Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual

Contents
Title Page
Introduction to the Teacher Manual
Lessons 1–2
Old Testament Lessons
- Lessons 1–2
  Welcome to the Old Testament
- Lessons 3–6
  Moses 1; Abraham 3
- Lessons 7–9
  Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5
- Lessons 10–12
  Genesis 3–4; Moses 4–5
- Lessons 13–15
  Genesis 5; Moses 6
- Lessons 16–18
  Moses 7
- Lessons 19–21
  Genesis 6–11; Moses 8
- Lessons 22–24
  Genesis 12–17; Abraham 1–2
- Lessons 25–28
  Genesis 18–23
- Lessons 29–32
  Genesis 24–33
- Lessons 33–34
  Genesis 37–41
- Lessons 35–37
  Genesis 42–50
- Lessons 38–40
  Exodus 1–6
- Easter
- Lessons 41–44
  Exodus 7–13
- Lessons 45–47
  Exodus 14–18
- Lessons 48–51
  Exodus 19–20; 24; 31–34
- Lessons 52–55
  Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 4; 16; 19
- Lessons 56–57
  Numbers 11–14; 20–24; 27
- Lessons 58–60
  Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34
- Lessons 61–64
  Joshua 1–8; 23–24
- Lessons 65–67
  Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16
- Lessons 68–70
  Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7
- Lessons 71–73
  1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16
- Lessons 74–76
  1 Samuel 17–18; 24–26; 2 Samuel 5–7
- Lessons 77–80
  2 Samuel 11–12; 1 Kings 3; 6–9; 11
- Lessons 81–82
  1 Kings 12–13; 17–22
- Lessons 83–85
  2 Kings 2–7
- Lessons 86–89
  2 Kings 16–25
- Lessons 90–91
  2 Chronicles 14–20; 26; 30
- Lessons 92–93
  Ezra 1, 3–7; Nehemiah 2; 4–6; 8
- Lessons 94–96
  Esther
- Lessons 97–99
  Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42
- Lessons 100–103
  Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46
- Lessons 104–106
  Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86
- Lessons 107–108
  Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150
- Lessons 109–112
  Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12
- Lessons 113–116
  Isaiah 1–12
- Lessons 117–118
  Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35
- Lessons 119–122
  Isaiah 40–49
- Lessons 123–125
  Isaiah 50–57
- Lessons 126–129
  Isaiah 58–66
- Lessons 130–133
  Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20
- Lessons 134–137
  Jeremiah 31–33; 36–38; Lamentations 1; 3
- Lessons 138–141
  Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47
- Lessons 142–145
  Daniel 1–7
- Lessons 146–148
  Hosea; Joel
- Lessons 149–151
  Amos; Obadiah; Jonah
- Lessons 152–154
  Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah
- Lessons 155–157
  Haggai 1–2; Zechariah 1–4; 7–14
- Lessons 158–160
  Malachi
Lessons 161–165
Life Preparation Lessons
- Lessons 161–165
  Doctrinal Mastery: Finding Answers to My Questions
- Lessons 166–170
  Scripture Study Skills
- Lessons 171–176
  For the Strength of Youth Guide
- Lessons 177–180
  Building Self–Reliance
- Lessons 181–187
  Physical and Emotional Health
- Lessons 188–191
  Preparing for Future Education and Employment
- Lessons 192–195
  Succeed in School
- Lessons 196–200
  Missionary Preparation
- Lessons 201–204
  Temple Preparation
- Lessons 205–208
  Teachings of Church Leaders

Caring for Our Physical Body: Improving Our Physical and Emotional Health

“Caring for Our Physical Body: Improving Our Physical and Emotional Health,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2026)

“Caring for Our Physical Body: Improving Our Physical and Emotional Health,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual

Physical and Emotional Health: Lesson 182

Caring for Our Physical Body

Improving Our Physical and Emotional Health

Heavenly Father gave us physical bodies as part of His plan to become like Him. (see “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org). But how we care for our bodies doesn’t just affect our future; it impacts how we feel now. This lesson can help students understand how our choices impact our physical and emotional health.

Student preparation: Invite students to think about their health choices (eating, sleeping, exercising, and so on) over the last week. Encourage them to evaluate how those choices affected how they felt physically and emotionally.

Possible Learning Activities

Our choices affect us physically and emotionally

The following scenario is used throughout the lesson to help students understand how the healthy or unhealthy decisions we make each day affect how we feel physically and emotionally. The scenario uses the name “Maya,” but you could invite students to select a name and to add or change the details of the story.

Maya has been feeling tired and discouraged for the last several weeks. The following image depicts some of the choices Maya has made during that time.

Late night office work with tired woman sleep on desk illustration.

What are some of the choices Maya is making that could impact how she has been feeling?

Students might mention that she is staying up late, eating unhealthy foods, and being distracted by her phone. You might invite students to add additional choices that teenagers in your area might be making that can negatively impact their physical and emotional health.

It might be helpful to explain to students that, as part of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness, our bodies and spirits are intimately connected (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:15). Therefore, the choices we make about our health affect us in more ways than just how we feel physically.
How might the choices Maya is making affect how she feels physically? emotionally?
What are some other choices we can make as we care for our physical bodies that can affect how we feel?

You may want to list students’ responses to the previous question on the board in two columns, “healthy” and “unhealthy” choices. Students can use these responses on the board or others they come up with on their own to complete the chart in the next activity

Create the following chart in your study journal. List both healthy and unhealthy activities in the first three boxes that have affected how you have felt during the last week. As you study, invite the Holy Ghost to help you recognize ways you could improve how you care for your body and list them in box 4.

1. Choices I didn’t make	2. Choices I made a few times
3. Choices I make often	4. Choices I could make

Caring for our physical body brings blessings

Imagine you are talking to Maya, who shares, “I wish I could stop feeling so tired and discouraged all the time.” You recognize that Maya doesn’t realize how the choices she is making are affecting her.

Prepare a response that includes scriptures and teachings of Church leaders that could help someone like Maya understand:

How her choices are affecting her physically and emotionally.
Why God cares about how we care for our body.
The blessings God promises to those who take care of their body.

2026 Old Testament Seminary Teacher Materials

The Savior will help us make healthy choices

One of the truths students might identify from the handout could include because our body is a gift from God, He expects us to care for it.

To help students think about how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can help them take care of their body, discuss a question like one of the following:

How have you seen the Lord bless those who are striving to take care of their physical body?
How can Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ help us make better choices to take care of our body, even when we don’t feel like it?

Consider inviting students to add to section 4 of the healthy choices chart from the beginning of the lesson.

Look at the chart you created in your study journal. Add your responses to the following questions:

From what you have studied, which choices could you adjust to help improve your physical and emotional health?
How will you involve Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in your efforts?

You might close with your testimony of Heavenly Father, His plan of salvation, and blessings you have seen from striving to make healthy choices.

Additional Resources

Why should I care for my physical body right now?

Bishop Gérald Caussé, the Presiding Bishop, taught:

Some of you might think that as young people you are immune to physical troubles. On the contrary, the habits you establish now pertaining to your personal well-being will impact you both temporally and spiritually for the rest of your lives. Your focus should not be on following the vain trends of the world. It is not simply a question of losing some fat here or there or weight lifting an additional twenty pounds to appear as buff as your roommate! The goal is to feel better and to find a temporal and spiritual equilibrium. This will give you the best chance to have a lifetime of good health, which in turn will bring you joy and confidence in your mortal abilities and a better awareness of your eternal potential. (“Harmony of Body and Spirit: A Key to Happiness,” [Brigham Young University devotional, Oct. 13, 2020], 5, speeches.byu.edu)

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, shared:

It may seem odd to think of having a relationship with ourselves, but we do. Some people can’t get along with themselves. They criticize and belittle themselves all day long until they begin to hate themselves. May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. … Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you—as His precious daughter or son with divine potential. (“Of Things That Matter Most,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 22)

What should I do if I struggle with unhealthy choices related to my physical body?

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has counseled:

14:33

We will not attain a state of perfection in this life, but we can and should press forward with faith in Christ along the strait and narrow path and make steady progress toward our eternal destiny. The Lord’s pattern for spiritual development is “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 28:30). Small, steady, incremental spiritual improvements are the steps the Lord would have us take. Preparing to walk guiltless before God is one of the primary purposes of mortality and the pursuit of a lifetime; it does not result from sporadic spurts of intense spiritual activity.

I witness that the Savior will strengthen and assist us to make sustained, paced progress. (“Clean Hands and a Pure Heart,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 82)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Additional resources for making healthy choices

As students study the handout, you could provide additional resources that could help them respond to Maya’s questions.

Healthy Eating Habits: “The Word of Wisdom: What It Is, What It Isn’t,” New Era, Aug. 2019, 26–27
Healthy Body Image: “More Than a Body: Seeing as God Sees,” New Era, Aug. 2019, 8–11
Sleep Habits: “Six Ways to Get Your ZZZs,” Ensign or Liahona, Mar. 2003, 68–69
Active Lifestyle: “Move More, Stress Less!” Ensign, Aug. 2004, 58–59
“Blessings of the Word of Wisdom,” Liahona, Aug. 2021, 49

Additional resources can be found at Healthy Living.

Caring for our body affects how we feel

Students may benefit from better understanding how personal hygiene choices can affect how we feel physically and emotionally. The following could be an additional question during the handout activity.

How does my personal hygiene affect how I feel?

Doctrine and Covenants 42:41
2 Corinthians 7:1
“General Standards for Grooming,” Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ, 4.9.2

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) taught the following:

How truly beautiful is a well-groomed young woman who is clean in body and mind. She is a daughter of God in whom her Eternal Father can take pride. How handsome is a young man who is well groomed. He is a son of God, deemed worthy of holding the holy priesthood of God. (“A Prophet’s Counsel and Prayer for Youth,” Ensign or Liahona, Jan. 2001, 2)

The importance of our physical bodies

To help reinforce the truth that our physical bodies are part of Heavenly Father’s plan, you might show one of the following videos:

2:51
Lawrence E. Corbridge, “Inspiring Short: The Miracle of the Ordinary” (3:00)

Then ask students how caring for our physical bodies helps us fulfill the full measure of our creation as part of Heavenly Father’s plan.