Ezekiel 47 — Blessings of the Temple

Teacher notes

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

SUPPLIES: a picture of a temple (Atlanta if you have it — it is the one this class goes to), blank paper for every student, colored pencils if you can, and a printed copy of the 'Blessings of the Temple' handout (Elder Renlund's list) for each student — it is the last page of Lesson 141 in the manual. Optional video: 'And the River Will Grow' on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, 0:26 to 1:29, and 1:58 to 2:33. THIS IS THE THEME LESSON OF THE YEAR AND YOU SHOULD SAY SO. Since September the class has carried the picture of a thirsty hiker and a water station on a hill. Today Ezekiel sees it: a house of the Lord on a mountain, with water pouring out of the door. Do not explain the connection — let them see it. Put the theme panel up next to Ezekiel 47:1 and ask what they notice. OPEN WITH THE TEMPLE PICTURE AND TWO COLUMNS. On one side of the picture write reasons a teenager might want to go to the temple; on the other, reasons they might not, or what makes it hard. Take every answer on both sides. Then two quiet self-assessment questions nobody answers aloud: how strong is my desire to worship in the temple, and what keeps me from wanting to go? PASTORAL NOTE, CARRIED OVER FROM LESSON 201 AND STILL THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ON THIS PAGE: some of this class go to the temple often with family, and some have never been, for reasons that are not theirs. Never ask for a show of hands on who has been. Keep every question about desire and the Lord, not about attendance. THE MANUAL'S NOTE IS WORTH OBEYING EXACTLY: say the blessings come FROM THE LORD THROUGH the temple, not from the temple itself. The building is the place; He is the water. THE DRAWING IS THE LESSON. Read 47:1 — waters 'issued out from under the threshold of the house.' Ask why water is a fitting symbol for the Lord's blessings: it gives life, everyone needs it, it cleans, and it is free. Point them to John 4:10 and 7:37–38, where the Savior calls Himself living water. A cubit is about 18 to 21 inches, elbow to fingertip. Then 47:3–5 and the measuring: a thousand cubits out, ankle deep; another thousand, knees; another, loins; another, 'a river that I could not pass over … waters to swim in.' Everyone draws the top half of the page — the temple and the river getting deeper. ASK THE QUESTION THE TEXT IS BEGGING FOR: the water got deeper because Ezekiel kept walking out into it. What was the Lord teaching about the blessings He gives through the temple? Ankle-deep is not the whole river, and nobody gets to the deep part without walking. THEN THE DEAD SEA. Ask: if you drew a place on your page where nothing can live, what would it be? In Ezekiel's day the answer was the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea — so salty nothing lives in it, and undrinkable. Read 47:8–9 and 12: the water goes down into the desert and into the sea, and 'the waters shall be healed'; 'every thing shall live whither the river cometh'; fishermen stand on the shore of the Dead Sea; trees on the banks bear fruit every month, 'and the leaf thereof for medicine.' Students draw the bottom half. Then the open question: how would you summarize what you learned? Thank them, and help them reach a principle like: as we worship the Lord in the temple, He blesses us with healing, new life, and growth. 47:11 IS AN HONEST DETAIL IF A SHARP STUDENT FINDS IT: 'the miry places … shall not be healed.' The water heals what it reaches. You have to let it reach you. THE HANDOUT AND THE RIVER ON THE BOARD. Pass out Elder Renlund's list ('Family History and Temple Work: Healing and Sealing,' Liahona, May 2018, 47). Each student circles two or three blessings that stand out and writes them into the water on their drawing. Then draw a big river on the board and invite them to come up and write one each. Ask: which of these heal, and which give life? When have you or someone you know received one of these blessings from the Lord — including while preparing for the temple, or doing family history at home? Renlund's last line is the promise to read slowly: 'If you have prayed for any of these blessings, participate in family history and temple work. As you do so, your prayers will be answered.' FAMILYSEARCH ON A PHONE IS A REAL ANSWER FOR ANYBODY in this class, including the ones who cannot get to Atlanta this month. THEME LINK, AND BE PRECISE: panel one is the climb — the water station is on the hill, and Isaiah 2:3 is 'let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.' Panel two is that it is better than expected — ankles, then a river to swim in. Panel eight is the Dead Sea: salt water you can see from flat ground that will never quench anything (Jeremiah 2:13). The river from the house is the only water in the chapter that heals salt. THE WEEK: Monday the watchman, yesterday the word in one hand, today the water comes out of the house, tomorrow you find out what you promise when you go in. TIMING: temple picture and two columns five minutes, self-assessment one, 47:1–5 and the top half of the drawing seven, the Dead Sea and 47:8–12 and the bottom half six, the principle two, handout and the river on the board seven, testimony two, journals at 7:05. If you are behind, skip the video and shorten the two columns, never the drawing.