Prepare your mind and heart to learn. Remember that studying the gospel prayerfully with a desire to learn will help you to be taught and edified by the Holy Ghost.
Begin your study with prayer.
Many people in our day wonder if the Book of Mormon is true. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles invites us in this video to consider the sacrifices made by the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum as evidence of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
As you watch, consider this question: How does what Elder Holland shared affect your own testimony of the Book of Mormon? You can read the text for this video here: Jeffrey R. Holland, “Safety for the Soul,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 88–90.
Joseph’s brothers were worried that Joseph would hate them and seek revenge on them for mistreating him and selling him as a slave.
Read Genesis 50:19–21, looking for Joseph’s response to his brothers’ concerns.
What do we learn in verses 15–21 that Joseph did to make sure that his father’s death did not divide the family?
What can you learn from the way he responded to his brothers’ fears and concerns?
Happy Families
From Genesis 50:19–21, we can identify several truths, including the following: When others sin against us, we should leave judgment to God. If we let go of past offenses, we can bring peace to ourselves and our families.
Consider this statement by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, formerly of the First Presidency. What does he counsel us to do to help us live in peace with our families?
Image
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“I have discovered one thing that most [happy families] have in common: they have a way of forgiving and forgetting the imperfections of others and of looking for the good.
“Those in unhappy families, on the other hand, often find fault, hold grudges, and can’t seem to let go of past offenses. …
“It is through our Savior’s sacrifice that we can gain exaltation and eternal life. As we accept His ways and overcome our pride by softening our hearts, we can bring reconciliation and forgiveness into our families and our personal lives. God will help us to be more forgiving, to be more willing to walk the second mile, to be first to apologize even if something wasn’t our fault, to lay aside old grudges and nurture them no more” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “One Key to a Happy Family,” Ensign, Oct. 2012, 5–6).
What are some examples from your own life or the lives of those you know of how letting go of past offenses and forgiving others blesses families?
In addition to the things he had done during his life that brought him joy, Joseph could also “go down to [his] grave with joy” because the Lord had revealed to him how two great prophets—Moses and Joseph Smith—would bless his descendants.
Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 50:25 (in the Bible appendix) contains Joseph’s prophecy of the scattering of Israel. In this verse, the phrase “a branch shall be broken off, and shall be carried into a far country” may refer to Lehi and his family.
Read Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 50:25 (in the Bible appendix), looking for the promises given concerning the descendants of Joseph who would be scattered.
Joseph saw that the Lord would raise up a prophet to bring his descendants out of spiritual darkness and captivity. This prophecy refers to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Read Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 50:26–29, 32–33 (in the Bible appendix). It may be helpful to know that a seer is “a person authorized of God to see with spiritual eyes things that God has hidden from the world (Moses 6:35–38). He is a revelator and a prophet (Mosiah 8:13–16)” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Seer,” scriptures.lds.org).
2. What did this prophecy say about the Prophet Joseph Smith and what the Lord would do through him? List at least three things.
You may want to mark the phrase “he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins” in Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 50:27 (in the Bible appendix). To be esteemed means to be respected and admired.
Watch this video, and consider how you feel about the Prophet Joseph Smith.
3. Answer the following questions:
What do you respect or admire about the Prophet Joseph Smith?
In what ways has your life been blessed because the Lord restored the gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith?
The Lord’s work described in Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 50:27–29 refers to the Restoration of the gospel. From these verses, we can identify the truth that through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord restored His gospel to the earth.
Match the statement on the left with the book of scripture it describes on the right.
A record that “the fruit of [Joseph’s] loins shall write”
A record that “the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write”
The Bible
The Book of Mormon
The Lord revealed through Joseph of Egypt that together the Book of Mormon and the Bible would do which of the following? (Please select all that apply.)
From Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 50:31 (in the Bible appendix), we can learn that the Book of Mormon and Bible bring peace, truth, and a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
4. Answer one of the following questions:
What knowledge has the Book of Mormon given to the world?
How have the Book of Mormon and the Bible brought you peace or helped you to better understand the gospel of Jesus Christ?
The following truths were identified in this lesson:
When others sin against us, we should leave judgment to God.
If we let go of past offenses, we can bring peace to ourselves and our families.
Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord restored His gospel to the earth.
The Book of Mormon and Bible bring peace, truth, and a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
Is there someone in your life who could benefit from hearing your testimony of these truths? Prayerfully consider with whom the Lord would like you to share one or more of these truths.
