Lesson 26

The Plan of Salvation (Part 2)

Introduction

The teaching materials for this doctrinal mastery topic are divided into four parts. In part 2, students will study paragraphs 2.1–2.2 of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document and learn about the doctrinal mastery passages Moses 1:39 and Joshua 24:15 as well as the key statements of doctrine they help teach.

Note: You could teach the segments of this lesson in a single class session or over the course of several class sessions, dividing class time between Doctrinal Mastery and a regular sequential scripture lesson. If you choose to teach the segments over the course of several class sessions, you may need to briefly review with students what they learned in previous segments before you teach a new segment.

Suggestions for Teaching

Doctrinal mastery lessons versus sequential scripture lessons

Doctrinal mastery lessons are designed to be separate and distinct from sequential scripture lessons. Do not attempt to blend a doctrinal mastery lesson with a sequential scripture lesson. Doctrinal mastery lessons are thematic, whereas sequential scripture lessons are focused on principles that emerge from the text.

Understanding the Doctrine

Segment 1 (12 minutes)

Invite students to think of a task or project that they either want or need to complete. Ask them to write down this task or project at the top of a page in their class notebooks or study journals. Then ask them to write down a plan for how they will accomplish that task or project. After sufficient time, invite students to share their plan with someone sitting near them. Instruct students to discuss with each other any additional ideas that might help them accomplish the task they wrote down and to consider writing these suggestions into their plan. After sufficient time, ask:

• Why do you think it is important to have a plan if you want to accomplish something?

Explain that Heavenly Father has a plan for His children. It is often referred to as the plan of salvation. Invite students to silently read paragraph 2.1 in the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document, looking for what Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation is designed to accomplish. Ask students to report what they find.

As students respond, they should identify the following key statement of doctrine: In the premortal existence Heavenly Father introduced a plan to enable us to become like Him and obtain immortality and eternal life. Invite students to consider marking this statement in their copies of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document.

Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder L. Tom Perry (1922–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“Our Eternal Father did not send us to earth on an aimless, meaningless journey. He provided for us a plan to follow. He is the author of that plan. It is designed for man’s progress and ultimate salvation and exaltation” (L. Tom Perry, “The Plan of Salvation,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 70).

• How does knowing that Heavenly Father has a plan for you affect the way you live your life?

Ask students what doctrinal mastery passage is associated with the key statement of doctrine they identified in paragraph 2.1. Invite students to open their scriptures to Moses 1:39 and to consider marking this passage in a distinctive way so they can locate it easily.

Remind students that as recorded in Moses 1, the Lord taught Moses about why He had created this world and about the work He had prepared for Moses to complete during his mortal life.

Invite students to read Moses 1:39 aloud in unison. Then ask them to look carefully at the words of this passage.

• How does this passage help teach the key statement of doctrine you identified in paragraph 2.1 of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document?

• How would you explain the differences between immortality and eternal life? (If needed, explain that immortality is “the condition of living forever in a resurrected state” [Guide to the Scriptures, “Immortal, Immortality,” scriptures.lds.org], whereas eternal life is becoming like God and “[living] forever as families in [His] presence” [Guide to the Scriptures, “Eternal Life”].)

• How might Heavenly Father’s use of the phrases “my work” and “my glory” help us understand how important our immortality and eternal life are to Him?

• How do you feel when you consider that Heavenly Father’s plan is for you to receive immortality and eternal life?

Consider sharing your testimony of the plan of salvation.

Segment 2 (13 minutes)

Write the following question on the board:

What are some ways in which we can demonstrate that we are following Heavenly Father’s plan?

Divide students into groups of two to four students. Give each group a piece of paper, and instruct them to write down as many answers to this question as they can in 60 seconds. When the time has elapsed, ask one group to read their list aloud. As they read each answer, instruct the other groups with the same (or a similar) answer to cross it out on their papers. When the first group finishes reading their list aloud, invite another group to read any remaining answers they have on their paper. Continue this activity until all the groups have reported.

Point out that when someone demonstrates that he or she is choosing to follow Heavenly Father’s plan, that person is exercising a gift that is essential to the plan of salvation. Ask students to scan paragraph 2.2 in the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document, looking for the name of this essential gift. Invite them to raise their hands as soon as they have found it. After multiple students have raised their hands, invite students to report what they found. (The gift is moral agency.)

• Based on paragraph 2.2, what is moral agency?

• What is affected by how we use the gift of moral agency? (Students should identify the following key statement of doctrine: Our eternal progression depends on how we use the gift of moral agency. Invite students to consider marking this key statement of doctrine in their copies of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document.)

Display the following statement by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Invite a student to read the statement aloud while the class follows along, looking for how the exercise of our moral agency affects our eternal progression.

“We are in a mortal experience because we cannot become as God without that experience. We must prove to Him and to ourselves that we can consistently make the right choices and then stick to those choices, come what may. …

“… God is interested in what we are becoming as a result of our choices. He is not satisfied if our exercise of moral agency is simply a robotic effort at keeping some rules. Our Savior wants us to become something, not just do some things. He is endeavoring to make us independently strong—more able to act for ourselves. …

“Using our agency to choose God’s will, and not slackening even when the going gets hard, will not make us God’s puppet; it will make us like Him. God gave us agency, and Jesus showed us how to use it so that we could eventually learn what They know, do what They do, and become what They are” (D. Todd Christofferson, “Moral Agency,” Ensign, June 2009, 53).

• What did Elder Christofferson teach about the connection between our progression and the use of our moral agency?

• In what ways is using our agency to choose God’s will different than robotically keeping rules?

• When have you used your moral agency in a way that helped you to progress and become more like God?

Segment 3 (15 minutes)

Write on the board the following key statement of doctrine: Our eternal progression depends on how we use the gift of moral agency. Point out that one of the doctrinal mastery passages associated with this statement is Joshua 24:15. Invite students to turn to this passage in their scriptures and to consider marking it in a distinctive way so they can locate it easily.

Explain that as recorded in Joshua 24, at the end of the prophet Joshua’s life he gathered the children of Israel together and recounted how the Lord had miraculously led them out of Egypt and blessed them to overcome their enemies in the promised land. Joshua challenged the people to be obedient and serve the Lord and not yield to temptation.

Ask a student to read Joshua 24:15 aloud. Invite the class to follow along, looking for Joshua’s invitation to the people.

• What did Joshua invite the people to do?

• How did Joshua say he would choose to exercise his agency? (He would choose to serve the Lord.)

• What are some ways in which we can choose to serve the Lord?

To help students remember Joshua’s challenge, ask a student to write on the board the phrases “choose you this day whom ye will serve” and “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Invite class members to repeat these phrases aloud several times so they can remember them more easily.

Show the video “Individual Agency” (1:53), which is available on LDS.org. Ask students to listen as President Monson explains why it is important to righteously exercise our agency.

• What did President Monson teach us about why it is important to righteously exercise our agency?

Invite students to ponder the following questions (you may want to write them on the board or provide them as a handout):

• Are the choices I am currently making helping me become more like God?

• In what areas of my life do I need to change or improve so I can progress spiritually?

• What choices will I make today to righteously exercise my agency and serve the Lord?

Give students time to record their thoughts in their class notebooks or study journals. As time permits, consider inviting one or two students to share how they want to apply what they have learned from this lesson. Encourage students to exercise their moral agency to follow our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.