Lesson 5: “Born Again”

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  Purpose

  To help class members understand that to receive everlasting life, we must be “born again” and continue to follow Jesus Christ.

  
  

  
  

  • Jesus told Nicodemus that “except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). What does it mean to be born again? (See the scripture chain in this section.)
  • Read and ponder Alma 5:14–31 as if Alma were speaking to you. What do you need to do personally to be “spiritually … born of God”? (Alma 5:14).
  • Jesus told the Samaritan woman that he could give her “living water” (John 4:10). What do you think “living water” means? (See 1 Nephi 11:25; D&C 63:23.) How can we obtain living water? How has this living water blessed you?

Suggestion for Family Discussion

Give each family member a drinking glass. Pour water into each glass, and invite family members to drink the water. Ask family members if they think they will ever need another drink of water. Then read John 4:1–15, and discuss the questions in the third paragraph of this section. Testify that if we will come to Christ and live his gospel, we will receive “everlasting life” (John 4:14).

Scripture Chain: “Born Again”

• John 3:3–5
  
• John 3:16–17
  
• Mosiah 5:1–7
  
• Mosiah 27:25–26
  
• Alma 5:14–16
  
• Alma 22:15–18
  
  

  Related Talks

  • Robert D. Hales, “Agency: Essential to the Plan of Life,” Oct. 2010 general conference.
  • Body K. Packer, “Cleansing the Inner Temple,” Oct. 2010 general conference.
  
  

Lesson 4: “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord” – Scriptures and Quotes

Lesson 4: “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord” – Scriptures and Quotes

Joseph Smith Translation Matthew 3:24-26 – Page 802 of scriptures

Reading 1 - 1 Nephi 10:7–10

Joseph Smith taught: "...the spirit of Elias was a going before to prepare the way for the greater, which was the case with John the Baptist.... The spirit of Elias is to prepare the way for a greater revelation of God, which is the Priesthood of Elias, or the Priesthood that Aaron was ordained unto. And when God sends a man into the world to prepare for a greater work, ...it was called the doctrine of Elias, even from the early ages of the world." (TPJS, p335)

Reading 2 – Matthew 3:1-6

Reading 3 – Luke 7:28

Reading 4 – Brother Robert J. Matthew’s has written: [John the Baptist's] mission was to be the living embodiment of the law of Moses which was part of the “preparatory gospel” functioning under the Aaronic Priesthood. John was to do as a man what the law of Moses was to do as a statute—to prepare the way for the Lord by teaching the first principles of the gospel and performing baptisms as called for in the law of Moses. John was the finest example of the powers and purposes of the priesthood of Aaron and the law of Moses. He was the right person to be the final representative of the law of Moses in its capacity as a schoolmaster to bring men to Christ. He bridged two dispensations by being the last legal representative of the law of Moses and, at the same time, being the one preappointed to introduce and prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. (Robert J. Matthews, "“There Is Not a Greater Prophet”: The Ministry of John the Baptist", Ensign, Jan. 1991, 13)

Reading 5 – Matthew 3:11-17

 President Marion G. Romney taught, “One is born again by actually receiving and experiencing the light and power inherent in the gift of the Holy Ghost.”  This is exemplified in the baptism of Adam: “And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.  And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened [Old English for “made alive”] in the inner man” (Moses 6:64-65)

Reading 6 - President Joseph Fielding Smith taught when one receives the gift of the Holy Ghost, “We are back in the presence of God.  The question might naturally be raised: How do we come back into the presence of God if we do not see him?  We do not see him now, but are we not in his presence when we have the gift of the Holy Ghost, one of the members of the Godhead, to lead and direct us in righteousness?  We are back in his presence, if we keep the commandments and do not longer live in sin; then we are in spiritual life.  That is an important thing in connection with baptism not generally understood.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith (3 Vols., Bruce R. McConkie [Ed.], Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-56), 2:328)

Reading 7 – Matthew 4:1-11

Elder Bruce R. McConkie: "When man is communing with his Maker, he is not subject to temptation; when angels are ministering to him and he is under the spell of their angelic influence, he is not subject to temptation; when the Holy Spirit rests mightily upon him and the visions of eternity are open to his view, he is not subject to temptation.... As the period of edification and spiritual enlightenment drew to its close, as the visions and spiritual experiences ceased...and as Jesus prepared to go back into the normal mortal way of life, with angels no longer at his side and his eyes not open to the unending visions of eternity, then the devil came to entice, to trap, to tempt." (Mortal Messiah, p410)

Reading 8 - President Howard W. Hunter wrote: "Satan may have lost Jesus, but he does not believe he has lost us. He continues to tempt, taunt, and plead for our loyalty. We should take strength for this battle from the fact that Christ was victorious not as a God but as a man." (That We Might Have Joy, p35)

Reading 9: John 1:35-39

John 1:40-42

Questions to Ponder This Week

Last Sunday in our lesson about the Nativity, three questions to ponder were presented: How will I respond to Jesus Christ? Do I have room? and What gift can I give?  I hope you find time this week to write down any promptings that come to you in answer to these questions.

Lesson 4: “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord”

Lesson 4: “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord” New Testament Class Member Study Guide, (1997)

• What message did John preach to prepare the people for the coming of the Savior? (See Matthew 3:1–2.) 
• What does it mean to repent? (See 2 Corinthians 7:9–10; Luke 19:8; Mosiah 7:33; D&C 1:31–32; 58:42–43.) 
• As you read about the Savior’s encounter with Satan in the wilderness, what do you learn about withstanding temptation? (See Matthew 4:1–11. See also the footnotes to Matthew 4:1–2, 5–6, 8–9, and 11, which contain the Joseph Smith Translation of these verses.) 
• After receiving a witness that Jesus was the Messiah, how did Philip answer Nathanael’s doubts? (See John 1:43–46.) What can you do to invite others to “come and see” the Savior? 

Suggestion for Family Discussion

Prepare a lesson to help family members who are preparing for baptism or to discuss ways to help converts who will soon be baptized. Discuss why Jesus needed baptism (Matthew 3:13–15; 2 Nephi 31:6–9) and why we need baptism (2 Nephi 31:5, 10–12; D&C 20:71–73; 49:13–14). Invite family members who have been baptized to tell about when they were baptized and express their feelings about the blessings they have received because they were baptized.

Scripture Chain: Repentance 

• Luke 15:3–10
• 2 Corinthians 7:9–10
• Alma 34:31–34
• 1 John 1:8–9
• Matthew 3:1–2
• D&C 58:42–43

Lesson 3: “Unto You Is Born … a Saviour” New Testament Class Member Study Guide, (1997), 3

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  What were the circumstances of Jesus’ birth? (See Luke 2:7.) In what ways do people today refuse to make room for the Savior in their lives? What can you do to make room for him in your life?
• Why did Jesus come to earth? (See 3 Nephi 27:13–16.)
• What did the “wise men from the east” do when they found the child Jesus? (See Matthew 2:11.) What gifts can you offer to the Lord
• As a youth, Jesus “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52). In other words, he developed intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially. What are some specific things you can do to grow intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially?

Suggestion for Family Discussion

Read lines from several hymns or Primary songs about Jesus’ birth, and invite family members to identify the hymns or songs. Sing one of the hymns or songs as a family, and discuss the importance of remembering Jesus’ birth throughout the year rather than just during the Christmas season.

Scripture Chain: Jesus’ Birth

• Isaiah 9:6
  
• Helaman 14:1–8
  
• 1 Nephi 11:13–21
  
• Luke 2:7–14
  

Lesson 2: “My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord” – Scriptures and Quotes

Lesson 2: “My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord” – Scriptures and Quotes

Reading 1: Many years ago a young lady wrote these words as she began a study of the New Testament. The question to which she was responding is the one found in Matthew 22:42: “What think ye of Christ?”

 “I know quite a bit about Christ and I really believe that he is my Savior, but more than anything else in life right now I want to get to know Jesus as a brother and I want to be his friend. I have thought about Christ a lot lately and I know that somehow I have got to gain a testimony so that I know for myself that he lives.”

At the conclusion a year studying the New Testament, she responded again to the same question. She wrote this:

“I hardly know where to begin. Jesus Christ is the most important [person] in my life. I know, without a doubt, that he lives, that he is the Son of God and that he loves me with a most complete and perfect love. 

“This past . . . year I have grown so much! I have learned about the Savior’s life, his mission, and all the things he taught. But most important, I have come to know that Christ lives. He is a real person with feelings, and personality. I love him very, very much and I hope I always will. I know that if I will just live the teachings that he taught, I will never have to wonder and doubt again.” (Ted Gibbons, LDS Living, New Testament Lesson 1, December 29, 2010)

Reading 2 - President Harold B. Lee told of how he prepared when he was asked to give an Easter radio address a few days after becoming a member of the Twelve: "During the days which followed, I locked myself in one of the rooms over in the Church Office building, and there I read the story of the life of the Savior. As I read the events of his life, and particularly the events leading up to and of the crucifixion, and then of the resurrection, I discovered that something was happening to me. I was not just reading a story; it seemed actually as though I was living the events; and I was reading them with a reality the like of which I had never before experienced. And when, on the Sunday night following, after I had delivered my brief talk and then declared, simply, 'As one of the humblest among you, I, too, know that these things are true, that Jesus died and was resurrected for the sins of the world,' I was speaking from a full heart, because I had come to know that week, with a certainty which I never before had known." (CR, Apr 1952)

Reading 3 - Brigham Young said:  The greatest and most important of all requirements of our Father in Heaven and of his son Jesus Christ is . . . to believe in Jesus Christ, confess him, seek him, cling to him, make friends with him.

    Take a course to open and keep open a communication with . . . our Savior (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 8:339)

John 17:3

Reading 4: Luke 1:5-7

Reading 5 – Elder Neal A Maxwell has said:  The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord’s timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes.   (Even As I Am (1982), 93.)

Reading 6 – Luke 1: 11-17

Luke 1:26-33

Reading 7 – Luke 1:39-47

Reading 8 - Speaking of Jesus Christ, Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught:  “God was his Father, from which Immortal Personage … he inherited the power of immortality, which is the power to live forever; or, having chosen to die, it is the power to rise again in immortality, thereafter to live forever without again seeing corruption. … 

“… Mary was his mother, from which mortal woman … he inherited the power of mortality, which is the power to die. …

“It was because of this … intermixture of the divine and the mortal in one person, that our Lord was able to work out the infinite and eternal atonement. Because God was his Father and Mary was his mother, he had power to live or to die, as he chose, and having laid down his life, he had power to take it again, and then, in a way incomprehensible to us, to pass on the effects of that resurrection to all men so that all shall rise from the tomb” (The Promised Messiah [1978], 470–71).