Week 23 (June 1–7): “My Heart Rejoiceth in the Lord” (Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7)

Doctrinal Foundation (multiple perspectives)

From Ruth’s view: covenant loyalty is chosen in the middle of loss. Ruth faced a future with little security, and her story centers on faithful belonging, not comfort (see Ruth 1:4–18, in the week’s overview).

From Hannah’s view: righteous desire can coexist with long waiting. Hannah’s unmet hope left her “in bitterness of soul” (1 Samuel 1:1–10, in the week’s overview), and she carried that pain to the Lord.

From Israel’s view: sacred symbols cannot replace repentance and obedience. In 1 Samuel 4–7, Israel treated the ark as protection while ignoring the Lord’s commandments (see 1 Samuel 2:12–25; 1 Samuel 4–6, in the week’s overview).

From the Lord’s view: He guides individual journeys through “delays and detours” and can bring “great blessings” out of tragedy (week’s introduction; “Jesus Christ can turn tragedy into triumph,” in the week’s lesson).

Scripture Deep Dive (ascending steps of discovery)

Step 1: Choosing covenant belonging in displacement (Ruth 1)

The lesson frames Ruth’s decision point: “Ruth was not an Israelite, but she married one, and when her husband died, she had a choice to make. Would she return to her family and her old, familiar life, or would she embrace the Israelite faith and a new home with her mother-in-law? (see Ruth 1:4–18)” (week’s introduction). Study focus: What covenant language appears in Ruth’s commitments and actions, and how does that shape the rest of the book?

Step 2: Trusting the Lord’s shelter (Ruth 2:12)

The week’s lesson invites personal connection through a phrase of growing faith: “Consider how you have ‘come to trust’ the Lord (Ruth 2:12) during your difficult times” (“I can trust that God will guide and help me regardless of my situation”). Study focus: Track how trust develops through repeated decisions rather than one dramatic moment.

Step 3: Redemption that restores the vulnerable (Ruth 4:4–10)

The lesson highlights Ruth’s precarious status and the Lord’s provision through lawful redemption: “In Israelite culture at the time, a woman without a husband or sons had no right to property and very few ways to earn a living” (“Jesus Christ can turn tragedy into triumph”). It then asks: “How did Boaz redeem Ruth from her desperate situation? (see Ruth 4:4–10). How were both Ruth and Boaz like Jesus Christ?” (same section). Study focus: List what redemption accomplishes in Ruth 4, then compare that list to what the Savior accomplishes for covenant Israel.

Step 4: Pouring out the soul in honest prayer (1 Samuel 1:1–10)

Hannah’s experience is introduced with a direct phrase: she was “in bitterness of soul” (1 Samuel 1:1–10, in the week’s overview). The lesson asks readers to notice how she acted in faith while longing for a blessing not yet received (see 1 Samuel 1:1–10; “I can trust that God will guide and help me regardless of my situation”). Study focus: Identify what Hannah does with sorrow, where she takes it, and what she refuses to abandon.

Step 5: Praise that re-centers the heart (1 Samuel 2:1–10)

The lesson recommends reading “Hannah’s poem of praise in 1 Samuel 2:1–10” and asks: “What do you find in her words that could have helped Eli’s sons and the rest of the Israelites?” (“To receive the Lord’s help, I need to trust Him and obey His commandments”). Study focus: Read the poem as covenant theology: what does Hannah say about the Lord’s power and His reversals of fortune?

Step 6: Learning to recognize the Lord’s voice (1 Samuel 3)

The lesson names a common spiritual experience: “At times, you may feel like Samuel, who heard the voice of the Lord but did not recognize it” (“I can hear and obey the voice of the Lord”). Samuel’s growth becomes a pattern for discipleship: hearing, seeking guidance, then obeying.

The lesson provides a study set for recognizing revelation: 1 Kings 19:11–12; Luke 24:15–32; 3 Nephi 11:3–7; Doctrine and Covenants 6:22–23; 8:2–3; 9:7–9 (same section). Study focus: Create a two-column page, “How the Lord communicates” and “How disciples respond,” using only phrases found in these passages.

Step 7: The ark and the illusion of automatic protection (1 Samuel 4–6)

The lesson diagnoses the mistake: “When their enemies attacked, the Israelites apparently thought that simply possessing the ark of the covenant would protect them. As you read 1 Samuel 4–6, think about why that didn’t work” (“To receive the Lord’s help, I need to trust Him and obey His commandments”). It also points to priesthood corruption in context: “the unrighteous actions of Eli’s sons, who served as priests in the tabernacle, in 1 Samuel 2:12–25” (same section). Study focus: Mark each place where the Lord’s power is shown, and each place where Israel’s behavior undercuts covenant protection.

Step 8: Returning to the Lord to regain protection (1 Samuel 7)

The lesson asks readers to watch the turn: “What do you learn from Israel’s efforts to regain the Lord’s protection in 1 Samuel 7?” (“To receive the Lord’s help, I need to trust Him and obey His commandments”). Study focus: Identify what changes in Israel’s posture toward the Lord between chapters 4 and 7.

Historical Context (from the bundle)

• Vulnerability of widows in ancient Israel: The lesson states that after Ruth’s husband died, her situation was “especially hard,” and explains why: “a woman without a husband or sons had no right to property and very few ways to earn a living” (“Jesus Christ can turn tragedy into triumph”). This frames Boaz’s redemption as more than romance; it is lawful rescue within Israel’s covenant community.
• Tabernacle leadership failure: The lesson specifically connects Israel’s crisis to “the unrighteous actions of Eli’s sons” (1 Samuel 2:12–25, cited in the lesson). The ark’s presence could not compensate for covenant disloyalty.
• Revelation in a formative moment: Samuel’s call shows revelation as learned recognition, not instant mastery (“I can hear and obey the voice of the Lord”).

Pattern Recognition Web (cross-dispensation links provided in the bundle)

• Faith in hardship: Ruth’s loss (see Ruth 1:1–5) and Hannah’s longing (see 1 Samuel 1:1–10) are paired in the lesson as templates for disciples who suffer or wait (“I can trust that God will guide and help me regardless of my situation”).
• Trust as a developed relationship: “come to trust” (Ruth 2:12) connects to the lesson’s assurance that “everyone who turns to the Savior receives His help and guidance” (same section).
• Revelation patterns across scripture: The lesson’s revelation study chain links Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants: 1 Kings 19:11–12; Luke 24:15–32; 3 Nephi 11:3–7; Doctrine and Covenants 6:22–23; 8:2–3; 9:7–9 (“I can hear and obey the voice of the Lord”).
• Sacred objects and covenant living: The ark narrative (1 Samuel 4–6) is explicitly tied to the principle, “To receive the Lord’s help, I need to trust Him and obey His commandments” (lesson heading).

Discussion Framework (progressing from observation to application)

1. From the week’s introduction, what “delays and detours” appear in Ruth’s and Hannah’s lives, and what faithful choices appear inside them?
2. Using the lesson’s historical note about widows, what risks did Ruth face, and what kinds of help were realistically available to her? (“Jesus Christ can turn tragedy into triumph”)
3. What does the phrase “come to trust” (Ruth 2:12) suggest about how trust grows over time? (“I can trust that God will guide and help me regardless of my situation”)
4. In Ruth 4:4–10, what does redemption accomplish for Ruth, and what does the lesson ask about how Ruth and Boaz are like Jesus Christ?
5. Hannah was “in bitterness of soul” (1 Samuel 1:1–10). What actions of faith can be identified in her story, using only what the lesson points to in 1 Samuel 1:1–10?
6. Read 1 Samuel 2:1–10. What themes in Hannah’s praise could have corrected the attitudes and actions described in 1 Samuel 2:12–25? (lesson prompt)
7. In 1 Samuel 3, what details show that Samuel heard the Lord but did not recognize His voice, and what helped him respond?
8. From the lesson’s revelation references, what similarities appear between 1 Kings 19:11–12 and Doctrine and Covenants 8:2–3 about how the Lord communicates?
9. Why did “simply possessing the ark of the covenant” fail to protect Israel (lesson wording), and what does that teach about outward religion and inward obedience?
10. In 1 Samuel 7, what changes appear in Israel’s efforts to “regain the Lord’s protection” (lesson wording), and how can those changes guide covenant living now?

Gospel Connections (Plan of Salvation themes anchored in the bundle)

• The Savior’s redeeming help in mortal vulnerability: The lesson frames Ruth’s story with a Christ-centered lens: “Jesus Christ can turn tragedy into triumph” and asks, “How were both Ruth and Boaz like Jesus Christ?” (“Jesus Christ can turn tragedy into triumph”). Within the plan of salvation, mortal loss and scarcity become a setting where lawful redemption and covenant belonging matter.
• Prayer in mortal testing: The children’s section teaches, “Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers” (1 Samuel 1:1–18, teaching children section). Hannah’s experience models taking real sorrow to God.
• Revelation as ongoing guidance: The lesson connects Samuel’s call to discipleship now: “Does God really want to speak to you? Yes!” (Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 93–96, quoted in the lesson). This supports a plan-of-salvation view of mortality as guided, not abandoned.

Teaching Moments (ways to share these discoveries)

1. Family scripture discussion: Use the lesson’s chart idea for Ruth and Hannah with headings “Trials,” “Actions,” and “Blessings” (teaching children section). Keep the focus on what the verses show: Ruth 1:3–5, 8, 16; 2:1–3, 8–12; 4:13–17; 1 Samuel 1:1–18.
2. A lesson on revelation: Read 1 Samuel 3:1–10, then study the revelation references listed in the lesson. Invite learners to write a personal “Samuel response” sentence using only language from the scriptures provided.
3. A discussion on covenant symbols: In a class setting, read the lesson’s warning about the ark: “simply possessing the ark of the covenant” (lesson wording). Ask learners to name ways disciples can treat sacred things as substitutes for trust and obedience, then return to the lesson’s stated principle.
4. Hymn connection: Pair Ruth’s story with “Be Still, My Soul” (Hymns, no. 124), as suggested in the lesson, and discuss how steady trust fits a life with “delays and detours” (week’s introduction).

Personal Reflection (pattern-focused questions)

• Where has life departed from a “clear path from beginning to end,” and what faithful choices resemble Ruth’s covenant decision described in Ruth 1:4–18? (week’s introduction)
• What does “come to trust” (Ruth 2:12) look like in daily discipleship, especially when outcomes remain unknown?
• When prayer includes “bitterness of soul” (1 Samuel 1:1–10), what does Hannah’s example suggest about bringing honest desire to the Lord?
• When the Lord speaks in ways that are hard to recognize, what practices from 1 Samuel 3 and the lesson’s cross-references help a disciple respond?

Prophetic Echoes (from the bundle)

President Russell M. Nelson’s assurance is quoted in the lesson:

“Does God really want to speak to you? Yes!” (Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 93–96)

See also: Amy A. Wright, “Abide the Day in Christ,” Liahona, Nov. 2023, 9–11 (referenced in the lesson; no excerpt provided in the bundle). See also: “Walk in God’s light” (For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices, 16–20), for invitations and promised blessings about revelation (referenced in the lesson; no excerpt provided in the bundle).

These accounts invite steady trust in the Lord’s guidance through detours, and a willingness to seek His voice with the patience shown by Ruth, Hannah, and Samuel.