“Genesis 1:26–27: ‘God Created Man in His Own Image,’” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2026)
“Genesis 1:26–27: ‘God Created Man in His Own Image,’” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual
Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5: Lesson 8
Genesis 1:26–27
“God Created Man in His Own Image”
During the sixth period of creation, God created man and woman. Every person on earth is a beloved son or daughter of heavenly parents and has a divine nature and destiny. This lesson can help students feel the importance of their identity and potential as sons and daughters of heavenly parents.
Student preparation: Invite students to memorize or review the opening lines of the Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood themes and to reflect on the significance of each statement:
Possible Learning Activities
Identities and labels
Consider drawing a timeline on the board and invite students to create their own personal timeline in their study journals. A sample timeline is provided below.
Draw a horizontal line representing your life and label it with various identities or titles you have had in the past, currently have, or anticipate having in the future. This could include “friend,” “student,” or a job title or calling you have had. The following is an example:
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What are some identities or titles you chose to put on your timeline? Why?
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In what ways could these identities or titles influence choices you make?
President Russell M. Nelson explained how the ways we label ourselves can affect us.
Labels can be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things. Many labels will change for you with the passage of time. And not all labels are of equal value. But if any label replaces your most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating. (“Choices for Eternity” [worldwide devotional for young adults, May 15, 2022], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
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How do you think some labels could be spiritually suffocating?
Children of heavenly parents
Read Genesis 1:26–27 and the following statement from “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” looking for insights about your eternal identity.
Genesis 1:26–27 is a doctrinal mastery passage. Consider inviting students to mark doctrinal mastery passages in a distinctive way so they can locate them easily.
All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose. (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
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What insights did you gain about your eternal identity?
One truth students may have identified is that we are sons and daughters of heavenly parents, created in their image. If they have not already done so, invite students to write “Child of God” across their timeline.
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What do you think it means to be created in God’s image?
President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) shared the following insight about being created in God’s image.
God our Father has ears with which to hear our prayers. He has eyes with which to see our actions. He has a mouth with which to speak to us. He has a heart with which to feel compassion and love. He is real. He is living. We are his children, made in his image. We look like him, and he looks like us. (“I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” Ensign, Apr. 1990, 6)
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Why do you think it would be important to place your identity as a child of God above any other identity you have?
Give students time to ponder how important their identity as children of God currently is to them. Doing so can invite the Holy Ghost to testify of truth or help prepare students’ minds and hearts to be taught.
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What obstacles could make it difficult to believe or remember your identity as a child of God, created in His image?
Consider writing student responses to the previous question on the board. Possible answers could be that some people might not understand why being a child of God matters, they struggle to feel God’s love, or they are distracted by less-important identifiers. If students have questions about gender, follow the Savior’s example as you teach His doctrine in a way that brings understanding, hope, and healing. Testify that God loves all His children and will help students navigate their questions as they apply the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge.
For an idea on how to help students with questions about gender, see the Supplemental Learning Activities.
Words of scriptures and prophets
Provide students with the handout titled “I Am a Child of God.” Invite students to seek inspiration from God as they study to help them recognize the significance of their divine identity. In addition to the handout, you could invite students to review the teachings found in the Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood themes. Students could do this individually or in small groups.
When students have finished studying, you could invite them to share what they learned with the class or in small groups. You could also ask questions such as the following:
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What did you find from the resources you studied that was meaningful to you?
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How can knowing your identity as a child of God affect the way you see yourself and others?
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How has the knowledge of your divine identity and potential impacted your life?
If students would benefit from seeing an example of how knowing their eternal identity can affect them, consider watching “Running Toward the Light” (17:34), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 11:00 to 15:19. In this video, Elder Peter M. Johnson of the Seventy shared his experience of learning that he is a child of God and the influence that knowledge has had on his life. After the video, you could invite a few students to share what impressed them from Elder Johnson’s message.
Reflect on your identity
Give students time to reflect on what they have learned about their identity and potential as daughters and sons of heavenly parents. Invite them to record in their study journals any impressions or insights they have received that they would like to remember. Consider concluding by singing “I Am a Child of God” as a class, then sharing your testimony about being a child of God.
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 for Genesis 1:26–27 is “God created man in his own image.” Ideas for memorization activities are in the appendix materials under “Doctrinal Mastery Review Activities.”