(Note: I put a link to the LDS scriptures in the sidebar. It takes too long to link each reference!)

While teaching my lesson about the Atonement four weeks ago, I ran out of time to talk about the most important aspects, namely the things we must do to receive all the blessings of the Atonement and what will happen if we do not accept the Atonement in our lives.

Since then, I’ve missed three weeks of lessons and I don’t know who, if anyone, was the substitute. (I did talk to the Sunday school president and he said he’d find substitutes, but my husband thinks the Sunday school president was probably confused and I should have found substitutes myself. Oops.)

Because I don’t know what to expect, here’s my plan for gospel discussion, which merges the concepts of lesson 4 (The Atonement of Jesus Christ) and lesson 5 (Mortality: A Time to Learn through Experience). I feel like lesson 4 is the most important lesson in the manual, so I want to make sure we discuss some of the concepts again.

• First, to find out: What did you talk about the last few weeks? Who were your teachers?
• Then, to remind them: We’ve been talking about the plan of salvation. In Moses 1:39, we learn that Heavenly Father’s work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. What does immortality mean? What does eternal life mean?
• Then, to follow up: Last time I was with you, we watched a movie. In it, a man wanted to buy a property. He signed a contract with a creditor in order to purchase the property. But when it came time to pay off the contract, he couldn’t. The creditor was going to put him in jail (as justice required), but instead his friend came. His friend offered to pay the fine (out of mercy) so the man didn’t have to go to jail. What was the man required to do for his friend? Who did these people in the movie represent: the creditor, the man, the friend?

Today we’re going to talk about two things: What we must do to make the Atonement of Jesus Christ real in our lives and what we must learn in this life to prepare to meet Heavenly Father.

To discuss the two key points of this lesson, we’re going to read parts of 2 Nephi 9, which I believe is one of the best chapters in the Book of Mormon (is it fair to choose favorites?). I think it discusses the vital aspects of the Atonement.

2 Nephi 9:4-7, 21-24

• In verse 4, what does it mean that our “flesh must waste away” but “in our bodies we shall see God”? (see footnote b, Alma 11:41)
• In verse 5, what does “subject unto him” mean? Remember that in the movie, the man must pay the debt back to his friend. We likewise must to subject ourselves to Christ to receive the blessing of the Atonement in our lives. What are some things we must do?

• Believe (John 3:16)
• Repent (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16, 2 Nephi 9:23)
• Hearken unto his voice (2 Nephi 9:21)
• Be baptized and exercise faith in Christ (2 Nephi 9:23)
• Endure to the end (2 Nephi 9:24)

• In verse 6, it mentions the “merciful plan of the great Creator.” What does that mean? What do we know about this plan? (Moses 1:39) How does the Atonement fulfill part of this plan?
• In verse 7, we learn that the “first judgment” would never have ended for us without the Atonement. The “first judgment” is like the creditor in the movie: there is justice, but no mercy. How did the Savior make it possible to overcome that judgment? How we would be “damned” (verse 22) if we don’t receive the Atonement? What does “damn” actually mean? How can not living with God mean that we are damned?

2 Nephi 9:10-12

• In verse 10, we read about death and hell. What do these mean (hint: they are different)?
• Without a Savior, which death would be worse: physical death or spiritual death? (hint: this is a trick question!)
• If you disobeyed the Savior your entire life, which death would be worse: physical death or spiritual death? (hint: this is also a trick question.)

2 Nephi 9:13-16, 27

• Before reading these verses: When you think of “hell,” what stereotypes do you think of?
• In verse 13, we read that everyone will be resurrected, but some people will not be happy. Why would a perfect knowledge be a challenge? How could being separated from Heavenly Father be “hell”?
• In verse 15, we read that everyone must appear before the judgment seat. What difference will it make to have the Savior on your side? (Think of the movie “The Mediator.”)
• In verse 16, we read that people will be “filthy’ after resurrection. Why do you think people will be “filthy” even after being resurrected? What can you do in this life to avoid being “filthy” even after the resurrection? Why is important to follow the Savior in this life? What qualities can we develop and what do we need to learn in this life so we can appear before Heavenly Father and the Savior “clean”?

• Charity is the pure love of Christ (Moroni 7:45-47)
• Qualities to emulate (2 Peter 1:5-7)

• What people, experiences, and organizations has the Savior blessed us with so we can learn these things?

• Family: Doctrine and Covenants 88:123 (we learn love and unselfishness)
• Church callings: Doctrine and Covenants 4:2 (we learn service)
• Friends: Doctrine and Covenants 121:9 (we learn loyalty)
• School, church, and seminary classes: Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19 (we learn knowledge and understanding)

I realize that I probably won’t get through all of this material. I don’t know what they’ve learned in the past few weeks and so we’ll have to play it by ear.

I also realize that some of these questions might be challenging for 12-year-olds. Overall, though, I feel the manual doesn’t give them enough credit. They are very smart and able to understand the scriptures. We should spend more time reading directly from the scriptures and less time reading stories. I feel that stories might be good, but they are not as powerful as the word of God. A class of bright 12-year-olds can benefit from a Sunday school class immersed in the scriptures.