Lesson 4 Teacher Material

The Family Is Central to Heavenly Father’s Plan

The family is central to our Heavenly Father’s plan for our eternal destiny. In this lesson, students will have the opportunity to explain how the Creation of the earth, the Fall of Adam and Eve, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ allow for eternal families to be formed and to progress. Students will also be invited to evaluate their personal efforts in creating and strengthening their own eternal family.

Suggestions for Teaching

The Creation of the earth and the Fall of Adam and Eve allowed for families to be formed and grow.

Improving Our Teaching and Learning

Establish relevancy and purpose. Beginning a lesson with a relevant question, situation, or problem can lead students to engage in the lesson and seek further knowledge. This can also help them see how the teachings of the scriptures and modern Church leaders provide answers and direction that can guide them in real-life situations. When students see the relevance of what they are studying to their own situations and circumstances, they are generally more motivated to learn and apply gospel teachings.

Arrange students in small groups, and assign a group leader for each. Display or provide each group with a copy of the following scenario and questions. (Consider how you can adapt this scenario as needed to be more relevant to your culture and your students’ lives.)

While researching online for a class assignment, Rachel found some articles that argued that the “traditional family” (a married man and woman with children) was no longer needed in society. During class a few days later, Rachel realized she was alone in trying to defend the importance of the traditional family. Many of her classmates placed little or no priority on marriage or having children. To them, marriage and children get in the way of a person’s individual fulfillment. This experience left Rachel with some unsettling questions and feelings.

• Why do you think some people feel this way about marriage and family?

• What have you learned about families and Heavenly Father’s plan that could help Rachel? (If needed, you might review section 1 of the preparation material to help in the discussion.)

After students have had sufficient time to discuss the scenario, invite them to list on the board some of the truths they talked about. Build on these truths throughout the lesson.

You might invite a student to recite or read Moses 1:39 and then ask the class to explain what this verse teaches about the purposes of Heavenly Father’s plan. If needed, ask students how they would define “eternal life” and how that purpose relates to the family. (See the first section in the preparation material for help with a definition.)

Consider showing pictures representing the Creation and the Fall of Adam and Eve. Invite students to review Doctrine and Covenants 49:15–17 and 2 Nephi 2:22–23. Then ask the following questions:

• How did the Creation of the earth help fulfill Heavenly Father’s eternal purposes for His children? (Student answers may be similar to the following: The earth was created to provide a place where God’s children could be born into families and progress together.)

• How did the Fall of Adam and Eve help further the Father’s purposes and allow the earth to “answer the end [or purpose] of its creation”? (Doctrine and Covenants 49:16). (Students may give various responses, including stating a truth similar to this: Because of the Fall, Adam and Eve could bear children and their posterity could progress toward eternal life.)

• How can understanding these purposes of the Creation and the Fall influence our efforts to prioritize and build our own eternal families?

Through His Atonement, Jesus Christ has made eternal families possible.

Consider discussing the following question briefly as a class:

• What is the role of the Savior and His Atonement in making eternal families possible? (Consider reviewing 2 Nephi 9:6–8, 10, 18 to help students identify that through His Atonement, Jesus Christ provides the way for all of Heavenly Father’s children to overcome sin and death.)

Display the following statement by President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

The hinge point that connects it all—on which God’s plan and our eternal destiny depend and on which all else pivots—is our Savior, Jesus Christ. His atoning sacrifice makes all things possible, including, but not limited to, a loving, caring, and eternal marriage and family. (M. Russell Ballard, “The Opportunities and Responsibilities of CES Teachers in the 21st Century” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 26, 2016], ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

Invite students to review what they wrote in response to the questions at the end of section 2 of the preparation material. (If necessary, give students time to record or add to their responses.) Invite several students to share what they wrote. Consider sharing your feelings as well.

To help students act on what they learned today, choose one or both of the following ideas—whichever will be most helpful for your students.

Ask a student to read aloud the statement by Elder Robert D. Hales in section 3 of the preparation material.

• In what ways can you see Satan working to attack marriages and families in our day?

Invite students to take a minute or two to consider ways Satan might be trying to attack their own marriages and families (present and future). Encourage them to also ponder and record their feelings about how keeping an eternal perspective can help them prioritize and protect their families.

Give students time to further reflect on the following questions from section 3 of the preparation material and to record impressions they may receive:

• How can you make your family more central in your life?

• How can you invite the Lord’s power into your efforts to create or strengthen your own eternal family?

After sufficient time, invite a few students who are willing to share to do so. Encourage students to act on what they felt.

For Next Time

Consider reviewing briefly with students what they have learned in the first four lessons of the course. You might suggest that next time you meet, you will give them a chance to share what they have been applying so far with their family or others. Invite students as they prepare for the next class to think carefully about how the choices they make with their own physical bodies might affect their families and God’s plan for them.