Lesson 1: “That Ye Might Believe That Jesus Is the Christ”

• •What do you learn about Jesus Christ from John 1:1–3, 14? (Note that “the Word” in John 1:1, 14 refers to the Savior. Use the Joseph Smith Translation of these verses if it is available.)
• •The Apostle John said that “in [Jesus] was life” (John 1:4). He also testified that Jesus is “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). How has the Savior given you life and light?
• •What accounts or teachings in the New Testament have particularly inspired or helped you? How might studying the New Testament this year help strengthen your testimony of Jesus Christ?

Suggestion for Family Discussion

Read John 1:1–3 or Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:1–3. Explain that Jesus (“the Word” in John 1:1–3) created the earth under Heavenly Father’s direction. Take a walk as a family, giving close attention to the many beauties of creation.

Scripture Chain: Jesus Christ’s Foreordained Mission

• John 1:1–5
  
• John 1:9–17
  
• Abraham 3:22–27
  
• Mosiah 3:5–10
  
• Isaiah 61:1–2
  
• Luke 4:16–21
  

Lesson 48: “The Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord” – Scriptures and Quotes

Lesson 48: “The Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord” 

Reading 1 – Malachi 3:1

Reading 2 - President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:  "Malachi speaks of the Lord sending his messenger to prepare the way before him, and while that does have reference to the coming of John the Baptist, it is one of those prophecies in the scriptures that has a double fulfilment. It has reference also to the coming of the Prophet Joseph Smith, because that messenger which was to come and prepare the way before him, was to come in this day." (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:193)

Malachi 3:2 – 2

Luke 18:8

Reading 2 - Malachi 4:5-6

Reading 3 - Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote: "No tradition was more firmly planted in the hearts of Jewish Israel in Jesus' day than the firm belief that Elijah the prophet would come again to prepare the way before the expected Messiah. Both John and Jesus were assumed by some to be this ancient prophet come again. To this day devout Jews set a vacant chair at their table for Elijah when they celebrate the feast of the Passover. In part, at least, this universal belief grew out of Jehovah's promise given by the mouth of Malachi" (The Millennial Messiah, p265).

Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16

Luke 1:17

Reading 4: Joseph Smith taught: "The spirit, power, and calling of Elijah is, that ye have power to hold the key of the revelation, ordinances, oracles, powers and endowments of the fullness of the Melchizedek Priesthood and of the kingdom of God on the earth; and to receive, obtain, and perform all the ordinances belonging to the kingdom of God, even unto the turning of the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the hearts of the children unto the fathers, even those who are in heaven....

     "Now comes the point. What is this office and work of Elijah? It is one of the greatest and most important subjects that God has revealed. He should send Elijah to seal the children to the fathers, and the fathers to the children....

     "I wish you to understand this subject, for it is important; and if you will receive it, this is the spirit of Elijah, that we redeem our dead, and connect ourselves with our fathers which are in heaven, and seal up our dead to come forth in the first resurrection; and here we want the power of Elijah to seal those who dwell on earth to those who dwell in heaven. This is the power of Elijah and the keys of the kingdom of Jehovah....

     "We cannot be perfect without the fathers, &c. We must have revelation from them, and we can see that the doctrine of revelation far transcends the doctrine of no revelation; for one truth revealed from heaven is worth all the sectarian notions in existence." (HC, 6:251-252)

Reading 5: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has taught: [S]ometime not long after 9/11, a missionary asked me in all honesty and full of faith, "Elder Holland, are these the last days?" I saw the earnestness in his face and some of the fear in his eyes. I said, "Yes, Elder, we are in the last days, but there is really nothing new about that. The promised Second Coming of the Savior began with the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1820. We can be certain that we are in the last days-years and years of them." (CES Fireside, Sep. 12, 2004)

Zechariah 10:6-8

Reading 6 - Zechariah 12:2-3, 8-9

Zechariah 14:8

Ezekiel 47:8-9

Reading 7: Zechariah 14:3-4

Reading 8: Zechariah 12:10, 13:6

Zechariah 14:5

Doctrine and Covenants 88:96-98

Reading 9 - President Ezra Taft Benson said: "As we live the commandments of God, we can look forward with joyful anticipation to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and know that through our efforts we are worthy, with our loved ones, to dwell in His presence for all eternity. Surely nothing is too hard to gain this great goal. We cannot let down for a moment. We must prove, every day of our lives, that we are willing to do the will of the Lord-to spread the restored gospel, to bear testimony to the world, to share the gospel with others" (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], 341).

Malachi 3:8-12

Malachi 3:17-18

Lesson 47: “Let Us Rise Up and Build”

Prayerfully study the following scriptures:

1. a. Ezra 1–6. King Cyrus frees the Jews who have been captive in Babylon and invites them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1). Zerubbabel and Jeshua lead approximately 50,000 people back to Jerusalem, and they begin to rebuild the temple (Ezra 2–3). The Samaritans offer to help work on the temple, are turned down, and attempt to stop the work; the rebuilding ceases (Ezra 4). Several years later, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah exhort the Jews to finish the temple; the Samaritans continue to oppose it (Ezra 5; see also Haggai 1). King Darius renews the decree of Cyrus to rebuild the temple, and it is finished and dedicated in about 515 B.C. (Ezra 6).
   
2. b. Ezra 7–8. Ezra receives permission from King Artaxerxes of Persia to lead another group of Jews back to Jerusalem. Ezra and his people fast and pray, and the Lord protects them.
   
3. c. Nehemiah 1–2; 4; 6. Learning that the Jews who have returned to Jerusalem are “in great affliction and reproach,” Nehemiah receives permission from King Artaxerxes to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls (Nehemiah 1–2). The enemies of the Jews seek to prevent them from rebuilding the walls. Nehemiah keeps the work going forward until the walls are finished (Nehemiah 4; 6).
   
4. d. Nehemiah 8. After the walls are rebuilt around Jerusalem, Ezra reads the scriptures to the people. The people weep and desire to obey the words of the law.
   

After Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 B.C., Babylonia declined rapidly in power. In 539 B.C. Babylon fell to the Medes and the Persians, who were united under the leadership of Cyrus (see Daniel 5). Unlike Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus was a benevolent ruler who treated conquered peoples kindly and respected their religions.

Shortly after taking over Babylon, Cyrus invited the Jews (Israelites) in his empire to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.

In 458 B.C. Ezra, a Jewish priest and scribe, brought another group of Jews back to Jerusalem from Babylon. Nehemiah, a Jew who held the important office of cupbearer (butler) in the court of the Babylonian king, obtained a royal commission authorizing him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah and Ezra worked together to help the Jews accomplish this task.

• •What did Nehemiah do when Sanballat asked him to stop working and meet with him? (See Nehemiah 6:1–4.) How do some people try to distract Church members from the Lord’s work today? How should we respond to such distractions?
• •How long did Ezra read the scriptures to the people? (See Nehemiah 8:3, 17–18.) How did the people respond? (See Nehemiah 8:3, 6, 9, 12.) How can we be more attentive as we read the scriptures? How can we develop the kind of excitement for the scriptures that these people had?

Additional reading: Haggai 1; “Ezra,” Bible Dictionary, page 669; “Nehemiah,” Bible Dictionary, page 738.

Lessons 45 & 46 - Scriptures and Quotes

Earlier this week, I mistakenly thought that there would be no Sunday School tomorrow because of a special two-hour Relief Society program.

Instead, the sisters will be in the Relief Society program and the brothers will have their usual schedule, so I'll be teaching Gospel Doctrine class to the brothers. I am not certain, but I expect the second Gospel Doctrine class will do the same thing.

We will cover two lessons, 45 and 46, tomorrow.

Lesson 45: “If I Perish, I Perish” and

Lesson 46: “A Kingdom, Which Shall Never Be Destroyed” 

Reading 1 – Daniel 1:1-8

Reading 2 – Daniel 1:10-15,17,20

Reading 3 - Elder Boyd K. Packer taught: “I have come to know … that a fundamental purpose of the Word of Wisdom has to do with revelation. From the time you are very little we teach you to avoid tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco, narcotics, and anything else that disturbs your health. … If someone ‘under the influence’ can hardly listen to plain talk, how can they respond to spiritual promptings that touch their most delicate feelings? As valuable as the Word of Wisdom is as a law of health, it may be much more valuable to you spiritually than it is physically” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, 28–29; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, 20).

Reading 4 – Daniel 2:1-5

Reading 5 – Daniel 2:16-19

Daniel 2:20-23

Reading 6 – Daniel 2:31-35, 44-45

President Kimball said:

And it was in the days of these kings that power would not be given to men, but the God of heaven would set up a kingdom—the kingdom of God upon the earth, which should never be destroyed nor left to other people.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored in 1830 after numerous revelations from the divine source; and this is the kingdom, set up by the God of heaven, that would never be destroyed nor superseded, and the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that would become a great mountain and would fill the whole earth.

History unfolded and the world powers came and went after ruling the world for a little season, but in the early nineteenth century the day had come. The new world of America had been discovered and colonized and was being settled. Independence had been gained and a constitution approved and freedom given to men, and people were now enlightened to permit truth to be established and to reign.

No king or set of rulers could divine this history; but a young, pure, and worthy prophet could receive a revelation from God.

. . . .

[after describing the events in the Sacred Grove and the appearance of additional heavenly messengers to Joseph Smith, Pres. Kimball continues:]

These were the beginnings of accomplishment; and the gospel was revealed, line upon line and precept upon precept, and truths were restored, and power was given and authority was revealed, and gradually enough light and enough people were there for the organization of this kingdom of God which Daniel saw two and a half millennia ago.

The Church was organized. Small it was, with only six members, compared to the stone cut out of the mountain without hands which would break in pieces other nations and which would roll forth and fill the whole earth.

Reading 7 – Esther 3:2-5

Reading 8 – Elder Neal A. Maxwell has said: Premortality is not a relaxing doctrine. For each of us, there are choices to be made, incessant and difficult chores to be done, ironies and adversities to be experienced, time to be well spent, talents and gifts to be well employed. Just because we were chosen “there and then,” surely does not mean we can be indifferent “here and now.” Whether foreordination for men, or foredesignation for women, those called and prepared must also prove “chosen, and faithful.” (See Rev. 17:14; D&C 121:34-36). In fact, adequacy in the first estate may merely have ensured a stern, second estate with more duties and no immunities! Additional tutoring and suffering appears to be the pattern for the Lord’s most apt pupils. (See Mosiah 3:19; 1 Pet. 4:19). Our existence, therefore, is a continuum matched by God’s stretching curriculum (“Premortality, a Glorious Reality,” Ensign, Nov. 1985, 16).

Esther 4:16

Reading 9: Esther 7:3-6

Lessons 45 and 46 - Daniel and Esther

This coming Sunday, December 14, we will be covering two lessons in Gospel Doctrine class, Lesson 45 and 46.

Following are the chapters from the Class Member Study Guide for each of these lessons.

Lesson 45: “If I Perish, I Perish”

Old Testament Class Member Study Guide, (2001), 28–29

Study the following scriptures:

a. Daniel 1. Daniel and his friends refuse to eat King Nebuchadnezzar’s food (1:1–16). The Lord blesses Daniel and his friends with good health and wisdom (1:17–21).

b. Daniel 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s idol (3:1–12). King Nebuchadnezzar casts them into a fiery furnace, and the Lord saves them from death (3:13–30).

c. Daniel 6. King Darius’s men persuade the king to sign a decree that for 30 days all petitions must be directed to him rather than to any other man or to God (6:1–9). In spite of the king’s decree, Daniel prays to God (6:10–13). As punishment for disobeying the decree, Daniel is thrown into a den of lions (6:14–17). The Lord sends an angel to protect Daniel (6:18–23).

d. Esther 3–5; 7–8. Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, refuses to bow to Haman (3:1–4). Haman persuades King Ahasuerus to prepare a decree calling for the death of all Jews in the kingdom (3:5–14). Esther learns of Haman’s plan to kill her people and risks her life by going to ask King Ahasuerus for help (4:1–17). The king grants Esther’s request to come with Haman to a banquet (5:1–8). At the banquet Esther reveals Haman’s plot to kill the Jews (7:1–6). The king hangs Haman (7:7–10). The king honors Mordecai and grants Esther’s request to reverse Haman’s decree (8:1–17).

As a young boy, Daniel was carried captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. He and other promising Hebrew youths—including his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—were trained in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar.

Esther was a Jewish woman who lived shortly after the time of Daniel. After her parents died, she was raised by her cousin Mordecai. Esther was very beautiful, and Ahasuerus, the king of Persia and Media, was so pleased with her beauty that he made her his queen. 

• What did Daniel and his friends propose when they were given the king’s meat and wine? (See Daniel 1:8–14.) How are the blessings they received similar to the Lord’s promises to us if we obey the Word of Wisdom? (See Daniel 1:15, 17, 20; D&C 89:18–20.) 

• What happened when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were cast into the furnace? (See Daniel 3:21–27.) Who was in the furnace with them? (See Daniel 3:25.) How does the Savior help us when we turn to him during our trials? 

• What challenges do we face today that require courage like Esther’s? What blessings will we receive as we strive to do what is right even when we are faced with difficult consequences?

Additional reading: Esther 1–2; 6; 9–10.

Lesson 46: “A Kingdom, Which Shall Never Be Destroyed”

Old Testament Class Member Study Guide, (2001), 29

Study the following scriptures:

a. Daniel 2:1–23. King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and commands his advisers to describe and interpret it (2:1–13). Daniel prays with his friends, and God reveals to him the dream and its interpretation (2:14–23).

b. Daniel 2:24–49. Daniel reveals that King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream foretells the rise and fall of the great kingdoms of the earth and the latter-day triumph of the kingdom of God over all other kingdoms.

• How did Daniel describe the great image that the king had seen in his dream? (See Daniel 2:31–33.) What did the different parts of the image represent? (See Daniel 2:36–43.)

• What did the “stone … cut out without hands” represent? (See Daniel 2:44–45; D&C 65:2.) What did Daniel prophesy concerning the Church in the latter days? (See Daniel 2:34–35, 44.) How is Daniel’s prophecy that the Church will “fill the whole earth” and “never be destroyed” being fulfilled today?

Additional reading: Doctrine and Covenants 65.