It’s been a while, but I decided this is a good place to store my little lesson plans I make to teach my CTR 8 class each week. Here’s the lesson for tomorrow, Feb. 10: “The Spirit of the Lord Is upon Me.” I decided to focus on the story of Christ’s temptations in the wilderness prior to beginning his formal ministry.
Because Christ faced and overcame temptations, He knows the temptations we face and can help us overcome them.
Watch video: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-11-12-chapter-11-jesus-is-tempted?lang=eng
What can we learn that can help us when you face temptations?
| Jesus | Me |
| 1st temptation “If thou be the Son of God,” he said, “command that these stones be made bread.” (Matt. 4:3.) Using his divine powers for selfish purposes. | Satan tempts us to give into our appetites. |
| 2nd temptation “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” (Matt. 4:6.)—the temptation to perform some dazzling feat, some astounding exploit which might bring crowds of amazed and attentive onlookers. | Satan wants us to care about the pride and fashion and vanity of others |
| 3rd temptation With wealth, splendor, and earthly glory spread before them, Satan said unto him, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” (Matt. 4:9.) | Satan tells us to desire the riches of the world, or power among men. |
| Why was Jesus prepared to resist temptation? He fasted, he knew the scriptures – he chose to fast, that his mortal body might be completely subjected to the divine influence of his Father’s Spirit. | How can we be prepared to resist temptation? Faith, scriptures, prayer, attending church, presence of the spirit, good choices, go to the temple, serve others, make decisions about how we will live and what we will do and be BEFORE the temptations come (stealing, watching bad movies). Alma 34:39 |
| What happened after he overcame temptation? “angels came and ministered unto him.” (Matt. 4:11.) | What blessings do we obtain by overcoming temptations? Happiness, joy, eternal families, peace, content, presence of Holy Ghost |
It is important to remember that Jesus was capable of sinning, that he could have succumbed, that the plan of life and salvation could have been foiled, but that he remained true. Had there been no possibility of his yielding to the enticement of Satan, there would have been no real test, no genuine victory in the result. If he had been stripped of the faculty to sin, he would have been stripped of his very agency.
He was perfect and sinless, not because he had to be, but rather because he clearly and determinedly wanted to be. As the Doctrine and Covenants records, “He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them.” (D&C 20:22.)
What about us? We live in a world of temptation—temptation that seems more real and oppressively rampant than any since the days of Noah. Are we remaining faithful in such a world? Every individual in this church should ask himself, “Am I living so that I am keeping unspotted from the evils of the world?”
In speaking of the three temptations that came to Jesus, a former President of the Church made this statement concerning them: “Classify them, and you will find that under one of those three nearly every given temptation that makes you and me spotted, ever so little maybe, comes to us as (1) a temptation of the appetite; (2) a yielding to the pride and fashion and vanity of those alienated from the things of God; or (3) a gratifying of the passion, or a desire for the riches of the world, or power among men.” And then he said: “Now, when do temptations come? Why, they come to us in our social gatherings, they come to us at our weddings, they come to us in our politics, they come to us in our business relations, on the farm, in the mercantile establishment, in our dealings in all the affairs of life, we find these insidious influences working, and it is when they manifest themselves to the consciousness of each individual that the defense of truth ought to exert itself.” (David O. McKay, Conference Report, Oct. 1911, p. 59.)
After reading this week’s scriptures together, you might talk about the fact that because Christ suffered and overcame all, He is able to help us in our brightest days as well as our darkest nights.
Surprised By 