Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
Elder Paul H. Sinclair · Of the Seventy · Sunday Afternoon Session
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Following Jesus Christ means being quick to help and slow to judge, the way He offered the woman at the well dignity, truth, and living water instead of shame.
Skip the closing paragraph about missionaries at modern-day wells and the Second Coming, and mention the Elder Kearon and President Oaks quotations only in passing, so most of the time goes to the Primary story and the woman at the well.
Before Sunday
Sunday: Quick to Help, Slow to Judge
On Sunday we will discuss Elder Paul H. Sinclair's October 2026 conference talk, "Quick to Help, Slow to Judge." Before class, read John 4:5–29, where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. Notice what He says to her and what He leaves unsaid. Ponder this: when someone near you is struggling, which comes to you first, the urge to help or the urge to judge?
Pick one opening
Think of a time someone saw you at your worst moment, maybe flustered, behind, or in over your head, and instead of shaking their head, they simply helped. What did that person do, and how did it feel to be helped instead of judged? Take a moment to think, and then let's hear from two or three of you.
Think of a time someone saw you at your worst moment, maybe flustered, behind, or in over your head, and instead of shaking their head, they simply helped. What did that person do, and how did it feel to be helped instead of judged? Take a moment to think, and then let's hear from two or three of you.
Elder Sinclair described a Primary program where a boy named James, wearing a new suit, buttoned his right sleeve to his left lapel and got stuck just before his turn at the pulpit. Elder Sinclair was shaking his head in irritation. Then the little girl beside James reached over and popped the button loose. Elder Sinclair said that moment humbled him and taught him that a true disciple of Jesus Christ is quick to help and slow to judge.
In Elder Sinclair's story, an adult watching a child in trouble felt aggravated, and a child sitting beside him felt a desire to help. Why do you think the child reached for the button before the adult did? What tends to make adults slower to help?
Teach this first
In John 4, Jesus knew everything about the Samaritan woman's life, yet He did not open with her past. He spoke to her with dignity, listened to her questions, taught her the truth, and offered her living water. Elder Sinclair teaches that when we follow Him we help people first and leave judgment aside, because Jesus looks at what a person can become as well as at what they have been.
Elder Sinclair said the Savior "did not hold her hostage to her history. He trusted her with truth." To help people change, he taught, we must look not only to their past but "to their possible."
Ask the class
If time remains
Elder Sinclair learned this principle from a child, and he describes it as a quiet rebuke that the Holy Ghost used to change his heart. The Lord can use ordinary moments to show us where we judge too quickly, if we are willing to be humbled.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, when you notice someone struggling, at church, at home, or at work, act to help them before you form an opinion about how they got there, and look for one person who may need to feel they have come home.
Elder Sinclair testified that when we help people one by one, in small and simple ways, instead of judging them, we are helping prepare the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Your witness: Think of a time someone, perhaps the Savior Himself, offered you help when you might have expected judgment. In a sentence or two, tell the class what that help meant to you and what you know about Jesus Christ because of it.