Keep Your
Thoughts
and Actions
Pure
King David and
Bathsheba
“Lesson 30: King David and Bathsheba,” Primary 6: Old Testament, (1996),131
• What do you think it means
to become entangled in sin?
• I need a volunteer to stand
at the front of the class with
his or her hands forward.
• I’m going to place a strand
of thread loosely around
both of your wrists and tie it.
• This is one thread, which
by itself is not much of
an entanglement,
represents an unclean
thought.
• Break the thread by
pulling your hands
sharply outward.
• When an unclean
thought appears in our
mind, we should stop it
immediately, just as the
child snapped the thread.
• Now, I’m going to wrap the
volunteer’s wrists with several
strands of thread, and have him
or her try to break the threads.
• If we allow unclean
thoughts and desires to
grow in our minds, we
may become entangled
in sin and find it
difficult to escape.
• Let’s review a little of what we
have learned about David so far…
• David was anointed to
be the next king.
• King Saul saw David kill
Goliath. He sent for
David.
• Saul told David to
come and live in
his house.
• David was a gifted
musician. He
played music many
times for Saul.
• Saul made David a
leader of his army.
• God blessed
David.
• His army
won many
battles for
King Saul.
• The people
of Israel
loved David.
• The Israelites and the
Philistines were
fighting. King Saul and
his sons were in the
battle.
• Saul and three of his
sons were killed,
including David’s
friend, Jonathan.
• David was sad. He fasted and prayed.
King David and
Bathsheba
• David became the
king of Israel. David
was a good king.
• He loved God
and obeyed his
commandments.
• One evening
David saw a
beautiful woman.
• Her name was
Bathsheba. She
was married to a
man named Uriah.
• Uriah was a soldier
fighting in the war.
David wanted Uriah to
die. Then he could
marry Bathsheba.
• David sent Uriah to
the front of the battle.
David wanted Uriah to
be killed and he was.
• What David had done was wicked.
• David married Bathsheba.
• God sent a prophet
named Nathan to
talk to David.
• Nathan told David
God knew what
David had done.
God would punish
David.
• David and Bathsheba had a
son.
• When their
son was
born he was
very sick
and soon
died.
• David knew he
had been wicked
and was sorry
for his sins.
• He made
sacrifices and
prayed to God
to forgive him.
• David suffered
because of his
sins. He prayed
to God often
and tried to be
righteous.
• He was a
good king.
• David and
Bathsheba had a
son named
Solomon.
• David was king for
a long time. He
became old. He
wanted his son
Solomon to be the
next king.
• David asked the
prophet, Nathan, to
anoint Solomon to
be king.
• David told
Solomon to
obey God’s
commandments.
• David died and
was buried near
Jerusalem.
• What started King
David’s downfall?
• Let’s read 2 Samuel
11:2–3
• What did Joseph do when he
was tempted by Potiphar’s
wife?
• Let’s read Genesis 39:12
• What could David have done to
be more like Joseph and avoid
becoming entangled in sin?
−Closed his eyes
−Turned away
−Gone inside
−Prayed for selfcontrol
• When we see
something
that puts bad
thoughts into
our minds,
what can we
do?
Enrichment Activity #3
• Some Ideas are:
• Turn away
• Leave the situation
• Say a prayer
• Replace the bad thoughts with good
thoughts and actions
• Think of an uplifting song or verse of
scripture
• Recite the thirteenth article of faith
Enrichment Activity #3
• We believe in being honest, true, chaste,
benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good
to all men; indeed, we may say that we
follow the admonition of Paul—We
believe all things, we hope all things, we
have endured many things, and hope to
be able to endure all things. If there is
anything virtuous, lovely, or of good
report or praiseworthy, we seek after
these things.
Enrichment Activity #5
• It is very important to be
prepared with a replacement
for an undesirable thought.
• Choose
something
uplifting you can
think of instead.
Enrichment Activity #3
• To help the practice what to
do when a bad thought
comes into your mind, we
will play the following
game.
• It’s called…
Enrichment Activity #3
• I’m going to toss this bean bag to
each of your.
• When you catch it, we’ll see
what your challenge is.
• Explain what you could do to
avoid the bad thoughts.
• Then return the beanbag to me.
Enrichment Activity #3
• You hear someone swear.
The thought comes into
your mind to swear also.
Enrichment Activity #3
• Someone tries to show you
pictures of people who are
immodestly dressed. You
are tempted to look.
Enrichment Activity #3
• Someone starts to tell a
dirty joke or story. You
want to listen.
Enrichment Activity #3
• A friend tells an unkind
story about someone. The
thought comes into your
mind to spread the gossip.
Enrichment Activity #3
• You are watching a television
program that shows immoral
behavior. This program is
popular with your friends and
you want to watch it.
Enrichment Activity #3
• You are very angry with
someone and feel like
punching him or her.
Enrichment Activity #3
• You see your favorite
candy bar at the store.
The thought comes into
your mind to steal it.
Enrichment Activity #3
• Where have we heard the word
covet in our lessons?
• Let’s read Exodus 20:17
• “Thou shalt not covet” is one of
the Ten Commandments.
• This use of the word covet
describes an intense desire for
something that belongs to
another.
• How might David
have been protected
if he had kept this
commandment?
• What can we do if
we find ourselves
wanting something
that belongs to
someone else?
• Let’s act out the
prophet Nathan’s
parable of the ewe
lamb.
• We need someone to take the
part of the poor man, the ewe
lamb, the rich man, the traveler,
and the rich man’s sheep.
Enrichment Activity #5
• How does this story relate to
the actions of King David?
• How can
this apply
to us
today?
Enrichment Activity #5
• Why do you think we are
warned not to covet something
that belongs to someone else?
• When we allow ourselves to
think about having something
that belongs to another person,
we may be tempted to do
something wrong in order to
get it.
Enrichment Activity #4
• This type of coveting can lead
to stealing, lying, and even
murder. It can also lead us
away from the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
• One way to avoid wanting the
belongings of others is to notice
and be grateful for our own
blessings.
Enrichment Activity #4
• List or draw some of the things
you enjoy and appreciate.
• Does anyone want to
share their ideas with the
class?
• In your personal journals
a “thank-you” letter to
their Father in Heaven
for their blessings.
Enrichment Activity #4
• Since David did not personally kill
Uriah, why is he still held
accountable for this sin?
•Let’s read 2 Samuel 11:14–
17
• Although David did
not kill Uriah himself,
his intent was to
have Uriah killed.
• Why do you think we need to
control our thoughts and our
words as well as our actions?
•Let’s read
Mosiah 4:30
• Why did Nathan tell King David
the parable of the ewe lamb?
• What did David realize after
hearing the parable?
• Let’s read 2 Samuel 12:13
• David did not escape punishment
even though he tried to conceal
what he had done (see footnote
13b and D&C 132:39).
• When we break any of the Lord’s
commandments, we invite
unhappiness into our lives.
• Let’s read Alma 41:10
• What can we do if we have done
something wrong?
• Heavenly Father loves us even when
we do wrong, and he still wants us
to stay close to him through prayer.
• Although David had committed a
terrible sin, he still prayed to God.
• Although David suffered much
unhappiness as a result of his sins,
God did not forget him.
• How can prayer help
someone who has
done wrong?
• What does it mean to endure to the
end?
• We must each work to remain
faithful throughout our lives.
• The good works and blessings of
David’s earlier life did not prevent
later temptations.
• King David still needed to work to
keep his thoughts and heart pure.
• What gift has the
Lord promised
members of the
Church who keep
his commandments
throughout their
lives?
• Let’s read D&C 14:7
• When we allow
ourselves to
entertain bad
thoughts, we are on
the brink of falling
to temptation.
• Improper thoughts
can lead to
improper words and
actions.
Enrichment Activity #1
• Pure thoughts are
like a guardrail by
the edge of a cliff.
• We should not step
over the guardrail
by thinking bad
thoughts, but we
should replace bad
thoughts with
uplifting ideas.
Enrichment Activity #1
• Could the seeds from this package
produce this particular fruit?
• Seeds only produce their own kind.
• Let’s read 3 Nephi 14:16–18
Enrichment Activity #2
• The thoughts we plant in our minds
produce the words we say and the
things we do.
Enrichment Activity #2
• 1. Keep the commandments; keep the commandments!
In this there is safety; in this there is peace.
He will send blessings;
He will send blessings.
Words of a prophet:
Keep the commandments.
In this there is safety and peace.
• 2. We are His children; we are His children,
and we must be tested to show we are true.
Hold to His promises;
Hold to His promises,
Heeding the prophets:
Keep the commandments.
In this there is safety and peace.
•
•
The obbligato also works well with the version of this song printed in Hymns, no. 303.
Words and music: Barbara A. McConochie, b. 1940. © 1975 IRI. Obbligato by Barbara A. McConochie ©
1989 IRI. Arr. by Darwin Wolford © 1986, 1989 Deseret Book Company. Used by permission. This song
may be copied for incidental, noncommercial church or home use.
Enrichment Activity #6
• Pure thoughts lead to clean lives,
and clean lives lead to happiness.
• I encourage each of you to look for
the Lord’s blessings in your life and
be content with what you have.
• I promise you that you will be
further blessed as you keep the
commandments and endure to the
end.
• Images and clipart are from lds.org, sugardoodle.net,
Microsoft Office, and other websites indicating the
images were in the public domain. The hymns,
scripture story and lesson are primarily from
www.lds.org.
• Please do not use this presentation for commercial use.
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• The presentation is intended to supplement, not
replace, the lesson manual or scriptures. Teachers
should refer to the manual and other resources when
preparing and conducting the lesson.