Introductory Materials

The Plan of Salvation

Heavenly Father’s Plan for His Children

The Grand Council

Through our mortal journey, questions often arise about the purpose and meaning of life: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? Knowing the answers to these questions can help you navigate the challenges of life and stay on the Lord’s covenant path. This lesson can help you understand and feel the importance of Heavenly Father’s plan.

The Objective of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion. Remember that “our purpose is to help youth and young adults deepen their conversion to Jesus Christ and His restored gospel, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare themselves, their families, and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven” (“The Objective of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion” [2022], ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Student preparation: Invite students to think about something they feel they could not live without and be prepared to explain why. They could also bring it or a picture of it to class, if appropriate.

Possible Learning Activities

Heavenly Father’s plan

To help the class members learn about one another, consider inviting students to share their responses to the question below. It may be helpful for students to show what they thought of or share a picture of it. Be sure to encourage a positive and respectful atmosphere regarding the important things in students’ lives.

• What knowledge do you think you couldn’t live without? Why?

Through the scriptures and modern revelation, we have a knowledge of the premortal life, the Savior’s Atonement, life after death, and many other elements of our eternal existence. This knowledge would be difficult to live without. Take some time to think about what you know about Heavenly Father’s plan. Ponder what your life might be like without that knowledge.

As you study today, seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost to help you learn more about Heavenly Father’s loving plan for His children.

Heavenly Father’s plan in the Book of Mormon

It may be helpful to write the following questions and references on the board. Another option is to write each question on a separate piece of paper and place the papers around the room. Invite students to walk around the room, find the questions, and then look in the scriptures for the answers to the questions. Students could even write the answers they find on the paper.

The Book of Mormon teaches a great deal about Heavenly Father’s plan. President Russell M. Nelson declared: “I testify that the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God. It contains the answers to life’s most compelling questions” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 62). Here are a few questions the Book of Mormon answers. Select at least two and read the scripture passage that helps to answer the question.

• What does the Book of Mormon teach about the premortal life? (Alma 12:25, 30; the phrase “foundation of the world” refers to the premortal life.)

• What role does Jesus Christ play in Heavenly Father’s plan? (Alma 22:12–14)

• What is the purpose of life? (Alma 34:32–33)

• What happens when we die? (Alma 40:11–14, 21–23)

• What would happen without the Atonement of Jesus Christ? (2 Nephi 9:6–11)

Invite students to discuss the answers they found to the questions. Students could also be invited to ask questions about the verses they read or Heavenly Father’s plan. They could use the Gospel Topics entry “Plan of Salvation” to understand the scripture passages and look for answers to their questions.

• What truths or doctrine did you identify from the verses you read?

• What words or phrases in the verses teach the truth or doctrine you identified?

  Consider writing the truths and doctrine that students identify on the board. Students may identify a variety of truths, such as through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be redeemed from the Fall.

• Which of the teachings about Heavenly Father’s plan are you most grateful for? Why?

It might be helpful for students to practice explaining Heavenly Father’s plan in pairs or small groups. In addition to explaining the plan, invite students to share how it can influence their lives.

Heavenly Father’s plan and my life

Help students discuss how a knowledge of Heavenly Father’s plan can impact their lives. You might consider using this statement by President M. Russell Ballard and some of the following questions.

President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained how understanding Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation can help us in our lives. You may want to watch the video “Answers to Life’s Questions” from time code 10:37 to 12:09 or read the text below:

President M. Russell Ballard

We mortals have a limited view of life from the eternal perspective. But if we know and understand Heavenly Father’s plan, we realize that dealing with adversity is one of the chief ways we are tested. …

By focusing on and living the principles of Heavenly Father’s plan for our eternal happiness, we can separate ourselves from the wickedness of the world. If we are anchored to the correct understanding of who we are, why we are here on this earth, and where we can go after this mortal life, Satan cannot threaten our happiness through any form of temptation. If we are determined to live by Heavenly Father’s plan, we will use our God-given moral agency to make decisions based on revealed truth, not on the opinions of others or on the current thinking of the world. (M. Russell Ballard, “Answers to Life’s Questions,” Ensign or Liahona, May 1995, 23–24)

• How is your life influenced by your knowledge of Heavenly Father’s plan?

• What are some situations in which a knowledge of Heavenly Father’s plan would impact the decisions you make?

• How can a knowledge of Heavenly Father’s plan impact how you view the circumstances and experiences of your life?

Conclude the lesson by sharing your testimony of Heavenly Father’s plan and how it has impacted your life.

Commentary and Background Information

How is the plan of salvation evidence of God’s love?

President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

President M. Russell Ballard

Heavenly Father so loved us that He prepared His plan of salvation with a Savior as the central figure. And Jesus so loved us that in the great Council in Heaven, when Heavenly Father asked, “Whom shall I send?” Jesus, who was the firstborn of all the Father’s spirit children, answered, “Here am I, send me” [Abraham 3:27]. He said unto the Father, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” [Moses 4:2]. Jesus volunteered to be our Savior and Redeemer so that we could become like Them and return to Their presence. (M. Russell Ballard, “Lovest Thou Me More Than These?,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov 2021, 52)

Why do we have challenges in life?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency said:

President Dallin H. Oaks

All of us experience various kinds of opposition that test us. Some of these tests are temptations to sin. Some are mortal challenges apart from personal sin. Some are very great. Some are minor. Some are continuous, and some are mere episodes. None of us is exempt. Opposition permits us to grow toward what our Heavenly Father would have us become. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Opposition in All Things,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 115–16)

How can knowing Heavenly Father’s plan help me?

The video “Plan of Salvation—We’re Still a Family” (4:46) shows how having knowledge of the plan of salvation helped one young man navigate the devastating challenge of losing several family members.

What is the purpose and meaning of life?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency explained:

President Dallin H. Oaks

Referred to in the scriptures as the “great plan of happiness,” “the plan of redemption,” and the “plan of salvation” (Alma 42:8, 11, 5), that plan—revealed in the Restoration—began with a Council in Heaven. As spirits, we desired to achieve the eternal life enjoyed by our heavenly parents. At that point we had progressed as far as we could without a mortal experience in a physical body. To provide that experience, God the Father planned to create this earth. In the planned mortal life, we would be soiled by sin as we faced the opposition necessary for our spiritual growth. We would also become subject to physical death. To reclaim us from death and sin, our Heavenly Father’s plan would provide a Savior. His Resurrection would redeem all from death, and His atoning sacrifice would pay the price necessary for all to be cleansed from sin on the conditions prescribed to promote our growth. This Atonement of Jesus Christ is central to the Father’s plan. (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Great Plan,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 93)

For an overview of Heavenly Father’s plan, consider watching the videos “What Is the Purpose and Meaning of Life?” (7:43) and “Our Eternal Life” (3:46), available on Youtube and ChurchofJesusChrist.org, respectively.

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternate beginning of the lesson

If available, consider bringing a pair of glasses with colored lenses. Invite a student to try on the glasses and explain how it affects their view. They can then be invited to think about how looking at life with Heavenly Father’s plan in mind might influence how they think and act. As we better understand Heavenly Father’s plan, we gain a clearer perspective of our mortal lives. One example is that those who know that there is life after death may be more comforted when a loved one dies.

Focus on the Savior’s central role in the plan of salvation

Consider using President Dallin H. Oaks’s talk “What Has Our Savior Done for Us?” (Liahona, May 2021, 75–77) to help students understand how Jesus Christ helps us overcome the challenges associated with mortality. This could be done by reading the talk’s opening story about the woman who asked “What’s [Jesus] done for me?” Divide portions of the talk among the class and invite them to seek answers to that question. Invite students to testify how knowing these things influences their feelings toward Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Students could also study the following verses about what life would be like with or without our Savior.

• With Christ: Mosiah 16:8–11; Alma 11:42–45; Alma 12:33–34

• Without Christ: 2 Nephi 9:6–9; Mosiah 16:6–7; Alma 41:10–11; Alma 42:11–14

Illustrate the plan of salvation

After students have studied about Heavenly Father’s plan, you could invite them to create an illustration to explain the plan and the Savior’s role in it. Students could use their illustrations to practice explaining to a classmate what they know about the plan. The following is a sample illustration.

Plan of salvation

The plan of salvation in three parts

One way to understand the plan of salvation is to divide it into three parts: premortal, mortal, and postmortal. Consider sharing the video “The Plan of Salvation” (10:39) and inviting students to look for how the plan can be compared to a three-act play and how viewing it in this way can help them better understand it. Places to stop in the video and discuss include the following time codes:

• 1:42: How could understanding Heavenly Father’s plan help in these situations?

• 2:59: Why do you think this would be confusing? How does knowing what happened at the beginning help?

• 4:56: What script do we have to help us? How has it helped you?

• 6:00: Review the three parts of the plan and explain how knowing them helps.