Genesis 6–11; Moses 8: Lesson 21

Assess Your Learning 1

Moses 1–Genesis 11

Reflecting on and assessing our spiritual learning can help us draw closer to the Savior. This lesson can help students reflect on the goals they have set and the growth they have experienced during their study of Moses 1 through Genesis 11.

Student preparation: Invite students to come ready to share what they have learned or ways they have grown spiritually since beginning this year’s study of the Old Testament and Pearl of Great Price. You might suggest that they review their study journals or notes in their scriptures to help them notice their growth and learning.

Possible Learning Activities

Your class’s study of Moses 1 through Genesis 11 may have focused on different outcomes than those assessed in this lesson. If so, adapt the activities to assess the growth students experienced from the outcomes they focused on.

In this lesson, students will have the opportunity to assess their progress in:

1. Deepening their conversion to Jesus Christ and becoming His disciple.

2. Studying the scriptures daily.

3. Explaining the effects of the Fall and role of Jesus Christ as our Redeemer. (Note: This activity is based on teachings from Lesson 11: “Moses 4:5–32; 5:1–15, Part 1” and Lesson 12: “Moses 4:5–32; 5:1–15, Part 2.”)

4. Increasing their desire to fulfill their divine identity and purpose. (Note: This activity is based on Lesson 3: “Abraham 3,” Lesson 4: “Moses 1:1–11,” Lesson 5: “Moses 1:12–26,” and Lesson 8: “Genesis 1:26–27.”)

Deepening conversion to Jesus Christ and becoming His disciple

To help students understand that spiritual growth takes time, consider displaying the following image of Enoch’s people.

Invite students to read Moses 7:18–21 to remind them of the spiritual progress Enoch’s people made before they were taken up into heaven by the Lord.

• What impresses you from this description of Enoch’s people?

In verse 21, it states that “in process of time, [they were] taken up into heaven.” Read Moses 7:68 to see how long that “process of time” was.

• What can this teach us about spiritual growth as disciples of the Savior?

  Encourage students to celebrate their progress as disciples of Christ, even if it is taking longer than they would like. In time, slow and steady progress will lead to a relationship with the Savior like Enoch’s people eventually developed.

  Invite students to look back on their own spiritual growth and learning over the past couple months. They could try to recognize even seemingly small progress in their knowledge, desires, and actions that have helped them become more committed disciples of Jesus Christ. You might suggest that students look through their study journals or the notes in their scriptures. If it would help your students to notice their progress, you could display or ask questions like the following:

• What have you learned about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that is important to you?

• What are some ways you have come closer to Them?

• What is something you have applied from your scripture study to help you as a disciple of Christ?

After time to ponder, invite volunteers to share progress they notice in themselves.

Studying the scriptures daily

You may want to remind students that reading Moses 1–5; Abraham 1–3; and Genesis 37, 39, 41 is required to receive seminary credit this semester. These chapters were carefully selected because of their doctrinal depth and richness.

Additionally, students are encouraged to create a personal scripture study goal. This goal is not required for credit, but it will help them find strength daily in the word of God. If they have not yet set a goal, encourage them to do so today. They can adjust this goal anytime.

To help support students in accomplishing their required reading and personal study goals, consider giving each student a small slip of paper. They will hand this paper in at the end of class. You could use the information they provide in their papers to appropriately encourage each student in their goals. You might display the following as suggestions for what to include on their papers.

1. Your name.

2. Required chapters you have completed.

If you choose to share your personal study goal with the teacher, also include:

1. What your goal is and how you are doing with it.

2. How your goal is helping you learn the gospel and come to know Jesus Christ better.

You could ask volunteers to share their answers to the final two prompts with the class or have students share in smaller groups. If you do this, make sure that students know that they do not need to share their scripture study goals if they do not want to. Students should never feel pressured to share.

Explaining the effects of the Fall and role of Jesus Christ as our Redeemer

Understanding the effects of the Fall and the role of Jesus Christ as our Redeemer from the Fall is important in understanding Heavenly Father’s plan. Yet these essential truths can be challenging to understand and explain to others.

Consider giving students time to review the pamphlets they created in Lesson 11: “Moses 4:5–32; 5:1–15, Part 1” and Lesson 12: “Moses 4:5–32; 5:1–15, Part 2.” (If students did not make pamphlets, consider displaying a piece of fruit and a picture of Jesus Christ as a simple visual way to remind students of these scripture accounts. Students could then briefly review Moses 4:6–13, 22–25; 5:8–12 to prepare for the discussion below.)

Prepare to explain the following in your own words:

1. Adam and Eve’s choice that caused the Fall

2. The results of the Fall on Adam and Eve, and how those results affect all of us still today

3. How the Fall was necessary in Heavenly Father’s plan for us

4. What the Savior did to redeem us from specific effects of the Fall

Invite students to choose a partner. Have one student explain points 1 and 2 to their partner. Then invite the other student to explain points 3 and 4.

When they are finished, you might invite them to do the activity one more time, this time switching who explains which points.

Increasing our desire to fulfill our divine identity and purpose

During their recent study of the Old Testament, students may have had several learning experiences focused on their divine identity and purpose as children of God. Provide an opportunity for students to reflect on how the truths they have learned have impacted their desire to fulfill their divine potential.

Draw an outline of a person that could represent you. Within this outline, or near it, write the truths about your divine identity that you have learned recently in the Old Testament. If possible, make these statements personal using “me” or “I.” Here are some scriptures you might refer to:

Abraham 3:22–23

Moses 1:1–11

Moses 1:12–24

Genesis 1:26–27

The following are some truths students might write. They are adapted from Lessons 3, 4, 5, and 8.

God chose me from among the noble and great spirits to be born today (Abraham 3:22–23).

As a child of God, He has a work specifically for me to do (Moses 1:6).

Because I am a daughter or son of God, I can find strength in Him to resist temptation (Moses 1:13, 16).

Because I am created in the image of God, I can become like Him (Genesis 1:26–27).

To help students think about how these truths can help them, you could choose one of the following activities for students to do as a class or in small groups. Or you could have students choose which activity they would like to do.

Option A: Describe a few circumstances where knowing these truths could help you. Identify how these truths could help someone in each circumstance.

Option B: Complete the following phrases:

Knowing these truths can help me when

• I think about myself because …

• I face temptation because …

• I interact with others because …

• I make decisions because …

When students have finished, invite them to record in their study journals any thoughts or experiences of how these truths have influenced their desire to fulfill their divine potential. You also might invite students to record how these truths could influence them in a future situation they will face.

When students finish, invite any willing students to share something from what they wrote.

Supplemental Learning Activity

Jesus’s role as Creator

In Lesson 7: “Genesis 1:1–25,” students learned about the Creation and Jesus’s role as the Creator. They may have been invited to create something such as a poem, journal entry, picture, or verse of a hymn to express their feelings about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Creation. If so, consider inviting students to think about the Savior’s creations that they have noticed since that lesson. You might ask them to take some time to add anything to their poem, journal entry, picture, or verse that might more fully express their feelings about the Creation or their feelings for the Creator.