God Is at Your Side
Open talk in Gospel LibraryIdeas for Opening the Lesson
- Read the closing phrase of the thirteenth article of faith: “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” Invite class members to privately write two or three righteous aspirations. Ask how these aspirations help them draw closer to God, and explain that the lesson explores seeking His guidance.
- Briefly summarize Sister Spannaus’s experience with a GPS that misunderstands her location. Ask, “What makes a guide trustworthy?” Use members’ responses to introduce her teaching that the Lord knows our exact location, including our spiritual needs and circumstances.
- Write “God knows everything about me” and “God loves me perfectly” on the board. Invite members to consider how holding both truths together affects their willingness to seek His help. Read Sister Spannaus’s statement that knowing everything about us does not make Him love us less.
- Display Sister Spannaus’s seven invitations from the talk. Give class members a quiet moment to prayerfully identify one invitation that deserves their attention. Explain that the discussion helps them choose a realistic focus for the next few weeks, rather than attempt every change at once.
- Read the assurance from Sister Spannaus’s priesthood blessing: “But the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are at your side.” Invite members to reflect privately on an area where they need that assurance. Explain that although Sister Spannaus addresses young women, her teachings also offer guidance and encouragement to adults in Elders Quorum and Relief Society.
Topics
Pursue Righteous Aspirations With God's Guidance
Sister Spannaus connects the thirteenth article of faith with identifying good, positive aspirations that bring us closer to God. She invites us to consider our future with enthusiasm and confidence that Heavenly Father guides us toward the best way to fulfill righteous desires. Her invitation includes creating a personal list of aspirations.
Today I invite you to look at your life and what you want to achieve with enthusiasm and the certainty that your Father in Heaven will guide you on that journey and show you the best way to make the righteous desires of your heart come true.
- How does the thirteenth article of faith help us evaluate what we seek in life?
- Which aspirations help you learn, contribute, create, and draw closer to God?
- What changes when we seek God's best way rather than insist on our own preferred way?
- What experience helps you trust Heavenly Father's guidance as you pursue a righteous desire?
- What aspiration can you place on your list, and what small step can you take toward it this week?
Trust God's Knowledge and Perfect Love
Through her navigation experience, Sister Spannaus teaches that the Lord knows exactly where we are and understands our gifts, questions, loneliness, and challenges. She uses the account of the rich young man to show that Jesus communicates love before inviting improvement. God's complete knowledge of us does not diminish His love.
Dear young women, the Lord knows where you are; He has your exact location and can guide you. He knows your dreams and your gifts. He knows when you feel alone and what your questions are. He knows your challenges and how to turn your weaknesses into strengths. He knows everything. And knowing everything about you does not make Him love you less.
- What does the image of the Lord knowing your exact location teach you about seeking His guidance?
- How does knowing that God understands your questions affect the way you pray?
- Why is it important that Jesus conveys love before telling the young man how to improve?
- What experience helps you recognize God's love while you work on a weakness?
- How can we communicate love before offering correction in our families, callings, or ministering?
Embrace Your Divine Identity and Important Work
Sister Spannaus testifies to the young women that they are beloved daughters of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. She teaches that each has crucial work to do and that this work differs from person to person. Her message invites adult class members to consider their own divine identity and to approach their responsibilities with love for God and trust in Him.
Each of you has a crucial and important work to do here on earth. That work is different for each person, but if you choose to love God and Jesus Christ and to trust Them, doing that work will bring you the same great joy.
- How does remembering your divine identity influence the way you approach daily responsibilities?
- What helps you recognize important work that receives little public attention?
- How can comparing our opportunities with those of others distract us from our own work?
- Where do you find joy as you serve God in your present circumstances?
- What responsibility can you approach with greater love and trust this week?
Keep Covenants and Repent Daily
Sister Spannaus encourages humble participation in the sacrament and gratitude for the promised companionship of the Holy Ghost as we keep our covenants. She invites us to ask Heavenly Father for that companionship each morning and to seek forgiveness in prayer each evening. These invitations provide a daily pattern for turning toward God.
Partake of the sacrament with a humble heart, grateful for the promise that as you keep your covenants, the Holy Ghost will be your constant companion. Begin each day by asking the Father for that companionship.
- What helps you approach the sacrament with humility and gratitude?
- How can remembering the promise of the Holy Ghost shape your choices during the week?
- What difference does asking for the Spirit's companionship make in your morning prayers?
- How does God's patience, as Sister Spannaus describes it, encourage daily repentance?
- What simple adjustment can make your evening prayers a more sincere opportunity to seek forgiveness?
Study Scripture to Know God and Do His Will
Sister Spannaus invites scripture study that focuses on knowing God's character rather than simply completing a reading assignment. She connects that understanding with doing His will, increasing our love for Him, and advancing His work. Her invitation gives scripture study a personal and practical purpose.
Study the scriptures with a desire to know God’s character so you can do His will, increase your love for Him, and advance His work.
- What qualities of God's character do you notice as you study the scriptures?
- How does studying to know God differ from studying only to finish a chapter?
- What scripture passage helps you love or trust God more deeply?
- How can you connect your scripture study with a decision or responsibility you currently face?
- What change in your study can help you act on God's will and contribute to His work?
Learn About the Help of Ministering Angels
Sister Spannaus specifically invites us to study what it means to receive help from ministering angels. She returns to this assurance in her concluding testimony that angels can minister to us. The invitation encourages thoughtful study and confidence in God's help without requiring dramatic experiences.
Study what it means to have ministering angels help you.
- Why might Sister Spannaus include studying ministering angels among her practical invitations?
- What questions about ministering angels can guide your personal scripture study?
- Which scripture accounts help you understand how God sends help to His children?
- How can the assurance that angels can minister to us strengthen faith during uncertainty?
- How can we discuss heavenly help reverently without pressuring anyone to share sacred experiences?
Protect Sleep to Keep Your Mind Clear
Sister Spannaus includes sufficient sleep among the practices that support our righteous endeavors. She explains that sleep allows the brain to perform vital functions and helps keep the mind clear and alert. Her counsel invites attention to physical needs alongside spiritual habits.
Protect your sleep; go to bed early. Get enough sleep to keep your mind clear and alert. When we sleep, the brain performs vital functions to work properly.
- Why is it meaningful that Sister Spannaus includes sleep in a message about fulfilling righteous aspirations?
- What do you notice about your patience, attention, or judgment when you have adequate rest?
- Which habits within your control make it harder to protect your sleep?
- How can we apply this counsel compassionately when caregiving, work, or health conditions affect rest?
- What realistic adjustment can you make to support a clearer and more alert mind?
Build Real Connections and Faith-Strengthening Friendships
Sister Spannaus counsels us to limit cell phone use and warns that social media can undermine peace of mind, self-esteem, and genuine connection. She emphasizes the value of spending time face to face with others. She also shares President Dallin H. Oaks's invitation to seek friends who follow the Lord and reinforce our faith.
And number seven is an invitation from our prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks: “Seek friends … who are striving to follow the Lord … with whom you can feel the Spirit and … reinforce your faith.”
- How can you tell whether your phone use supports connection or displaces it?
- What helps you feel loved, accepted, heard, and valued in face-to-face interactions?
- What qualities make a friendship strengthening to your faith?
- How can you become the kind of friend who helps others feel the Spirit?
- What boundary with technology or intentional act of friendship can improve your relationships this week?
Face Discouragement With Confidence in God's Help
Sister Spannaus describes feeling deeply discouraged about teaching while learning English and receiving reassurance through a priesthood blessing. The blessing reminds her that the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are at her side. She testifies that the Lord has greater power than the enemy and invites us to put Him first and remain faithful to our baptismal covenants.
Dear young women, I testify that the Lord has greater power than the enemy. He knows where you are and has promised to lead you by the hand. Always put Him first and remain faithful to the covenants you made at your baptism. Angels can minister to you. The Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are at your side.
- What does Sister Spannaus's experience teach us about serving while we still feel inadequate?
- How can we distinguish an invitation to improve from thoughts that attack our worth?
- What experience gives you confidence that God supports you during discouragement?
- How can prayer, priesthood blessings, and support from others help us turn toward God when we struggle?
- What does putting the Lord first look like in a difficult situation you currently face?
Additional Discussion Questions
- How do God's perfect knowledge and perfect love work together throughout this talk?
- Which of Sister Spannaus's seven invitations seems most important for you to focus on over the next few weeks, and why?
- How can a list of righteous aspirations remain a source of hope rather than become a measure of personal inadequacy?
- What connections do you see between caring for your physical needs and pursuing your spiritual aspirations?
- How can our quorum or Relief Society help members feel loved before encouraging them to change?
- How do daily repentance and covenant keeping help us seek God's guidance for long-term goals?
- What helps you trust God when the path toward a righteous desire differs from your expectations?
- How can we support young women and other young people as they discover their gifts and important work?
- What does this talk teach us about responding to someone who feels alone, discouraged, or incapable?
- What specific action do you feel prompted to take, and how can you review your progress with patience and trust in God?
