“March 13–19. Moses 1; Abraham 3: ‘This Is My Work and My Glory’” Come, Follow Me: Living, Learning, and Teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for Sunday School (2017)
“March 13–19. Moses 1; Abraham 3,” Come, Follow Me for Sunday School
March 13–19
Moses 1; Abraham 3
“This Is My Work and My Glory”
Read and ponder Moses 1 and Abraham 3. This will prepare you to teach by helping you learn the principles in these chapters and inviting the Spirit into your preparation. Come, Follow Me for individuals and families and the ideas below can help you understand and teach class members the truths God revealed to Moses and Abraham.
Improving Our Teaching
How can I help learners discover truths in the scriptures? Before a passage is read in class, invite learners to think about or look for something specific. For instance, you could say, “As we read this scripture passage, look for thoughts or insights that you could share with a family member or friend.” (See Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 21.)
Invite Sharing
One of your objectives as a teacher is to encourage class members to learn from the scriptures on their own and with their families. This week you might try inviting a few class members to come prepared to share a verse from this week’s reading that inspired them. As each verse is shared, ask if any other members have marked that verse in their scriptures and why they marked it.
Teach the Doctrine
Moses 1:1–10, 37–39; Abraham 3:21–26
As Heavenly Father’s spirit children, we have a divine destiny.
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The prophets Moses and Abraham both received visions in which they were taught about the purpose of life and the divine identity and potential of God’s children. Understanding these truths can have a powerful influence on our choices and our ability to overcome life’s challenges. How can you help members of your class discover these truths in Moses 1 and Abraham 3? One idea is to divide the class into groups and assign each group one of the following passages: Moses 1:1–10; Moses 1:37–39; Abraham 3:21–26. Ask each group to look for answers to the questions “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” and “Who can I become?” Invite them to share their answers. Then discuss how these answers influence our daily actions.
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To help class members understand their divine destiny, ask them to ponder the characteristics of our Father in Heaven and share their thoughts; then write the characteristics on the board. What insights do class members gain as they ponder these things while studying Moses 1:1–10, 37–39? The story shared by President Boyd K. Packer in “Additional Resources for Moses 1; Abraham 3” could contribute to this discussion.
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Can your class find other scriptures that teach that we are children of God? You might help them create a list of references that support Moses 1:4 (for examples, see Guide to the Scriptures, “Man, Men,” scriptures.lds.org; see also the scripture chains in “Additional Resources for Moses 1; Abraham 3.”)
In mortality, we are being tested to see if we will do all that God commands.
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How can you help class members see their lives as a test—an opportunity to prove their faithfulness to God’s commands? You might start by asking them to talk about tests they have taken in school (or, if you have schoolteachers in your class, tests they have given). After pondering Abraham 3:24–26, the class could compare tests at school or other tests to the test of our mortal life. How does knowing that we are here to prove ourselves obedient affect the way we respond to life’s challenges?
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What else do we learn about the premortal life from Abraham 3:22–28?
We can resist Satan’s influence.
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Moses’s confrontation with Satan, found in Moses 1:12–26, holds lessons that could help your class members as they face temptation or deception from the adversary. What do we learn from Moses’s response? (For example, Moses commanded Satan to depart in the name of the Only Begotten.) How can we follow Moses’s example when we are tempted to do things that are not in harmony with God’s commandments?
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One lesson from Moses’s experience is that Satan tempts us with counterfeits of God’s truth and power. To help class members visualize this, you could bring to class some objects that represent counterfeits of other things, such as a fake plant. How can we tell that these are counterfeits? What are some of Satan’s counterfeits today? How can we recognize and reject these counterfeits? (To learn how Moses did this, see Moses 1:12–18.)
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Moses’s experience also teaches that Satan tempts us to doubt spiritual experiences we have had in the past. The video “I Am a Son of God” (LDS.org) can help class members discuss how we can overcome such temptations; see also the statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in “Additional Resources for Moses 1; Abraham 3.” What experiences could you or class members share to help each other detect and resist Satan’s efforts to make us doubt our past spiritual experiences?
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Encourage Learning at Home
To encourage class members to read Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; and Abraham 4–5, you might explain that the scriptural account of the Creation has great value today when many people believe that the origins of the earth and mankind were purposeless and random.
Scripture chains
Suggest to class members that they write the following references in the margins of their scriptures. For example, in the margin next to Malachi 2:10, they could write Romans 8:16–18; in the margin next to Romans 8:16–18, they could write Moses 1:13; and so on. This makes a “chain” of references that build on each other to teach the doctrine that we are children of God.
We are children of God.
As God’s children, we can become like Him.
Don’t doubt your spiritual experiences.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught: “Moses’ message [see Moses 1] to you today is: Don’t let your guard down. Don’t assume that a great revelation, some marvelous, illuminating moment, the opening of an inspired path, is the end of it. … Once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence’ [Hebrews 10:35]. Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you” (“Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence,” Ensign, Mar. 2000, 7, 9).
We have divine parentage.
President Boyd K. Packer taught: “Some years ago I returned home to find our little children were waiting in the driveway. They had discovered some newly hatched chicks. … As our little girl held one of them, I said in a teasing way, ‘That will make a nice watchdog when it grows up, won’t it?’ … She wrinkled up her nose and gave me that ‘Oh, Dad!’ look. For even a four-year-old knows that a chick will not be a dog, nor a horse, nor even a turkey. It will be a chicken. It will follow the pattern of its parentage. … We may now be young in our progression—juvenile, even infantile, compared with [God]. Nevertheless, in the eternities to come, if we are worthy, we may be like unto Him” (“The Pattern of Our Parentage,” Ensign, Nov. 1984, 67–68).