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FAIR Resources for Come, Follow Me – Restoration Scripture
Week 7: February 9 - 15: "Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord"

Genesis 6-11; Moses 8

Doctrinal Focus
Historical & Contextual
Apologetic Application
Practical Applications
Ideas for Teaching
Quick Reference

Doctrinal Focus

  • Key doctrines addressed in this week’s reading
  • Despite living in a corrupt world, Noah received divine favor because of his faith and obedience. This shows that God’s grace reaches those who choose righteousness, even in difficult environments. (Genesis 6:8)

Noah’s ark became a refuge because he followed God’s instructions exactly. This illustrates how obedience to prophetic direction provides spiritual safety amid the storms of life. (Moses 8:18, 23–24)

Though the world mocked him, Noah fulfilled his prophetic role in warning others of coming judgment. This emphasizes the consistent divine pattern of God sending prophets to prepare His people. (Moses 8:17, 20–21)

The people’s refusal to listen to Noah led to their downfall. This underscores the importance of heeding living prophets today, whose counsel helps us avoid spiritual and temporal dangers. (Moses 8:24)

  • The rainbow served as a token of God’s promise never to destroy the earth by water again. This reminds us that God is faithful to His covenants, even after periods of trial and judgment. (Genesis 9:9–11)

Just as God gave Noah a covenant sign, He gives us the sacrament and temple ordinances as reminders of His enduring love and assurances of redemption. (Genesis 9:13–17)

Historical & Contextual Insights

  • Insights in this week’s study
  • The story of Noah takes place in the generations leading up to the Great Flood, a time described as filled with violence, corruption, and widespread rejection of God’s commandments.

God called Noah as a prophet to warn the people and prepare an ark to save his family and all creatures from the coming destruction. For decades, Noah preached repentance, yet the people hardened their hearts and mocked him. Ultimately, the Flood served as both a cleansing judgment on the wicked and a new beginning for God’s covenant people.

  • This narrative reinforces the scriptural theme that God always warns His children before great judgments through His prophets (Amos 3:7). It also demonstrates that divine covenants continue, even after periods of destruction or renewal.
  • In times of moral decline, God still raises up prophets to provide direction and safety. Just as Noah’s obedience saved his family, our faith in modern prophets and in covenants today offers spiritual protection.
  • The world Noah lived in was full of violence and corruption, but he stood apart by living faithfully. This shows that God’s grace is not withheld by the sins of others around us — He notices and blesses individual righteousness. (Genesis 6:8)

     

  • Even when society is declining, God sees those who are striving to follow Him. Just as He preserved Noah and his family, He will preserve covenant keepers today.
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  • Grace is not earned but is extended to those who choose faith and obedience. Noah’s example teaches that grace empowers us to survive spiritual storms and remain steadfast in a sinful world.
  • This covenant marked a renewal between God and humanity, assuring that the earth would never again be destroyed by floodwaters. The rainbow served as a divine sign of hope, mercy, and God’s reliability in keeping His promises. (Genesis 9:13–17)

     

  • Just as God gave Noah the rainbow as a reminder, He gives us symbols today — the sacrament, baptism, and temple ordinances — to continually remind us of His covenants.
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  • Remembering covenant symbols helps us stay anchored in faith. Each time we see a rainbow, partake of the sacrament, or attend the temple, we can recall God’s promises and our role in keeping them.

If you have questions on this week’s reading, please email your questions to us here.

Apologetic Application

  1. Claim: “The biblical Flood account is simply borrowed from Mesopotamian myths like the Epic of Gilgamesh.”
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  3. Response:
  4. Historical Evidence: Flood traditions exist across many ancient cultures worldwide, suggesting a real, remembered event rather than mere invention. The biblical account shares similarities but also contains unique theological elements.
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  6. Eyewitness Support: Prophets like Moses and Joseph Smith preserved inspired versions of Noah’s story, restoring details about Noah’s prophetic ministry (Moses 8) that highlight divine revelation, not myth-making.
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  8. Spiritual Confirmation: Through prayer and study, the Holy Ghost can testify of the truth of the scriptural record, confirming Noah’s life and mission as more than legend.
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  10. Logical Analysis: The presence of multiple flood traditions strengthens rather than weakens the biblical account — it shows that a real event was remembered differently across cultures, with the Bible preserving the covenant-centered version.
  • Claim: “The Flood shows God as cruel and unmerciful.”
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  • Response:
  • Historical Evidence: Ancient scripture describes a world filled with violence and corruption (Genesis 6:11–12). The Flood came only after centuries of prophetic warnings (Moses 8:17–24).
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  • Eyewitness Support: Noah’s lengthy ministry demonstrates God’s patience and mercy. The people knowingly rejected prophets and divine invitations to repent.
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  • Spiritual Confirmation: The Spirit affirms that God is perfectly just and merciful, balancing judgment with opportunities for repentance and salvation, even extending redemption to the dead (1 Peter 3:18–20).
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  • Logical Analysis: A just God cannot allow unchecked wickedness to continue indefinitely. The Flood was both a cleansing and a fresh start, preserving agency and righteousness for future generations.
  • Claim: “The ark story is scientifically implausible.”
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  • Response:
  • Historical Evidence: The text emphasizes kinds of animals, not every modern species, allowing for broader groupings consistent with ancient categories of life.
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  • Eyewitness Support: Noah’s ark was built under prophetic direction — its dimensions (Genesis 6:15–16) were specific and purposeful, testifying to God’s involvement.
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  • Spiritual Confirmation: Believers can trust that God, who created the earth and all living things, had the power to preserve life according to His plan.
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  • Logical Analysis: The ark was not a human engineering project alone; it was a divinely guided means of salvation. Questions of logistics highlight our limited perspective, not God’s limitations.

Practical Applications

Practical solutions for someone in faith crisis:

Action Step: Choose one teaching from General Conference or a recent message from the First Presidency and apply it this week.

Noah’s willingness to build the ark — despite ridicule — preserved his family. Likewise, prophetic counsel provides protection and direction in our day. Acting quickly shows faith and invites God’s blessings.

  1. – Review a recent General Conference talk or message.
  2. – Highlight one specific counsel or invitation.
  3. – Pray for strength to act on it.
  4. – Carry it out this week, no matter how small.

Encouraging Thought:

Safety is not in the absence of the storm, but in the presence of God’s word and our obedience to it.

Action Step: Create or select a daily reminder (phone alarm, scripture note, sticky note) to reflect on your baptismal or temple covenants.

God gave the rainbow to remind Noah of His covenant mercy. Modern covenant symbols — like the sacrament — anchor us to God’s promises and keep His love present in daily life.

  1. – Choose a symbol or reminder that connects you to your covenants.
  2. – Set it in a visible place or schedule it in your day.
  3. – Each time you see it, pause and reflect on God’s promises and your commitments.
  4. – Offer a short prayer of gratitude.

Encouraging Thought:

God’s covenants are not only ancient rainbows in the sky but daily anchors of hope in our lives.

  • Action Step: Identify one area of your life where worldly influence pressures you, and commit to one small change that aligns more with God’s standards.

Like Noah, we may be surrounded by voices that mock or dismiss righteousness. Standing firm in obedience strengthens faith, protects families, and invites God’s grace.

  1. – Reflect on where you feel worldly pressure most strongly.
  2. – Decide on one clear boundary or standard you will keep.
  3. – Share it with God in prayer for strength.
  4. – Act with courage when tested this week.

Encouraging Thought:

  • As Noah walked with God, so can we — step by step, choice by choice, until grace carries us through the floodwaters of the world.

Ideas for Teaching

Objective: Learners will understand the importance of heeding prophetic warnings despite worldly distractions.

A phone or speaker with background noise (music or chatter), slips of paper with short prophetic quotes.

Activity Steps:

  1. Introduction (5 min): Play background noise while quietly reading one of the prophetic quotes. Ask if anyone could clearly hear the message. Explain that Noah’s message was often drowned out by the noise of wickedness.
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  3. Scripture Discussion (5 min): Read Moses 8:20–24. Discuss how the people ignored Noah’s warnings and what dangers they faced as a result.
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  5. Application (5 min): Invite learners to identify “noises” in their own lives (media, peer pressure, doubt) and how they can tune in to prophetic counsel instead.

Follow-Up Question: What helps you recognize and act on the voice of living prophets when the world seems loud?

Objective: Learners will appreciate how God uses symbols to remind us of His covenants.

Pictures of rainbows or colored paper strips; chalkboard/whiteboard.

Activity Steps:

Introduction (5 min): Show a picture of a rainbow. Ask learners what feelings or memories they associate with rainbows.

Scripture Discussion (5 min): Read Genesis 9:13–17. Discuss why God chose the rainbow as a token of His covenant and how it would remind future generations of His promise.

Application (5 min): Have learners list or draw modern symbols of God’s covenants (sacrament, temple garments, baptismal font). Discuss how remembering these can strengthen faith.

Follow-Up Question: What daily reminders help you stay true to your covenants with God?

Objective: Learners will discover how obedience and preparation provide spiritual safety.

Small blocks, paper, or items for a simple “ark-building” object lesson.

Activity Steps: 

Introduction (5 min): Divide learners into small groups. Ask them to quickly build a small “ark” using blocks or paper. When finished, ask: What made it harder or easier to build?

Scripture Discussion (5 min): Read Genesis 6:22 and Moses 8:18. Emphasize Noah’s exact obedience and patience in building the ark over many years.

Application (5 min): Compare ark-building to building a life of faith — step by step, commandment by commandment. Invite learners to choose one “plank of faith” they can add this week (prayer, scripture study, service).

Follow-Up Question: What “ark of faith” are you building in your life, and how can you strengthen it this week?

QUICK REFERENCE

  • Noah found grace through righteousness in a corrupt world (Genesis 6:8).

     

  • Prophets warn and prepare God’s people, even if their counsel is rejected (Moses 8:20–24).

     

  • God establishes covenants as tokens of His mercy and protection (Genesis 9:13–17).

     

  • The ark symbolizes spiritual safety through obedience to divine instruction.

     

  • Just as Noah’s family was preserved, our families can find protection through covenants and prophetic guidance.
  • Why trust modern prophets?
    • God follows a consistent pattern of warning His children before destruction (Amos 3:7). Just as Noah preached repentance and prepared an ark, modern prophets provide safety through counsel and ordinances. Their teachings are confirmed by the Spirit as divine guidance, not mere opinion.
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    • Why does God allow mistakes?
    • Prophets are mortal and imperfect (Doctrine and Covenants 1:24–28), but their divine calling ensures God’s will is accomplished. Just as Noah was mocked yet remained true, modern prophets may face criticism but continue to be God’s voice. Their humanity helps us see that God works through ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary purposes.
  • Genesis 6:8 — Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

     

Moses 8:20–24 — Noah preaches repentance but is rejected.