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 45

• Would you like to see the class member study guide for this week? Lesson 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.

• 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 "Daniel, Book of" in the Bible Dictionary.

Art

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 Gospel Art Picture Kit, no. 117. As part of your lesson, 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.

Recent Talks and Articles in Church Magazines

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.

Music

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

Additional Helps

• In the September 2001 Ensign, President Gordon B. Hinckley gave a First Presidency Message entitled "Living with Our Convictions." You may wish to share with your class the section called "Courage and Commitment," an excerpt of which appears below:

  "I should like to say to members of the Church, particularly to young men and women of the Church, that I hope you may come to know inner personal courage as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For this is the requirement of the Lord as we journey through our mortal probation, as we show to Him and to ourselves that we indeed 'love the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart, and with all [our] soul, and with all [our] mind' and that we 'love [our] neighbour as [ourselves]' (Matt. 22:37, 39)." (Read more.)

  

• One of the Additional Teaching Ideas in the Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual suggests having class members role-play different situations in which they would have to stand up for what they know is right. For more information on role playing, see page 178 of Teaching, No Greater Call, an excerpt of which appears below:

  "In role playing, participants act out a situation or problem that occurs in everyday life. Role playing helps people apply gospel principles to real-life situations as they find solutions to problems, consider the consequences of different choices, and come to understand other people’s points of view. Role playing can be used to introduce or summarize a lesson or to stimulate discussion about a principle in the lesson." (Read more.)

• You might 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.