SETUP
When I have been weighed down by a problem or a difficulty, I ...
D&C 95:15-17
D&C 88:67
Matthew 6:33
INTRODUCTION
Elder Dallin H. Oaks: "We generally think of Satan attacking us at our weakest spot. … But weakness is not our only vulnerability. Satan can also attack us where we think we are strong—in the very areas where we are proud of our strengths. He will approach us through the greatest talents and spiritual gifts we possess. If we are not wary, Satan can cause our spiritual downfall by corrupting us through our strengths as well as by exploiting our weaknesses"
***What are some strengths that could become our downfall?
This lesson is about King Solomon, a man who received great gifts from God but eventually used those gifts unrighteously.
BACKGROUND
1 Kings 2:2-3 (Just before David died, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon as the new king. Solomon, who was a son of David and Bathsheba, received this counsel from his father)
CHAPTER 3 - The Lord blesses Solomon
- The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream (v.5-14)
- Solomon asks for an understanding heart
- The Lord is pleased with his request
Why? What would an understanding heart be able to do? Bless others - other things are selfish
- Interesting that the Lord points out the things Solomon didn't ask for and says he'll grant those to him since he didn't ask
What to make of that?
- Also fascinating is Solomon's approach to the question he asks the Lord. He doesn't just ask outright. He prefaced with a good background of his situation and demonstrated his faith, humility
Elder Howard W. Hunter likewise challenged us to obtain an understanding heart: "If the Lord was pleased because of that which Solomon had asked of him, surely he would be pleased with each of us if we had the desire to acquire an understanding heart. This must come from conscious effort coupled with faith and firm determination. An understanding heart results from the experiences we have in life if we keep the commandments of God. The ills of the world would be cured by understanding. Wars would cease and crime disappear. The scientific knowledge now being wasted in the world because of the distrust of men and nations could be diverted to bless mankind. Atomic energy will destroy unless used for peaceful purposes by understanding hearts. We need more understanding in our relationships with one another, in business and in industry, between management and labor, between government and the governed. We need understanding in that most important of all social units, the family; understanding between children and parents and between husband and wife. Marriage would bring happiness, and divorce would be unknown if there were understanding hearts. Hatred tears down, but understanding builds up. Our prayer could well be as was Solomon’s, ‘Lord, give me an understanding heart.’”
4:30-31 Solomon was wiser than all men even He-Man
***Why does God bless Solomon with riches if he knows that's what is going to lead to his downfall?
These thoughts came to me:
- Why are you questioning God?
- Why is there always so much blame and so much questioning of righteous things that are done?
- Why wouldn't God want to bless his child when he does something good no matter what he thinks/knows is the type of choices the child is going to make in the future?
- Wouldn't a parent who has a wayward child be in the same boat when they do something nice
- Should they not show love?
CHAPTERS 5-7 - Construction of the Temple
- The builders showed reverence while building the temple (v.6:7)
- The Lord gave them a promise for building a temple (v.6:11-12)
D&C 95:15-17 (the Lord's promise to us)
The temple was long and narrow. According to the dimensions cited in the Bible, the temple was about one hundred feet long and thirty feet wide. It stood on a platform about nine feet high. The temple itself was about forty-five feet high. The Salt Lake Temple is 186½ feet long, 118½ feet wide, and 210 feet high.
- Solomon also had a house built for himself.
- How did the size of his house compare to the size of the house of the Lord? (v 6:2–3; 7:2, 6–7.)
****How does this use of riches show Solomon’s gradual decline?
CHAPTERS 8 AND 9 - Dedication of the Temple
In his dedicatory prayer Solomon prayed for the Lord to help his people through many difficult problems.
***How can temple attendance help us when we are weighed down with problems?
President Ezra Taft Benson said: "In the peace of these lovely temples, sometimes we find solutions to the serious problems of life. Under the influence of the Spirit, sometimes pure knowledge flows to us there. Temples are places of personal revelation. When I have been weighed down by a problem or a difficulty, I have gone to the House of the Lord with a prayer in my heart for answers. These answers have come in clear and unmistakable ways."
President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "When we dedicate a house to the Lord, what we really do is dedicate ourselves to the Lord’s service, with a covenant that we shall use the house in the way He intends that it shall be used"
How Did Solomon Learn How the Temple Should Be Built?
President Brigham Young said: “The pattern of this temple, the length and breadth, and height of the inner and outer courts, with all the fixtures thereunto appertaining, were given to Solomon by revelation, through the proper source. And why was this revelation-pattern necessary? Because Solomon had never built a temple, and did not know what was necessary in the arrangement of the different apartments, any better than Moses did what was needed in the tabernacle.”
Before Solomon gave the dedicatory prayer, a cloud of glory filled the house of God, indicating the very presence of God. That this glory should accompany the dedication exercises is interesting for Latter-day Saints, since a similar glory attended the dedication of the Kirtland Temple on 27 March 1836. Many present reported seeing angels and hearing the “sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple,” and many in the community reported “seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple”
Have people share their experience of a temple dedication.
CHAPTERS 10-11 - Solomon's downfall
Solomon became excessively wealthy and married many non-Israelite women who persuaded him to worship idols
How do you think the blessings of wisdom, riches, and honor contributed to Solomon’s downfall?
How have you seen these strengths contribute to the downfall of people today?
***How can we ensure that our strengths do not become a downfall for us?
D&C 88:67
Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: "How do we prevent our strengths from becoming our downfall? The quality we must cultivate is humility. Humility is the great protector. Humility is the antidote against pride. Humility is the catalyst for all learning, especially spiritual things. Through the prophet Moroni, the Lord gave us this great insight into the role of humility: ‘I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them’ (Ether 12:27). “We might also say that if men and women humble themselves before God, he will help them prevent their strengths from becoming weaknesses that the adversary can exploit to destroy them. If we are humble and teachable, hearkening to the commandments of God, the counsel of his leaders, and the promptings of his Spirit, we can be guided in how to use our spiritual gifts, our accomplishments, and all of our other strengths for righteousness. And we can be guided in how to avoid Satan’s efforts to use our strengths to cause our downfall. “In all of this, we should remember and rely on the Lord’s direction and promise: ‘Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers’ (D&C 112:10)”
CLOSING
see Matthew 6:33
We all enjoy blessings from the Lord. If we are wise, we will accept the blessings with a grateful heart and walk in righteousness before the Lord.
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