Maestros de Doctrina del Evangelio: Las lecciones del manual contienen más información de la que probablemente pueda impartir en una sola clase. Invoque el Espíritu del Señor para seleccionar los relatos de las Escrituras, las preguntas y otros materiales de la lección que mejor satisfagan las necesidades de los miembros de la clase.

Recursos básicos

• Do you want to see this week's Gospel Doctrine Lección? Lección 45

• Would you like to see the class member study guide for this week? Lección 45

• You can read the assigned scriptures for this week online: Daniel 1; 3; 6; Esther 3–5; 7–8.

• Do you have an MP3 player? Try downloading Daniel 1, which is in this week's reading. For more Old Testament audio, click here.

Ilustraciones

The picture in the upper-right corner of this page shows Daniel in the lions' den. This picture may be available in your meetinghouse library. You can also view it online in the Las bellas artes del Evangelio, no. 117. As part of your Lección, you may also wish to use Three Men in the Fiery Furnace, no. 116, and Daniel Refusing the King's Meat and Wine, no. 114.

Discursos recientes y artículos de las revistas de la Iglesia

President James E. Faust identified 10 virtues young women (and young men) should develop in their lives, including the virtue of grace, which he says is "a disposition to do be kind and to do good." He refers to Queen Esther as a righteous example of this virtue. "May I encourage you to strengthen the virtues you have already acquired and resolve to develop many others. " . . . Many people do not fully understand the meaning of virtue. One commonly understood meaning is to be chaste or morally clean, but virtue in its fuller sense encompasses all traits of righteousness that help us form our character. . . .  " . . . Esther, a Jewess in the Old Testament, saved her people. When the Jews were in captivity, Esther was married to King Ahasuerus. The king signed a decree that all Jews were to be put to death. Esther’s cousin Mordecai urged her to intercede with the king on behalf of her people by saying to her, 'Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' (Esther 4:14). Esther, at the peril of her own life, pled with the king that her people should be spared. The king listened to her entreaty, and they were saved. One woman can make a great difference, even for a nation. "These are challenging times. I believe your spirits may have been reserved for these latter days; that you, like Esther, have come to earth 'for such a time as this.' It may be that your most significant, everlasting achievements will be your righteous influence on others" ("The Virtues of Righteous Daughters of God," Ensign, May 2003, 108, 110–11). Download or listen to this talk online in MP3 format.

Música

The hymn "Each Life That Touches Ours for Good" (no. 293) relates to this week's Lección. You could read the words from the hymn in class or have your class sing the hymn together.

Ayudas adicionales

• Consider building the Lección around Esther 4:14, emphasizing the points that all of us are, at one time or another, like Esther—in a situation where only we can provide the best, the greatest, help to others (family members, friends, neighbors, Church members)—and that we (young or old) have "come to the kingdom for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14). This was certainly true for Daniel, as well as Jesus Christ. You might want to explore with the class other implications of Esther 4:14.

• You might also want to share the paragraphs above from President Faust's message and ask class members how they see that message applying in their own lives.

Historical Context

• The Babylonian empire deported or exiled portions of Judah’s population in different stages. Daniel (whose name means "my judge is God") was part of the first deportation to Babylon in 605 B.C. (see Daniel 1:1–6). Ezekiel was part of the second deportation (597 B.C.), and the third deportation involved the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (586 B.C.).

• The book of Daniel is believed to have been completed around 530 B.C., shortly after the Persians, led by Cyrus the Great, overthrew Daniel's captors, the Babylonians, in 539 B.C. During His mortal ministry, Jesus Christ endorsed the credibility of Daniel's prophetic writings (see Matthew 24:15; Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11).

• Persian imperial centers became desirable places for the Jews to reside—so much so that many of them chose to remain in the Persian east under the direct control of the Persian king. During the reign of King Ahasuerus, known in historical records as Xerxes (486–465 B.C.), a monumental crisis threatened to destroy the Jewish people. The book recording this story bears the name of the heroine, Esther, who delivered her people in a way that foreshadowed and paralleled, in a lesser way, the future deliverance provided by Jesus of Nazareth.