Teachers: The lessons in the manual contain more information than you will probably be able to teach in one class period. Seek the Spirit of the Lord in selecting the scripture accounts, questions, and other lesson materials that best meet the needs of class members.

Basic Resources

• Do you want to see this week's Gospel Doctrine lesson? Lesson 38
• Would you like to see the class member study guide for this week? Lesson 38
• You can read the assigned scriptures for this week online: Isaiah 40–49.
• Do you have an MP3 player? Try downloading Isaiah 40, which is in this week's reading. For more Old Testament audio, click here.
• The official scripture study aids often have helpful information you can use in your lessons. For example, for this week's lesson, read the definition of "Isaiah" in the Bible Dictionary.

Art

You might show a picture of the Savior during this lesson. For example, you could show the painting entitled Jesus the Christ. This is available online or in your meetinghouse library: Jesus the Christ, Gospel Art Picture Kit, no. 240.

Recent Talks and Articles in Church Magazines

Would you like to see what Church leaders have said recently about topics in this week's lesson? Click on the photographs or article titles below to read the complete articles.

What can we do to have the direction and protection of the Lord in our lives? Sister Margaret S. Lifferth, first counselor in the Primary general presidency, said: "Just as Isaiah and the people of his day lived on a political and moral battlefield, we do too. When Isaiah entreated his hearers to trust in the Lord, he was also talking to us. How do we seek the direction, strength, and protection of the Lord and then recognize and acknowledge His hand in our lives? "Great blessings become available to us as we make and keep covenants. Specifically, when we are baptized and confirmed, we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost. As we keep our covenants and renew them every week when we take the sacrament, we are promised that we may 'always have his Spirit to be with' us (Moroni 4:3; D&C 20:77). The promises of the Lord are sure. We will recognize His guiding hand in our lives as we live worthy to receive the promptings of His Spirit and then as we act upon those promptings" ("Trust in the Lord Forever," Ensign, Sept. 2006, 24–25). Download this article or listen to it online in MP3 format.

How can youth live in the world, but not be of the world? Elder John H. Groberg counseled: "One of the biggest decisions you'll ever make is whether or not you are going to trust the Lord. If you want a bright future, you have to make the decision right now: do you trust the Lord or not? If you trust Him, you will keep His commandments. "You can either trust man, or you can trust the Lord. You are a lot better off trusting the Lord, because if you trust man, who knows where you will end up? I have a little saying: 'If you do what’s right, things will turn out right. If you do what’s wrong, things will turn out wrong.' It’s as simple as that. Trust the Lord. Obey Him" ("Choose a Bright Future," New Era, Sept. 2006, 38). Download this article or listen to it online in MP3 format.

Music

The hymn "How Great Thou Art" (Hymns, no. 86) is one of many Church hymns that relates to the topics in this week's lesson. You could read words from this hymn in class or have your class sing the hymn together. On the Church Music site, you can search for other hymns that relate to the lesson.

Additional Helps

• Have you ever said to yourself, "Oh, my time is up, but I’m not quite finished with the lesson"? Don’t worry about not getting through all of the material in the lesson manual. Prayerfully select those parts of the lesson that seem most applicable to your students. Watch the time so that you allow adequate time for a conclusion. For help in knowing what to say in concluding your lesson, see the suggestions in "Concluding the Lesson," Teaching, No Greater Call, 94–95.

• Several verses in the New Testament Gospels refer to Isaiah’s testimony:
  • Matthew 12:17–21 (Isaiah 42:1–4)
  • Matthew 3:3 and Luke 3:4 (Isaiah 40:3)
  • John 12:38–41 (Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10)

• Just as Jesus quoted Isaiah many times to identify himself as the promised Messiah, so too did Jehovah, as quoted by Isaiah, repeatedly identify himself as the Savior. For example, see Isaiah 43:7, 11, 14, 15, 25.