“Lesson 15 Class Preparation Material: The Commandment to Multiply and Replenish the Earth,” The Eternal Family Teacher Material (2022)
“Lesson 15 Class Preparation Material,” The Eternal Family Teacher Material
Lesson 15 Class Preparation Material
The Commandment to Multiply and Replenish the Earth
What hopes or worries do you have about having children? As you study the following material, pray to deepen your understanding of the sacred purposes that are fulfilled in Heavenly Father’s plan when husbands and wives choose to have children. Consider how a husband and wife can act in faith to honor the divine commandment to multiply and replenish the earth.
Section 1
What part does having children play in Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation?
Think about different opinions you have heard people express about having children. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared one mother’s perspective:
Many voices in the world today marginalize the importance of having children or suggest delaying or limiting children in a family. My daughters recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother (not of our faith) with five children. She commented: “[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. … Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get.” She then adds: “Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for” [Rachel Jankovic, “Motherhood Is a Calling (and Where Your Children Rank),” July 14, 2011, desiringgod.org]. (“Children,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 28)
After God created Adam and Eve and joined them in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, He gave them a commandment.
Study in Preparation for Class
Read Genesis 1:27–28, and think about the significance of this being the first commandment God gave to Adam and Eve.
Latter-day prophets have emphasized, “The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Think about why this commandment needed to be reaffirmed in our day. President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught that “Satan’s most strenuous opposition is directed at whatever is most important to God’s plan.” This opposition includes seeking “to discourage childbearing—especially by parents who will raise children in truth” (“Truth and the Plan,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 27).
The gospel of Jesus Christ blesses us with a divine perspective on the importance of children (see, for example, Psalm 127:3 and Matthew 19:13–15). Elder Andersen taught:
It is a crowning privilege of a husband and wife who are able to bear children to provide mortal bodies for these spirit children of God. …
When a child is born to a husband and wife, they are fulfilling part of our Heavenly Father’s plan to bring children to earth. The Lord said, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” [Moses 1:39]. Before immortality, there must be mortality. (“Children,” 28)
President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that having children is part of the purpose of mortality:
The purpose of mortality is to become more like God by gaining physical bodies, exercising agency, and assuming roles that previously belonged only to heavenly parents—roles of husband, wife, and parent. …
… One essential purpose of mortal life is that we can replicate that family experience ourselves, only this time as parents rather than just as the children. …
Heavenly Father wants us to … obey His first commandment to “multiply and replenish”—not only to fulfill His plan but also to find the joy that His plan was designed to give His sons and daughters. (“The Opportunities and Responsibilities of CES Teachers in the 21st Century” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 26, 2016], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
Discuss in Preparation for Class
Discuss the following questions with someone who has children. If you are married and have children, consider discussing these questions with your spouse.
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What have you learned about Heavenly Father from your experience as a parent?
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How has being a parent enriched your life? (Consider learning how other married couples might answer this question by watching the video “Having Children Enriches Your Life” [4:30].)
4:30
Section 2
How can my spouse and I decide when to have children and how many children to have?
Married couples face important questions of when to have children and how many to have.
Study in Preparation for Class
Read Alma 37:37, and look for counsel that can help a married couple in making these decisions.
Elder Andersen addressed the importance of counseling with the Lord in making these decisions:
When to have a child and how many children to have are private decisions to be made between a husband and wife and the Lord. These are sacred decisions—decisions that should be made with sincere prayer and acted on with great faith. …
Brothers and sisters, we should not be judgmental with one another in this sacred and private responsibility. (“Children,” 28, 30)
Some people who righteously desire to have children may not have the opportunity in this life. Regarding this, Elder Andersen taught:
The bearing of children can … be a heartbreaking subject for righteous couples who marry and find that they are unable to have the children they so anxiously anticipated or for a husband and wife who plan on having a large family but are blessed with a smaller family.
We cannot always explain the difficulties of our mortality. Sometimes life seems very unfair—especially when our greatest desire is to do exactly what the Lord has commanded. As the Lord’s servant, I assure you that this promise is certain: “Faithful members whose circumstances do not allow them to receive the blessings of eternal marriage and parenthood in this life will receive all promised blessings in the eternities, [as] they keep the covenants they have made with God” [General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 38.1.4, ChurchofJesusChrist.org]. (“Children,” 30)
Ponder in Preparation for Class
Why is it important for husbands and wives to counsel with Heavenly Father regarding when to have children and how many children to have?
Section 3
How can understanding the sacredness of life in God’s plan influence our choices?
Through living prophets, the Lord has emphasized the sacredness of human life and what all children, including those who are unborn, are entitled to:
We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan. …
… Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World”)
Regarding the sanctity of life, President Russell M. Nelson taught:
No one can cuddle an innocent infant, look into those beautiful eyes, feel the little fingers, and kiss that baby’s cheek without a deepening reverence for life and for our Creator. Life comes from life. It is no accident. It is a gift from God. (“Abortion: An Assault on the Defenseless,” Ensign, Oct. 2008, 37)
The declarations in the family proclamation speak against various practices that are widely accepted today, such as abortion and having children outside of marriage. Regarding abortion, in many parts of the world, this practice is considered acceptable, and millions of abortions are performed each year.
Church leaders have provided the following instruction about abortion:
The Lord commanded, “Thou shalt not … kill, nor do anything like unto it” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:6). The Church opposes elective abortion for personal or social convenience. Members must not submit to, perform, arrange for, pay for, consent to, or encourage an abortion. The only possible exceptions are when:
Pregnancy resulted from forcible rape or incest.
A competent physician determines that the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy.
A competent physician determines that the fetus has severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth.
Even these exceptions do not automatically justify abortion. Abortion is a most serious matter and should be considered only after the persons responsible have consulted with their bishops and received divine confirmation through prayer. (General Handbook, 38.6.1)
Some unwed parents choose abortion because they feel unable to provide their child with the “secure, nurturing, and consistent relationship” he or she needs. In this circumstance, adoption can be “an unselfish, loving decision that blesses the child, birth parents, and adoptive parents in this life and throughout the eternities” (First Presidency statement, Oct. 4, 2006, as cited in Ensign, Oct. 2008, 37).
Ponder in Preparation for Class
What did you learn from the teachings in this section about our Heavenly Father? How could you use what you know about God’s plan to explain why “elective abortion for personal or social convenience” is contrary to His will? (General Handbook, 38.6.1).