Gospel Doctrine Class – Sherwood Hills Ward – January 11, 2010
Lesson 2 – Thou Wast Chosen Before Thou Wast Born – Abraham 3, Moses 4:1-4
Attention Activity: Reader’s Theatre (Teach Them To Understand – Elder David A. Bednar, Ricks College Campus Education Week Devotional, June 4, 1998)
Reader One: As I travel around the Church, I find the word "doctrine" is not very well understood. Sometimes we think doctrine refers to weird, abstract, mysterious subjects in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As I refer to doctrine, I am not talking about how many light-years it is to Kolob and who lives there. Rather, doctrine refers to the eternal, unchanging, and simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are several key words in that definition: eternal, unchanging, simple, and truth. Doctrines are never altered. They never vary. They will always be the same. You can always count on them. There is, for example, the doctrine of the Atonement. There is doctrine related to priesthood and priesthood keys. There is doctrine related to continuing revelation and the pattern whereby our Heavenly Father communicates with us and we communicate with Him. These are eternal, unchanging truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Reader Two: There are also principles. Principles are doctrinally based guidelines for what we ought to do. Therefore, if there is a doctrine of the Atonement, then the first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is the second principle or doctrinally based guideline for how we should live. Both of these principles are linked to the doctrine of the Atonement. Brothers and sisters, doctrine answers the why questions of our lives. Principles provide us with direction about the what and the how. May I suggest that in the times in which we live, only the restored gospel of Jesus Christ has the answers to the why questions that matter the most.
Reader One: It concerns me as I see young people in our Church who know all the correct things they should do and do not have a clue as to why. They have a check-list mentality. "Say my prayers morning and night. Read the scriptures." Why do they do these things? "Because I am supposed to. Because the prophet said. Because my mom and dad will jump my case if I don't." May I suggest that each of these activities is related to the doctrine of revelation. We pray every morning in a meaningful way to invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost. At the end of the day we report and give an account of our stewardship in our evening prayer. We express gratitude for the companionship of the Spirit and the direction we received. We also study the scriptures daily to feast upon the words of Christ, to again invite the Spirit, and to receive instruction and direction. These things are related to the doctrine of receiving revelation. But do we do these things without an understanding of what they are linked to doctrinally? Do we understand why? If we do not understand the why, then the power available to us through the doctrine of Christ will not be evident in our lives.
Reader Two: This is particularly true with young people pertaining to the law of chastity. They know they shouldn't, but do they know why they shouldn't? Where is the best place to teach the why of chastity? In our homes. Maybe you and I do not "preach" doctrine in our homes as frequently or as effectively as we should because we do not know the doctrine as well as we should.
Reader One: I do not know a young person who truly understands the doctrine related to "the seed of Abraham" who would violate the law of chastity. We were foreordained in the premortal existence to the blessings associated with birth through a particular lineage, even the chosen lineage of Abraham--not because we are better, not because we are more special, but because we have particular responsibilities that we covenanted we would fulfill. Therefore we came to the earth through a lineage with the birthright blessing of the priesthood. Every man who holds the priesthood was foreordained to that very responsibility in the premortal existence. Does a young man who understands that doctrine have a choice to go on a mission? He made that choice before he was ever born.
Reader Two: We come to the earth as the seed of Abraham to participate in blessing the families of the earth. Father Abraham was given the promise that through him and through his posterity, which is us, all the families of the earth would be blessed. How? By our bearing this ministry, which is the responsibility to proclaim the gospel, and this priesthood, meaning the saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have promised that we will carry this message to the nations of the earth. Brothers and sisters, you and I were born to spend our lives proclaiming the gospel and serving others. Might I suggest that if you are 65, retired, and thinking about serving a mission, you made that choice before you were ever born. It is through the lineage of Abraham that we came to the earth. Blessing others by proclaiming the gospel is what we were born to do.
Reader One: As I have opportunities to visit with young people, I like to talk about what it means to be the "seed of Abraham." Hoping that the Spirit of the Lord will touch their hearts, I highlight the story of Jacob and Esau. Esau gave up his birthright blessing for a bowl of red bean soup. Now a question directed to the young people: Would you really want to forfeit your birthright as the seed of Abraham--foreordained in the premortal existence, living on the earth at this particular time to bless the families of the earth, the most glorious spiritually destiny you could ever hope for? Do you really want to give up those blessings and opportunities for a few minutes of messing around? If we understand the doctrine of who we are and why we are here, then that understanding changes the way we do things.
Reader Three: Listen to this statement from President Boyd K. Packer: "True doctrine understood changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior" (Boyd K. Packer, "Little Children," Ensign, November 1986, pg. 17).
Reader Two: I do not intend to be harsh, but in Relief Society, priesthood, Young Men's, and Young Women's we sometimes have lessons on topics such as self-esteem, self-worth, and goal setting. Such instruction indeed can be good and valuable. But you can get the same information at the Rotary Club or a number of other secular organizations. However, at the Rotary Club you cannot get the pure, simple doctrine of the Atonement of Christ. And self-esteem and the ability to effectively set and accomplish goals ultimately comes from understanding doctrine, not just the mechanics of application.
Reader Three: Listen to this statement from President Ezra Taft Benson:
The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature. (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, pg. 79)
Reader One: As parents, how do we get inside? This is the challenge because we have the responsibility to teach our children to understand. If the Lord works from the inside out, can a parent get inside? The answer was found in Section 50. You and I preach. And I do not mean rant and rave and pound the pulpit. We articulate, we explain, we set a worthy example, and we testify of the simple doctrine of Christ--particularly in our homes--so the Spirit of the Holy Ghost can teach, bringing thoughts to the mind and feelings to the heart. That is how the Lord gets inside. In essence, you and I have the opportunity to be the vessel or vehicle through whom the Spirit can come and touch the hearts of those whom we love.
Reader Three: Finally, this statement from President Marion G. Romney: The only safety we have in the world for our children is what they build within themselves. We can make restrictions against drinking and smoking, and we can make regulations to guide the affairs of people. We can throw all the protections possible around them. But after all, the thing that holds them in, the final test, is what is inside of them. They must be able to stand alone. (F. Burton Howard, Marion G. Romney: His Life and Faith, pg. 153)
Reader Two: If they know the why, they will quickly learn the how. Am I suggesting that we never discuss the how? Not at all. I am suggesting that perhaps we do not spend as much time with the why as we need to.
Question: How does it help you to know that you chose to follow Jesus Christ in the Council in Heaven?
Abraham learned that in the premortal life, many Spirits were foreordained to their mortal mission.
Read Abraham 3:11-12, Abraham 3:22-23 and D&C 138:53-57
Question: What do we learn from the Council in Heaven
Question: Who are the “noble and great ones?”
Question: What were the people mentioned in D&C 138 foreordained to do?
Read President Benson Quote:
“God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the second coming of the Lord. Some individuals will fall away; but the kingdom of God will remain in tact to welcome the return of its head—even Jesus Christ. While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference in time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of His strongest children, who will help bear off the kingdom triumphantly… Make no mistake about it—you are a marked generation. There has never been more expect of the faithful in such a short period of time than there is of us.” (Teachings of ETBenson, 1988 p. 104)
Question: How can we be sure that we are fulfilling our callings?
Jesus Christ was chosen in the Council in Heaven to be our Savior; we chose to follow Him. Lucifer and the spirits who followed him were cast out of heaven.
The Preexisitence is an echo
Elder Holland Quote:
In speaking to missionaries about the power of the testimony we bear to investigators, Elder Holland said:
“There are several reasons for bearing testimony. One is that when you declare the truth, it will bring an echo, an unconscious memory to the investigator, that they have heard this truth before—and of course they have. A missionary’s testimony invokes a great legacy of testimony dating back to the councils in heaven before this world was. There in an earlier place, these same people heard this same plan outlined and heard there the role that Jesus Christ would play in their salvation. The fact of the matter is investigators are not only haring our testimony of Christ, but they are hearing echoes of other, earlier testimonies, including their own testimony of Him, for they were on the side of the faithful who kept their first estate and earned the privilege of a second estate. We must always remember that these investigators were among the valiant who once overcame Satan by the power of their testimony of Christ.” (Missionary Work and the Atonement, Liahona October 2001, 26)
Question: Why is it that the Christian world in general accepts the concept of the Ressurrection, but reject the doctrine of premortal life?
-- doctrine of premortal life removed from scriptures in AD 543 by Roman emperor, Justinian in the Council of Constantinople.
-- Much of the human despair about the meaning of life and the perplexities of the mortal condition stems from being unaware of this precious doctrine (Elder Maxwell)
-- Part of Satan’s plan to confuse honest truth seekers
Read Moses 4:4 – Satan…lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.”
Question: What are some ways Satan and his followers try to limit or destroy our agency?
What can we do to recognize and resist their efforts?
Abraham 3:24-25 explains on of the main purposes the Savior created this earth:
"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them."
Questions: Why was the earth created? How does it help you to know that you chose to come to earth knowing that you would be tested here?
Testify: Promise blessings that await us as we fulfill our foreordained missions to help build the kingdom of God
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