“Lesson 62: The Restoration (Part 3),” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Material (2018)
“Lesson 62,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Material
Lesson 62
The Restoration (Part 3)
Introduction
The teaching materials for this doctrinal mastery topic are divided into four parts. In part 3, students will study paragraphs 4.8–4.11 of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document and discuss dispensations, the building up of Zion, and the destiny of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will also study the doctrinal mastery passages Moses 7:18 and Daniel 2:44.
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
Understanding the Doctrine
Segment 1 (5 minutes)
Write the names Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith on the board. Ask students the following question:
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What do these individuals have in common? (Students may give multiple correct answers. Depending on the students’ answers, you may need to point out that a dispensation is identified with each one of these men.)
Invite two students to take turns reading aloud from paragraphs 4.8–4.9 in the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document. Ask the class to follow along, looking for the definition of a dispensation.
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What is a dispensation?
Segment 2 (15 minutes)
Circle the name “Enoch” on the board. Explain that during Enoch’s dispensation he and his people built a righteous and unified society called Zion. Ask a student to read aloud paragraph 4.10 of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document. Invite the class to follow along, looking for what the Lord and His prophets have sought to do in every dispensation.
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What have the Lord and His prophets sought to do in every dispensation? (Establish Zion.)
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What does Zion refer to?
Invite students to consider marking the following key statements of doctrine in their copies of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document: Zion refers to the Lord’s covenant people who are pure in heart, united in righteousness, and care for one another. Zion also refers to a place where the pure in heart live.
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Which doctrinal mastery scripture passage helps teach this truth? (Moses 7:18.)
Invite students to turn to Moses 7:18 and to consider marking this doctrinal mastery passage in a distinctive way so they can locate it easily.
Ask the class to read Moses 7:18 aloud in unison. Invite the class to look for words or phrases in the verse that help teach the key statement of doctrine they just identified. Ask students to report what they found.
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Which of these attributes of Zion stands out to you the most? Why?
Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Ask the class to listen for when Zion will be established and what we must do to establish Zion. You may want to make a copy of this quotation for each member of the class.
“Zion is Zion because of the character, attributes, and faithfulness of her citizens. Remember, ‘the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them’ (Moses 7:18). If we would establish Zion in our homes, branches, wards, and stakes, we must rise to this standard. It will be necessary (1) to become unified in one heart and one mind; (2) to become, individually and collectively, a holy people; and (3) to care for the poor and needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty among us. We cannot wait until Zion comes for these things to happen—Zion will come only as they happen” (D. Todd Christofferson, “Come to Zion,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 38).
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According to Elder Christofferson, when will Zion be established?
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When have you observed people living the way in which Enoch’s people were described as living in Moses 7:18? (Consider discussing how living the way Enoch’s people lived could benefit your seminary class.)
Invite students to silently ponder the following question:
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What are some things you could do to live more like Enoch’s people in your home, branch or ward, and stake?
Invite students to ponder the description of Zion recorded in Moses 7:18 and to write in their study journals something specific they can do to help establish Zion in their home, branch or ward, and stake.
Segment 3 (15 minutes)
Refer to the list of dispensation heads that you wrote on the board in segment 1. Circle the name “Joseph Smith.” Explain that Joseph Smith is the head of what is called “the dispensation of the fulness of times.”
Display or write the following questions on the board. Invite students to silently read paragraph 4.11 of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document, looking for the answers to these questions:
When is the dispensation of the fulness of times?
What is unique about the dispensation of the fulness of times?
What will eventually happen to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
After sufficient time, invite a few students to share their answers with the class. Invite students to consider marking the following key statement of doctrine in their copies of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will eventually fill the earth and stand forever.
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Which doctrinal mastery scripture passage helps teach this truth? (Daniel 2:44.)
Invite students to turn to Daniel 2:44 and to consider marking this doctrinal mastery passage in a distinctive way so they can locate it easily.
To help students understand the context of this passage, explain that the prophet Daniel interpreted a dream of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, in which the king saw a “stone [that] was cut out of the mountain without hands” (Daniel 2:45). This stone broke down a large statue, “became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34–35). You may want to display the picture Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream (Gospel Art Book [2009], no. 24; see also lds.org/media-library).
Ask a student to read Daniel 2:44 aloud. Invite the class to follow along, looking for how the passage helps teach the key statement of doctrine students just identified. Invite them to report what they found.
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How is this prophecy being fulfilled?
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What can we do to be a part of this prophecy’s fulfillment?
To help students feel the importance of this truth, invite a student to read aloud the following statement by President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008). Ask the class to listen carefully for what President Hinckley taught about the times in which we live. Invite students to report what they found.
“My brethren and sisters, do you realize what we have? Do you recognize our place in the great drama of human history? This is the focal point of all that has gone before. This is the season of restitution. These are the days of restoration. …
“The centuries have passed. The latter-day work of the Almighty, that of which the ancients spoke, that of which the prophets and apostles prophesied, is come. It is here. …
“Given what we have and what we know, we ought to be a better people than we are. We ought to be more Christlike, more forgiving, more helpful and considerate to all around us. …
“May God bless us with a sense of our place in history and, having been given that sense, with our need to stand tall and walk with resolution in a manner becoming the Saints of the Most High” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “At the Summit of the Ages,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 74).
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What thoughts or feelings did you have as you listened to President Hinckley’s statement?
Invite a few students to share their testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Consider sharing your testimony as well. Give students a moment to ponder what they can do to help The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fill the whole earth and stand forever.
Segment 4 (5 minutes)
Invite students to silently review Moses 7:18 and Daniel 2:44, along with the key statements of doctrine that these passages help teach. Then invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Christofferson. Ask the class to follow along, looking for how the two key statements of doctrine are related to each other.
“When Daniel interpreted the dream of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, making known to the king ‘what shall be in the latter days’ [Daniel 2:28], he declared that ‘the God of heaven [shall] set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all [other] kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever’ [Daniel 2:44]. The Church is that prophesied latter-day kingdom, not created by man but set up by the God of heaven and rolling forth as a stone ‘cut out of the mountain without hands’ to fill the earth [Daniel 2:45; see also verse 35].
“Its destiny is to establish Zion in preparation for the return and millennial rule of Jesus Christ” (D. Todd Christofferson, “Why the Church,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 111).
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What did Elder Christofferson teach about the ultimate destiny of the Church?
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How is this related to the teachings recorded in Moses 7:18 and Daniel 2:44?
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In what ways could you be blessed by participating in this important work?
Testify that as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our duty “is to establish Zion in preparation for the return and millennial rule of Jesus Christ.”