Genesis 5; Moses 6: Lesson 14

Moses 6:47–68

“This Is the Plan of Salvation”

Jesus Christ is at the center of our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. He invites all to come unto Him by living His doctrine. This lesson can help students understand how to come unto Jesus Christ and receive blessings only He and His Father can offer.

Student preparation: Invite students to ask a family member or friend why Jesus Christ is significant to them and what it means to them to come unto Him.

Possible Learning Activities

Come unto Christ

Consider displaying a picture of Jesus Christ, such as the one found at the beginning of the lesson. Then share the following scenario.

Imagine you have a friend who is unfamiliar with Jesus Christ. Your friend asks you who Jesus Christ is and why He matters to you.

Give students time to think about how they might respond. Then invite them to share their thoughts in small groups or with the class.

• If you only had a small amount of time to respond, what would you want your friend to know about Jesus Christ? Why?

Remind students of Enoch’s call to preach repentance to a wicked group of people (see Moses 6:27–29). Explain that today’s lesson will focus on his teachings to those people. Enoch’s message centered on our need for Jesus Christ and how we can come unto Him.

To help students reflect on their need for the Savior, consider displaying the following instructions and giving students time to silently evaluate themselves on each statement.

Using a scale of 1 (not true of me) to 5 (true of me), evaluate yourself using the following statements:

1. I know why I need a Savior.

2. I understand how I can come unto Jesus Christ.

3. I currently want to come to and follow Jesus Christ.

Regardless of how you evaluated yourself, the Savior wants you to come unto Him and receive the blessings that only He can offer you. As you study the words of the prophet Enoch today, pay attention to impressions from the Spirit to better understand why you need the Savior and how you can come unto Him.

Enoch teaches his people

To help students learn from Enoch’s teachings in Moses 6, consider copying the following chart onto the board. Students could also copy the chart into their study journals. Ask the students to study the verses. Assign half of the class to look for why we need a Savior. The other half could look for how we come unto Christ. As students study, you may want to walk around and ask students if there are words or phrases they need help understanding. The following may help students understand verse 59:

• We become born of the Spirit by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost (see Topics and Questions, “Gospel Study Guide: “Gift of the Holy Ghost,” Gospel Library).

• To be sanctified means to become “free from sin, pure, clean, and holy through the Atonement of Jesus Christ” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Sanctification,” Gospel Library).

Enoch’s teachings about coming unto Christ: Moses 6:48–52, 57–59

I need a Savior because …	I can come unto Christ by …

After students have completed their half of the chart, give them a chance to discuss their findings. They could do this by filling out the chart on the board as a class or by sharing what they learned with a partner.

• What did you learn from these verses about why we need a Savior?

  Students who focused on why we need a Savior may share truths like we can receive the blessings of salvation only through Jesus Christ (verse 52); all people everywhere need to repent (verses 49–50, 57); no unclean thing can dwell in the kingdom of God (verse 57). You could invite students to write the truths they found in the chart on the board.

• What did these verses teach you about specific actions you can take that will help you come to Jesus Christ?

  Students who focused on how we can come unto Christ could write what they found on the board. Their responses could be summarized into a truth like we come unto Christ as we listen to the Savior’s voice, believe in Him, repent of our sins, are baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

  It may be helpful to explain that the scriptures sometimes refer to this process as the “doctrine of Christ” (2 Nephi 31:2–21), the Savior’s doctrine (see 3 Nephi 11:31–40), or the Savior’s gospel (see 3 Nephi 27:13–22). Consider inviting students to read Moses 6:62 to see another term Heavenly Father used to describe this process. You could invite students to share what they are noticing about the role of Jesus Christ in Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.

• What would you say to someone who wonders whether it is worth the effort it takes to come unto Christ?

As part of your discussion of the previous question, it may be helpful for students to study some or all of the following verses, looking for blessings we can receive as we come unto Jesus Christ: Matthew 11:28–30; 2 Nephi 31:21; 3 Nephi 19:13–14; Ether 12:27; Moroni 10:32–33. You might also consider inviting students to share blessings they have experienced as they have made efforts to come unto Jesus Christ.

Demonstrate understanding

Invite students to refer to the scenario with their friend from the beginning of the lesson. To practice explaining what they have learned, students could share their responses to the following questions in small groups.

Based on what you have learned and felt today, explain the following to your friend in a way that would be easy for them to understand:

• Why do we need Jesus Christ?

• What can we do to come unto Him?

Consider concluding the lesson by inviting students to record thoughts or spiritual impressions they have had in their study journals. You could share what you have learned about the need for Jesus Christ and testify how coming unto Him has blessed your life.

Additional Resources

How significant is the Savior’s invitation to come unto Him?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught:

The words “come unto Christ” are an invitation. It is the most important invitation you could ever offer to another person. It is the most important invitation anyone could accept. (“Come unto Christ,” Ensign, Mar. 2008, 49)

How does the doctrine of Jesus Christ help us come unto Him?

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:

“We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (Articles of Faith 1:3). Each person can come unto Jesus Christ fully only by receiving the restored gospel. We “receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end” [Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2004), 1].

This is the unified message of the Father and the Son. They want all Heavenly Father’s children to follow the doctrine of Christ. (“The Beautiful Gift of the Sacrament,” Liahona, Aug. 2018, 20)

How can the doctrine of Christ help me?

President Russell M. Nelson shared:

The pure doctrine of Christ is powerful. It changes the life of everyone who understands it and seeks to implement it in his or her life. The doctrine of Christ helps us find and stay on the covenant path. Staying on that narrow but well-defined path will ultimately qualify us to receive all that God has. Nothing could be worth more than all our Father has! (“Pure Truth, Pure Doctrine, and Pure Revelation,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 6)

Supplemental Learning Activities

A deeper understanding of the Savior’s doctrine

Students could deepen their understanding of the doctrine of Christ by selecting one aspect of the doctrine to study further. They could study the appropriate section on pages 6–9 of Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ (2023). While studying, they could respond to the following questions:

• What does this aspect of the doctrine of Christ mean to you?

• How can it help you come unto Christ?

• How can it help you become like Heavenly Father?

You could then show one or both of the following video clips from “Trusting the Doctrine of Christ,” available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Elder Evan A. Schmutz of the Seventy shared how trusting the doctrine of Christ can change the way we live our lives (time code 3:41 to 5:33). He then explained how married couple Travis and Kacie put their trust in Jesus Christ despite the challenges they face (time code 6:02 to 8:26).

Moses 6:59. Physical birth and spiritual rebirth

Students could learn about the process of spiritual rebirth by comparing it to physical birth.

Invite students to read Moses 6:59 and to identify the three elements (water, Spirit, blood) that are essential to both physical and spiritual birth.

Invite a student to read Moses 6:60, and ask:

• What role do each of these elements play in the process of being born again?

To help students answer this question, you could read the following statement from Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

In every mortal birth the child is immersed in water in the mother’s womb. At the appointed time the spirit enters the body, and blood always flows in the veins of the new person. Otherwise, without each of these, there is no life, no birth, no mortality.

In every birth into the kingdom of heaven, the newborn babe in Christ is immersed in water, he receives the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and the blood of Christ cleanses him from all sin. Otherwise, without each of these, there is no Spirit-birth, no newness of life, no hope of eternal life. (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], 288)

Moses 6:63. “All things bear record of me”

To help students see how all things bear record of Jesus Christ, you could have them read Moses 6:63. You could then ask students to share what bears record of Jesus Christ in their life.

Note: If you used Moses 6:63 extensively in Lesson 7: “Genesis 1:1–25” to learn more about Jesus as the Creator, you may choose not to use it here.

Video

As students prepare to discuss why it is worth it to come unto Jesus Christ, you could invite them to watch “Come unto Christ: 2014 Theme Song” (4:48).