Deuteronomy

Watch the video presentation on YouTube at: Deuteronomy

To purchase slides or handouts, go to: Teaching with Power Etsy Shop

THE FOUR WORDS OF DEUTERONOMY

ICEBREAKER

For an Icebreaker to the Book of Deuteronomy I like to begin with some life advice statements. Some great counsel to help improve and direct your life. I usually begin with some more humorous examples of advice and then end with some that are a bit more serious. So for example:

If you ever get caught sleeping on the job, just slowly raise your head and say: Amen!

This one is accompanied by a picture. How to keep all the cookies to yourself. Just use this cookie cutter and they’ll all be yours!

Don’t wear headphones while vacuuming! I’ve just finished the whole house and realized the vacuum wasn’t even plugged in.

Whatever you do, always give 100%, unless your donating blood.

Now for some more serious counsel given by prophets near the end of their lives.

From Thomas S. Monson’s final address in general conference. He said: “It is essential for you to have your own testimony in these difficult times, for the testimonies of others will carry you only so far.” (Conference Report, April 2017)

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin in his final address in general conference said: “Come what may and love it.” (Conference Report, October 2008)

From Ezra Taft Benson’s final conference address. He said: I leave you my testimony of the joy of living—of the joys of full gospel living and of going through the Refiner’s fire and the sanctification process that takes place.” (Conference Report, October 1989)

Paul, when he came to the end of his life said:

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8

And then Jesus, you may recall, at the last supper said.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35)

TRANSITION

Now that is some great final counsel. The book of Deuteronomy here contains the final parting counsel of somebody we’ve gotten to know really well this year. Moses. Everything we’ve read and studied so far (with the exception of the Book of Abraham) was written by Moses. And the Book of Deuteronomy is a distillation of the collective wisdom of an entire lifetime of experience and work with God. I think it’s kind of unfortunate that Deuteronomy doesn’t really get studied much in the Church. I mean, this is one of the greatest prophets of all time. You’d imagine that he’d probably have some fairly good counsel to give after that lifetime of sacrifice and service. Now the word “Deuteronomy” literally translated means “a repetition of the law”. And it’s true, there are a lot of repeated principles and chapters in Deuteronomy that explain the ins and outs of the Mosaic law. But, look at this book from Moses’ perspective. He’s basically saying goodbye and sending off the generation that will finally inherit the promised land. These people that he’s worked so hard, for years, to prepare for this great challenge and blessing and he knows he can’t go with them. Perhaps some of you parents can relate to this feeling. What’s it like to send your children off into the mission field, or college, or marriage. There comes a time when you have to let them go and yet you wonder and worry if you’ve done enough to prepare them for that world ahead. I’m experiencing this right now. I have an 18-year-old son who is just about to graduate from high school and will be in the mission field soon. It’s caused me and his mother some serious reflection on whether we’ve done enough as parents to help him to be ready for that world. That’s the spirit of the Book of Deuteronomy. Moses is sending them off to face and live in a Canaanite world—a world that they’re not familiar with as they’ve lived their entire lives in the wilderness. And so Deuteronomy is Moses’ final effort to help them to be ready to live righteous in a wicked world. Well, we too live in a “Canaanite world” and even though we only have one week to study this great book, I pray we can glean from its pages the wisdom and inspiration of a lifetime of experience and dedication to God.

SEARCH

Now since we only have one week to cover over 30 chapters of scripture, we’re obviously going to have to paint with some broad brush strokes. Instead of diving really deeply into specific sections or chapters, we’re going to look for themes and big picture ideas. So you’re going to notice that this week I don’t have the usual slides of the actual scripture pages themselves. If you were to just sit down and read the entire Book of Deuteronomy, these are the themes and ideas that you would see come up over and over again. I feel I could sum up the major message of the Book of Deuteronomy into just four words-verbs in fact. Moses is going to counsel the children of Israel to do four specific things to help them inherit the literal and the figurative promised land. So let’s do a little activity to help you to discover those four verbs, and then we’ll take a closer look at each. I call this activity, “Don’t Break the Commandments”. And all you do is put the blanks of those four words up on the board like this and a picture of the ten commandments next to it. Then, allow the students to take turns guessing letters that might go in those blanks. If they pick a letter that’s not in any of the words, that means a commandment is broken and an X goes through one of the lines like this. The challenge as a class is to figure out all four words before all 10 commandments are broken. You could make the challenge even a bit more difficult and discourage guessing if you say that a commandment is also broken when a student makes an incorrect guess. And yes, what this is, is basically hangman, but with a more scriptural theme.

But what are the four verbs of Deuteronomy?

They are REMEMBER, OBEY, BEWARE, and TEACH

Now let’s spend some time examining each of those words and we’ll do a different type of activity to cover each one.

VERB #1 REMEMBER

REMEMBER. I would argue that this is THE major word of Deuteronomy and the fundamental purpose of the entire book. Moses wanted the people to REMEMBER some things as they moved forward into the promised land. What is it that Moses (and the Lord) wanted the children of Israel to remember? We’re going to do a matching activity to find out. On the following handout you’ll see a number of different references and pictures. Your task is to match the reference with the picture that best represents what the people are being instructed to remember. As you find the match for each one, there’s a box underneath provided for you to write down why you feel the Lord would want them (and us) to remember that specific thing.

6:4-9 Remember to Love the Lord your God. One God (heart)

8:2 Remember how God has led you (Christ leading the way, past spiritual experiences)

8:3 Remember to be fed by the scriptures (Scriptures)

8:11 Remember to keep the commandments (Commandments)

8:17-18 Remember that God is the source of all your material possessions (money)

9:7 Remember your mistakes, so that you won’t make them again (mistakes)

32:7 Remember the past (History Book)

6:4-9

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

The match here is the picture of the heart. Moses really wanted them to remember the Lord and to love Him with all their hearts, and souls, and might. He felt so strongly about them remembering that particular truth that he commanded them to bind those words upon their hands and before their eyes and on the posts of their houses. Now, if you know any practicing Jews or if you’ve visited Israel, or studied Jewish customs, the following pictures may look familiar to you. Do you know what these are? The first is of a phylactery or tefillin which are little leather boxes and straps wrapped around the arms and forehead before prayer. And the second is something called a mezuzah which is also a little box that you’ll find posted near the doorways of Jewish homes. Inside those boxes of the tefillin and the mezuzah you’ll find little rolled up scrolls or piece of paper with the words that we just read here in Deuteronomy 6, including some other passages from the Torah. But, these verses are sometimes referred to as the shema prayer. By wearing tefillin or placing a mezuzah by their doors, the Jews could literally fulfill the command to bind God’s word between their eyes and on the posts of their houses. These physical objects were to act as visual reminders of their covenant to love the Lord with all their hearts, soul, and might.

Now do we have anything similar nowadays in the restored church? Physical objects that help us to remember the Lord and our covenants? Sure. Can you think of any?

Here are a few ideas and consider how each helps us to remember?

CTR Rings

Temple garments

YW Necklace

Temple recommends

The sacrament

Every time we see or come in contact with these objects, hopefully we too are reminded to serve and love God.

Next

8:2

2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

The match is this picture of people following the Lord. They were to remember how the Lord had led them in the past. It is good for us to reflect frequently on past spiritual experiences, answered prayers, and acquired gospel knowledge. When we begin to forget these things, we place ourselves firmly in enemy territory. I’m always so dismayed to hear when people who I know have had significant spiritual experiences in their lives, give it all up because of some current doubt or temporary question in their hearts. We’ve got to keep in mind and remember what God has done for us in the past. As Jeffrey R. Holland taught: “When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes.” (Lord, I Believe, CR, April 2013) It’s important for us to remember how God has led us through the wilderness of our lives.

8:3

3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

The picture of the scriptures is the match. The children of Israel were to remember the lesson and the meaning of the manna that they’d lived on for so many years. Manna was a metaphor for God’s word. He wanted them to remember to feast on God’s word daily. The scriptures provide the strength and nourishment our souls need to move forward on our journey of life. They help us to remember God’s will and truth. In fact, do you recall the original name that Adam gave to the scriptures or the record that he kept. He called them “Book of Remembrance”. I wonder if we would value the scriptures more if we continued to call them by that name. Daily scripture study is a continual reminder of the teachings of the gospel.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples of someone who used the scriptures as a book of remembrance is Jesus Christ himself. When Jesus was being tempted by the adversary after fasting in the wilderness, you may recall that he quoted some scriptures in spiritual self-defense. When Satan tempted him to turn the stones into bread, he said “It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. When tempted to jump from the pinnacle of the temple, he said “It is written, “thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”. And when tempted with the riches of the world, Jesus said “It is written, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve”. You wanna know something interesting about each of those phrases? They all come from Deuteronomy. (See Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:16, and13:4). Jesus knew this book well and had studied it closely. Closely enough to be able to quote it from memory as it helped him to defend himself against temptation. I believe the scriptures can do the same for us. The better you remember what is in them, the more prepared and powerful you will be in rejecting temptation. No wonder the prophets invite us to study the scriptures daily.

8:11

11 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

The match is the picture of the ten commandments. We are to remember the commandments. Why does God want us to remember them? Well, that’s a bit of an obvious one right. We’ve got to remember the commandments to live them. No wonder we have so many different avenues for God to remind us of his instructions for happy and successful living. General conference, scripture study, church, patriarchal blessings, church magazines, and so on. The more we come in contact with the commandments the more likely we will be to keep them. We’ll study this idea more deeply with our second word.

8:17-18

17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

The match is the picture of the money. Verse 17 contains a warning about wealth and prosperity. If we ever find ourselves in a prosperous position, we are to remember that God is the source of that blessing. Remember what God taught us last year in Doctrine and Covenants 59:21. “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things . . .” We must remember that whatever gifts, or blessings, or prosperity we have gained or enjoy have only come because of the power and goodness of God. So we should not say to ourselves, “All this is mine, because I earned it and worked hard for it.” Well, how would we have been able to earn it if we hadn’t been blessed by God with the ability to work, or a mind that could think, or a body that could act, or air to breathe. All things come from God. Pride brings forgetfulness.

9:7

7 Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the Lord.

The match is the picture of the eraser and the word “mistakes”. We need to remember our mistakes. Why do you think the Lord wants us to remember our mistakes when we believe in a God that not only forgives, but forgets our sins? If He forgets them, why does he allow US to continue to remember them? So that we don’t repeat them. Now, he doesn’t want us dwelling on our mistakes, or continuing to be discouraged because of them, but he does want us to remember the lessons we’ve learned from them. If we forget about our mistakes, we may foolishly desire to return to them at some future time. Like the children of Israel who always seemed to forget how terrible slavery in Egypt was and frequently desired to return back. They had forgotten the bitterness of their slavery. We too must be careful not to forget the bitterness of our past sins.

32:7

7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

The match is the picture of the history book. God does not want us to forget the lessons and the wisdom of the past. There is a real temptation for the current generation to despise the past, dismiss it, or even mock it. Calling something “old-fashioned” is usually not a compliment. No, it’s all about progress and change and we’re going to do something different and better! But the past has so much to teach us and inspire us with. Experience and the collective wisdom of previous generations are the foundation upon which the present and the future are built. We shouldn’t try to reinvent the wheel every 100 years. Instead, we can study the scriptures and be reminded of the fundamental principles of the gospel. We can remember and respect the legacy of the pioneers and early church members who made the Church what it is today. We can remember what our ancestors and our parents have taught us and honor their sacrifices. Much of the entire Book of Deuteronomy follows this theme of remembering the past. In fact, the first three chapters of the book are specifically dedicated to a recounting of the entire history of the wanderings of the children of Israel through the wilderness. Moses didn’t want them to forget all the things that had brought them to the promised land in the first place.

Well, I think that’s a pretty good review of the kinds of things our Father in Heaven would have us remember as well.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

To liken the scriptures, I’d like you to circle one of the pictures that represents the thing that you feel you most need to remember in your own life.

Then, what do you feel you could do this week to better remember that thing?

CONCLUSION

One of Moses’s greatest fears before his death was that his people would forget. He knew that forgetting would lead to failure, but that remembrance would lead to righteousness. If we wish to live righteous in a Canaanite world, we too must remember.

VERB #2 OBEY

SEARCH

The charge for the children of Israel to obey and keep the commandments is all over the book of Deuteronomy. This message is expressed many different times and in many different ways throughout the book. Now for this portion of the lesson, you could help your class see this message by playing a little game. This is particularly effective if you’re teaching the youth, but you could still cover all the same ideas with adults by just asking the questions and seeing if they can find the answers as you list them on the board. The activity though is very simple. Let’s call it Deuteronomy Dice. Divide the class into anywhere from 2 to 6 teams depending on the size of your class. You as the teacher will ask them questions from Deuteronomy and the fastest person to raise their hand and give the correct answer will earn a chance to roll a 20-sided dice. I have a big foam one that works really well and if you’re interested, I’ll provide a link in the video description below where you could get one of your own(https://amzn.to/3yqOqps). They’re not very expensive. They roll that dice and whatever number it lands on, that amount of points are awarded to that team. Now what this does is it helps to keep things fairly even throughout the game, because even if a team hasn’t answered many questions correctly, they can still earn a large sum with just one roll.

The questions come in a couple of different thematic rounds. The first round is to look for words or phrases that mean the same as obey in the given verses. In Deuteronomy, God uses a number of different verbs to describe how we are to interact with the commandments. To begin:

What is the word that is used in Deuteronomy 1:18 to describe how we interact with commandments? DO

We do them. The commandments tell us what we should do. So I sometimes like to refer to this list of words as the Do’s of Deuteronomy.

Now there are many repeats of the same words in the book, so see if you can find a new word to add to our list from the given verses. Let’s see how many more Do’s of Deuteronomy we can find.

4:1 Now we have “do” again in there, but what’s the new word? HEARKEN unto the statutes and judgments.

4:4 CLEAVE

4:6 The word is “KEEP”

5:1 We’ve got keep and do in there again, but what’s the new one? LEARN

5:32 OBSERVE to do it

6:24 we have do again but a new one? FEAR

13:4 This one has almost all the words we’ve found so far in just one place, but we can add two new ones. WALK after the Lord your God, SERVE him.

Aren’t those great words! This is what we must DO with the commandments. And understand that these are not the only verses where you’ll find these words. And just to help you to see that and how prevalent this message is in Deuteronomy, take a look at the following list of some of the other places in the book where you find the command to obey using one or more of those words.

5:10 Keep

6:1 Do

6:3 Observe to do it

6:25 OBSERVE to do

8:1 observe to do

10:12-13 FEAR, WALK IN HIS WAYS, love serve, keep

10:20 fear, serve, cleave, swear by his name

11:8 keep all the commandments

11:13 Hearken diligently

11:32 observe

12:28 Observe and Hear

19:9 Keep, to do.

27:10 obey do

28:2 Hearken

28:9 keep, walk

28:13 hearken, observe, do

But that’s just half of the message on obedience in Deuteronomy. As you study it, you’ll notice that in almost every case where you have God commanding them to keep the commandments, he always provides the reason for WHY they should keep them. This message is also communicated in a number of different ways but let’s see if you can find them. I’ll give you the verse and you find the “reason phrase” within it. Now for this round, there can be repeats of the same phrase or idea.

4:1 that ye may live

4:40 that it may go well with thee, AND prolong thy days upon the earth

5:29 that it might be well with them. (this is one of my favorite verses of Deuteronomy, just read the whole thing: 29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!)

5:33 that ye may live, that it may be well with you, prolong the days

6:3 that it may be well with thee, that ye may increase mightily

6:18 that it may be well with thee

6:24 for our good always that he might preserve us alive

7:8 Because he loved you

8:16 to do thee good at thy latter end

10:13 For thy good

11:8 that ye may be strong

28:2 all these blessings shall overtake thee (I really love that last one. That’s an interesting word to use. The blessings shall overtake you. Like they’re chasing you down or something. Watch out! The blessings are going to get you and overtake you!)

29:9 that ye may prosper in all that ye do

This answers a very important and fundamental question about commandments. Why does the Lord give them? Is it because he’s a tyrant that demands our compliance to his whims and orders? Is the reason he gives “Because I said so”. No, it’s all about us. Commandments are given for our good, that we may live, that we may increase, and our days be prolonged. The commandments are a manifestation of God’s love and concern for us. When we keep them, observe them, and hearken to them, things will go well with us and do us good.

Now I have another question for you for our final round. There is one particular commandment that appears more often than any other here in Deuteronomy. You might even call it “The great commandment”. I’ll give you a list of the references you find this commandment in, and you tell me what it is.

5:10

6:5

10:12

11:1

11:13

11:22

13:3

19:9

30:6

30:16

30:20

God’s greatest commandment is to love him. Indeed, isn’t that what Jesus said when he was asked what the greatest commandment was?

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Now when you stop to think about it, that’s kind of an interesting thing to command. How can you command a feeling? Simply put. You can’t. You can’t demand that somebody feel something for you. You can command an action, but not a feeling. So “love” in this sense isn’t referring to just the feeling. This is using the word love as a verb and not necessarily as a noun. So when Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God, he’s telling us that we need to do something. And that DO, is the great Do of Deuteronomy. What’s the “do”? Keep his commandments with all your heart and soul and mind. To love God, is to serve Him, and place Him first as a priority. We demonstrate love for Him through our actions. You’re probably familiar with another great statement of Jesus from John 14:15,” If ye love me . . . .keep my commandments.” And I believe that as we love as a verb, then the love as a noun will also begin to fill our hearts. Obedience without love is just bondage. Obedience with understanding is better. But obedience with love is joy and security. And when God tells us that he loves us, we can also assume that that is expressed in more than just a feeling. Yes, he feels love the noun for us, but even more importantly, he loves us as a verb. He acts on that love. He serves us. And one of the greatest acts of his love, is the giving of commandments.

TRUTH

God gives us commandments because he loves us. If we keep His commandments, it will be well with us.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

Since commandments are such great blessings. What is one of your favorite commandments? Share how it has guided and blessed you!

CONCLUSION

So our second great lesson from Deuteronomy. Obey. If we obey God’s commandments, it will be well with us. It doesn’t get much more straightforward than that.

Now there’s another great principle of obedience found in the Book of Deuteronomy that comes in Moses’s instructions for the children of Israel to do something when they eventually come to two mountains in the Promised Land called Mt. Gerizim, and Mt. Ebal. But I felt that principle would be better covered in the Book of Joshua where they actually carry those instructions out. So we’ll postpone that message on obedience until next week, so stay tuned.

VERB #3 BEWARE

SEARCH

For our next Deuteronomy word, you could do an art activity. Sometimes it’s fun to tap into your students creative abilities. For fun, you could start by displaying some of the following warning signs. Warning signs are given to protect us from danger. Now remember that the children of Israel are about to enter a Canaanite world, and there are going to be lots of dangers they’ll need to be aware of. The Book of Deuteronomy contains many warnings that would help the children of Israel and can help all of us to be protected from danger. Your students task is to create a warning sign of their own based on the assigned verses that you give them. Count your students off from 1- 7, assign them one of the following verses or scripture blocks, and then give them time to read and create their own Deuteronomy warning sign. You could then allow them to present and explain their sign to the rest of the class. Now let’s go over those given warnings together.

4:9 This one goes well with our first word. Don’t forget! Don’t forget the things which thine eyes have seen. Don’t let the faith and the experiences and the miracles you’ve witnessed depart from your heart.

7:3-4 What’s the warning here? Don’t marry outside the covenant. And why? Because they’re lowly, and bad, and undesirable? NO, because they will turn you away from following God, that you may serve other Gods. God wants to bless all of the members of his church with the blessings of eternal marriage, and families, and temple covenants. He can’t do that when we marry outside the covenant. And I’m afraid that I have seen that very thing happen on more than one occasion. Where a marriage with someone outside the covenant has led that individual away from activity in the Church. Now I’ve seen it work the other direction as well, but that seems to be more the exception than the rule in my experience.

11:16 Don’t serve other Gods. This had already been a challenge for the Children of Israel (remember the golden calf incident?) and it will be a challenge for them in the future. We too must learn to put God and his gospel first over the gods of money, popularity, power, lust, success, and materialism.

13:6-8 This is a great one, especially for youth. What’s the warning? Don’t let anyone draw you away from God. Not even brothers or sisters, or parents, or spouses. Even somebody that “is as thine own soul”. If anybody tries to convince you to turn away from God, “Thou shalt not consent unto them, nor hearken unto them.” So even if it’s your best friend or a family member that is trying to get you break the commandments, don’t listen to them. Your relationship with God always comes first. That is a very strong warning.

15:7-11 The warning here. Don’t be greedy, selfish, or uncaring. Be sure to take care of the poor and the needy. I like how it says in verse 11 that we should open our hands WIDE unto our brethren. Don’t hold back your blessings from those that are less fortunate. We should be generous, and we have a responsibility as Christians to care for the poor.

22:9-11 This one is a bit of a tougher one to understand, but I put it in here just for fun. Here we learn that the children of Israel were not to mix different kinds of seeds in the same vineyard, but to only plant one kind of seed in a vineyard. They weren’t to mix oxen and ass together as work animals, and they weren’t to have different kinds of fabrics in one outfit, but all the same kind of material in one. Now why do think that was? What was the symbolic message of having them do that? Well, those were three different ways of sending them the message that mixing things was not good. What does God not want us to mix? We should we not get mixed up in the things of the world. Remember the Leviticus lesson of being different or separate from the world. The warning is not to mix with Babylon and her values and practices. Stay separate. Stay different.

28:14 Don’t go aside from the words of God’s commandments to the right or to the left. Another way of saying. Walk the strait and narrow path of God. We must be careful not to deviate from God’s commandments, and fudge on them or look for the gray areas. We shouldn’t minimize any commandments or take any to an unhealthy extreme. Instead, like the stripling warriors, we should obey with exactness.

CONCLUSION

So our third word from Deuteronomy. Beware. As we can see, the warnings given to the children of Israel are just as relevant to our day. We’ve got to be careful to heed the warning signs and BEWARE of the influence of the “Canaanite” world around us.

VERB #4

Our last word here we’ll cover a bit more briefly. But the word is teach. Who were the Israelites to teach these lessons to? Their children. The activity you can do with this word is to just simply invite your class to read the following verses, pick their favorite and be prepared to explain why they liked that particular verse the best. This activity is particularly well suited to parents.

6:7

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

31:12-13

12 Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

31:19

19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

32:46-47

46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

As parents, one of the greatest responsibilities we have is to seek to pass our faith and righteousness on to the succeeding generation. Perhaps my favorite thought from these verses comes from 6:7 where the Lord commands us to always be looking for opportunities to teach our children the principles of the gospel. We don’t want to just do it on Sundays or at family scripture study. Whenever there is an opportunity to teach or make the gospel a part of the conversation, we should take it! Even when you’re in the middle of working, family dinner, walking by the way, going to bed, or getting up. We can seek to find ways to insert gospel principles into the conversation. That way, the chain of faith that links generation to generation will not be broken.

CONCLUSION

So our final word here from Deuteronomy is TEACH. We got to strive to pass our faith on to the next generation. And we can accomplish this even if we’re not parents. As teachers, youth leaders, aunts, uncles, grandparents, mentors, and examples, we all can do our part to teach the rising generation.

Now with that, I believe we have a pretty good idea of what the Book of Deuteronomy is all about. Remember, obey, beware and teach. I hope I’ve been able to help you see how Moses’ parting counsel still stands as significant and applicable all these thousands of years later.

RELEASE FROM MT. NEBO

ICEBREAKER

One final thought that I love from the Book of Deuteronomy. We know that at the end of Deuteronomy that we’re going to have to say goodbye to Moses. I find this to be an appropriate time to pay our respects and honor this great man and prophet. I like to prompt a brief discussion by asking the following question as a bit of a memorial to Moses: What about Moses do you admire most and why? They could choose from one of the provided options or share something of their own. It’s hard not to admire a man like Moses. He lived such a unique life as he transitioned from Prince to Shepherd to Prophet. His miracles were many, his words profound, and his legacy unparalleled. Moses will even play a critical role in the Restoration as he appears to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to restore critical priesthood keys. Well, at the end of his mortal life, God asked Moses to climb a mountain. The significance of that request isn’t lost on me as someone who loves to climb mountains. One of the things I love about climbing is the perspective it gives you. When you stand atop a high mountain, the world and the works of man are dwarfed by the majesty and scale of God’s creations. All the problems and worries of life seem to shrink in significance the higher you get. It helps to put everything into its proper place and perspective. I believe this was God’s intent when He asked Moses to climb this final mountain of his life.

TRANSITION

What was the name of that mountain according to Deuteronomy 34:1?

Mt. Nebo. Now I’ve been to Mt. Nebo and as you stand on its summit, you can see for miles from this high vantage point. You can see the Dead Sea, the Judean Wilderness, and the hills of Judea where Jerusalem lies, and the Jordan River valley stretching out below you. The promised land fills your view. Now here’s my question. Why does God take him to the top of Mt. Nebo? Tell me what you think Moses would be feeling after reading Deuteronomy 34:1-8.

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,

2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,

3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.

4 And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

So he brings Moses to the top of Mount Nebo to look over the promised land. But the Lord says that he will not go over Jordan into the promised land. Joshua is going to do that.

How do you think Moses would feel at this point? To see the place that God had promised his people so long ago. Do you imagine he would like to have the experience of going into the promised land? Well, we actually get a chance to hear how he feels. Take a look at Deuteronomy 3:24-28

24 O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?

25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.

26 But the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.

27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.

So, he wants to go! He wants to experience the promised land. Right?! He says, Lord, you’ve only begun to show me your greatness—and Moses has seen a lot of great things, hasn’t he? But there’s so much more to experience. God’s power is infinite, and there is no end to his mighty works. But the Lord, says, no, Moses, thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

Now some may interpret verse 26 to mean that the reason Moses won’t go to the promised land is because the Lord was angry with him, and some may cite Deuteronomy 32:49-52 as proof that it was because of something he did at the waters of Meribah. Now I struggle with that a bit. I really don’t think that’s the purpose of bringing Moses to the top of Mt. Nebo. I mean, do we believe that God does that kind of thing? Moses, come up here and look at what you’re going to miss. Don’t you feel bad about what you did? Now you won’t get the blessing of seeing the promised land. I’ve brought you up here so you can see what you’re going to miss.” In my mind, there’s no way that’s the reason. Maybe that’s just Moses’s insecurities and regrets coming out, which we all have when we come to the end of a major phase of our lives. But we know from latter-day scripture, from Alma 45:19 that Moses is actually translated. He doesn’t die. That’s why it said “no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day” back in chapter 34. Umm, I think that’s a pretty strong indicator that God was pleased with Moses and all that he had accomplished. Being translated is a fairly strong seal of approval.

For me, I prefer to focus on a different phrase in verse 26. Not that the Lord was wroth with him, but the phrase: “Let it suffice thee”. God isn’t bringing him to the top of Mt. Nebo to say, “Look what you’re going to miss out on,” but, “Moses, look how far you’ve come! Look how far you’ve brought the children of Israel. You got them here! You did it! You fulfilled your calling. Now somebody else is going to pick up the reins. It’s time to pass the responsibility for leading this people to somebody else. It’s time for your release, Moses. It’s time for you to rest.” How fitting is it that God released Moses from Mt. Nebo. From a place of elevated perspective.

I believe that we all have Mt. Nebo’s in our lives. These are the times when we come to the end of a task, a calling, or a major phase of our lives and wish we could do more. Perhaps it’s when we’re released from a Church calling, a mission, graduating from High School, or college, or the departure of our children from our homes. Or perhaps it’s the ultimate Mt. Nebo moment, like Moses is having here—the time when we face our own mortality and come to the end of our lives. At those moments, it’s important to stand on Mt. Nebo for a while, to climb that mountain and reflect. At those moments, we may wish that we could do more. We may want to keep traveling forward. We may say, “But I’ve only begun to see the greatness of God in this. I’ve only begun to really get it. There is so much more possibility and things to experience!” And we pray, “Let me go over! I don’t want this to end. I want to continue! I want a chance to do more” And what does the Lord say to us in those instances? “Let it suffice thee”. You’ve accomplished so much. You’ve come so far. Come up here to Mt. Nebo and take a look at how far you’ve come. I’m pleased with your offering. I accept your offering. Now it’s time for a different journey. It’s time to move on to something else. Somebody else is going to handle that responsibility moving forward. I know I felt that way when I completed my formal schooling. I felt that way when I was released from my full-time mission. I’ve been feeling that way recently as my oldest son is preparing to leave on a mission in the next couple of months. And I look back at how I’ve done as a father to and wonder if I’ve done enough. And just like Moses, I may have a few regrets, I can recognize that I’ve made mistakes, and maybe wish for just a little more time to help prepare and teach him. I have a feeling that I’ll have that kind of experience when I’m released from serving as Bishop. And I bet that all of us can imagine, that unless it comes as a total surprise, when we come to end of our lives, that we’ll feel the same way as Moses here. “But I’m not ready to say goodbye yet. There’s more I want to see and experience.” When that day comes, I pray that we will not get discouraged, that we will not focus on the experiences that we won’t have, but the ones that we did have. Not on the miracles that we won’t witness, but the ones that we have seen. That we won’t dwell on how much further we could go if granted, but how far we’ve made it. Stand on Mt. Nebo for a minute when those days come and allow the Lord to accept your more than adequate offering.

TRUTH

When we come to the end of some phase or calling in life, it’s good to reflect on how far we’ve come and what we’ve been able to accomplish. Let it suffice, and move on.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

Have you ever had a Mt. Nebo experience?

How did it feel and what did you learn from it?

CONCLUSION

Well Mt. Nebo’s are a bit of a paradox, aren’t they. They’re bittersweet. They carry with them a sense of fulfillment and longing. A sense of victory and some tinges of regret. A desire to rest and a desire to keep going. With Moses, he never would cross over Jordan like Joshua and the children of Israel would. But you know what, Moses was not really denied entry into the promised land. Maybe the literal “promised land” of Palestine, and Judea, and Galilee, but not the real “promised land” of spirit paradise, eternal life, and Celestial glory. He really did make it! To the figurative promised land, the one that we’re all aiming for and the one that really matters most. So in conclusion, I wish you all the perspective expanding blessings of climbing your own Mt. Nebo’s.