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When are men first “called and prepared” to be ordained to the priesthood? (See Alma 13:3.)
The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 365).
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How did men demonstrate in premortal life that they were worthy to be foreordained to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood? (See Alma 13:3–5.) What must men do in this life to remain worthy of their foreordination? (See Alma 13:8–10.)
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How should Alma’s teachings about foreordination affect the way we sustain those who are called to preside over us? How should these teachings affect our response when priesthood leaders extend callings or other assignments to us?
President Spencer W. Kimball taught: “Before we came here, faithful women were given certain assignments while faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood tasks. While we do not now remember the particulars, this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to. You are accountable for those things which long ago were expected of you just as are those we sustain as prophets and apostles!” (“The Role of Righteous Women,” Ensign, Nov. 1979, 102).
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Alma said that men receive the Melchizedek Priesthood so they can “teach [God’s] commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest” (Alma 13:6; see also verse Alma 13:1). What opportunities do Melchizedek Priesthood holders have to teach? What does it mean to enter into the rest of the Lord? (See the quotation below.) Why do you think we need to teach and learn the gospel in order to enter into the rest of the Lord?
Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “The rest of the Lord, where mortals are concerned, is to gain a perfect knowledge of the divinity of the great latter-day work. [President Joseph F. Smith said,] ‘It means entering into the knowledge and love of God, having faith in his purpose and in his plan, to such an extent that we know we are right, and that we are not hunting for something else; we are not disturbed by every wind of doctrine, or by the cunning and craftiness of men who lie in wait to deceive.’ It is ‘rest from the religious turmoil of the world; from the cry that is going forth, here and there—lo, here is Christ; lo, there is Christ.’ (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed., pp. 58, 125–126.) The rest of the Lord, in eternity, is to inherit eternal life, to gain the fulness of the Lord’s glory (D. & C. 84:24.)” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 633).
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How do we become pure so we can be permitted to enter into the rest of the Lord? (See Alma 13:11–12.) How must we live so we can be sanctified through the blood of the Lamb and by the Holy Ghost? (See Alma 13:12–13, 16, 27–29; 3 Nephi 27:19–20.)