Teaching Tips for "How Can the Savior Help Me during My Trials?"
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How have you seen the Savior’s hand in your life as you have endured trials? Life’s hard and we need His help. If you are teaching the Latter-day Saint youth Come Follow Me lesson, “How Can the Savior Help Me during My Trials?” keep reading for ideas to help you get the conversation going.
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We all know trials are a necessary part of life. It's part of the plan of salvation, right? Without trials, it's like giving somebody a driver's license when they haven't even been behind the wheel. There are some things that we can only learn through experience. We can't fully comprehend them without that experience and trials are a part of that.
Definition by Example
Start out your lesson by defining trials through examples- not the dictionary version. Help people list some examples of trials so you are all on the same page. Some of the ones that I came up with include sickness, allergies, depression, anxiety, addiction, abuse, sin, and weaknesses we have yet to conquer. If we turn to Ether 12:27, we read how we have weaknesses so that we will be humble. Humility is a key part to our learning experience.
We cannot learn if we are not humble. The only way to conquer these weaknesses is to strengthen them. If we return to the scripture in Ether, it says we need to have faith in Jesus then He will make weak things strong. We are here to turn to Jesus. That's what our weaknesses do- they help us turn to Him.
Get dramatic
You're gonna need some acting skills here. It's totally okay if your acting skils are awful, just embrace it and act with confidence. Pretend to fall somewhere near the beginning of your lesson (don’t hurt yourself though!). When you fall, hopefully, people come and help you. Hopefully, they reach out to help you out or pick things up. Once you are up again, talk about how you are grateful for those people who helped and reached out to you. There's also somebody else that is constantly reaching out His hands to help us when we fall- Jesus Christ. What are some ways that Christ helps us as we turn to Him in our trials? Grab a marker for your whiteboard and draw a chart.
This is a great opportunity to turn the discussion over to your class while you listen. How does Christ take the feelings we have during our trials and help and support us through them? For example, with your well-done falling scene, you could say you were embarrassed, whether it was because of poor acting skills or because you did such a good job. Write “embarrassment” in the middle of the board then draw an arrow to the right that says how Christ can help us. Now, I know this is such a small thing but that’s a good way to jumpstart your conversation- with something nonthreatening. When we start with the little things, it is easier to build up to those bigger experiences and emotions. There are so many answers for how Christ can help you in your embarrassment of falling. It will definitely vary by person- that’s why this can make such a great discussion. There is no one right answer and Christ knows how to specifically succor us. Some examples could be a feeling of peace after falling, the people that did help you when you fell, those who helped you laugh through it. Maybe you were given the strength to get up and keep going. Then draw an arrow to the left and ask if you choose to turn in a different direction, away from Christ, what might be the emotion instead? Obviously, these would be more negative emotions- anger, hurt, etc. Maybe it's the last straw so we feel completely overwhelmed and break down.
Need a better example? Listen to my story while I was in the hospital battling APL leukemia.
Why Can Christ Help?
We know that our Savior can help us as we have felt it before but why can He help us through our trials? How is it possible? Why does Christ understand how to succor us in our unique ways? Our Redeemer has experienced it all. He's felt it. He knows. He can relate therefore he knows exactly how to comfort us. There are some things we can only learn through experience and Christ has experienced it all. He knows exactly how to help.
There are also priesthood blessings given through the power of God. We can be healed and we can be strengthened and we can be given those comforts. If our trials are because of a sin of ours, forgiveness is possible because of Jesus Christ. When we have negative experiences because we live in a fallen world, Christ can take those and turn them into a way that will benefit us instead of just being an annoyance to us. in Alma 36:3, Alma is testifying to his son Helaman. Alma says, “I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God, shall be supported in their trials and their troubles and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.” There's scripture after scripture talking about how Jesus Christ knows how to support us, will support us, and can support us. Read through some of those such as:
Isaiah 53:3–5
Hebrews 2:17–18
Alma 7:11–13
Alma 36:3
Ether 12:27
One thing to remember is faith is not a perfect knowledge. It's okay if you don't feel like you have a lot of faith. You can use the faith that you do have and still overcome the fear, gain strength, and be fortified as you turn to Jesus Christ. Remember, it only takes a mustard seed.
Print some more uplifting scriptures to help remember.
Let’s Make a Playlist
Grab some hymn books (check the room beforehand, bring some in, or make sure that everyone has access to the hymn book on their devices). Do you have a playlist? I have a playlist for when I exercise, I have a playlist for when I'm working. I have a playlist for Sundays. I have a playlist when I just want to sing some songs. There are all kinds of playlists. What are some playlists that people have created in your class? Remember, we are sticking to the topics of what kind of playlists, not specific songs. Don’t get sidetracked! Then invite your class to flip through the hymn book then head to the back where the index is. Encourage your class to look up keywords such as “assurance”, “comfort”, “encouragement”, etc.- words that would help them through hard times in life. After they find a hymn, invite them to read through it and decide if they want to add it to their “Life is Hard” playlist. Ask some to share which hymns they are adding to their playlists. If you have time, open up the gospel music app and play a verse of those songs or use your mad piano skills. Bring in that spirit through the music.
Two Stories, One Lesson
Search through the past New Testament Come Follow Me manuals for some visual representations of the story of Christ calming the sea and when He walks on water (and Peter too). If you don’t have a physical manual, you can access the pictures online. Briefly summarize each story as you show the picture. The first story is where Jesus is in the boat with his disciples. They are panicking while Christ is asleep (Matthew 8). The apostles think they're going to sink to the bottom of the sea. Life is over as they know it. The disciples turn to the Savior and He calms the storm. The second story is again with the disciples out in a boat in the middle of the sea, struggling against the wind, and having a hard time. They see Christ walk upon the water toward them. Both times, the disciples are afraid. Both times Christ tells them not to be scared. When Christ is walking on the water, He even tells them be of good cheer. In Matthew 8, He tells them to have faith.
Whether we are walking on water, like Peter tried, or we fall out of the boat in a big storm, we need to know who to reach for. In those times when we are afraid, or we are really struggling, we reach for the Savior, not for that piece of the boat that's going to fall off in the middle of the storm. When have you reached for the Savior? How has sharing your story helped others? Helped yourself? If you record it, how might it help your descendants? Share stories with one another and talk about how the Savior has really blessed you. Take strength from each other’s stories.
Bonus Object Lesson
Head over to my YouTube channel for another great object lesson using blocks to help demonstrate how our Redeemer helps and blesses us during our trials as we turn to Him.
