 11-2, 12-9, 13-8, 14-7.

Ask the young women to explain how each item in column 2 might affect their abilities, through action or attitude, to carry out their divine roles.

Quotation

Read the following statement by President N. Eldon Tanner:

"To mothers, daughters, and women everywhere, let me stress the fact that because of your great potential and influence for good in the lives of all of us, Satan is determined to destroy you. You cannot compromise with him. You must have the courage, the strength, the desire, and the determination to live as the Lord would have you live-good clean lives. Girls, keep yourselves virtuous and worthy of a fine young man who has likewise kept himself clean, so that together you can go to the House of the Lord to be sealed in the holy bonds of matrimony for time and all eternity, and prepare a home where God will be pleased to send his spirit children" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1973, p. 126; or Ensign, Jan. 1974, p. 8).

Discussion

Explain that Satan wishes to destroy the family unit, which is central to the plan of salvation. If he destroys the family by causing us to disobey God's commandments, he will succeed in his attempt to thwart the plan of God. This plan was taught to Adam and Eve, and it applies to all of their sons and daughters. The Lord wants his sons and daughters to fulfill their divine roles so that his spirit children can be raised in righteous families.

Obeying the Commandments Helps Us Fulfill Our Divine Roles

Teacher presentation

Explain that if we understand what our divine roles are, we can resist the temptation to break commandments. We can be very cautious so that we are not deceived by the evil influences surrounding us.

Activity and discussion

Ask the class to discuss things they could do to resist temptations to break the commandments. Have them write these things at the bottom of their worksheets. Their ideas might include the following:

Conclusion

Teacher presentation

Explain that our prophets continue to remind us that the Lord's laws are eternal and cannot be ignored without eternal consequences. One of the consequences of breaking the Lord's commandments is that we will be unable to fulfill our divine roles in a manner pleasing to the Lord.

Quotation

Read the following statement by President Spencer W. Kimball:

"I sincerely hope that our Latter-day Saint girls and women, and men and boys, will drink deeply of the water of life and conform their lives to the beautiful and comprehensive roles the Lord assigned to them.

"... What satisfying personal lives we can live! What beautiful families we can nurture and train! What a heavenly future is ours!" ("The Lord's Plan for Men and Women," Ensign, Oct. 1975, p. 5).

Lesson Application

Suggest that each young woman take her handout home and study it, then select one or more areas in her life that need strengthening. Ask each young woman to set some short-term goals to eliminate whatever is preventing her from preparing to fulfill her divine roles.

Obeying Commandments Helps Us Fulfill Our Divine Roles

Column 1-Commandments

Column 2-Ways Commandments Are Broken

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