“Plan of Salvation Overview,” New Testament Teacher Resource Manual (2002), 13–16
“Plan of Salvation Overview,” New Testament Teacher Resource Manual, 13–16
Plan of Salvation Overview
Introduction
In 1993 Elder Boyd K. Packer told teachers in the Church Educational System that, along with a brief overview of the subject to be studied, they should give an overview of the plan of salvation at the beginning of every school year. The following teaching suggestions refer frequently to Elder Packer’s talk, parts of which are included, with other helps, in the appendix. Please refer to it as you prepare to teach the plan of salvation to your students. (See “The Great Plan of Happiness,” pp. 279–82.)
Prayerfully study “The Great Plan of Happiness” and consider the following principles before preparing your lessons.
Some Important Gospel Principles to Look For
Heavenly Father is a glorified, perfected, celestial Father who possesses a fulness of joy (see Mosiah 4:9; 3 Nephi 28:10).
We lived with Heavenly Father before we came to earth. We are His spirit children and He wants us to have the same joy that He has by becoming like Him (see Jeremiah 1:5; Hebrews 12:9).
In order to become like God, we must have a resurrected, glorified physical body and we must grow to possess the qualities of godhood (see Alma 11:43–44; 3 Nephi 27:27; D&C 130:22).
Our mortal life on earth is designed to help us gain godly attributes. It provides us with the opportunity to gain a physical body and learn the lessons of godhood by having the freedom to choose to follow the counsel of God or the enticements of Satan (see Genesis 2:16–17; 2 Nephi 2:25–27; Alma 34:32–34).
The Creation of the earth and the Fall of Adam brought about the necessary conditions of mortality, including spiritual and physical death and a world where there is toil, pain, and sorrow (see Genesis 2:17; 3:6–7; 2 Nephi 2:15–25).
In every dispensation, Jesus Christ has sent prophets to teach His gospel to God’s children on earth. The Church of Jesus Christ has been established in these latter days to invite all to come unto Christ and partake of His plan of happiness (see Amos 3:7; Alma 12:32–34; D&C 1:1–14).
Additional Resources
“The Great Plan of Happiness,” 279–82 in this manual.
Suggestions for Teaching
Choose from the following ideas, or use some of your own, as you prepare to teach a plan of salvation overview.
Note: The four teaching suggestions for the plan of salvation overview will be the same for each of the four scripture courses. It is recommended that you choose a different one each year.
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Plan of Salvation Overview: Suggestion 1.
(90–120 minutes)
Help the students visualize the plan of salvation (the plan of happiness) by stretching a string from one wall of your classroom to the other. Hang a paper clip over the string so that it can easily slide along the string. Prepare two identical figures, one of clear plastic and another of white paper, that can be attached to the paper clip.
Tell students that the string represents the line of our lives and that one end of the string represents our past and the other our future. The clear plastic figure represents our spirit body, and the white paper figure represents our physical body. Move the paper clip along the string and add the figures to it as you discuss our progression from premortal past to postmortal future. When you discuss death, separate the paper clip and clear plastic figure from the white paper one. Ask questions such as those listed in the following sections as you teach the plan of happiness, and use the information in the appendix as needed. It is usually preferable to let the students discover as many of the answers as they can by letting them search the suggested scripture references.
Premortal life
Where does the life line begin and end? (see D&C 93:29; Abraham 3:18; “Spiritual Creation,” p. 280). Explain that the line of our lives actually extends beyond the walls of the room and continues forever in both directions. Our lives did not have a beginning, and they will have no end.
What do you know about your Father in Heaven and your life with Him before you were born on earth? (see “Premortal Existence,” p. 279).
What does it mean to be a spirit child of God? (see “Premortal Existence,” p. 279; “Spiritual Creation,” p. 280). Hang the plastic figure on the paper clip to illustrate this step.
Why do you think the Lord prizes the freedom to choose (agency) so much that He would even allow Lucifer and his followers to rebel and start a war in heaven? (see “Agency,” p. 280).
Mortal life
Since Satan will eventually be cast into outer darkness, why did God allow him and his followers to come to earth and tempt us? (see D&C 29:39).
What were the consequences of the transgression of Adam and Eve? Why was the Fall of Adam and Eve necessary? (see 2 Nephi 2:19–25; “The Fall and Mortality,” p. 280).
Why did Jehovah (Jesus Christ) need to come to earth and take upon Himself a mortal body? (see “The Atonement,” p. 281).
Since we face so much temptation in the world today, what can we do in cooperation with the Lord to change our natures and resist evil? (see 1 Nephi 2:16; Mosiah 3:19; 4:1–3; 5:1–2; Ether 12:27).
Postmortal life
What is the difference between physical death and spiritual death? How are we rescued from each one? What is our part in overcoming spiritual death? (see 2 Nephi 9:6–23; Alma 40:11–14; D&C 29:40–44; “The Mission of the Church and the Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel,” “The Atonement,” p. 281; “The Spirit World,” p. 282).
What possibilities are available to those who don’t hear about the gospel in this life? (see D&C 138:1–37; “Judgment,” p. 282).
What will we be like when we are resurrected? (see Alma 11:42–45; “Judgment,” “Resurrection,” p. 282).
What is our ultimate destiny and what can we become if we follow the “great plan of happiness”? (see D&C 76:50–70).
Why couldn’t our Father in Heaven bestow godhood upon us without our having to go through this mortal experience? (see Alma 34:32–34).
Consider leaving the string up for a time and referring to it as needed to help students see how what they are learning fits into the plan.
Ask students how a knowledge of the plan helps them understand why the Lord commands certain things and forbids others. Choose a commandment that some young people in your area seem to struggle with (perhaps honesty, morality, or Sabbath observance) and ask students why keeping that commandment makes sense when you understand the plan of happiness.
Share your testimony of the beauty of the plan and the importance of remembering why we are here and what the Lord has done to help us return to Him.
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Plan of Salvation Overview: Suggestion 2.
(90–100 minutes)
A diagram, such as the one below, can be used to teach the plan of salvation. This method is good for teaching the plan visually but does not teach the chronology as well as suggestion 1.
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New Testament teacher resource manual
Premortal Existence
The Veil
Mortality
Physical Death
The Grave
Spirit World
Resurrection
Final Judement
Celestial Kingdom
Terrestrial Kingdom
Telestial Kingdom
Outer Darkness
Paradise
Spirit Prison
Ask questions such as those listed in suggestion 1 as you draw the diagram on the board (or you could use a handout) and discuss the elements of the plan of salvation. Draw arrows to help indicate our progression through the stages of our existence, according to the plan. Where possible, let the students discover the answers to the questions by searching the suggested scripture references. Consider displaying the chart in the classroom so that you can refer to it throughout the year.
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Plan of Salvation Overview: Suggestion 3.
(60–70 minutes)
A simple yet effective way to review the plan of salvation that emphasizes the importance of mortality is to use an illustration of a bridge. Draw the accompanying diagram on the board or on a poster. Leave the labels off at first and write them in as your students discover the elements of the plan as you study the scriptures together.
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New Testament teacher resource manual
Faith
Repentance
Baptism
Gift of the Holy Ghost
All Mankind
Eternal Life
The First Principles and Ordinances
The Creation
The Fall
The Atonement of Jesus Christ
Be with God
Be like God
Spirit
Eternal
Family
Divine
Nature
Show students the bridge and ask: What purpose does a bridge serve that a road alone cannot? (It helps you cross a canyon or gap.) Read Abraham 3:22with your students and help them understand where we were before we came to earth. Then read Moses 1:39to help them understand what Heavenly Father is seeking to bring to pass, where He wants to take us. (Immortality means to live forever as resurrected beings; eternal life means to be with God and to be like Him; see “Premortal Existence,” p. 279; “Spiritual Creation,” “Agency,” p. 280.) Write All Mankind at the lower end of the bridge and Eternal Life, with its definition, at the other end.
Ask the following questions:
Why were we encouraged to leave the premortal world and come to this earth?
What “gap” or “canyon” (what differences) existed between Heavenly Father and ourselves when we lived with Him as His spirit children?
Tell students that the pillars supporting the bridge represent what Heavenly Father has brought about to help us become like Him, and the span on top of the pillars represents what we are to do. Have your students read Abraham 3:24–27to find what Heavenly Father did for us; then discuss why that was necessary (see “Agency,” “The Grand Council and the War in Heaven,” “Physical Creation,” p. 280). Write The Creation on the first pillar.
Ask students:
What do you think the second pillar represents?
After the physical creation of the earth, what part did Adam and Eve fulfill to prepare the way for us to become more like Heavenly Father? (see 2 Nephi 2:22–25; “The Fall and Mortality,” p. 280).
Write The Fall on the second pillar and discuss briefly how the Fall brought opposition, sin, and death into the world.
Ask students: What would happen to us physically and spiritually if everything remained in a fallen condition? Read 2 Nephi 9:6–10 and discuss what God did to help us overcome the effects of the Fall (see “The Atonement,” p. 281). Ask students what the third pillar represents and label it The Atonement of Jesus Christ. Ask:
Why can Jesus Christ promise to redeem us from our sins?
On what conditions can we be forgiven of our sins and bring about the plan of redemption in our lives? (see Alma 42:9–15).
Have students read Helaman 14:15–17looking for the blessings of the Atonement that are given to all mankind regardless of how they live. (The Resurrection and being brought back into God’s presence for judgment.) There are other blessings that are given only to those who earnestly seek them and live by His gospel. Have students read Articles of Faith 1:3–4and list the first things God requires us to do to be forgiven of our own sins and to be perfected (see also “The Mission of the Church and the Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel,” p. 281).
Finish labeling the bridge as in the diagram and ask students how understanding the plan of salvation helps them understand why we are commanded to do some things and forbidden to do others. Choose commandments that some young people in your area might be struggling with and discuss what the plan teaches us about why God has given us those commandments.
Read to your students Elder Boyd K. Packer’s statement in “Judgment” (p. 282) and share your testimony of the “great plan of happiness” that Heavenly Father has prepared for His children.
Prepare the accompanying diagram as a handout for each student or as an overhead transparency. Review with students that we once lived in the presence of God (see “Premortal Existence,” p. 279) and the circumstances that brought us to our fallen condition (see “The Fall and Mortality,” p. 280).
Ask students:
Where does the strait and narrow path lead?
What has our Heavenly Father given to help us stay faithfully on the path?
Invite a student to read the following statement by Elder Orson F. Whitney, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, to help them understand the seriousness of our fallen condition and the only way we can be freed from it:
“When Adam fell, it was as if the human race had fallen into a pit, from which they were powerless, by any act of their own, to emerge; having no means whereby to climb up and out, and not even knowing how to climb. But a Friend, all-wise and all-powerful, comes to the mouth of the pit … and proposes to rescue them from their unhappy situation. He makes of his own life a ladder; lets it down into the pit and says: ‘Now climb!’ They who climb, get out of the pit. They who refuse to climb, remain in the pit—and who is to blame but themselves?” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1927, 149).
Have students, individually or in groups, study the following questions to help them discover how the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the principles and ordinances of the gospel provide the way for us to overcome our fallen condition:
What are some of the ways the gift of the Holy Ghost helps us overcome our fallen condition and press forward on the path? (see John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13; 3 Nephi 27:20; D&C 45:56–57).
In addition to the covenant of baptism, what other ordinances and covenants has Heavenly Father given to help us rise above our fallen condition? (see D&C 84:33–40; 131:1–4).
What will we be like when we return to live with Heavenly Father if we have been faithful in making and keeping our sacred covenants? (see 1 John 3:1–4; Moroni 7:48).
How does a knowledge of the plan of salvation help us understand why we are commanded to pray? to be baptized? to be honest? to be morally clean?
How does a knowledge of the plan of salvation help us understand why we are commanded to be free from addictive substances? to pay tithing? to serve a mission? to attend the temple?
When students have completed the exercise, invite them to share what they learned with the class. Share your testimony of what the plan of salvation means to you. Encourage students to ponder often about the plan of salvation and determine how an understanding of it can help them live the gospel in their daily lives. Conclude by reading the following statement by President Hugh B. Brown, who was a member of the First Presidency:
“The leaders of the Church have, from the beginning, taught faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we acknowledge him as our Savior and Redeemer. It is our duty to teach this to our children … and, because they are children of God, [to] teach them to be loyal to the royal spirit that is in them” (in Conference Report, Sept.–Oct. 1966, 104).