Amos; Obadiah; Jonah

You could begin by discussing the following statement by Sister Sheri L. Dew, formerly of the Relief Society General Presidency:

Prophets make us smarter than any other leaders or influencers on earth. Prophets help us see dangers we cannot yet see and opportunities we can’t even imagine. (“Prophets Can See Around Corners” [Brigham Young University–Hawaii devotional, Nov. 2, 2022], speeches.byuh.edu)

• What are examples of dangers prophets can help us see? What opportunities can they help us recognize?

Invite students to ponder how they typically respond to the counsel of the Lord’s prophets. Encourage them as they study to look for truths that can help them better recognize the blessing of having living prophets on earth today.

To help students understand the context of the book of Amos, explain that Amos prophesied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam II. He was sent by the Lord to warn the people that judgment was soon to come upon them because of their wickedness. (For more context, see “What is the book of Amos?” in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.)

Invite students to read Amos 2:11–12 and Amos 7:10–15, looking for examples of how the people responded to Amos’s prophetic counsel. Then consider asking:

• Why do you think the people wanted Amos to stop prophesying?

• Why do you think God’s prophets continue to teach even when some people reject their words?

Invite students to read Amos 3:3–8, looking for what the Lord inspired Amos to teach the people who demanded that the prophets stop prophesying. (You could also read together “Amos 3:1–8. What did Amos teach about the Lord’s prophets?” in Scripture Helps: Old Testament). To help students discuss what they found, consider asking the following questions:

• What is a truth we can learn about the Lord and His prophets from these verses? (Students may identify a truth like this: The Lord reveals truths through His prophets.)

• What does the Lord’s pattern of communicating through prophets teach you about Him and His attributes?

Consider using one or more of the following ideas to help students study more about the importance of prophets:

1. Invite students to search recent general conference messages to find truths the Lord has inspired His prophets to teach. Students could share truths that stand out to them with a partner or small group and explain why these truths are meaningful.

2. Invite students to make a list of concerns people may have about following the Lord’s prophets. Then ask them to find scriptures or statements from Church leaders that can help with these concerns. (This could be a good time to introduce the skill “Searching in the Scriptures and in Gospel Library” in Scripture Study Skills.) After sufficient time, invite students to share what they found with a partner or small group and explain how they feel their scripture or statement might help.

3. Share the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson:

Sometimes we as leaders of the Church are criticized for holding firm to the laws of God, defending the Savior’s doctrine, and resisting the social pressures of our day. But our commission as ordained apostles is “to go into all the world to preach [His] gospel unto every creature” [Doctrine and Covenants 18:28]. That means we are commanded to teach truth.

In doing so, sometimes we are accused of being uncaring as we teach the Father’s requirements for exaltation in the celestial kingdom. But wouldn’t it be far more uncaring for us not to tell the truth—not to teach what God has revealed?

It is precisely because we do care deeply about all of God’s children that we proclaim His truth. We may not always tell people what they want to hear. Prophets are rarely popular. But we will always teach the truth! (“Prophets,” in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Russell M. Nelson [2024])

To conclude, consider displaying the following questions. Invite students to choose one or more to respond to in their personal notes:

• How have you come to know that the Lord reveals truth through His prophets?

• How has following the truths taught by the Lord’s prophets brought you closer to Him?

• What will you do to more carefully hear and follow the counsel of the Lord’s prophets?

Consider inviting a few willing students to share something they wrote with the class. Testify of the truths you have discussed today.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”

Consider displaying the following questions and inviting multiple students to share their responses:

• If the scriptures and words of the living prophets were suddenly unavailable to me, what would I miss most? How would my life be different?

Explain that the prophet Amos lived during a time of great wickedness. He revealed the Lord’s words to the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but they rejected him and other prophets the Lord had sent to them (see Amos 2:12; 7:11–16).

Invite students to read Amos 8:11–12, looking for what Amos warned would happen because Israel had rejected the Lord’s prophets. Then consider asking:

• What does this prophecy teach about what can happen when people reject the Lord’s prophets? (Students may identify truths like these: When people reject the Lord’s prophets, they lose the blessings of the word of the Lord. Without the word of God, we starve spiritually.)

• Why might a famine be a good representation of what it is like to live without the word of the Lord?

Explain that Amos’s prophecy was fulfilled during several different periods in history. One significant fulfillment was a widespread falling away as foretold by the Lord’s prophets (see 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3; “Amos 8:11–14. What is the spiritual famine the Lord promised to send?” in Scripture Helps: Old Testament).

If time permits, you could give students time to study “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World” (Gospel Library). Have them discuss how the events of the Restoration that the proclamation describes helped to end the spiritual famine of the Great Apostasy. You could show the video “Dispensations: The Pattern of Apostasy and Restoration” (6:52) as part of this discussion.

6:53

Point out that even though we live in a time when the gospel is on the earth, we can still experience personal “spiritual famine” if we don’t consistently nourish our spirits with the word of God.

Consider inviting students to search for scriptures or statements by Church leaders that describe how the Lord’s word can bless and influence us. Examples include Psalm 119:103–105; 1 Nephi 15:24; and 2 Nephi 32:3. Have students share what they found with a partner or small group.

You might also consider sharing the following statements and discussing the accompanying questions:

Today the Bible and other scripture are readily at hand, yet there is a growing scriptural illiteracy because people will not open the books. Consequently they have forgotten things their grandparents knew. …

I suppose that never in history has a people been blessed with such a quantity of holy writ. And not only that, but every man, woman, and child may possess and study his or her own personal copy of these sacred texts, most in his or her own language. How incredible such a thing would have seemed … to the Saints of earlier dispensations! Surely with this blessing the Lord is telling us that our need for constant recourse to the scriptures is greater than in any previous time. (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Blessing of Scripture,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 33, 35)

Years ago, President Boyd K. Packer told of a herd of deer that, because of heavy snowfall, was trapped outside its natural habitat and faced possible starvation. Some well–meaning people, in an effort to save the deer, dumped truckloads of hay around the area—it wasn’t what deer would normally eat, but they hoped it would at least get the deer through the winter. Sadly, most of the deer were later found dead. They had eaten the hay, but it did not nourish them, and they starved to death with their stomachs full.

Many of the messages that bombard us in the information age are the spiritual equivalent of feeding hay to deer—we can eat it all day long, but it will not nourish us.

Where do we find true spiritual nourishment? (Stephen W. Owen, “Be Faithful, Not Faithless,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 12)

• What can make it difficult to be consistent in nourishing our spirits with God’s word?

• What suggestions might you offer to someone who wants to make studying the word of God a greater priority?

• What are some ways you have recently received spiritual nourishment from the Lord’s words in the scriptures or through His living prophets?

Give students time to create a plan for avoiding spiritual famine in their lives. They could do this by recording their responses to the following questions:

• Where can you seek God’s word to receive more spiritual nourishment in your life?

• What could you start, stop, or keep doing so that you can be spiritually nourished by the word of the Lord?

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”

You could begin by introducing the skill “Identifying Gospel Truths in the Scriptures” in Scripture Study Skills. Then explain that students will have opportunities to practice this skill while studying the book of Jonah. To prepare students to study Jonah’s account, invite them to create this heading in their personal notes: Truths we can learn from the book of Jonah.

To help students understand the context of Jonah’s account, consider explaining that Jonah lived in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam II in the eighth century BC. The prophets Amos and Hosea also prophesied to the Northern Kingdom around this time. (For more about the book of Jonah, see “What is the book of Jonah” in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.)

To help students study Jonah 1–4, you could write the numbers 1–4 as headings on the board. Divide the class into small groups and assign each group one chapter of Jonah to study. Ask them to read their assigned chapter and identify truths it teaches. (If applicable, students could also read the entry related to their assigned chapter in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.) You could then invite students to write the truths they found on the board.

After sufficient time, invite someone from each group to come to the board and write the truths they discovered under their assigned chapter number. Some examples of truths students might identify include these:

• The Lord will hold us accountable for the responsibilities He gives us, even if we try to avoid them.

• If we cry unto the Lord and repent when we have sinned, we can receive His mercy.

• The Lord will help us obey Him, even when it is difficult.

• To become like the Lord, we must be merciful, kind, and forgiving, as He is.

Once the truths are written on the board, you could invite students to discuss situations that young adults face where remembering one of these truths could be helpful.

If desired, you could spend more time helping students deepen their understanding of the following truth: The Lord will help us obey Him, even when it is difficult. You could invite them to reflect on a time when they received an assignment, service opportunity, or spiritual impression from the Lord that felt challenging or unexpected. They could take a moment to write about their experience. Then consider discussing the following questions together:

• What were your initial thoughts or feelings when you received this assignment or impression?

• What factors might prevent us from faithfully responding to difficult or unexpected opportunities?

• What are some examples from the Savior’s life or other scripture accounts that can inspire you to obey the Lord even when it is difficult? (As needed, you could suggest some of the following scriptures: Luke 1:26–38; Alma 8:8–18; 3 Nephi 11:10–11.)

• When have you felt the Lord helping you follow His invitations to serve Him?

Invite students to consider how they could apply the truths they studied from the book of Jonah. To prepare them to do this, consider singing together “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go” (Hymns, no. 270). Then encourage students to record their plans in their personal notes.

To conclude, invite students to ponder this message by Elder Steven D. Shumway of the Seventy:

There is a growing need for willing souls to engage in God’s work. Selflessly serving is the very essence of Christlike discipleship. But serving is rarely convenient. This is why I admire you covenant-keeping disciples … who set aside your desires and challenges to serve God by serving His children. God “delights to honor [you for serving Him] in righteousness.” He promises, “Great shall be [your] reward and eternal shall be [your] glory” [Doctrine and Covenants 76:5–6]. When we say yes to serving, we are saying yes to Jesus Christ. And when we say yes to Christ, we are saying yes to the most abundant life possible. (“Participate to Prepare for Christ’s Return,” Liahona, May 2025, 86)

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”