Lesson 58: Doctrine and Covenants 45

Doctrine and Covenants 45:1–8

“The Advocate with the Father”

Speaking to members of the Church during a global pandemic, President Russell M. Nelson said, “Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the very most is to hear His Son” (“Hear Him,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 89). To help calm the Saints’ fear and uncertainty in early 1831, the Lord invited them to hear His voice and believe on His name. This lesson can help students better understand the mission and character of Jesus Christ as they come to understand some of His names and titles.

Possible Learning Activities

The significance of names

Consider dividing students into small groups and inviting them to share details about the meaning or significance of their given or family names. If students are unsure about details or meanings, they could explain what they like about their name. After students have shared in groups, ask a few to share with the class something they learned about a classmate’s name.

Read the following statement by Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt of the Seventy:

One simple way we get to know someone is by learning their name. …

Jesus knew and called people by name. To ancient Israel, the Lord said, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” [Isaiah 43:1; emphasis added]. …

Just as Jesus knows each of us by name, one way we can come to better know Jesus is by learning His many names. … Many of Jesus’s names are titles that help us understand His mission, purpose, character, and attributes. As we come to know Jesus’s many names, we will come to better understand His divine mission and His selfless character. Knowing His many names also inspires us to become more like Him. (Jonathan S. Schmitt, “That They Might Know Thee,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 104–5)

Invite students to share what they found meaningful from Elder Schmitt’s statement.

Consider listing on the board students’ responses to the following question.

• What are some names or titles of Jesus Christ that teach you more about His character, mission, and attributes?

• How might understanding more about His names and titles increase your desire to follow Him?

After students have had time to discuss the previous question, display the following truth: Knowing Jesus Christ’s names and titles can help us better understand His divine mission and selfless character.

Invite students to assess their own desire to learn more about Jesus Christ. Consider using the following idea, or think of your own. Encourage students to silently reflect and respond in their study journals.

Use the following assessment to evaluate your desire and efforts to understand more about the Savior.

1 = rarely; 2 = sometimes; 3 = often

• I desire to better understand the divine mission of Jesus Christ.

• As I study the scriptures, I intentionally look for names and titles of Jesus.

• It is important to me to know the character of Jesus so I can better follow Him.

As you learn more about who the Savior is by studying His names and titles, prayerfully ask Heavenly Father to help increase your desire to follow His Son.

Our advocate and friend

Students can better understand the mission and character of Jesus by studying one of His many names. After discussing His role as our Advocate with the Father, students will have an opportunity to study different names and titles of Jesus on their own.

Consider displaying an image of Jesus in Gethsemane as students participate in the following activity:

Read Doctrine and Covenants 45:3–5, looking for a title and role of Jesus Christ.

Reflect on the titles of Jesus Christ: The following activity can help students know the Savior better through understanding His title as our Advocate with the Father. For more training on how to help students focus on titles of Jesus Christ, see the training “Teach about the titles, roles, and attributes of Jesus Christ” found in Teacher Development Skills: Focus on Jesus Christ. This training can help develop the skill of “Creating search questions to help students identify roles, titles, symbols, attributes, and characteristics of Jesus Christ.”

Consider asking questions like the following to help students deepen their understanding of Jesus Christ’s role as our Advocate with the Father. You might point out that one definition of the word advocate is someone who offers support and champions the cause of those in need.

• What is your understanding of the word advocate?

• According to these verses, how is Jesus Christ fulfilling His role as our Advocate with the Father?

• What can we learn about the Savior’s character from these verses?

Consider reading with students the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson. Invite students to share how these additional teachings from President Nelson increase their love and appreciation for Jesus Christ.

Jesus is our Advocate with the Father (see 1 John 2:1; D&C 29:5; 32:3; 45:3; 110:4). The word advocate comes from Latin roots meaning a “voice for,” or “one who pleads for another.” Other related terms are used in scripture, such as intercessor or mediator (see also 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Nephi 2:28; D&C 76:69). …

… Comprehending him as our advocate-intercessor-mediator with the Father gives us assurance of his unequaled understanding, justice, and mercy (see Alma 7:12). (Russell M. Nelson, “Jesus the Christ—Our Master and More” [Brigham Young University devotional, Feb. 2, 1992], 4, speeches.byu.edu)

This may be a good point in the lesson to give students time to ponder their feelings about the Savior. Consider writing the following questions on the board and inviting students to write their responses in their study journals. As appropriate, ask a few students to share some of their feelings with the class.

• How do you feel as you try to picture the Savior pleading and advocating for you?

• How can knowing that Jesus Christ advocates for you strengthen your resolve to stay on the covenant path?

Learn of Jesus Christ

As students study the following verses, if they need help identifying a title of Jesus Christ in verse 1, you may need to explain that He referenced His divine role as Creator of all things.

Jesus Christ has many other names and titles. Read Doctrine and Covenants 45:1, 7, 59, looking for more of them.

Decide if students would benefit from working with others or on their own for the following activity.

Encourage students to think of a creative way to organize what they are learning. For example, students could create a design in their study journals by writing a name or title of Christ in the center of a page. As they discover other scriptures and phrases that help them better understand their chosen title, they could write these in different directions and sizes around the page. Then they could draw lines to connect the scriptures and phrases to the name or title.

Choose a name or title from your study that you want to learn more about. Use study resources available to you, such as the Gospel Library app and scripture study helps, to learn what the name or title teaches about Jesus Christ. You could also study the words of latter-day prophets to learn more. When you are finished studying, answer the following questions:

• What is something you learned or felt today that increased your love for and desire to follow the Savior?

• How might continuing to study and learn more about Jesus Christ’s names bless your life?

Consider inviting students to share details and meaningful insights from their study. There may be opportunities in future lessons to further discuss what students learned today about the names and titles of Jesus Christ.

Additional Resources

What can Jesus Christ’s advocacy teach us about Heavenly Father?

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

In Jesus Christ, “we have an advocate with the Father” [1 John 2:1]. After completing His atoning sacrifice, Jesus “ascended into heaven … to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men.” And, having claimed the rights of mercy, “he advocateth the cause of the children of men” [Moroni 7:27, 28].

Christ’s advocacy with the Father in our behalf is not adversarial. Jesus Christ, who allowed His will to be swallowed up in the will of the Father, would not champion anything other than what the Father has wanted all along. Heavenly Father undoubtedly cheers for and applauds our successes.

Christ’s advocacy is, at least in part, to remind us that He has paid for our sins and that no one is excluded from the reach of God’s mercy. (Dale G. Renlund, “Choose You This Day,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 104–5)

Doctrine and Covenants 45:7. What can I learn about Jesus from the title “Alpha and Omega”?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote:

Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, suggests commencement and inception. “… I was in the beginning with the Father, … ” he reveals (D&C 93:21), and, as the Firstborn, he stood at the right hand of the Father in the councils of heaven and in the work of creation. …

… As Omega, a name taken from the last letter of the Greek alphabet, Christ is the terminus, the end cause as well as the end result of mortal experience. …

These letters from the Greek suggest the universal role of Jesus from the beginning of the world to its end. But he ought to be Alpha and Omega in the particular as well—our personal beginning and our individual end—that model by which we shape our journey … and the standard by which we measure it at its conclusion.

In every choice we make, he ought to be our point of reckoning, our charted course, our only harbor ahead. He should be for us individually what he is for all men collectively—the very brackets of existence, the compass of our privilege. We should not stray outside him. We should not want to try. I am Alpha and Omega. (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Whom Say Ye That I Am?,” Ensign, Sept. 1974, 6–7)

Doctrine and Covenants 45:7. How is Jesus Christ the “light that shineth in darkness”?

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles declared:

In every season of our lives, in all of the circumstances we may encounter, and in each challenge we may face, Jesus Christ is the light that dispels fear, provides assurance and direction, and engenders enduring peace and joy. (David A. Bednar, “The Light and the Life of the World,” [First Presidency Christmas devotional, Dec. 6, 2015], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Doctrine and Covenants 45:1. “Hearken, O ye people of my church”

As an alternate way to begin the lesson, consider asking students to imagine they have an important decision to make but want to first counsel with others. Ask students to consider what qualities they might look for in people before trusting their counsel. Explain that the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 45 came at a time when people were hearing and reading conflicting messages about the Church. Invite students to read Doctrine and Covenants 45:1–8 looking for words like hearken, listen, and hear. As students learn more about the Savior’s names, titles, and role, invite them to consider how He is a trustworthy source of counsel for them.

Doctrine and Covenants 45:8. “As many as received me”

Students may benefit from learning what it means to accept and receive the Savior in their lives. Invite students to read Doctrine and Covenants 45:8, and ask what they think the Savior meant when He said, “I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not.” Invite students to discuss ways they can receive Jesus Christ and center their lives on Him. You might also ask students what they think it means to “become the sons [and daughters] of God.” After students respond, invite them to cross-reference Doctrine and Covenants 45:8 with Mosiah 5:7–8. Discuss how these verses increase our understanding and testify of the importance of receiving the Savior and taking His name upon us.