Unit 1 Eternal Families

What is the meaning of the scriptural caution to “not be of the world”?

What is the meaning of the scriptural caution to “not be of the world”?

Keep your standards, resist temptation, keep on the covenant path to eternal life

What role might the opposition to Gospel teachings found in “the world” have in God’s plan for us?

We need to experience mortality, with its opposition and temptations, to grow and mature spiritually, to repent, and to prepare to meet God

When we understand the plan of salvation, we can see the reason for the commandments, why we need ordinances, and the fundamental role of our Savior Jesus Christ

What two “essential teachings” does President Oaks say are essential to “guide mortal preparation for exaltation?”

1. The gospel of Jesus Christ

2. The inspired Family Proclamation

President Oaks said that “I believe our attitude toward and use of the family proclamation is one of those tests for this generation.” What does that mean to you?

• We need to pray to stand firm in this test

• We choose to stay- to sustain the importance of the family as centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ

In the introduction section, Dr. Erickson describes why she has come to believe that we are deeply relational beings. What evidence does she find?

• The foundational role of marriage in binding together man and woman

• the nurturing of children defines the peak of that civilizations creativity and progres

• Single mothers felt rescued by their babies

• A mother is primed to establish a bond with her child

• Children are the embodiment of their parents union

Dr. Erickson describes all sin as some form of rejection of our relationship with God. What does that mean to you?

• sins are a separation from the truth of our divine being

• sin is my rejection of God’s original offer of grace and partnership

• Sin is the result of wounded souls trying to find their own way to manage pain apart from God

• sin is what separates us from the relief, the life, and the change that comes only through Jesus Christ

What does she identify as the most powerful expression of God’s love for us?

His offer to be in covenant relationship with us

In what way is the Lord’s covenant relationship with us the truest intimacy?

The Lord’s covenant relationship with us “is the experience of perfect love with a Being who we know sees all that we are responsible for – in all our weakness and our sins – and reflects it back to us in the light of His purity, which expands our agency and leads us to a better way through His redeeming love”

“It is from the intimacy of our relationship with Him that we learn the path of intimacy, of pure love for others”

1.     “To be loved but not known is______. To be known and not loved is _________. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God.” This is the love God is calling us into, to experience and to learn it.

comforting but superficial

our greatest fear

Elder Hales says that “Because of the importance of the family to the eternal plan, Satan makes a major effort to….” What does Satan seek to do?

Satan seeks to destroy the sanctity of the family, demean the importance of the role of men and women, encourage moral uncleanliness and violations of the sacred law of chastity, and to discourage parents from placing the bearing and rearing of children as one of their highest priorities

When did the truth that we are each literally the divine children of a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother begin to be understood in the Restoration?

• The earliest published references to the doctrine appeared shortly after Joseph Smith’s death in 1844, in documents written by his close associates

• A poem by Eliza R. Snow, entitled “My Father in Heaven” and now the hymn “O My Father” declares “In the heav’ns are parents single? / No, the though makes reason stare; / Truth is reason – truth eternal / Tells me I’ve a mother there”

• In 1909, the First Presidency taught that “all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity”

• Susa Young Gates wrote in 1920 that Joseph Smith’s visions and teachings revealed the truth that “the divine Mother, is side by side with the divine Father”

• In The Family: A Proclamation to the World, issued in 1995, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles declared, “Each person is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and as such, each has a divine nature and destiny”

Prophets have taught that our heavenly parents work together for the salvation of the human family. What insights did Elder Ballard and President Harold B. Lee provide on this truth?

Elder Ballard taught – “We are part of a divine plan designed by Heavenly Parents who love us”

President Harold B. Lee stated, “We forget that we have a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother who are even more concerned, probably, than our earthly father and mother, and that influences from beyond are constantly working to try to help us when we do all we can”

What was President Nelson’s answer to the question, “How can we help those struggling with pornography?” What does that response mean to you? 

President Nelson stood and replied, “Teach them their identity and their purpose”

I love what President Nelson has taught us about how we should define our identity:

1)     A child of God 2) A child of the covenant 3) A disciple of Jesus Christ

What are the three core parts of the Plan that Elder Callister (see top right of pg. 2) says make possible “unlimited opportunities to progress toward [the] destiny of Godhood.”

1)     Being immersed in a world of good and evil

2)    Having the capacity to choose

3)    Being able to draw upon the powers of the Atonement

Elder Callister identifies 5 different types of “witnesses” of the truth that men and women have the potential to become like the Divine. What are those types?

1)     Scriptures

2)    Early Christian Writers

3)    Poets and Authors

4)    Logic

5)    Voice of History

 

Why is it natural to assume that we can become like our Heavenly Parents? Consider President Packer’s teachings to his daughter.

“It will grow up exactly like it’s parents.” “He observed how this little four-year-old girl knew, almost instinctively, that the chick would grow up to follow the pattern of its parentage.

What does Elder Callister say “unlocks and unleashes certain powers of godliness” in our lives, making them much more than a checklist of actions? 

Participation in the saving ordinances

What is “the whole purpose of the Plan of Salvation” according to class lecture and Dr. Erickson’s BYU Devotional address?

“Brothers and Sisters, I rejoice that the whole work of the plan of salvation, culminating in the great atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, is to enable us to become beings of love in the deepest form of connection with others.”

What is the meaning of Heaven to Latter-day Saints? Is it a place? A rest? What is it that makes Heaven Heavenly?

It is a quality of exalted relationships that lead to development and growth

Drawing on the story of President Packer and his daughter, what reasoning makes us possible for us to believe we can become like God?

Like begets like. Each after its own kind

Our spiritual DNA is His DNA

What is God’s way of life?

Family is God’s way of life

Love is God’s way of life

What is the foundation for intimacy?

Integrity

Becoming like God can feel like an incredibly lofty pursuit. What aspects of mortality make that even possible, according to Elder Callister?

• the saving ordinances of the kingdom

• the gifts of the spirit

What did he describe as the source of power for that process of conversion to happen? What is it that unlocks the power of Godliness in our lives?

Participation in saving ordinances