Lesson 153: Doctrine and Covenants 137–138

Doctrine and Covenants 138, Part 2

“Prepared to Come Forth in the Due Time of the Lord”

As part of his vision of the spirit world, President Joseph F. Smith saw many of Heavenly Father’s noble and great spirits. He saw ancient prophets who had faithfully performed the Lord’s work. He also saw others the Lord reserved to be born in the latter days to build temples and perform ordinances for the dead. Such ordinances are made possible through temple and family history work. This lesson can help students feel motivated to participate in temple and family history work.

Possible Learning Activities

My important work

The following prompts can help students think about the important work Heavenly Father has for them to do. After time to reflect and write, willing students could share their responses.

• Some of the most important things I have done in my life are …

• Some of the most important things I might do in my life include …

• Heavenly Father sent me to earth at this time to …

Invite students to seek personal revelation to know some of the important things Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would have them accomplish. Students could also study their patriarchal blessings at home to learn more about this.

Choice spirits reserved to come forth in the fulness of times

Invite students to share what they remember about Heavenly Father’s plan from President Joseph F. Smith’s vision of the spirit world (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:11–60).

Help students understand that in Doctrine and Covenants 138:38–49, 53, President Joseph F. Smith saw many noble and great spirits. You might invite students to point out some of the people President Smith saw in his vision.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 138:53–56, looking for the work Heavenly Father prepared noble spirits to accomplish in the latter days.

• What phrases in these verses might refer to you?

• What are you learning about Heavenly Father’s work for you?

• How would you summarize these verses into a statement of truth?

  As students summarize these verses, help them identify a truth like the following: Heavenly Father reserved choice spirits to labor in the Lord’s vineyard for the salvation of His children.

• What are some ways we can labor in the Lord’s vineyard to help save His children?

If students do not bring it up, you could draw their attention to verse 54. Help them recognize that we can labor in the Lord’s vineyard by participating in temple ordinances for the dead. You might remind students that performing temple ordinances for people on the other side of the veil is one way we help gather Israel.

The following statement can help students recognize that Doctrine and Covenants 138:53–56 applies to them. To practice linking in Gospel Library, students could create a link between the scripture verses and statement.

President Russell M. Nelson testified:

Of all the people who have ever lived on planet earth, we are the ones who get to participate in this final, great gathering event. How exciting is that!

Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those finest players, those heroes—are you! (Russell M. Nelson and Wendy W. Nelson, “Hope of Israel” [worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018], ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

The following questions can help students assess their current feelings about participating in family history and temple work. After they have had sufficient time to reflect, willing students could share their thoughts and feelings.

• How do you feel knowing that the Lord prepared you to help gather Israel through family history and temple work?

• How motivated do you feel to participate in family history and temple work? Why do you feel this way?

In the lesson “Doctrine and Covenants 127–128, Part 2,” students were encouraged to participate in temple and family history work. You could invite students to share what they have done and how the Lord has blessed them.

Reserved to help gather Israel through temple and family history work

The following is one way to help students take responsibility for their learning.

Invite them to create a message they could share to motivate people to participate in temple and family history work. It could be a flyer, a social media post, a video message, or another type of invitation. Allow students to choose the kind of message to create.

The material on the handout “Reserved to Help Gather Israel through Temple and Family History Work” can give students ideas of what to include in their message. Invite students to study this material before creating their message. Students could choose to study individually or in small groups.

Reserved to Help Gather Israel through Temple and Family History Work

1. Read Doctrine and Covenants 138:57–59, looking for how those in the spirit world are redeemed.

2. Read the following statement by President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency. Look for how the Savior feels about those who participate in temple and family history work.

Think of the Savior when you meet Him. You will have that interview. He paid the price of the sins of you and all of Heavenly Father’s spirit children. He is Jehovah. He sent Elijah. He conferred the powers of the priesthood to seal and to bless out of perfect love. And He has trusted you by letting you hear the gospel in your lifetime, giving you the chance to accept the obligation to offer it to those of your ancestors who did not have your priceless opportunity. Think of the gratitude He has for those who pay the price in work and faith to find the names of their ancestors and who love them and Him enough to offer them eternal life in families, the greatest of all the gifts of God. He offered them an infinite sacrifice. He will love and appreciate those who paid whatever price they could to allow their ancestors to choose His offer of eternal life. (Henry B. Eyring, “Hearts Bound Together,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2005, 78–79)

3. How do you think participating in family history and temple work can help you follow the example of Jesus Christ?

4. Is there a personal experience, scripture, or statement by a Church leader you might want to share?

If students would benefit from seeing the video of President Eyring’s statement, you could show the video “Hearts Bound Together” from time code 10:21 to 11:29 on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

If you feel your students would be motivated by the blessings promised for participating in family history and temple work, you could show them one or both of these videos: “The Promised Blessings of Temple and Family History Work” (3:26) and “The Promised Blessings of Temple and Family History Work 2” (4:04).

You might also discuss how the Lord is increasing our access to temples and technology to help with family history work. There are statements in “Additional Resources” that teach this.

• “Hearts Bound Together”

• “The Promised Blessings of Temple and Family History Work”

• “The Promised Blessings of Temple and Family History Work 2”

Motivated to participate in temple and family history work

Give students time to create and share a message to help motivate people to participate in temple and family history work. Encourage students to share their messages at home.

The following questions could help students reflect on their own motivation to participate in temple and family history work. Answering the questions in their journals is one way for students to invite the Holy Ghost to teach them. Invite willing students to share their answers with the class.

• How has what you learned or felt in your study of Doctrine and Covenants 138 influenced your motivation to participate in temple and family history work?

• Why might participating in temple and family history work be some of the most important work you ever do?

Additional Resources

What has the Lord provided to help us perform family history and temple work?

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

The combination of increased numbers of temples and advanced technology to fulfill our sacred family history responsibilities for our ancestors makes this the most blessed time in all history. I rejoice in the extraordinary faithfulness of our youth in indexing and finding their ancestors and then doing the baptism and confirmation work in the temple. You are literally among the prophesied saviors on Mount Zion. (Quentin L. Cook, “See Yourself in the Temple,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 98)

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

The Lord has given your generation greater access to His holy temples than any other generation in the history of the world.

Have you ever stood in the temple, dressed in white, waiting to do baptisms? How did you feel? There is a tangible feeling of holiness in the temple. The peace of the Savior subdues the swirling whirlwinds of the world.

The way you feel in the temple is a pattern for how you want to feel in your life.

Find your grandfathers and grandmothers and your distant cousins who have gone before you. Take their names to the temple with you. (Neil L. Andersen, “Spiritual Whirlwinds,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 20–21)

How do our ancestors feel about temple and family history work?

President Brigham Young (1801–77) taught:

What do you suppose the fathers would say if they could speak from the dead? Would they not say, “We have lain here thousands of years, here in this prison house, waiting for this dispensation to come?” … What would they whisper in our ears? Why, if they had the power the very thunders of heaven would be in our ears, if we could realize the importance of the work we are engaged in. All the angels in heaven are looking at this little handful of people, and stimulating them to the salvation of the human family. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 309)

Supplemental Learning Activities

In the video “Leadership Session at RootsTech 2017: Elder M. Russell Ballard,” from time code 0:00 to 5:58, President Ballard shares an experience of his ancestors that shows how the Lord can assist those engaged in temple and family history work.

Videos

In his address “Hearts Bound Together,” President Henry B. Eyring spoke about President Smith’s vision and the missionaries who preach the gospel to our ancestors. If you show part of the video during the lesson, you could include time code 7:11 to 11:29.

Doctrine and Covenants 138:53–56. Using cross-references to understand key phrases

This idea can help students practice using footnotes and cross-references to understand the scriptures. On the board, you could write the following phrases from Doctrine and Covenants 138:53–56 with the accompanying cross-references. Invite students to share how the doctrine taught in the cross-reference adds meaning to the scripture phrase. Students may want to add these scriptures as cross-references or links in their scriptures. You could also invite students to see if any of these verses are included in the footnotes. They could also look up the other verses listed in the footnotes.

• “The fulness of times” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:53)—Ephesians 1:10; Doctrine and Covenants 128:18

• “Laying the foundations of the great latter-day work” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:53)—Doctrine and Covenants 64:33

• “Noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:55)—Abraham 3:22–23

• “Prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:56)—Acts 17:26

Doctrine and Covenants 138:56. “Prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord”

You could help students focus on the Savior by discovering ways He has “prepared [them] to come forth in the due time of the Lord” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:56). You could discuss how they were taught and prepared “before they were born.” You could also invite students to list what that Lord has provided to help us fulfill our divine mission to find our ancestors and perform temple ordinances for them. You could use the statements by Elder Quentin L. Cook and Elder Neil L. Andersen in “Additional Resources” to help students with their list. Discuss how participating in temple and family history work could influence their relationships with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.