Lesson Helps

FHE: Adversity

FHE: Adversity

Conference Talk:
For more information on this topic read “The Songs They Could Not Sing,” by Quentin L. Cook, Ensign, Nov 2011, 104.

Thought:
While we do not know all the answers, we do know important principles that allow us to face tragedies with faith and confidence.

(Quentin L. Cook, “The Songs They Could Not Sing,” Ensign, Nov 2011, 104.)

Song:
“Be Still My Soul,” Hymns, #124.

Scripture:
And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7)

Object Lesson:
Materials Needed: Several pieces of sandpaper; several pieces of rough wood; several pieces of smooth, sanded wood.

Application: Have the family feel the sandpaper. Ask them how it feels. Pass a piece of rough wood and a piece of sanded wood around for everyone to feel. Ask if they can feel the difference. Even though we would not like to wear sandpaper, it is very useful for smoothing rough wooden items. When the wood is smooth, we see the grain or the pattern of the wood better. All of the beautiful, finished wood we see has been smoothed and make beautiful with the help of sandpaper.

Tell the family that even though sandpaper does wonderful things for wood, if it is not used correctly it can be very damaging. It can leave scratches in the wood that can only be taken out with great effort; someone who uses sandpaper to make wood beautiful must use it the right way.

Liken the sandpaper to trials or times of trouble in our lives. Tell the children that all of us have trouble or things that do not go quite right. When we learn from these trials, they help bring us closer to our Heavenly Father—we become more spiritually polished. If we are busy complaining, or if we begin to hate others or want to “get even” because of our trials, then we are using them the wrong way.

(Beth Lefgren and Jennifer Jackson, Sharing Time, Family Time, Anytime, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992], p. 11.)

Story:
Hannah Cornaby

Elder Claudius V. Spencer, then president of the Norwich Conference, came and organized a branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the town of Great Yarmouth. Elder Spencer removed a few lingering doubts from my husband’s mind, and he was baptized and confirmed.

I too desired baptism, but the birth of our first child delayed it for a time. We placed the publications of the Church in our store windows. These attracted considerable attention and at the same time relieved us from answering so many questions. As soon as my health would permit, I renewed my request for baptism. A time was appointed to attend to this ordinance. I left my babe in the care of a nurse whom I could trust, and proceeded to a house near the seaside, where we met to make preparations.

We found the house surrounded by a mob, through which we made our way with difficulty, amid oaths and threats of what would be done if any attempt were made to go into the water. We waited until near midnight, hoping the crowd would disperse; but it had all this time been increasing, until it numbered many hundreds. We feared violence, not only to ourselves but to the family under whose roof we were waiting.

Wearied of the delay, the master of the house thought of a ruse. He went to the door and asked permission for his son to pass through the crowd to his boat, as he was a fisherman, and it was necessary that he should sail with the outgoing tide. My husband, previously dressed in the son’s clothes, stepped out, and I followed, unnoticed, in the darkness. The mob soon discovered that their prey had escaped, and before we reached the water’s edge, the whole horde was upon us. My husband baptized me amid a shower of stones and shouts of “Duck him! Duck him!” and other such cries. Elder Day appealed for protection to the police, several of whom were present, but they said they could do nothing.

We then made our way back, as best we could, followed by the mob. Although the stones whizzed around us as thick as hail, not one touched us, and we reached home in safety, thanking God for our miraculous deliverance and determined, more than ever, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to adhere to the principles we had embraced. At the next meeting of the Saints, I was confirmed, and I knew for myself that the work was of God. Although persecution continued, many attended our meetings, and a few were added to the Church, until our branch numbered twenty-seven members.

(Leon R. Hartshorn, Remarkable Stories from the Lives of Latter-day Saint Women, vol. 2, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975].)

Activity:
The leader tells a player a letter of the alphabet and he must name as many words as he can which begin with that letter, within a minute. Give the next person a letter and and keep track of the number of words each player names. The one who gets the most words wins the game.

(Alma Heaton, The LDS Game Book, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968], p. 148.)

Share
Stay in the loop!
Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content