How Can the Savior Help Me during My Trials?
(Lesson-match Interactive Activities)
PART 1
How Can the Savior Help Me during My Trials?
LESSON-MATCH ACTIVITIES 4 in on 1 bundle to save $ or click individual activities below
Counsel Together
Led by a member of the quorum or class presidency; 10–20 minutes
At the beginning of the meeting, repeat together the Young Women Theme or the Aaronic Priesthood Quorum Theme. Then lead a discussion about the work of salvation and exaltation using one or more of the questions below or questions of your own (see General Handbook, 10.2, 11.2, ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Plan ways to act on what you discuss.
SEE FOUR LESSON TOPICS (below): Live the Gospel. Care for those in need. Invite all to receive the gospel. Unite families for eternity.
At the end of the lesson, as appropriate, do the following:
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Testify of the principles taught.
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Remind class or quorum members about the plans and invitations made during the meeting.
Download BUNDLE (above) or click individual files below
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Live the gospel. What recent experiences have brought us closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
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Care for those in need. Has someone recently moved into our ward or joined the Church? How can we help them feel welcome? SEE IDEA (below)*
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Invite all to receive the gospel. What activities are coming up that we can invite our friends to attend?
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Unite families for eternity. What efforts can we make to record our personal histories?
*IDEA – WELCOME COMMITTEE: “A FRIEND IS THE HOPE OF THE HEART.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Send this note to a new friend or place hearts on their door with this note and notes from other youth welcoming them.
MUTUAL NIGHT ACTIVITIES
PUT YOURSELF IN HER/HIS SHOES:
Have each youth choose another youth in the ward or at school, then talk to them and find out all about them (asking them if you can spotlight them). They can also talk to their parents or sibling to learn about their talents, likes, and dislikes. Then later in youth activity, tell about themselves as if they were the other girl/guy (e.g., “I hate spiders. I have the coolest brother. My sister died at age three,” etc.). Then talk about how you can be better friends when you understand and feel empathy.
PART 2
How Can the Savior Help Me during My Trials?
LESSON-MATCH ACTIVITIES 4 in on 1 bundle to save $ or click individual activities below
Teach the Doctrine
Led by an adult leader or youth; 25–35 minutes
Prepare Yourself Spiritually
The challenges we face can make us feel worn out, frustrated, defeated, and alone. The writers of the Psalms understood those feelings and expressed them powerfully: “My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; … I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top” (Psalm 102:4, 7). But with just as much power, they testified that turning to the Savior will bring relief: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Psalm 103:2–4).
Think about the blessings that will come to members of your class or quorum as they more fully understand how the Savior can help them in their trials. How has the Savior helped you? As you prepare to teach, you might review President Henry B. Eyring’s message “Tested, Proved, and Polished” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 96–99) and “Adversity” in Gospel Topics (topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). SEE BELOW*
(from the above talk)
“We must notice the tribulation of others and try to help. That will be especially hard when we are being sorely tested ourselves. But we will discover as we lift another’s burden, even a little, that our backs are strengthened and we sense a light in the darkness.” – Tested, Proved, and Polished, By President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency
Download BUNDLE (above) or click individual files below
Youth could also share this with children
ColorQuote (HERE or above): “In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities. Families lie at the center of our Heavenly Father’s plan. . . . We need to make our homes a place of refuge from the storm, which is increasing in intensity all about us. Even if the smallest openings are left unattended, negative influences can penetrate the very walls of our homes.”– L. Tom Perry, Apostle, “The Importance of the Family”
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Sister Lisa L. Harkness related the account of the Savior calming the storm to teach that He can calm the storms in our lives (see Mark 4:35–41; “Peace, Be Still,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 80–82). You might invite a class or quorum member to come prepared to share what she or he learned about the Savior from the scriptural account. This person could also show a picture (see Gospel Art Book, no. 40).
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The youth could then review what Sister Harkness taught about how the Savior “is in our boat” when we face challenges. You might invite individuals to share how the Savior has helped them in their trials, including how He has helped them through other people. Encourage the youth to share their experiences with someone they know who needs the Savior’s peace.
From the (above talk) Peace, Be Still, Lisa Harkness says, “We have faith in His redeeming power and hope in His great and precious promises. We have every reason to rejoice, for our Lord and Savior is keenly aware of our troubles, cares, and sorrows. As Jesus was with His disciples of old, He is in our boat!”
PART 3
How Can the Savior Help Me during My Trials?
LESSON-MATCH ACTIVITIES 4 in on 1 bundle to save $ or click individual activities below
Learn Together
You might begin by asking class or quorum members to review Psalms 102, 103, and 116, looking for how the Savior helps us in our efforts to overcome trials. They could work individually or in a group to write a few sentences about what they found and then share what they wrote. Choose one or more of the following activities to help them understand this topic more deeply.
Download BUNDLE (above) or click individual files below
Youth can play with family
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President Henry B. Eyring’s message “Tested, Proved, and Polished” could help those you teach better understand questions like the following: What are some of the purposes of our mortal trials? How will the Savior help us with our challenges? What can we do to draw on the Savior’s help and power? Consider writing these questions on the board. Class or quorum members could look for answers in President Eyring’s message. For example, what do we learn from the stories about President Eyring’s mother at the beginning and end of the message? You might ask each person to ponder how they can apply what they learned to their own trials. Some youth may be willing to share their thoughts. SEE BELOW*
*ABOUT HIS MOTHER
While ill she had a picture of Christ by her bed. At her funeral, the last speaker was Elder Spencer W. Kimball. After saying something of her trials and her faithfulness, he said essentially this: “Some of you may wonder why Mildred had to suffer so much and so long. I will tell you why. It was because the Lord wanted to polish her a little more.”
*ANOTHER STORY OF HIS MOTHER
“Much of what I know came from my family. When I was about eight years old, my wise mother asked my brother and me to pull weeds with her in our family’s backyard garden. Now, that seems a simple task, but we lived in New Jersey. It rained often. The soil was heavy clay. The weeds grew faster than the vegetables.
I remember my frustration when the weeds broke off in my hands, their roots stuck firmly in the heavy mud. My mother and my brother were soon far ahead in their rows. The harder I tried, the more I fell behind.
‘This is too hard!’ I cried out.
Instead of giving sympathy, my mother smiled and said, ‘Oh, Hal, of course it’s hard. It’s supposed to be. Life is a test.'” (she called him Hal).
Hymns can invite the Spirit and teach doctrine in a powerful way. Consider reviewing a hymn about how the Savior helps us in our trials, such as “How Firm a Foundation” (Hymns, no. 85).
DOWNLOAD How Firm a Foundation song visuals (HERE or shown right to illustrate this and teach the song to youth/children (see lyrics HERE or below*)
What does the hymn teach about the help the Savior can give us? The youth could then review the scripture passages (see below*) in “Supporting Resources.” They might benefit from recording a phrase from the hymn or one of the scriptures that reminds them to seek the Savior in their adversities.
See lyrics below*
*Lyrics
1. How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
Who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior,
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
2. In ev’ry condition—in sickness, in health,
In poverty’s vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea—
As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,
As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.
3. Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
4. When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee, and sanctify to thee,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
5. When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
6. E’en down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs shall they still, like lambs shall they still,
Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.
7. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!
Text: Attr. to Robert Keen, ca. 1787
Music: Attr. to J. Ellis, ca. 1889
SCRIPTURES (from How Firm a Foundation above)
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
Act in Faith
Encourage class or quorum members to ponder and record what they will do to act on the impressions they received today. If they would like, they could share their ideas. Invite them to think about how acting on their impressions will strengthen their relationships with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Supporting Resources
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Isaiah 53:3–5; Hebrews 2:17–18; Alma 7:11–13; 36:3; Ether 12:27 (The Savior will help us in our trials)
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Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “God Will Do Something Unimaginable,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 51–54
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Cristina B. Franco, “The Healing Power of Jesus Christ,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 60–62
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“Mountains to Climb” (video), ChurchofJesusChrist.org
