Lesson 45: Ether 6-11

 November 16-22
Ether 6-11
"That evil may be done away"

Materials: picture of a venomous snake, snake print out, scissors, piece of paper, tape or glue
Opening Song: "Choose the Right" (Hymnal, 239)
Opening Prayer:
Scripture: Ether 8: 23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get ^apower and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of ^bdestruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.

Attention Activity:

Show a picture of a venomous snake like the one below. Would you want to pet this snake? How about give it a big hug and a kiss? Why not? You wouldn't want to go near this snake because you know it is dangerous. It can bite you and cause you to get sick or even die. We stay away from it because we know that it can hurt us. This is kind of like our relationship with Satan. We need to understand how he can hurt us, so we know to stay far away from him. 

Lesson:

We've been reading about the Jaredites. The Jaredites came across the ocean in their barges and settled in the Americas a long time before Lehi and his family. Omer was a king of the Jaredites and his son, Jared, was wicked. He imprisoned his father the king and fought with his family members over the kingdom and lost. Jared's daughter was angry that her father lost the kingdom. She wanted power and control of the kingdom. Jared's daughter had heard of secret wicked plans to get kingdoms and glory. 

She had Jared send for Akish and the beautiful women danced for him. Akish asked for Jared's daughter to be his wife. Before she said yes, she told Akish she would marry him if he would kill her father and bring her his head. After she danced, Akish did ask for he hand in marriage from Jared. He said he would give his permission if Akish promised to kill Omer. There was a lot of evil plotting and secret combinations going on. Akish was a very bad man and had his followers make secret oaths and they committed many atrocities. 

Why do you think we need to know such horrible stories? Why would Mormon and Moroni choose to include stories like this in the scriptures? Just like we need to understand the danger of a venomous snake, we need to understand how Satan operates in order to avoid him. 

Activity: Secret Combinations snake

Print out the picture below and cut the numbers into strips. Have your family take turns reading the numbers. Tape or glue the number strips onto a blank sheet of paper to see the completed picture of the snake. (These points on secret combinations are taken from The Book of Mormon Student Manual [see Helaman 6:20 section] and churchofjesuschrist.org)

Secret combinations have been around since the dawn of history, starting with Cain. They brought about the destruction of many civilizations including the Jaredites and the Nephites. We still have secret combinations today. What would be some examples of modern secret combinations? (gangs, drug cartels, organized crime, corrupt politicians, trafficking networks, and terrorist groups) 

Hopefully, we know enough to stay away from these kinds of wicked societies but Satan has ways of getting us to try to go against what we know to be right. One thing parents often say to their children is "if your trying to be sneaky about doing something, you probably shouldn't be doing it." Wickedness often thrives on secrecy, but there is always someone who knows all your secrets and that is Heavenly Father. There is no hiding your actions from him. 

Is there anything you've done recently that you've tried to hide to avoid getting into trouble? Is there anything you've done recently that goes against God's commandments? What should you do to make it right?

Closing Song: "Dare to do right" (Children's Songbook, 158)
Closing Prayer:
Refreshment: Snake Breadstick Recipe here