Lesson 6: Free to Choose Liberty and Eternal Life
Book of Mormon: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, (1999),
25–28
1) Introduction
a) Moving
into 2 Nephi today
b) Difference
between the two books Nephi wrote
i)
1 Nephi – Leaving Jerusalem, traveling through
the wilderness, settling a new land
(1) Scripture
illustrating a common theme in 1 Nephi
(a) READ
- 1 Nephi 1:20: “I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the
Lord are over all those whom he hath
chosen, because of their
faith, to make them mighty
even unto the power of deliverance.”
ii) 2
Nephi – Death of Lehi, Separation of Nephites and Lamanites, growth of the
people, building temples, struggles in the new land
(1) Scripture
illustrating a common theme in 2 Nephi
(2) READ
- 2 Nephi 2:27-29 –
27 Wherefore, men are free
according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto
man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great
Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the
captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be
miserable like unto himself.
28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should
look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be
faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his
Holy Spirit;
29 And not choose eternal death, according to
the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of
the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over
you in his own kingdom.
2) Lehi
exhorts his sons to repent, obey the Lord’s commandments, and put on the armor
of righteousness.
a) ASK
– If you knew you were going to die soon, what would you say to your children?
What would your last words be? Love, advice, testimony?
b) Lehi
knows he is going to die soon
i)
Knows of the problems of Laman and Lemuel
c) Tells
them that he saw the destruction of Jerusalem in a vision.
d) Speaks
of the land where they are now.
i)
Reading 1 – 2 Nephi 1:5-8
5 But, said he, notwithstanding
our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a
land which the Lord God hath
covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed.
Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out
of other countries by the hand of the Lord.
6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to
the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by
the hand of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him
whom he shall bring. And if it so be
that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it
shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be
brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if
iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the
righteous it shall be blessed forever.
8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge
of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that
there would be no place for an inheritance.
(1) Verse
5 - choice above all other lands
(2) Verse
5 - Lord God hath covenanted with me
should be a land for the inheritance of my seed
(3) Verse
5 - and also all those who should be
led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord
(4) Verse
6 - there shall none come into this
land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord
(5) Verse
7 - And if it so be that they shall
serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land
of liberty unto them
ii) Reading
2 - Joseph Smith taught: "You know there has been great discussion in
relation to Zion--where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is,
and which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon
it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground. The whole
of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the
prophets, who declare that it is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should
be, and that it should be in the center of the land. When elders shall take up
and examine the old prophecies in the Bible, they will see it." (TPJS,
p362)
3) Lehi
testifies of the Atonement of Jesus Christ
a) Lehi
gives the first great Atonement sermon in the Book of Mormon
b) Reading
3 – 2 Nephi 2:1-10
1 And now, Jacob, I speak unto you: Thou art my first-born in the days
of my tribulation in the wilderness. And behold, in thy childhood thou hast
suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren.
2 Nevertheless, Jacob, my first-born in the
wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.
3 Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and thou shalt dwell safely with
thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall be spent in the service of thy God.
Wherefore, I know that thou art
redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast
beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men.
4 And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory;
wherefore, thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the
flesh; for the Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. And the way is prepared from the fall of
man, and salvation is free.
5 And men
are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by
the law men are cut off. Yea, by
the temporal law they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become
miserable forever.
6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.
7 Behold, he
offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and
unto none else can the ends
of the law be answered.
8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make
these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that
there is no flesh that can dwell in
the presence of God, save it be through
the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according
to the flesh, and taketh it again
by the power of the Spirit, that he
may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that
should rise.
9 Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God,
inasmuch as he shall make
intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.
10 And because
of the intercession for all, all
men come unto God; wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the
truth and holiness which is in him. Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which
is affixed, which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed,
to answer the ends of the atonement—
i)
Note – Addressed to his son, Jacob
(1) Born
in the wilderness and had a very hard life
(2) Jacob
will learn the lessons of the Atonement and teach the second great Atonement
sermon in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 9
(3) Jacob
will become a prophet
c) Reading
4 - President Joseph F. Smith said, “Jesus came and suffered, ‘the just for the
unjust,’ he that was without sin for him that had sinned, and was subjected to
the penalty of the law which the sinner had transgressed” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th
ed. [1939], 204).
4) Lehi
teaches the importance of opposition and the freedom to choose good from evil
a) Lehi
continues to teach Jacob
b) Reading
5 – 2 Nephi 2:11
11 For it must needs be, that there
is an opposition in all things.
If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if
it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither
death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor
insensibility.
i)
Note: there is an opposition in all things – different meaning than “there
is opposition in all things.”
ii) Opposition
= Opposites
iii) Visual
Aids
(1) Black
on White
(2) White
on Black
iv) Opposites
are necessary in order to have a genuine and accurate knowledge, discerning
knowledge
v) German
philosopher Hegel
(1) Thesis - an intellectual
proposition.
(2) Antithesis - the negation of the
thesis
(3) Hegel
included synthesis as the
resolution of the conflict between thesis and antithesis
(4) Lehi
recognizes for good and evil, there is no
resolution of conflict, only a choice between the two opposites
vi) READ
Doctrine and Covenants 29:39
39 And it must needs be that the
devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto
themselves; for if they never should
have bitter they could not know the sweet
vii) Reading
6 - Brigham Young taught: “Facts are made apparent to the human mind by their
opposites. We find ourselves surrounded in this mortality by an almost endless
combination of opposites, through which we must pass to gain experience and
information to fit us for an eternal progression.” (Brigham Young, in Journal
of Discourses, 11:42.)
c) Reading
7 – 2 Nephi 2:13-16
13 And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin.
If ye shall say there is no sin, ye
shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no
righteousness there be no happiness. And if
there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery.
And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not,
neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to
act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.
14 And now, my sons, I speak unto you these
things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created
all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be
acted upon.
15 And to bring about his eternal purposes in
the end of man, after he had created
our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the
air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the
tree of life; the one being sweet
and the other bitter.
5) Adam
and Eve and the Fall
a) Lehi
uses the story of Adam and Eve to both explain the law of opposites and to show
how the Atonement allows us to choose and make mistakes without being condemned
by those mistakes
b) Put
Up Chart
c) READ
2 Nephi 2 – 16-25
16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should
act for himself. Wherefore, man
could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or
the other.
17 And I, Lehi, according to the things which
I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which
is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought
that which was evil before God.
18 And because he had fallen from heaven, and
had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.
Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who
is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit,
and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.
19 And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the
forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth.
20 And they have brought forth children; yea,
even the family of all the earth.
21 And the days of the children of men were
prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the
flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was
lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the
children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he
showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their
parents.
22 And now, behold, if Adam had not
transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden
of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state
in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained
forever, and had no end.
23 And they would have had no children;
wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for
they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.
24 But behold, all things have been done in
the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are,
that they might have joy.
i)
Go through Chart
d) What
do we learn about the Plan of Salvation the Atonement makes possible?
i)
Requires the Power to choose
(1) Wherefore,
the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could
not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the
other (2 Nephi 2:16).
ii) Requires
Opposition or Opposites –
Opportunity to Choose
(1) For
it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my
firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass,
neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad.
Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should
be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor
corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor
insensibility (2 Nephi 2:11)
iii) Requires
Laws so we know what God
wants us to choose
(1) And
if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin . . . (2
Nephi 2:13).
iv) Requires
Knowledge of Good and Evil
(1) And
men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. . . (2 Nephi
2:5).
e) READ
– 2 Nephi 2:26-27
26 And the Messiah cometh in the
fulness of time, that he may redeem
the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed
from the fall they have become free
forever, knowing good from
evil; to act for themselves
and not to be acted upon, save
it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according
to the commandments which God hath given.
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are
expedient unto man. And they are free
to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death,
according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men
might be miserable like unto himself.
f) Reading
8 - Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught: “The Lord has given you the gift of agency
(see Moses 7:32) and instructed you sufficiently to know good from evil (see 2
Nephi 2:5). You are free to choose (see 2 Nephi 2:27) and are permitted to act
(see 2 Nephi 10:23; Helaman 14:30), but you are not free to choose the
consequences. With absolute certainty, choices of good and right lead to
happiness and peace, while choices of sin and evil eventually lead to
unhappiness, sorrow, and misery” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1989, 94; or Ensign,
Nov. 1989, 75).
Conclusion
