I taught Sunday School today. It felt like it might turn out to be a disaster. It's such a beautiful book of scripture, but my week has been crazy and I didn't have as much time to prepare as usual. I did prepare, but not as much as normal. And then when I went to print my lesson before church, the printer wouldn't work. And my home felt a bit contentious and I was irritable and so tired. I prayed that despite my inadequacies and my weaknesses that the Spirit could be there, and I feel like it was. We had a good discussion and people participated and I think it was a beautiful meeting. It definitely wasn't me...it was definitely God.
Here's my notes from my lesson, though we only made it to Daniel 3. I was a tiny bit sad to not get to talk about Daniel 6, but it really was a great discussion.
Daniel 1-6
What stood out to you? What insights did you gain as you studied this week?
A little background: Daniel means God is the defender of my rights. The Babylonians had taken the Jews captive. Many prophets had prophesied this would happen if they didn’t repent. As anation, they had rejected God and so these prophecies were fulfilled. Interestingly Daniel is his Hebrew name (Belteshezar is his Babylonian name). But we refer to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego by their Babylonian names rather than Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (their Hebrew names). Many Bible scholars suspect that they were made eunuchs. If true, this would be a sad event for them, very traumatic, never being able to marry or bear children. Isaiah prophesied of this in Isaiah 39:6-7. Daniel lived a long life and was well favored. All four of them were faithful and brought about much righteousness and goodness.
Daniel 1: 3-4 The Babylonians brought the “cream of the crop” to study in the palace...and Daniel was among these.
Daniel 1: 5-8 Daniel chose to live a higher law. Most likely some of the food being offered was “unclean” --the equivalent of being against the Word of Wisdom today.
Daniel 1: 9-10, 12-15
Come Follow Me Daily wrote a post about this. “It struck me that in a time of crisis, Daniel focused on what he consumed. And I think this applies to a lot more than food. I’m actually writing this in the early morning hours after nusring my son. I realized as I sat here that I felt awful. I tried to figure out why. I realized, instead of listening to my audiobook or reading the scriptures, I had decided to scroll Instagram for 40 minutes while I nursed. So now, my mind was palying the oh so fun 4 am comparison game. I was thinking of all the things in my life that didn’t quite measure up to the little boxes that I scrolled past. It was then that I made the connection to Daniel. What am I choosing to consume? Do I have the faith to change things in my life so my countenance can shine brighter? I was reminded of a quote from a documentary on the effects of social media—it said “If you aren’t paying for a product, then you are the product.” But as I prayed for peace, those wrods came back to me. “If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.”
They apply to grace as well.
A gift freely given-
The product being us.
Truly, we are His work and Glory.
As we seek Him, we will find peace.
As we seek light, we will feel light.”
SO what have you done recently to focus on what you consume? What things are filling you with light and peace?
*Some of the comments shared included going to the temple. Listening to good music. Listening to less news and more general conference talks. Studying the scriptures. Having quiet/time to ponder and be still. Prayer. Thinking more of Jesus.
Daniel 1: 17-20 Look at the results of Daniel choosing carefully what to consume! I think we can have these same results if we are careful what we consume!
*An interesting tidbit. It says Daniel was given knowledge and learning and wisdom. In vs. 20 it says that he was 10x better than the magicians and astrologers in the realm. In some writings it is suggested that it is because Daniel associated in court with these magicians and astrologers and he made many prophecies of Christ that he taught the men of the east, the magicians or magi, about the coming of Christ and the signs concerning his birth. We don’t know for certain, but it may have been because of Daniel that the magi came to bring gifts to Christ. That perhaps Daniel told them of the time and signs and told them what to bring, what gifts Christ would need.
Daniel 2: Nebuchadnezzar has dreamed a dream. He is troubled by the dream. He won’t tell the dream to his advisors, but he expects them to tell him what the dream was AND interpret it for him.
Their response: Daniel 2: 10-12
Quote #1 President Nelson said, “Imagine the miracle of it! Whatever our Church calling, we can pray to our Heavenly Father and receive guidance and direction, be warned about dangers and distractions, and be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own. If we will truly receive the Holy Ghost and learn to discern and understand His promptings, we will be guided in matters large and small.”
Daniel 2: 16-18 What did Daniel do to prepare to receive revelation?
What do YOU do to prepare to receive revelation?
Ideas shared: *Going to the temple, fasting, prayer, studying scripture, pondering, discussing with faithful friends, being humble, writing down thoughts and feelings as you pray or as you read scripture,
Quote #2 President Nelson gave this counsel about receiving revelation in his talk Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives: “Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.
Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.”
**Have you tried this? Does anyone have any experiences praying about concerns and then writing the thoughts down that come to you and following through.
Embarrassingly, I didn’t really follow this counsel until he gave similar counsel in the most recent General Conference. Then I bought a prayer journal and have been tyring to write down the thoughts and feelings that come to mind and to follow through with actions I feel prompted to take. And if I’m being honest, I recognize that I’m a complete novice. But a couple of examples...one night while praying, a thought about something I should do for an online group I run came to mind. In the past I might have actually felt a bit annoyed with myself that my mind had wandered and that I wasn’t able to stay focused on my prayer. But the thought was a good one and so I wrote it down and then acted on it. And feel pretty sure that it was actually revelation. And realized that probably at least some of the times when I feel like I’m unfocused during prayer...those thoughts may actually be coming from the Lord to help me and I’ve been unaware and ungrateful for them! I’ve also had words of comfort and counsel come as I’ve prayed about things.
What do YOU do to receive revelation?
Daniel 2: 19-23, 27-29 Daniel receives revelation, just as we can.
President Kimball interpreted the dream: (Stone Cut Out Without Hands, May 1976)
Gold: Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon
Silver: Cyrus of Persia
Brass: Philip and Alexander the Great—Greek
Legs of Iron: Roman Empire
Feet of iron and clay: Group of European nations
Daniel 2: 36-45 The dream interpreted.
What do we learn about the kingdom of God from these verses? How is this dream/prophecy being fulfilled in our day?
*Temples, missionary work, gospel in nearly every country, technology that allows gospel to be shared easily and messages to be transmitted worldwide.
Daniel 3: 1, 4-6 Gold statue...must worship it. *Nebuchadnezzar had seen a miracle and expressed at least a bit of faith in God...but he wasn't humble and he wasn't converted.
Daniel 3: 13-15
What do we learn about faith and trust from Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego? How can we exhibit this same faith when WE experience the “But if not” moments of our lives?
How could YOU complete this phrase:
Our God is able to _______________ but if not ___________________.
Our God is able to heal my marriage, but if not I will continue to love Him.
Our God is able to answer my questions, but if not I will continue to trust Him and patiently study while I wait for more light to be revealed.
Our God is able to heal me of my illness, but if not, I will continue to serve Him.
Quote #3 Elder Dennis Simmons gave a talk called “But If Not” in April 2004. He said, “They knew that they could trust God—even if things didn’t turn out the way they hoped.4 They knew that faith is more than mental assent, more than an acknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in Him.
Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego knew they could always rely on Him because they knew His plan, and they knew that He does not change.5 They knew, as we know, that mortality is not an accident of nature. It is a brief segment of the great plan6 of our loving Father in Heaven to make it possible for us, His sons and daughters, to achieve the same blessings He enjoys, if we are willing.
They knew, as we know, that in our premortal life, we were instructed by Him as to the purpose of mortality: “We will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.”7
So there we have it—it’s a test. The world is a testing place for mortal men and women. When we understand that it’s all a test, administered by our Heavenly Father, who wants us to trust in Him and to allow Him to help us, we can then see everything more clearly.”
Quote #4 Elder Dennis Simmons said, “We must understand that great challenges make great men. We don’t seek tribulation, but if we respond in faith, the Lord strengthens us. The but if nots can become remarkable blessings.
The Apostle Paul learned this significant lesson and declared, after decades of dedicated missionary work, “We glory in tribulations … knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed.”11
How have the “But if nots” been blessings in your life?
In the Follow Him podcast, Lili Anderson shares concepts from an essay by Hugh Nibley called “Work We Must but the lunch is free” The message is that God requires us to do work, to keep His commands. But sometimes we act as if it is our work, our choices, that bring the blessings. Hugh Nibley suggests that we should detach those two things. We don’t earn our blessings. The lunch is free. The blessings come because God is good, merciful, unfailingly go. The blessings come in the time and in the way that the Lord, in His omniscience, knows will best benefit us eternally. He makes promises, but they are eternal promises that will be fulfilled in the end, but not necessarily now. That’s why Job, Joseph Smith, Jeremiah, Abinadi, and others go through hard things that aren’t fair and definitely aren’t a result of their disobedience or lack of effort. The Lord is telling us: “Trust me. You do the work because that’s what I have asked you to do and TRUST that the blessings will come at the time and in the way that I know will most benefit you. It may not look like that to you, but trust that I know what is best.” She also says that trust can be built in extreme moments like with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego but it’s most often built gradually, in our day to day lives. In our daily yieldings of our natural man desires to do things God’s way.
Daniel 4: Summarize the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. (Nebuchadnezzar shall be driven from men and shall sleep with the animals and eat grass.)
19-27 Interpretation...
Vs 27 Counsel to Nebuchadnezzar (and all of us!)
*Can skip chapter 4 &5 if needed for time.
Daniel 5: 5-6 This writing comes because they are defiling sacred objects from the temple.
Daniel 5: 11-12
Daniel 5: 22-23 HUMILITY
Daniel 5:25-28
Daniel 6: 2-4 Why does Daniel rise to prominence? Because he has an excellent spirit. He reminds me of Joseph of Egypt.
6: 7-9 Decree
6:10-11 Daniel prays
Quote #5 Elder Uchtdorf gave a talk “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe”: “I don’t know if it was easy for Daniel to be a believer in such an environment. Some people are blessed with a believing heart—for them, faith seems to come as a gift from heaven. But I imagine that Daniel was like many of us who have to work for our testimonies. I’m confident that Daniel spent many hours on his knees praying, laying his questions and fears on the altar of faith, and waiting upon the Lord for understanding and wisdom.
And the Lord did bless Daniel. Though his faith was challenged and ridiculed, he stayed true to what he knew by his own experience to be right.
Daniel believed. Daniel did not doubt.”
6:14 King tries to protect Daniel but he can’t. He can’t save Daniel. Only God can.
6:16,18-19 Daniel’s faith has had a positive influence on Darius. The Come Follow Me manual says, “The book of Daniel also shows how an individual’s righteous choices can lead others to greater faith in the Lord....Ponder the effects that your choices may be having on others.”
What examples have YOU seen of how the faith of one person influences others for good?
6:20 –22 God protects Daniel, keeps him from harm.
6:26-27 God’s character and goodness
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