“Abraham 3: The Premortal Life,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2026)
“Abraham 3: The Premortal Life,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual
Moses 1; Abraham 3: Lesson 3
Abraham 3
The Premortal Life
In a vision, Jehovah showed Abraham His works and creations. He also showed Abraham the premortal existence, including the noble and great spirits chosen to be leaders in mortality. This lesson can help students understand how a knowledge of the premortal life in Heavenly Father’s plan can help them in their lives.
Student preparation: Invite students to ask a friend or family member what they know about the premortal life and how knowing about the premortal life could help them.
Possible Learning Activities
How old are you?
Invite several students to share how old they are.
Point out that the age they shared is how long they have been in their physical body during their lifetime. Our spirits have existed far longer than our physical bodies. Before birth, we lived with Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ. We call this our premortal life.
Ask students to write their answers to the following questions in their study journals.
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What are some of the things you know about the premortal life?
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How can knowledge about the premortal life help you now?
Encourage students to add to their answers as they continue this lesson. Encourage them to seek help from the Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost to learn how knowledge about the premortal life can help them.
What we learn from Abraham
To help students to know where the Book of Abraham came from, you could invite them to share what they know, or share some of the following in your own words.
Abraham recorded an experience that can help us understand more about the premortal life. Abraham was born about 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. He recorded a few details of his life along with visions he received from God that can be found in the book of Abraham. This record originated from scrolls of papyrus discovered in Egypt and purchased by members of the Church. This record was then revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith by the gift and power of God.
Read Abraham 3:11–12, 21 to see what the Lord taught Abraham.
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What stood out to you from these verses?
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What truths did you learn about the Lord?
As students share, invite them to point out phrases or verses where their insights come from so other students can mark them if they would like.
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How might understanding these truths about Jesus Christ influence you now?
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How have you witnessed or experienced these truths about the Savior in your life?
Our premortal life
After learning of the premortal greatness of Jesus Christ (see Abraham 3:16–21), Abraham also learned about our premortal existence. Before reading what the Lord showed Abraham, imagine what it would be like if you were able to view your premortal life with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Ponder how it might affect you.
Allow sufficient time for students to imagine the effect of observing themselves in their premortal state with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Abraham 3:22–23 is a doctrinal mastery passage. Consider inviting students to mark doctrinal mastery passages in a distinctive way so they can locate them easily.
Read Abraham 3:22–23, looking for what Abraham learned in his vision about premortal life. It may be helpful to know that “intelligences” in these verses refer to premortal spirits.
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What truths do you think Abraham may have learned or understood better because of this experience?
Write the various truths students share on the board. If students do not mention it, add the following: God chose His noble and great spirit children to become rulers before they were born. This is often referred to as foreordination.
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How do you think the world’s definition of “noble and great” would be different than the Lord’s?
Are we part of the noble and great ones?
In a worldwide devotional, President Russell M. Nelson spoke of one way the truth taught in Abraham 3 applies to you.
Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those finest players, those heroes—are you! … You are among the best the Lord has ever sent to this world. You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation! (“Hope of Israel” [worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018], 8, 16)
Consider inviting students to mark their scriptures in a way that will help them remember what President Nelson taught. After verse 22 they might write the phrase “including me,” or they could write their name above Abraham’s name in verse 23, or they could perhaps link Abraham 3:22–23 with President Nelson’s statement above in Gospel Library.
If useful, give students some time to learn more about the premortal life. They could study “premortal life” in Guide to the Scriptures or the Topical Guide. Or students could make a scripture chain, linking verses about the premortal life like Jeremiah 1:4–5; Alma 13:3–4; and Doctrine and Covenants 138:55–56. Ask students to share what they found and why it is meaningful to them.
Do the following in small groups and then present some of their thoughts to the class.
Imagine that someone in your class is unsure how Abraham 3:22–23 applies to them.
Prepare the following:
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A summary of what Abraham 3:22–23 and President Nelson taught.
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Ideas for how you or other youth could affect others for good or bring them closer to Jesus Christ.
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How you feel your understanding of the premortal life can help you in your life.
As students share, look for appropriate ways to emphasize that Heavenly Father sent them here at this time to help others come closer to Him. Also, offer sincere compliments and praise to students for their willingness to participate. Doing this helps students know you value their contribution. Your efforts can help increase their motivation to share their thoughts with the class again.
For additional training, see “Create an environment where all are respected and know their contributions are valued” in Teacher Development Skills.
Consider sharing your testimony of the truths in this lesson.
Memorize
You may want to help students memorize the doctrinal mastery reference and key scripture phrase during this lesson and review them in future lessons. The key scripture phrase is “As spirits we ‘were organized before the world was.’” Ideas for memorization activities are in the appendix materials under “Doctrinal Mastery Review Activities.”