Young Women Manual 2
"Lesson 4: Obeying Commandments Helps Us Fulfill Our Divine Roles," Young Women Manual 2, 14
Each young woman will understand how obeying or breaking the commandments of God influences the way she fulfills her divine roles.
1. Make a copy of the handout "Obeying Commandments Helps Us Fulfill Our Divine Roles" for each young woman. The handout is at the end of the lesson.
2. Provide pencils for the class members.
3. Assign young women to present any scriptures, stories, or quotations you wish.
This lesson is primarily a workshop. Plan adequate time for the class activities and discussions included here.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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:
1. Learn what the Lord's commandments are and obey them.
2. Make wise choices in our daily living.
3. Choose worthy friends.
4. Follow the prophet and other Church leaders.
5. Study the scriptures.
6. Select and follow worthy role models.
7. Dress modestly.
8. Set realistic short-term and long-term goals and work hard to achieve them.
9. Choose a worthy environment to work in.
10. Select entertainment carefully.
11. Serve others.
12. Strengthen our testimonies.
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.
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).
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.
1. Multiply and replenish the earth.
2. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
3. Love thy neighbor; serve one another.
4. Do not kill.
5. Do not commit adultery or anything like unto it.
6. Do not covet.
7. Honor thy father and mother.
8. Do not take the name of God in vain.
9. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
10. Do not bear false witness.
11. Obey the Word of Wisdom.
12. Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.
13. Be honest.
14. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength.
1. Swearing, profanity.
2. Smoking, tea, coffee, alcohol, drugs.
3. Rebellion, disobedience, lack of respect.
4. Jealousy, envy, greed.
5. Choosing not to marry, choosing not to have children, homosexuality.
6. Murder, abortion.
7. Worldliness.
8. Stealing, shoplifting.
9. Pornography, vulgarity in jokes and conversation, immodesty.
10. Selfishness, serving only self.
11. Necking, petting, adultery, immorality, and perversions of all kinds.
12. Making fame, worldly recognition, and unworthy role models your highest priority.
13. Recreation instead of worship.
14. Gossip, slander, lying.
« Previous Chapter: Lesson 3: Building the Kingdom of God
Next Chapter: Lesson 5: Home Environment »
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