Lesson 16 Teacher Material: Embracing the Savior’s Great Atoning Sacrifice
“Lesson 16 Teacher Material: Embracing the Savior’s Great Atoning Sacrifice,” Jesus Christ and His Everlasting Gospel Teacher Material (2023)
“Lesson 16 Teacher Material,” Jesus Christ and His Everlasting Gospel Teacher Material
Lesson 16 Teacher Material
Embracing the Savior’s Great Atoning Sacrifice
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is central to Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. During this lesson, students can deepen their appreciation for the price Jesus Christ paid “to atone for the sins of all mankind” (“The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org). They will be invited to consider what they can do to make repentance a more Christ-centered and joyful part of their lives.
Suggestions for Teaching
Because of the Fall, we need the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Improving Our Teaching and Learning
Cultivate an environment conducive to spiritual learning. President Boyd K. Packer taught that “inspiration comes more easily in peaceful settings” (“Reverence Invites Revelation,” Ensign, Nov. 1991, 21). Is your learning environment orderly, clean, and comfortable? What things may be distracting students from the learning process, and how could you minimize them? Do students feel welcome when they arrive? How could sacred music or gospel-related pictures help prepare students for learning?
You could begin class by sharing the following scenario:
Logan appreciates the Atonement of Jesus Christ, but he does not always feel an immediate need for the Savior in his life. He believes that since he is a good person, generally keeps the commandments, serves in the Church, and is not guilty of any major sins, the Lord’s Atonement is not very relevant to his situation.
How would you describe Logan’s view of the Lord’s Atonement? What incorrect assumptions might Logan hold regarding the Savior’s Atonement?
How could studying the Fall influence how Logan feels about Jesus’s Atonement?
Consider displaying the following statement by President Ezra Taft Benson:
Image
President Ezra Taft Benson
No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon all mankind. (A Witness and a Warning: A Modern-Day Prophet Testifies of the Book of Mormon [1988], 33)
Invite students to list on their own or with a partner some effects of the Fall of Adam and Eve. (Students could refer to section 1 of the preparation material for help.) You could then invite them to share what they found with the class. After students share, consider helping them deepen their understanding by asking one or more of the following questions:
Why do all people, including “good” and “obedient” people like Logan, have an immediate and ever-present need for the Lord’s Atonement? (If helpful, read 2 Nephi 9:7–9. Students may identify a principle similar to the following: Only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ can we overcome the conditions of physical and spiritual death.)
What is the meaning of physical and spiritual death? (If necessary, review the statement by Elder D. Todd Christofferson in section 1 of the preparation material.) Why do you think Jacob described physical and spiritual death as an “awful monster”? (2 Nephi 9:10).
What feelings do you have for the Savior, knowing He is the only way you can overcome physical and spiritual death? (see Mosiah 3:17).
Jesus Christ suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross so we can repent and be redeemed.
Remind students that in preparation for class, they were invited to read Mark 14:33–37, Luke 22:43–44, and Doctrine and Covenants 19:18 and record their thoughts and feelings. Provide students time to review these passages. Then have them form small groups and provide them the following handout.
Jesus Christ Suffered to Save Us
Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel Teacher Material—Lesson 16
Read through the following questions and focus on those your group would most like to discuss.
What thoughts and feelings do you have for the Savior as you contemplate His suffering on your behalf? What does His willingness to suffer teach us about Him? (Consider reading 1 Nephi 19:9.)
Why did Heavenly Father withdraw His Spirit as the Savior suffered on the cross? (Consider reviewing Mark 15:34 and the statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in section 2 of the preparation material.) How can it help us to remember the Lord’s experience on the cross when we feel alone, forgotten, or forsaken?
How can a testimony of the Lord’s Atonement help us when we doubt our individual worth? (You could review Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–11.) How can focusing on Jesus Christ and His Atonement influence how we view our potential and future?
What message do we send to ourselves and the Savior when we choose to repent? Why might the Lord feel joy when we repent? (see Doctrine and Covenants 18:13).
If someone feels unsure about the reality of the Lord’s Atonement, what could she or he do to gain a testimony of it?
Depending on the needs of your students, you could invite them to share what impressed them during their discussions. Or you could focus on the doctrine of repentance by displaying the two following statements. Invite students to consider which one they most often relate to as they see their own need for repentance.
Repentance feels like a punishment to be avoided.
Repentance feels like a sacred gift to be joyfully embraced.
To help students reflect on their attitude toward repentance, consider reading aloud the statement by President Russell M. Nelson in section 3 of the preparation material. You might then help students identify this truth: “When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ” (“We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 67). Then ask:
In what ways do faith and repentance open our access to the Savior’s power?
What could we do to see repentance as a sacred gift and more joyfully embrace it?
After students respond, you could give them time to write something they will do to make repentance a more joyful and meaningful part of their life.
As time permits, you could invite some students to share how repentance has helped them access the cleansing power of the Savior. Remind students not to reveal past sins as they share.
For Next Time
To encourage student preparation for lesson 17, consider sending students the following message and image: As you study the preparation material for lesson 17, ponder the significance of the Savior’s empty tomb.
