Alma 41

Jesus Christ Restores All Things

After teaching Corianton about the dangers of his sins, Alma worked to correct false teachings. He taught Corianton important truths to help him understand Heavenly Father’s plan of restoration and to help him repent. This lesson will help you see how wickedness cannot lead to happiness.

Teach the scriptures in ways that build faith in Jesus Christ. One purpose for the scriptures is to help us draw closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (see 1 Nephi 6:4). Take time to help students see how individuals in the scriptures were blessed by God’s power, mercy, and love. Encourage students to recognize similar blessings in their own lives as they exercise their faith in Jesus Christ.

Student preparation: Invite students to think about how obeying the commandments has brought them happiness and helps them feel prepared to meet the Savior and Heavenly Father after this life.

Possible Learning Activities

Beliefs about life after death

The following can help students think about the eternal consequences of their choices. Consider pausing after each statement to allow students to respond.

Think about how your actions might be influenced if you believed in either of the following incorrect statements:

There is no life after death.

After we die, we will be exalted regardless of our works on earth.

• Why is it important to have a correct understanding of what will happen to us after we die?

• What do you know about life after death that influences your actions here and now?

The meaning of restoration

Remember that Alma was teaching his son Corianton, who had committed serious sins (see Alma 39), and had questions about the gospel. In Alma 41 we learn that Corianton was confused by the teachings of people who had gone astray from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Read Alma 41:1, looking for what Corianton did not understand. (In Alma’s teachings, the word restoration refers to something being brought back or put back into a former state. It may also be helpful to know that to wrest the scriptures is to twist, distort, or change their meaning.)

• What did Corianton not understand?

To help Corianton repent, Alma taught him true doctrine. He knew that “true doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior” (Boyd K. Packer, “Do Not Fear,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 79). Understanding the doctrine of restoration helps us understand why the choices we make in this life are so important.

Consider reading verses 2–9 as a class and pausing occasionally to help students understand what they read. After reading, it may be helpful to assess what students understand about the restoration Alma referred to. Consider writing the word restoration on the board and inviting the class to create and refine a definition while studying this lesson.

Read Alma 41:2–9 to see what Alma taught to address Corianton’s worry.

• What will we be restored to after we die?

• According to Alma, how is this restoration made possible?

• How might this knowledge of the restoration encourage someone like Corianton to return to the covenant path?

“Wickedness never was happiness”

Read Alma 41:10, looking for what Alma taught about restoration, wickedness, and happiness.

• What misunderstanding did Alma correct for Corianton?

From Alma 41:10, we learn that wickedness never was happiness.

• As you consider Alma’s teachings about the law of restoration, why do you think it is true that “wickedness never was happiness”?

It may be helpful to point out that some people think they can return to dwell with God without taking personal responsibility for their actions. They might say that their sinful choices are fun. Sometimes those who choose sin may even appear to be happy.

Understanding the nature of God

God’s plan of restoration is more than just a plan for us to live again. It is a plan to help us become like Him and to experience His happiness.

Read Alma 41:11, looking for why it is impossible to be truly happy when making wrong choices. It may be helpful to know that “gall of bitterness” (verse 11) means to experience extreme sorrow or intense emotional distress as a result of sin.

• What differences have you seen between the happiness that God offers and the world’s happiness?

• What are false ideas you see promoted that do not bring happiness, even if they are tempting?

Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy explained the relationship between the nature of God and happiness:

Note that to be without God in the world—in other words, to refuse to live His gospel and therefore lack the companionship of the Spirit—is to be in a state contrary to the nature of happiness. The gospel of Jesus Christ is, in fact, the—note that this is singular, meaning it is the only—“great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8). If you opt for any other way of life or try to live only the parts of the gospel that seem convenient, such a choice will cheat you of the full, resplendent joy and happiness for which you were designed by our loving Father in Heaven and His Son. (Marcus B. Nash, “The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 49)

Help students understand that the nature of Heavenly Father is happiness and that we can experience true happiness as we strive to become like Him.

One way to teach this is to write the words Happiness and Misery on the board. Invite students to write characteristics of Heavenly Father under the word Happiness and to explain why these characteristics lead to happiness. For example, you might discuss how greater holiness, patience, or diligence leads to greater happiness. Students could then write actions and characteristics that lead to misery and explain how they are opposite to the character of God.

To help you see how God’s nature is happiness, make a list of some of His characteristics or attributes. Once you have made a list, think about how these characteristics bring happiness for both Heavenly Father and others. For example, God is merciful. Because God is merciful, He can have joy in the souls who repent and extend the joy of forgiveness to others (see Doctrine and Covenants 18:13). Pick at least one characteristic or commandment of God and describe how living with that characteristic or keeping that commandment can bring happiness.

Being restored to good

Coriantion thought that he could live a wicked life and still be resurrected in glory. According to God’s law, this could not happen (see Galatians 6:7–8). Alma corrected Corianton and invited him to begin taking steps to return to God and eventual happiness. Read Alma 41:12–15, looking for how Alma encouraged Corianton to live so he could be restored to goodness and happiness.

• From what you read, what could a person “send out” if they wanted greater happiness to “return unto [them] again”? (Alma 41:15).

• When have you experienced real happiness from living the gospel of Jesus Christ?

The following can help students act on the impressions they have had.

Think about what you have learned in Alma 41 and your desire to be happy. The following questions can help you make a plan to find greater happiness:

• What is one thing I can start doing that could help me be happy and be restored to good?

• What is one thing I can stop doing that could help me be happy and be restored to good?

Invite the Holy Ghost to guide your thoughts and feelings. Consider recording your impressions in your personal journal or scriptures where you can review them. Make a plan to act, including when you will start and how you will measure your progress.

Commentary and Background Information

What will be restored to us in the next life?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

As another part of God’s “plan of restoration” (Alma 41:2), the Resurrection will restore “all things … to their proper and perfect frame” (Alma 40:23). This includes the perfection of all of our physical deficiencies and deformities acquired in mortality, including at birth or by trauma or disease. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Cleansed by Repentance,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 94)

How can repentance prepare me to be restored to good?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency stated:

Does this restoration perfect us of all our unholy or unconquered desires or addictions? That cannot be. We know from modern revelation that we will be judged for our desires as well as our actions (see Alma 41:5; Doctrine and Covenants 137:9) and that even our thoughts will condemn us (see Alma 12:14). We must not “procrastinate the day of [our] repentance” until death, Amulek taught (Alma 34:33), because the same spirit that has possessed our body in this life—whether the Lord’s or the devil’s—“will have power to possess [our] body in that eternal world” (Alma 34:34). Our Savior has the power and stands ready to cleanse us from evil. Now is the time to seek His help to repent of our wicked or unseemly desires and thoughts to be clean and prepared to stand before God at the Final Judgment. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Cleansed by Repentance,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 94)

What if I am keeping the commandments but don’t feel happy?

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:

I recognize that, despite the overwhelming happiness embodied in God’s divine plan, sometimes it can feel far away and disconnected from our current circumstances. It may feel beyond our reach as struggling disciples. From our limited perspective, current temptations and distractions can seem attractive. The rewards for resisting those temptations, on the other hand, can feel distant and unattainable. But a true understanding of the Father’s plan reveals that the rewards of righteousness are available right now. Wickedness, such as immoral conduct, is never part of the answer. (Quentin L. Cook, “Shipshape and Bristol Fashion: Be Temple Worthy—in Good Times and Bad Times,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 40)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Pondering current desires

As students read Alma 41:5, they may identify the importance of their desires in obtaining a good restoration. If students need to understand more about desires, they could search the scriptures for other verses about desires (for example, Alma 29:5; Doctrine and Covenants 11:8, 14, 17; or Doctrine and Covenants 137:9). Then you could invite them to think about their current desires and how they may align with the desires of God.

Identifying false beliefs about the restoration after this life

Alma taught Corianton that some had wrested the scriptures regarding the restoration (see Alma 41:1). In Alma 41:10 he identified one false belief—that an individual could be restored from sin to happiness. After students have studied about the nature of God, consider sharing the following examples and inviting students to use what they have learned to correct the misunderstanding or false teaching:

• “I know what I’m doing isn’t right, but I can always repent and everything will be fine.”

• “God loves all of His children, so he will not send any of us to hell.”

Object lesson: Boomerang

Show students a boomerang or draw a picture of one on the board. Ask students what a boomerang does when thrown correctly. (It returns to the location from which it was thrown.)

Invite students to explain how a boomerang is like the doctrine of restoration explained in Alma 41:12–15.