“Participating in Temple and Family History Work: ‘Saviours Shall Come Up on Mount Zion,’” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2026)
“Participating in Temple and Family History Work: ‘Saviours Shall Come Up on Mount Zion,’” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual
Temple Preparation: Lesson 204
Participating in Temple and Family History Work
“Saviours Shall Come Up on Mount Zion”
Savior, Redeemer, and Deliverer are titles that designate Jesus Christ as the One who Heavenly Father anointed to rescue us from our fallen state (see Isaiah 61:1–3). The Savior invites us to join Him in His work as “saviours” (see Obadiah 1:21) as we engage in the rescue of our deceased ancestors. This lesson can help students set a goal to become more like the Savior by participating in temple and family history work.
Student preparation: Invite students to do something related to temple and family history work, such as one of the following:
Create an account on FamilySearch.org.
Spend a few minutes exploring information about your family on FamilySearch.org.
Find a name of one of your ancestors that still needs ordinances completed in the temple.
Ask a parent or grandparent to share something about their life or about an ancestor.
Possible Learning Activities
To the rescue
Consider beginning class by writing the word Rescue on the board.
Then display the picture of the Martin and Willie handcart pioneers and invite students to share details from the picture that indicate a need for a rescue. Or you could ask students what they know about the event depicted in this picture. The following summary may be helpful.
From 1856 to 1860, thousands of Latter-day Saint pioneers traveled to the Salt Lake Valley using handcarts. In October 1856, Brigham Young dispatched rescuers to help the Martin and Willie handcart companies who were still hundreds of miles away with winter fast approaching.
Bishop W. Christopher Waddell of the Presiding Bishopric shared the following:
A member of the Willie company described the desperate situation prior to the arrival of the main rescue team. He shared: “[Just] when it seemed all would be lost, … and there seemed little left to live for, like a thunderbolt out of the clear sky, God answered our prayers. A rescue party, bringing food and supplies … , came into sight. … How we thanked God for our rescue.”
These rescuers were heroes to the pioneers, putting their own lives at risk in extreme weather conditions to bring as many as possible safely home. (“More Than a Hero,” Liahona, Nov. 2023, 89)
-
If you were one of these stranded pioneers, why might you have considered these rescuers heroes?
Consider displaying a picture of one of your ancestors. You could share with students a little about this ancestor.
Similarly, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ enlist us to rescue our deceased ancestors. We can do this by participating in temple and family history work.
-
How might our deceased ancestors stand in need of rescue like the handcart pioneers?
If needed, you could explain that we all need essential ordinances to return to Heavenly Father, including baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the temple endowment. Our deceased ancestors cannot receive these ordinances on their own. The Lord prepared a way for them to receive these ordinances through temple work for the dead (see Doctrine and Covenants 128:15).
Ponder the following:
-
How do you feel about participating in temple and family history work? Why?
Throughout this lesson, record any spiritual promptings that help you identify ways you can be one of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s rescuers for your ancestors.
Saviors on Mount Zion
Consider drawing a simple image of a mountain and a temple and invite students to do the same in their study journals. Label the drawing Mount Zion. Then summarize or read the following to help students understand the context for Obadiah.
After the capture of Jerusalem, the prophet Obadiah prophesied that many of the descendants of Esau (the prophet Jacob’s twin brother) would be destroyed because of wickedness. Obadiah also prophesied of a rescue effort for these descendants and many others. It may be helpful to know that in this verse, “Mount Zion” can refer to the city of Jerusalem and its temple.
Read Obadiah 1:17, 21, looking for words that remind you of the temple.
Students may point out words such as deliverance, holiness, or saviours. Invite students to mark the phrase “saviours shall come up on mount Zion” (Obadiah 1:21).
-
What do you think it means to be a “saviour … on mount Zion” (Obadiah 1:21)?
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:
The Lord gives us divine opportunity to become more like Him as we offer proxy saving temple ordinances others need but cannot do for themselves. We become more complete and perfected as we become “saviours … on mount Zion.” (“Happy and Forever”, Liahona, Nov. 2022, 85)
You may need to explain that proxy means to represent someone else.
Students can write their answer to the following question underneath their temple drawing.
-
What do you learn from Obadiah and Elder Gong about becoming “saviours … on mount Zion” (Obadiah 1:21)?
Although students may use different words, they may share the following truth: We can become more like the Savior as we find our ancestors and perform saving ordinances for them in the temple.
-
How might temple work for your deceased ancestors be compared in a small way to what the Savior did for us?
You could explain that through His Atonement, the Savior can rescue us from sin and death—something we cannot do for ourselves (see Alma 34:8–12). Likewise, we can help rescue our ancestors as we perform saving ordinances for them—something they cannot do for themselves.
-
What Christlike attributes can we develop as we find our ancestors and perform ordinances for them in the temple?
Getting started
Organize students into small groups and invite them to select a number between 1 and 4. Then distribute the handout “Four Ways to Participate in Temple and Family History Work.” Invite each group to read the paragraph that corresponds with the number they chose and then discuss the questions below within their group. Or they could read all four ways and select one they would like to focus on.
Display the following questions. Students could write their answers around their temple drawing.
-
What are practical ways a teenager could do as Elder Gong suggested?
-
What are other ways we could participate in temple and family history work? (You might include experiences from you or others.)
Invite several students to share their answers with the class. You could write their answers around the temple drawing on the board. You may find additional ideas in the article “Family History Is for Everyone: 9 Fun Ways to Participate,” available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
If time is available, use the Ordinances Ready feature on FamilySearch.org to show students how to reserve names for the temple.
-
What blessings or experiences have you had as you have participated in temple and family history work?
Your goal
Seek the help of the Holy Ghost as you make a goal in your journal to do one of the suggestions listed on the board. The following ideas may help you:
-
How and when you could do family history work
-
Who could help you
-
How this goal can help you become more like Jesus Christ
Consider mentioning that many wards and branches have temple and family history consultants who could help students get started in participating in temple and family history work.
Conclude by expressing confidence in your students’ ability to be rescuers and “saviours … on mount Zion” (Obadiah 1:21).