Weekly Study: Old Testament Lesson 3 & 4

Ponder and study for Feb. 4th class:

“God himself . . . ordained and established a plan of salvation whereby his spirit children might advance and progress and become like him. It is the gospel of God, the plan of Eternal Elohim, the system that saves and exalts, and it consists of three things. These three are the very pillars of eternity itself. They are the most important events that ever have or will occur in all eternity. They are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement. . . . We must know how and in what manner these three eternal verities—the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement—are inseparably woven together to form one plan of salvation. No one of them stands alone; each of them ties into the other two; and without a knowledge of all of them, it is not possible to know the truth about any one of them.”
- Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness For the Articles of Faith

Question: How does gaining greater knowledge and a firmer testimony in the Creation and the Fall strengthen your testimony of the Atonement?

Additional Scripture: 2nd Nephi 9:6-10, Mormon 9:11-14, Doc. & Cov. 19:15-19, Moses 5: 5-9, Moses 6: 48-62, Articles of Faith 1: 2-3

Comments

  1. Keith ShirleyFebruary 5, 2018 at 5:50 PM

    These three pillars are like a story that is broken down into a trilogy, or three chapters. If you only watch or read the third part of the story, you will not really understand what is going on or the context of what is happening. That is why you need to understand why God put us here on earth, to fully understand why we need the Atonement. He created us and put us here on earth to become more like him and eventually to return and live with him in a celestial. But we can't do that without the blessings of the Atonement.
    You also need to understand the fall and that we are here to experience the good and evil, that everything has its opposite, to fully understand that we should not expect to be perfect but that we need to learn from our mistakes and take advantage of the process of repentance. That is how we grow and shape our character to become more like God. The Atonement allows us to do that.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Weekly Study: Old Testament Lesson 13

(Coming from a ByCommonConsent.com blog post on this lesson) Today’s lesson is on Moses and the Children of Israel. Perhaps one of the most recognizable accounts from the Old Testament, the Exodus story is one of deliverance, prophethood, miracles, and faith. One could read the account with each of these themes (and more) in mind and reap new insights and inspiration. Let us read through some excerpts from Exodus with the theme of oppression in mind. In Exodus 5 Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the people go. Pharaoh responds by placing greater burdens on the Children of Israel. They protest but to no avail. Read Exodus 5: 1-3 (Moses and Aaron) Are there times that we can say we are like Moses and Aaron here? What are they actually asking Pharaoh? Read Exodus 5:5-9, 17-20 How does Pharaoh respond to Moses’s and Aaron’s plea? How does Pharaoh respond to the pleas from the Children of Israel Are there times where we might have a “Pharaoh-like” response to peop...
Read more

Weekly Study: Old Testament Lesson 09

Read : Abraham 1:1, 5-20 In class, we read Genesis 12 through 22 to give us the long term (longue durée) narrative history of the Abrahamic Covenant, Abraham, and Sarah. Reaching even further back in the history of Abraham, through LDS scripture, we have the account of Abraham’s *almost* sacrifice at the hands of the priests of Elkenah. Read and ponder upon that account, then answer the following questions: Questions : What similarities are there between Abraham being sacrificed and Abraham sacrificing Isaac?  What differences exist? Does this account from the book of Abraham change your understanding of Abraham sacrificing Isaac? Does it change the meaning of sacrifice for Abraham? How do the trials in your life inform/influence/impact your sacrifices?
Read more

Weekly Study: Old Testament Lesson 16

“In the priesthood leadership session of a regional conference, we sang the hymn “Ye Elders of Israel.” The chorus contains a line “O Babylon, O Babylon, we bid thee farewell.” Following the singing, Elder Neal A. Maxwell spoke and expressed the thought that bidding Babylon farewell is actually one of our challenges, that too many of us like to keep a summer cottage there. We cannot keep one foot in the Church and one foot in the world.” Elder Larry W. Gibbons “Wherefore, Settle This in Your Hearts”  October 2006 General Conference Lesson 16 introduces us to Balaam, the non-Israelite prophet, who was called upon by Balak and the Moabites to curse Israel. Reflecting on his experiences found in Numbers 22 - 24, and in connection with the above quote, engage with the following questions: In what ways was Balaam trying to keep one foot “with the Lord” and the other foot “in Babylon?” Why do you think Balaam was attempting this balancing act? Juxtaposing the good inten...
Read more