Lesson 115: Doctrine and Covenants 98–101

Doctrine and Covenants 101:43–101

Parables about Zion

When the Prophet Joseph Smith heard of the severe persecution suffered by the Missouri Saints, he pled to the Lord on their behalf. As part of His response, the Savior used parables to provide the Saints counsel and comfort. This lesson will give students the opportunity to study a parable and discover its spiritual meaning.

Possible Learning Activities

Jesus Christ often taught using parables

Consider displaying common items such as school supplies, articles of clothing, or electronics. Or invite students to look at items around the classroom or items they have with them. Invite students to select an item and think of a creative way to compare it to an aspect of Heavenly Father’s plan or Jesus Christ and His gospel. For example, they might compare a cell phone to prayer, because prayer is the tool we use to communicate with Heavenly Father. Invite students to share their item and spiritual comparison with a partner or with the class.

Jesus Christ often taught by using simple stories known as parables. In these parables, Jesus compared familiar objects or situations to spiritual truths (see Guide to the Scriptures, “Parable,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

• What are some examples of parables the Savior taught?

• What are some spiritual truths we can learn from the Savior’s teachings in those parables?

For example, students might share the parable of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25–37), which teaches about loving and serving others as the Savior does. Or they might share the parable of the ten virgins (see Matthew 25:1–13), which teaches us to prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming.

To prepare students to study a parable about the redemption of Zion, consider asking students to share what they remember from recent lessons about the trials the Saints in Missouri were enduring. As needed, you could share the following summary:

During a time of severe persecution, the Savior used parables to teach Joseph Smith and the Saints about the redemption of Zion (see Doctrine and Covenants 101:43). In late 1833, mob violence led to more than 1,000 Saints being driven from Jackson County, Missouri, and more than 200 of their homes were burned. The Prophet Joseph Smith asked the Lord why the Saints had been driven out of Zion and what should be done so they could return. The Lord responded with a parable.

Studying parables

Elder David A. Bednar taught the following about learning from the Savior’s parables:

The intended meaning or message of a parable typically is not expressed explicitly. Rather, the story only conveys divine truth to a receiver in proportion to his or her faith in God, personal spiritual preparation, and willingness to learn. Thus, an individual must exercise moral agency and actively “ask, seek, and knock” [see Matthew 7:7–8; Luke 11:9–10] to discover the truths embedded in a parable. (David A. Bednar, “Put On Thy Strength, O Zion,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 92)

• How does our faith in Jesus Christ influence our ability to understand His teachings?

• What does our effort in studying the Savior’s words communicate to Him about our feelings for Him?

Consider providing students with the handout titled “How to Study the Savior’s Parables” to help guide them throughout this lesson.

How to Study the Savior’s Parables

1. Find important details. These details could include people, places, objects, actions, or events.

2. Make comparisons. Determine what each of the details in the parable could represent or symbolize. Contextual clues, scripture-study aids, and pondering can be helpful.

3. Discover valuable lessons. After making comparisons, seek help from the Holy Ghost to discover valuable lessons the Savior was teaching in the parable.

4. Determine personal application. Seek help from Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost to know what you can do to personally apply the lessons you discover.

The parable of the nobleman

The following activity can help students practice the four steps for studying parables. Consider displaying the following chart or copying it on the board. Create six groups, and assign each to complete a different square on the chart. Or invite students to copy the chart in their study journals and fill it out individually.

Find important details

Read Doctrine and Covenants 101:43–62. For each grouping of verses, create a simple drawing or write a summary to illustrate the verses.

Doctrine and Covenants 101:43–45. The nobleman’s instructions	Doctrine and Covenants 101:46–50. The servants’ actions
Doctrine and Covenants 101:51. The consequence of the servants’ actions	Doctrine and Covenants 101:52–54. The nobleman’s response
Doctrine and Covenants 101:55–58. The nobleman’s next instructions	Doctrine and Covenants 101:59–62. The response of the servant

When students have finished, invite them to share what they discovered. Ensure they understand the details of the parable.

Consider completing as a class the final three steps of studying parables.

Make comparisons

• What clues can help us see that the nobleman represents Jesus Christ?

• What might the vineyard or the tower represent?

• How might our actions sometimes be like those of the servants?

Consider inviting students to review the doctrinal mastery passage Ezekiel 3:16–17 to look for a possible comparison for the watchmen. The following context could help students make additional comparisons:

Like the servants in the parable refusing to build a tower, the Saints in Missouri had neglected to build a temple as the Lord had instructed them (see Doctrine and Covenants 57:3; 84:3–4; 97:10–12).

For the Saints in Jackson County, the servant mentioned in verse 55 represented Joseph Smith (see Doctrine and Covenants 103:21). Joseph Smith followed the Lord’s command and organized a group called Zion’s Camp to redeem the land of Zion. Zion’s Camp will be discussed in the Doctrine and Covenants 103 and 105 lessons.

Discover valuable lessons

• What are some valuable lessons the Lord could be teaching through this parable?

• What does this parable teach you about the attributes of Jesus Christ?

  If students struggle to identify valuable lessons, consider providing one or more of the following principles. Invite students to share how the parable illustrates these truths. When we obey the Lord’s commandments, He strengthens us to withstand spiritual and physical enemies. Prophets serve as watchmen on the tower, giving us warnings from the Lord of coming dangers. Through temple work, the Savior prepares us to withstand the adversary.

• Why might these lessons have been helpful for the Saints in 1833?

• How have you seen evidence of one or more of these truths in your life?

Determine personal application

• What are some ways you could apply this parable in our day?

Seek help from the Holy Ghost to identify one or two ways you could apply a truth that feels important to you from this parable. Write your impressions in your study journal.

Invite students to share what they learned about studying parables that they could use to enhance their personal study of the scriptures. Encourage students in their efforts to exercise faith in Jesus Christ as they personally study, ponder, and apply His teachings.

Additional Resources

Doctrine and Covenants 101:77–79. What was God’s purpose in establishing the United States Constitution?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

What was God’s purpose in establishing the United States Constitution? We see it in the doctrine of moral agency. In the first decade of the restored Church, its members on the western frontier were suffering private and public persecution. Partly this was because of their opposition to the human slavery then existing in the United States. In these unfortunate circumstances, God revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith eternal truths about His doctrine.

God has given His children moral agency—the power to decide and to act. The most desirable condition for the exercise of that agency is maximum freedom for men and women to act according to their individual choices. Then, the revelation explains, “every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:78). “Therefore,” the Lord revealed, “it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:79). (Dallin H. Oaks, “Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution,” Liahona, May 2021, 106)

Doctrine and Covenants 101:76, 86–88. What happened when the Saints sought help from government leaders?

The Saints in Missouri followed the Lord’s instructions and appealed to government leaders “for redress” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:76), or recompense for their lost properties. These leaders included local judges, Missouri governor Daniel Dunklin, and Andrew Jackson, who was serving as president of the United States. Despite repeated efforts, the Missouri Saints failed to receive protection and recompense from government authorities for the injustices they had suffered.

For more information, see “Chapter 39: Doctrine and Covenants 101” in the Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual for institute.

Doctrine and Covenants 101:53. How can the temple provide me with protection?

One of the implications of the parable of the nobleman was that if the Saints had built a temple in Missouri as the Lord instructed, they would have been protected (see Doctrine and Covenants 101:53).

Church leaders have taught that we receive protection by keeping covenants we make in the temple.

Sister Jean B. Bingham, former General Relief Society President, taught:

I have been continually assured that keeping the covenants we make with God allows us to draw upon the Savior’s power, which strengthens us in our inevitable trials, provides protection from the adversary’s influence, and prepares us for eternal glory. (Jean B. Bingham, “Covenants with God Strengthen, Protect, and Prepare Us for Eternal Glory,” Liahona, May 2022, 67)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Other parables in Doctrine and Covenants 101

The parable of the wheat and the tares

Consider practicing as a class the four steps for studying parables using Doctrine and Covenants 101:63–67.

Find important details.

Invite students to read Doctrine and Covenants 101:63–67 and to look for important details.

Students may have noticed the wheat being gathered securely in garners, while the tares were bound and burned. Note that garners are places to store grain after it is harvested.

Make comparisons.

• What are some “holy places” (verse 64) the garners could represent?

• What insights does that give about what the wheat or tares could represent?

One possible symbol of the garners could be the holy temples. (See David A. Bednar, “Honorably Hold a Name and Standing,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 97.)

Discover valuable lessons.

• If we know the garners can represent holy places such as the temple, what lessons might the Savior want us to understand from this parable?

One possible lesson students might discover is that the Savior invites us to gather in His temple to receive His protection and prepare ourselves for eternal life.

Determine personal application.

• How could you apply the lesson you discovered to your life?

The parable of the unjust judge

Students could also practice the steps by reading the parable of the unjust judge in Doctrine and Covenants 101:81–84. After students share what they discovered, explain that in Doctrine and Covenants 101, the Savior used the parable of the unjust judge to instruct the persecuted Saints to seek help from government officials (see verses 85–92). He also taught this parable during His mortal ministry to teach His disciples about prayer (see Luke 18:1–8; Doctrine and Covenants 101:81).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:76–80. The United States Constitution

To help students learn more about the United States Constitution and how its principles can be applied worldwide, consider studying the address “Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution,” given by President Dallin H. Oaks in the April 2021 general conference. Consider using one of the ideas in the lesson “Template: Teachings of Church Leaders.”

Moral agency

Invite students to discuss how they would respond to someone who is not choosing to follow the Savior’s teachings and says, “I have my agency. I can do whatever I want.”

Read Doctrine and Covenants 101:78. Look for insights in this verse that you could include in your response.

• How can knowing we are accountable to the Lord influence the way we view and use our agency?

Consider inviting students to read the doctrinal mastery passage 2 Nephi 2:27, looking for additional insights about agency. They could link this verse to Doctrine and Covenants 101:78.

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) shared the following about our use of agency:

We are free to choose, but we are not free to alter the consequences of those choices. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson [2014], 63)

To further illustrate the doctrine of moral agency, consider watching “Agency” (6:20), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.