Study Guide for "Quick to Help, Slow to Judge"

Elder Paul H. Sinclair invites us to become more Christlike by being quick to help and slow to judge. Through a child's compassionate response and the Savior's ministry to the woman at the well, he shows how practical help, dignity, and grace encourage transformation. As you study, consider how you can reorient your heart toward compassion and help others feel at home among disciples of Jesus Christ.

Before Reading

Before reading or listening to the talk, consider the following questions:

What does being quick to help and slow to judge look like in everyday situations?
What can a child's response to another person's difficulty teach me about discipleship?
How does Jesus Christ's interaction with the woman at the well reveal His approach to helping people?
How can I help friends and new members feel welcomed rather than judged?

Topics

Choose Helpful Action Instead of Judgment

Elder Sinclair contrasts his irritation at a child's predicament with another child's immediate, compassionate help. Her response invites him to recognize the need for a spiritual realignment through the Holy Ghost. True discipleship involves noticing another person's need and responding with help rather than criticism.

But instead of being aggravated, she wanted to help.

Quickly discerning what action was needed, she reached up with her tiny, nonjudgmental fingers and popped the button out of the buttonhole.

A little child led me to learn this: that a true disciple of Jesus Christ is quick to help and slow to judge.

How does the little girl's response differ from Elder Sinclair's initial response?
What does this experience teach about the relationship between compassion and action?
How does Elder Sinclair describe the Holy Ghost's role in his spiritual realignment?
In what situations do I feel irritated by someone who needs help? What helpful response can I choose instead?
What does a child's example teach me about becoming more like Jesus Christ?
As I examine my reactions to others, what spiritual realignment do I feel prompted to seek?
What small act of nonjudgmental help can I offer today?

Offer Grace and See Others" Potential

Jesus Christ's interaction with the Samaritan woman demonstrates how to offer transformative help without shaming someone. Although He knows her circumstances completely, He focuses on offering living water, listening to her questions, and trusting her with truth. His example teaches us to look beyond a person's past and recognize the possibilities for transformation.

What did Christ focus on instead? Help. The offer of “living water.”

He spoke to the woman with dignity, not shame.

He earnestly listened to her questions and responded with teaching, not ridicule.

Jesus Christ reminds us that to help people transform their lives, we must look not only to their past—we must look to their possible.

Why does Elder Sinclair emphasize that we do not know the full circumstances of the woman's relationships?
How does the Savior offer dignity and transformative help during His conversation with her?
What does it mean to look to another person's "possible" rather than focus only on the person's past?
How does the Savior's offer of living water illustrate the help He provides?
Whom do I tend to define by past choices or circumstances? How can I begin to see that person's potential?
How can I listen to someone's sincere questions without ridicule or shame?
Where do I recognize the Savior's grace and transformative help in my own life?
What can I say or do to communicate dignity while sharing gospel truth?

Help Friends and New Members Feel at Home

Elder Sinclair compares people who meet missionaries today to the woman at the well: they may fear judgment while needing help. He invites Church members to become more holy by welcoming and assisting friends and new members in Christlike ways. Helping individuals through small and simple acts contributes to preparing the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are invited to reorient our souls so we may help friends and new members in more Christlike ways.

Being quick to help and slow to judge is a simple and deeply encouraging way for each of us to be more holy, to be more like our Savior, to be His true disciples.

I pray that when these modern-day men and women at the well meet you and me, they will know they have “come home.”

I testify that when we help people, one by one, in our own small and simple ways, rather than judge them, we are preparing the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Why does Elder Sinclair compare people who meet missionaries to people at modern-day wells?
How does being quick to help and slow to judge relate to becoming holy?
What does Elder Sinclair hope friends and new members recognize when they meet Church members?
How does helping people one by one contribute to preparing the world for the Savior's Second Coming?
Who in my ward or community may need reassurance that they belong?
What specific action can I take this week to help a friend or new member feel at home?
What assumptions might prevent me from recognizing someone's need for help?
How can I make small, personal acts of Christlike service a regular part of my discipleship?