“Ezekiel 18: Responsibility for Sin,” Old Testament Seminary Student Study Guide (2002), 170
“Ezekiel 18,” Old Testament Seminary Student Study Guide, 170
Responsibility for Sin
In what ways are you like or unlike your parents? Why?
It is true that sometimes the “innocent are compelled to suffer for the iniquities of the guilty” (Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 34). Some people, however, continue to blame their parents or others for things they have power to change. The children of Israel felt their punishments resulted from their fathers’ sins. They even had a common saying about suffering for their parents’ sins, which is found in Ezekiel 18:2. Their proverb (saying) was partially true. The fathers had not properly taught the children in the ways of the Lord nor had they created an environment where their children would be more likely to grow up faithful to the laws of God.
In every generation, however, the Lord sends prophets to teach the truth and teach people ways they must repent. Each generation has the opportunity to choose whether to listen and obey the words of the prophets or to follow the tradition of their parents. The Lord clearly taught this element of the principle of agency in this chapter.
Studying the Scriptures
Do activities A and B as you study Ezekiel 18.
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Apply the Scriptures
How could you use Ezekiel 18:1–18 to help someone who lives in a home where he or she is not encouraged in righteous activities? You may want to cross-reference these verses to the second Article of Faith.
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Identify Important Principles
Read Ezekiel 18:19–32 and find what the Lord taught about sin, repentance, enduring to the end, and How he feels about those in sin. Write at least four one-sentence statements that summarize the principles taught in these verses.