Lesson 151: Doctrine and Covenants 137–138

Doctrine and Covenants 137

Those Who Will Inherit the Celestial Kingdom

In January 1836, while in the unfinished Kirtland Temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith saw a vision of the celestial kingdom. In this vision, which is now Doctrine and Covenants 137, the Savior revealed truths about Heavenly Father’s plan. This lesson can help students increase their appreciation for Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.

Possible Learning Activities

Heavenly Father’s plan for all His children

Stories are one way to engage students in the learning experience. Consider reading or summarizing the following paragraph. You could also watch the video “Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration,” available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 2:05 to 4:21 or 11:57 to 15:22, or both.

In 1823, the sudden death of Alvin, the oldest son, devastated the Smith family. The family asked a local minister to officiate at Alvin’s funeral. As Alvin had not been a baptized member of the minister’s congregation, the clergyman claimed that Alvin could not be saved. Joseph’s brother William later said, “[The minister] … intimated very strongly that [Alvin] had gone to hell, for Alvin was not a church member” (in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 401–3). Throughout his life, Joseph experienced even more loss with his wife Emma, as they buried four of their six infant children.

• What questions might Joseph Smith and his family have had about the death of their loved ones?

A vision of the celestial kingdom

In January 1836, Joseph held a meeting with other Church leaders in a room of the unfinished Kirtland Temple. There Joseph received a vision of the future celestial kingdom. In this vision, now Doctrine and Covenants 137, Joseph was taught eternal truths about the salvation of Heavenly Father’s children, including infant children and his brother Alvin.

As students read this section, you could pause after studying verses 1–6. Invite them to share what stands out to them from Joseph’s description of the celestial kingdom.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 137:1–10, looking for the truths the Savior taught about Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness.

• What does the Savior teach in these verses that might have been comforting to Joseph Smith and his family? Why might it have been comforting?

  Verses 7–10 provide a good opportunity for students to practice identifying gospel truths, stating them in their own words. Help students identify and share statements of truth found in these verses, including the following:

  • All who would have received the gospel if they had had the opportunity will enter the celestial kingdom (see verses 7–8).

  • The Lord will judge each of us by our works and the desires of our hearts (see verse 9).

  • All children who die before they become accountable will be saved in the celestial kingdom (see verse 10).

  Consider listing these principles on the board.

• How might the Smith family have felt about the truths the Savior taught in these verses?

• How do you feel about these truths? How do these truths impact your appreciation for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

After an appropriate amount of time for reflection, invite students to select the truths they would like to study more deeply. They could study as a class, individually, or in small groups. Students could role-play the scenarios.

All who accept the Savior’s gospel qualify for the celestial kingdom (see verses 7–8)

Invite students to consider the following scenario or something similar that reflects questions they have about those who die without receiving Heavenly Father’s saving ordinances.

Scenario: Imagine you are talking with a family in a situation like the Smith family’s at the time of Alvin’s death.

Study resources: Read Doctrine and Covenants 137:7–8; 1 Peter 4:6; Mosiah 15:24; and the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson:

Mercifully, God’s great plan of happiness and its eternal blessings can be extended to those who did not have the opportunity to hear the gospel in mortality. Temple ordinances can be done vicariously for them. (Russell M. Nelson, “Celestial Marriage,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 94)

Discussion questions:

• How might these scriptures and President Nelson’s teachings help the family understand Heavenly Father’s plan for His children?

• In what ways does this truth impact your feelings about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the plan of salvation?

Judged by our works and the desires of our hearts (see verse 9)

Two scenarios are provided to help students feel the importance of this truth. Students may select a scenario to discuss or create their own scenario that reflects the questions they have. The focus of this activity is on unmet righteous desires. If you think students would benefit from studying how the Lord will judge us, invite them to read Alma 41:3–7.

Scenarios:

• Lorenzo is worried that he many never have a chance to find an eternal companion and marry in the temple.

• Amy is the only member of the Church in her family. She is worried about not being sealed to her parents.

Study resources: Review Doctrine and Covenants 137:9 and this statement by President Russell M. Nelson:

What about those who are not able to marry in this life or those who cannot be sealed to their parents in this life? We know that the Lord will judge each of us according to the desires of our hearts, as well as our works, and that the blessings of exaltation will be given to all who are worthy. (Russell M. Nelson, “Salvation and Exaltation,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 10)

Discussion questions:

• What does it mean to you that the Lord will judge us by our works and the desires of our hearts?

• How might the truth taught in verse 9 help Lorenzo or Amy better understand Heavenly Father’s plan for each of His children?

• In what ways does this truth impact your feelings about Heavenly Father’s love and His plan of salvation?

Little children are saved in the celestial kingdom (see verse 10)

Share the following scenario, or show the story told by President Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in “And a Little Child Shall Lead Them.” The video is available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, and the story is from time code 4:40 to 6:00. Invite students to imagine they were the missionaries who came across the scene described.

Scenario: As a missionary, you meet the grieving parents of a two-year-old boy who had drowned. The parents worry that the little boy cannot go to heaven because he had never been baptized.

Study resources: Read Moroni 8:8, 11–12; Doctrine and Covenants 29:46; 137:10.

Discussion questions:

• What aspects of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation would you share with these parents?

• What additional comfort might you offer the parents in the scenario?

• How does this truth impact your appreciation for Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the plan of salvation?

Share your feelings

Consider giving students an opportunity to share their feelings about and testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the truths they have studied today. To help students express their personal witness, you could invite them to share their answers to the following questions.

• How could the truths you learned today apply to your current circumstances or concerns?

• How has what you have learned or felt impacted your appreciation for Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the plan of happiness?

Additional Resources

What will happen to those who are not able obtain the blessings of the gospel in this life?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency explained:

Only a very small minority of God’s children obtain during this life a complete understanding of God’s plan, along with access to the priesthood ordinances and covenants that make the Savior’s atoning power fully operative in our lives. …

… Our Heavenly Father is anxious to gather and bless all of His family. While He knows that not all of them will choose to be gathered, His plan gives each of His children the opportunity to accept or reject His invitation. And families are at the heart of this plan. (Henry B. Eyring, “Gathering the Family of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 20–21)

Will Heavenly Father honor the desires of our hearts?

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, taught:

Let me tell you that your prayers are heard. Your Father in Heaven knows the desires of your heart. I cannot tell you why one individual’s prayers are answered one way while someone else’s are answered differently. But this I can tell you: the righteous desires of your hearts will be fulfilled.

Sometimes it can be difficult to see anything beyond the path immediately before you. We are impatient and do not want to wait for a future fulfillment of our greatest desires. Nevertheless, the brief span of this life is nothing in comparison with eternity. And if only we can hope and exercise faith and joyfully endure to the end—and I say joyfully endure to the end—there, in that great heavenly future, we will have the fulfillment of the righteous desires of our hearts and so very much more than we can scarcely comprehend now. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Reflection in the Water” [Church Educational System fireside for young adults, Nov. 1, 2009], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

What false traditions does Doctrine and Covenants 137 correct?

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

At the time Joseph Smith received revelations and organized the Church, the vast majority of churches taught that the Savior’s Atonement would not bring about the salvation of most of mankind. The common precept was that a few would be saved and the overwhelming majority would be doomed to endless tortures of the most awful and unspeakable intensity. The marvelous doctrine revealed to the Prophet Joseph unveiled to us a plan of salvation that is applicable to all mankind, including those who do not hear of Christ in this life, children who die before the age of accountability, and those who have no understanding [see Doctrine and Covenants 29:46–50; 137:7–10]. (Quentin L. Cook, “Our Father’s Plan—Big Enough for All His Children,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 36–37)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Additional media

If students would benefit from a better understanding of the vision in Doctrine and Covenants 137 and Joseph’s concerns about his brother Alvin, you could watch the video “Ministry of Joseph Smith: Temples” (2:19).

The following videos could help students understand how the principles of the plan of salvation can ease the fear of death and the pain of losing a loved one: “If We Are Well Prepared, Death Brings No Terror” (1:10) and “Rise” (1:42).