Welcome to Our�Missionary Preparation Class��Lesson 10: Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

About the Class Instructor

• My name is Jimmy Smith
• Founder of Latter-day Saint Mission Prep website
• I live in Texas in the United States
• I served my mission to Argentina, 1995-1997

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

About this Mission Prep Class

• Following the Church’s Missionary Preparation Teacher Manual
• Teaching my two teenage children and record the lessons for others to enjoy
• This video, my website, and other content I create is NOT a publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Before We Begin: Make Sure You Have a Way to Take Notes

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Review of Previous Lessons

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Back in Lesson 4, I told about German: Teaching him the plan of salvation

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Godoy Family

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Names in the Scriptures for God’s Plan for Us

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Heavenly Father’s Plan Answers Questions Like

Lesson 10: Part 1:

• Pre-Earth Life
• The Creation
• The Fall of Adam and Eve
• Our Life on Earth

Lesson 11: Part 2:

• How the Atonement overcomes the effects of the Fall
• Our Eternal Destiny / Kingdoms of glory

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

God’s Purpose and Plan for Us in the Pre-Earth Life

• Moses 1:39 “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
• “We lived as spirit children of our Father in Heaven before we were born on this earth. We were not, however, like our Heavenly Father, nor could we ever become like Him and enjoy all the blessings that He enjoys without the experience of living in mortality with a physical body. God’s whole purpose—His work and His glory—is to enable each of us to enjoy all His blessings. He has provided a perfect plan to accomplish His purpose. We understood and accepted this plan before we came to the earth.” (PMG)

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Boyd K. Packer, from a Talk Called “Our Father’s Plan,” 1984

• “No more profound truth has been conveyed to us in the restoration than the knowledge of our premortal existence. No other church knows or teaches this truth. The doctrine is given only in outline form, but salient facts are repeated often enough in the revelations to assure us of certain fundamental truths.”

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Jesus Makes Possible the Blessings of the Plan of Salvation

• “Jesus Christ is central to God’s plan. Through His Atonement, Jesus Christ fulfilled His Father’s purpose and made it possible for each of us to enjoy immortality and exaltation. ...We must choose whether to follow Jesus Christ… We are physically separated from God during life on earth, but He wants every one of His children to find peace in this life and a fulness of joy in His presence after this life. He wants us to become like Him.” (PMG)

Image from the Gospel Media library on churchofjesuschrist.org

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Questions to Discuss/Ponder about Our Pre-Earth Life

• What do we know about our life before we came to earth?
• What are some blessings that came from knowing we are children of God?
• What is the purpose of life here on earth?
• How does the knowledge of our pre-earth life and God’s plan impact our life choices?

Go Ye Therefore and Teach All Nations by Harry Anderson

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

The Significance of the Creation in God’s Plan of Salvation

• “Under the direction of the Father, Jesus Christ created the earth as a place for us to live and gain experience. In order to progress and become like God, each of us had to obtain a body and be tested during a time of probation on the earth. While on the earth we are out of God’s physical presence. We do not remember our premortal life. We must walk by faith rather than by sight.” (PMG)

Image from the Gospel Media library on churchofjesuschrist.org

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

To Progress in God’s Plan, We Had to Obtain a Physical Body

• “In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.”

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Eager for Physical Life and to Become Like Heavenly Father

• “We ‘shouted for joy’ (Job 38:7) to be part of this plan. Why were we so excited? We understood eternal truths about our bodies. We knew that our bodies would be in the image of God. We knew that our bodies would house our spirits. We also understood that our bodies would be subject to pain, illness, disabilities, and temptation. But we were willing, even eager, to accept these challenges because we knew that only with spirit and element inseparably connected could we progress to become like our Heavenly Father (see D&C 130:22) and ‘receive a fulness of joy’ (D&C 93:33)”
• Susan W. Tanner, YW General President,
• “The Sanctity of the Body,” Ensign, Nov. 2005

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Questions to Discuss/Ponder�about the Creation

• What truths did we understand that made us excited to come to earth and receive a physical body?
• Why were we willing to come to earth even though we knew we could face difficult challenges?
• How would you explain to an investigator how our mortal experience helps us progress?

Go Ye Therefore and Teach All Nations by Harry Anderson

Image from the Gospel Media library on churchofjesuschrist.org

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

What Adam and Eve Could and Could Not Do in the Garden

• “While Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were still in God’s presence and could have lived forever. …In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve their agency. He commanded them not to eat the forbidden fruit, or the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Obeying this commandment meant that they could remain in the garden, but they could not progress by experiencing opposition in mortality. They could not know joy because they could not experience sorrow and pain.” (PMG)

Image from the Gospel Media library on churchofjesuschrist.org

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

What Adam and Eve Could and Could Not Do in the Garden

• “Satan tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and they chose to do so. This was part of God’s plan. Because of this choice, they were cast from the garden and out of God’s physical presence. This event is called the Fall. Separation from God’s presence is spiritual death. Adam and Eve became mortal—subject to physical death, or separation of the body and spirit. They could now experience disease and all types of suffering. They had moral agency or the ability to choose between good and evil. This made it possible for them to learn and progress. It also made it possible for them to make wrong choices and to sin.” (PMG)

Adam et eve mangent du fruit de l'arbre, Wikimedia Commons

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

2 Nephi 2:

• 22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.
• 23 And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.
• 24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
• 25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

Image from the Gospel Media library on churchofjesuschrist.org

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Adam and Eve in the Garden�

What They Could Do

What They Could NOT Do

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

The Fall’s Importance in the Plan of Salvation

• “When Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden, the Lord passed a sentence upon him. Some people have looked upon that sentence as being a dreadful thing. It was not; it was a blessing. …In order for mankind to obtain salvation and exaltation it is necessary for them to obtain bodies in this world, and pass through the experiences and schooling that are found only in mortality. …Without mortality this great blessing could not be accomplished.”

President Joseph Fielding Smith

(1876–1972)

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

The Fall’s Importance in the Plan of Salvation

• “Therefore, worlds are created and peopled with the children of God, and they are granted the privilege to pass through the mortal existence, with the great gift of agency in their possession. Through this gift they choose good or choose evil, and thus receive a reward of merit in the eternities to come. …The fall of man came as a blessing in disguise, and was the means of furthering the purposes of the Lord in the progress of man, rather than a means of hindering them.”

President Joseph Fielding Smith

(1876–1972)

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Life on Earth: �Act 2 of a Three-Act Play

• “The plan of redemption, with its three divisions, might be likened to a grand three-act play. Act 1 is entitled ‘Premortal Life.’ The scriptures describe it as our first estate (see Jude 1:6; Abraham 3:26, 28). Act 2, from birth to the time of resurrection, is the ‘Second Estate.’ And act 3 is called ‘Life After Death’ or ‘Eternal Life.’ In mortality, we are like actors who enter a theater just as the curtain goes up on the second act.”
• Boyd K. Packer, “The Play and the Plan”, May 7, 1995

image in the public domain

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Life on Earth: �Act 2 of a Three-Act Play

• “As part of the eternal plan, the memory of our premortal life, act 1, is covered with a veil. Since we enter mortality at the beginning of act 2 with no recollection of act 1, it is little wonder that it is difficult to understand what is going on… Remember this! The line ‘And they all lived happily ever after’ is never written into the second act. That line belongs in the third act, when the mysteries are solved and everything is put right.”
• Boyd K. Packer, “The Play and the Plan”, May 7, 1995

image in the public domain

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Life on Earth: �Act 2 of a Three-Act Play

• “There exists something of a script for this great play, the drama of the ages. It outlines, in brief form at least, what happened in act 1—the premortal life. While there is not much detail, the script makes clear the purpose of it all, and it reveals enough of the plot to help you figure out what life is all about. That script, as you should already know, is the scriptures—the revelations. Read them. Study them. …From them you can learn enough about all three acts to get your bearings and get direction in your life.” (Boyd K. Packer, “The Play and the Plan”, May 7, 1995)

Image from the Gospel Media library on churchofjesuschrist.org

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Questions to Discuss/Ponder�about Life on Earth

• Why do we view the Fall of Adam and Eve as a crucial part of God’s plan of salvation?
• In what ways does a three-act play symbolize some of the elements of the plan of salvation?
• How can the scriptures help God’s children better understand their purpose in God’s plan?
• Imagine you were a missionary; how would you explain the purpose of this life in one or two sentences?

Go Ye Therefore and Teach All Nations by Harry Anderson

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Review of Physical and Spiritual Death

Physical death = separation of the individual’s body from their spirit.

Spiritual death = separation of a person from God because of their sins.

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Inherent Part of Mortality is Physical and Spiritual Death

• “In mortality we live in a condition where we are subject to both physical and spiritual death.”
• “Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, every person on earth has an imperfect, mortal body and will eventually die. If not for the Savior Jesus Christ, death would end all hope for a future existence with Heavenly Father.” (PMG)
• Jesus taught: “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25)
• Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, the resurrection “shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous” (Alma 11:44)

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Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Spiritual Death is Overcome by Following Our Savior Jesus Christ

• “In our mortal condition we often yield to temptation, break God’s commandments, and sin. …Because of our sins, we are unable to return to live with Heavenly Father unless we are first forgiven and cleansed. While we are in mortality, we have experiences …that bring us pain and sorrow, some of which is caused by the sinful acts of others. These experiences provide us opportunities to learn and to grow, to distinguish good from evil, and to make choices. God influences us to do good; Satan tempts us to commit sin. As with physical death, we cannot overcome the effects of sin by ourselves. We are helpless without the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” (PMG)

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

• In 3 Nephi 27:19-20, the Savior said:
• “And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.”
• “Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.”

Image from the Gospel Media library on churchofjesuschrist.org

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Discuss/Ponder Physical and Spiritual Death

• How does the gospel of Jesus Christ help us to overcome physical and spiritual death?
• Any other questions about physical and spiritual death?

​

Go Ye Therefore and Teach All Nations by Harry Anderson

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Teaching the Plan of Salvation:�Parts 1 and 2

Lesson 10: Part 1:

• Pre-Earth Life
• The Creation
• The Fall of Adam and Eve
• Our Life on Earth

Lesson 11: Part 2:

• How the Atonement overcomes the effects of the Fall
• Our Eternal Destiny / Kingdoms of glory

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Conclusion and Homework

• Review the “Key Definitions” section of PMG
• Be able to understand and explain key terms like:
• Atonement of Christ, Fall, Immortality, Mortality, Physical and Spiritual Death, Resurrection, Exaltation, etc.
• Think of a time when your knowledge of the plan of salvation blessed your life. Write it in your journal.
• Church Videos to Check Out
• Video “God Is Our Father” (3:05) on the Church website
• Video “The Plan of Salvation” (4:30) on the Church website

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Thank You for Watching or Listening

• I have a testimony that these things are true
• Visit the Latter-day Saint Mission Prep Website at
• www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Missionary Preparation Class

Lesson 10

Teaching the Plan of Salvation (Part 1)

www.MormonMissionPrep.com