Ezekiel 37 — The Bible and the Book of Mormon Testify of Jesus Christ

Teacher notes

Supplies, board work and timing. Never printed on the cards.

SUPPLIES: two paint stirrers or rulers and a rubber band, a Bible and a Book of Mormon (a quad works too, and is a nice visual — they really are one in your hand), and sticky notes. OPEN WITH THE QUESTION ON THE BOARD AND LEAVE IT THERE ALL LESSON: 'Why do you need the Book of Mormon if you believe in the Bible?' Frame it the way the manual does — somebody posts it under one of your posts, or a friend asks at lunch. Then the two self-assessment questions, silently: how confident are you that you could answer that, and what would you actually say? If students did the preparation and asked a friend or family member, hear one or two of those answers now. Tell them they will answer it themselves at the end. THE DRY BONES FIRST, AND KEEP IT SHORT — it is the setup, not the lesson. 37:1–14: a valley full of very dry bones; 'can these bones live?' (37:3); Ezekiel prophesies, 'O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord' (37:4), the bones come together, flesh comes, and then breath (37:9–10). Verse 11 interprets it: the bones are the house of Israel, and they are saying 'our hope is lost.' Verse 14: 'I shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live.' The point to carry forward: what brought the bones back was the word of the Lord and then His Spirit. Ask what in the latter days would be the word that brings a scattered, spiritually dead Israel back. The answer is the next nine verses. THE TWO STICKS ARE THE LESSON. Read 37:15–20. 37:15–17 IS A DOCTRINAL MASTERY PASSAGE — have them mark it and say the key phrase: 'The Bible and the Book of Mormon shall become one in thine hand.' Explain the stick of Judah is the record of the Jews, the Bible; the stick of Joseph, or Ephraim, is the record of Joseph's descendants, the Book of Mormon (Guide to the Scriptures, 'Ephraim'; 'Judah'). Have them write that next to verse 16. Then do it physically: two sticks, write JUDAH and JOSEPH on them, bind them with the rubber band, and hold them up in one hand. Then hold up the quad. Ask what 'they shall become one in thine hand' could mean. PRESIDENT NELSON: 'The Bible and the Book of Mormon are both witnesses of Jesus Christ. … Scriptural witnesses authenticate each other' ('Scriptural Witnesses,' Liahona, Nov. 2007, 43). Mormon 7:9 is the Book of Mormon saying the same thing about itself: it was written 'for the intent that ye may believe that' — the Bible — 'and if ye believe that ye will believe this also.' The Book of Mormon does not compete with the Bible. It defends it. That is the sentence most students are missing. WHY TWO? Bring in the law of witnesses: 'In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established' (2 Corinthians 13:1), and 2 Nephi 29:8, 'the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God.' A single witness can be dismissed; two independent witnesses who agree cannot. THE COMPANION SCRIPTURES ACTIVITY, IN PAIRS, AND THIS IS THE MAIN BLOCK. Each pair picks one row and reads both passages: Atonement — Isaiah 53:3–5 and Alma 7:11–13; Resurrection — 1 Corinthians 15:20–22 and Alma 11:42–45; gathering — Ezekiel 37:21–23, 26–27 and 1 Nephi 10:14; His attributes — Isaiah 63:7 and Mosiah 4:11; baptism — Matthew 3:13–17 and 2 Nephi 31:5–12. Ask each pair to find what the Book of Mormon passage ADDS — almost always it is clearer, or it says why. Alma 7 says He suffered 'that he may know … how to succour his people'; 2 Nephi 31 says why a sinless Christ was baptized at all. That is the real answer to the question on the board: the Book of Mormon makes plain what the Bible says, and confirms that it is true. THE POST: each pair writes a short answer to the question on the board, like a social media post, with one verse from each book and one sentence on what the second one adds. Post them around the room. Everybody walks for two minutes and leaves one sticky-note 'comment' on somebody else's post: another verse, or a one-line experience. GO BACK TO THE BOARD AT THE END. Read the question again and ask who feels more confident than they did twenty-five minutes ago. THEME LINK, ONE SENTENCE: the dry bones are the desert at its worst — 'our bones are dried, and our hope is lost' — and what brings them back is the word and the breath, which is exactly what the two sticks carry. THE WEEK: yesterday the watchman warned, today the word comes in two books joined in one hand, tomorrow water comes out of the house of the Lord, Thursday you find out what you promise when you go in. TIMING: question on the board and self-assessment three minutes, dry bones four, the two sticks and Nelson seven, why two witnesses two, companion pairs eight, posts and comments four, back to the board two, journals at 7:05. If you are behind, cut the comments walk, never the pairs.