Doctrine and Covenants 93 Insights and Teaching Activities

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INSIGHTS

ICEBREAKER

My icebreaker is simple and quick and gets us right into the scriptures. I’ll offer my students a treat if they can be the first person to find the definition of truth found in section 93. And that’s not as easy as it sounds because the word truth is all over the section. It’s a major theme.  So where do you find that famous definition. It’s in verse 24.

²⁴ And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;

That’s got to be the most beautiful and simple definition of truth I’ve ever heard. Take that Merriam Webster! There’s a hymn in the hymnbook that we sing called “O Say What is Truth?” Well, here’s our answer. Section 93 is going to teach us truth. Things as they are, and were, and are to come.

TRANSITION

There are two truths that this section is going to specifically address. To me, the heart and focal point of the entire section revolves around verse 19.  Two questions are going to be answered by the section. What are those two questions?

¹⁹ I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.

Did you catch the two questions? He wants us to know how to worship, and what we worship. If I were to divide up section 93, I would say that verses 1-18 answer the second question, and that verses 20 to the end answers the first.

QUESTION #1: WHAT/WHO WE WORSHIP

SEARCH

Now, since the Lord is framing this section in the context of questions, we’re going to take that idea and run with it. We’re going to approach this section like it was an interview. I want you to imagine that you’re sitting in an interview with none other than Jesus Christ himself. But he’s not asking you questions this time. This is not a temple recommend interview or the final judgment. You are asking him the questions.  You are the interviewer. And you find yourself sitting in one of two very comfortable, all-white, wingback chairs facing each other in the middle of a large room. The topic of the interview is worship. You want to understand this idea better, because you’ve heard it’s important, but you’re not exactly sure what it means. So for our lesson today, I’m going to provide you with the questions, and then we’ll let Jesus, through the scriptures, answer them.

Our first question then is: What do we worship?

The answer is in the first 18 verses of the section. So, just start reading from verse 1 and skim along and see if you can get the gist of the answer. And if your students struggle with that and can’t quite seem to see it. You can change the question a little bit by saying that we maybe should’ve used a different interrogative word. We shouldn’t be asking “What do we worship?” because we don’t worship things. But the question could more clearly be asked as. “Who, do we worship?” Who are these verses talking about, teaching us about? They’re all about Jesus, and God the Father. So, as we ask Christ, what do we worship? He answers: Worship God the Father, and me, his Son, Jesus Christ.

Then we say. Well, I really want to understand who I worship. What do you want me most to understand about you and the Father?

Well, let’s say Jesus responds by quoting verses 1-18.  And, you know, this could take a lot of time to go verse by verse in a classroom setting. So to expedite that a little, you may want to break up this portion into the following chunks, assign them out to students, and invite them to raise their hands and share some of the things they learned about Christ or the Father. And you could write those things on the board or on a piece of paper.

Here, I’m not going to cover each and every detail that we learn about them in these verses. But, I’d like to point out a few. What do we worship?

We worship a being of light. Verse 2 tells us that Christ is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Verse 9 says that He is the light and the Redeemer of the World, and that He is the life and the light of men. Some shades of section 88 there. 

We worship a being of glory. That’s another word you see frequently come up in this section. Verse 6 says that John saw and bore record of the fulness of his glory. You see it verse 7, and verse 11 and verse 16.

But what does that mean? What is God’s glory. We’re going to cheat a little bit and take a verse from the second half of the section and go to verse 36. An oft quoted verse:

“The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.”

Do you remember talking about the interchangeables in Section 88? They’re all over the place here. So when we talk about Jesus as a being of glory, or having a fulness of glory. We’re saying that He has a fulness of intelligence, a fulness of light, a fulness of truth.

You’ll see the word “truth” show up a couple of times in the first part as well. We worship a being of truth. 

From verses 4 and 11 we learn that he dwelt in the flesh and dwelt among us. So, we worship a being that knows what it’s like to be human. A being that comprehends humanity having himself undergone a mortal existence.

From verse 7 we learn that he was in the beginning before the world was. And there’s a ton of other words and things we could add here. We worship a being of grace, a being of power, a being beloved by his Father.

But there is one particular aspect of the Lord Jesus Christ that John (who’s being quoted extensively in this part) wants us to understand. One of the ways God emphasizes things in the scriptures, is through repetition. What truth or phrase about Jesus Christ is repeated in verses 12-14?

It’s that Jesus did not receive of the fulness (of all these things we’ve been talking about—light, truth, power, glory, intelligence) at the first. He says it three times. He really wants us to get this.

Which means that Jesus didn’t start his life with a perfect understanding of God and all truth or was in a state of perfect spiritual maturity. He started life as a baby, innocent and naïve. He had to learn.  And it wasn’t that at age 8, or 12, or 30 or whatever, that God, all of a sudden just bestowed all of that intelligence, and power, and those divine attributes upon Him, and now he was the Savior. He had to learn. He had to develop those things. And how did he do it?  He did it grace for grace. OR, it’s worded a little differently in verse 13. Grace to grace. Now maybe I’m making too much of that difference, but I think both offer insight. He received grace for grace. Which sounds like an exchange of sorts. God offers the grace of blessings, or truth, or intelligence. But then, what grace is offered back? The grace of obedience and righteousness and sacrifice. But there is also grace TO grace. Which suggests an upward climb, a progression. Christ is getting nearer and nearer to a fulness of glory, and light, and truth. Now how that exactly worked, I’m not really sure. We know that Christ wasn’t sinful in his life. He didn’t have any negatives to rid himself of. But, did he have a fulness or maturity of all those divine Christlike attributes we know him for in his ministry? I don’t think so. Christ for certain was always kind. But I imagine he was kinder at age 30 than he was at age 12. He developed those characteristics. He refined them and grew more proficient in them.  I love that little scene from Ben Hur that’s set in Joseph’s carpentry shop. A friend of Joseph’s is visiting, and he notices a stack of boards that haven’t been assembled.  And he says: My table is not finished. Where is your son? And Joseph says: He's walking in the hills. The neighbor, in a disapproving voice mumbles, “Mm-hm. He neglects his work, Joseph”. And Joseph responds: No. Once I reproached him with forgetting his work. He said to me, "I must be about my Father's business."  Then the neighbor: “Then why isn't he here, working?” And Joseph, smiling, says “He's working.”  I love that. I’m sure Jesus spent a lot of those years learning from both his earthly and heavenly fathers—spending time wandering the hills around Nazareth praying, working, studying the scriptures, and preparing himself for the mission that lay ahead of him. Grace for grace, and grace to grace. It took Jesus thirty years to reach a fulness before he was ready to begin that ministry. It required his study, and perseverance, and work, and experience to get to that point.  

So, in summary, “What do we worship?”

A being of glory, intelligence, light, and truth, who comprehends mortality, and developed grace for grace.

That is what we worship.

QUESTION #2-HOW DO WE WORSHIP

ICEBREAKER

Now we turn to Christ and ask him the other question from verse 19. How do we worship? 

To answer. I’d like to do another Icebreaker type activity with you.

I’m going to give you quote with some words missing and see if you can figure them out. It was something said by Bruce R. McConkie, a former apostle of the Church.

He said: “Perfect worship is _____________. We honor those whom we _________” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ [1978], 568).  He uses two different words in those blanks that are synonymous with each other. If you can name either of those words, you get it right.

Now they don’t have to answer out loud right away. I usually like to tell this little story about my son Caleb when he was a toddler before they start guessing. He got a little plastic lawn mower for Christmas and later that year, I went out to mow the lawn. As soon as he saw what I was about to do, he ran into his room and grabbed his toy lawn mower and brought it out and set it right next to mine. I poured some gas into mine while he took his sippy cup and pretended to pour water into his. I reached down and yanked on the pull cord. His didn’t even have a pull cord, so he pretended to grab an imaginary one and made a yanking motion with his hand. Well, off I went mowing the lawn, and here comes Caleb after me just following just a few feet behind. When I turned, he turned. When I stopped, he stopped. And on and on like that until I was finished. Now I’m going to ask you, why did he do that? Because he wanted to be like me. He wanted to do the things that I could do.

So, what words might go in those blanks? How do we worship Christ? Why did the section just spend 18 verses talking about Jesus and going on and on about the kind of being he was and is, and how he got to that point? Because God wants us to be like Him! To follow his example. That’s one of the major reasons God sent us His son.

In the quote then, you could have said one of two words.  “Perfect worship is emulation, we honor those whom we imitate”.  In my little story there, I would say that my son was worshipping me because he was imitating me. He wanted to be like me.

It reminds me of one of the titles Christ is given back in verse 8. The Word. Jesus was the Word, and the messenger of salvation. Why give Him that title? Because the life of Christ was his gospel. God didn’t have to say a word because Christ was the Word. He sends Jesus as the ultimate object lesson. He says “I don’t really need to tell you what to do, I’ll show you. This is my Beloved Son. Hear him. Do as he says and do as he did.” They say that a picture is worth 1000 words. Well, Christ’s life was the message. In 3 Nephi 27:27, Jesus asked another question and immediately gave the answer:

“Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”

So back to our little interview scenario. I ask Christ, “How do I worship?”  And he says, “Imitate me. Do the works that you have seen me do”.

QUESTION #3 WHAT DID YOU DO THAT I MUST IMITATE?

Then we ask our next question:

What did you do that I must imitate?

:20

²⁰ For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.

So, we keep the commandments. We’re obedient just like he was obedient. And just like Him, we develop grace for grace and grace to grace until WE obtain a fulness of glory, just like he has. Isn’t that a comforting thought? We don’t have to get there all at once. Yes, God intends us to reach perfection and a fulness of glory, but we do it, according to verse 19, “in due time”. If it took Jesus 30 years to get to that point, it’s probably going to take us a lifetime, more than a lifetime to do the same. But we can get there. In fact, maybe we can even diagram this a little bit. How does grace to grace even work. We’re going to make a little graph here. On the x-axis we’re going to write obedience, righteousness, sacrifice. And on the y-axis here we’re going to write glory, intelligence, light, and truth.  How does grace to grace work? We make a diagonal line steadily climbing upward. This represents grace for grace and grace to grace. Every time I respond to the light, every time I’m obedient, every time I keep a commandment, God offers me more truth and light and glory and intelligence. And then I take that additional light and truth and I act on that. I continue in obedience. Does this remind you of section 50:24?

²⁴ That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day

Now jump to

:27-28

²⁷ And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.

²⁸ He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.

So out here at the very end, or way, way up there, we right “A fulness”. That’s my destination. That’s what I’m aiming for. And I’m only going to get there, in due time, by obedience, and grace for grace. Remember:

78:18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

I think it’s very easy to get frustrated with oneself over this process. We think we need to reach the fulness, right now. We sometimes struggle with the “in due time” part. Developing those qualities takes time and patience and application. We’re not going to do it all at once. Even Jesus didn’t. But, we should be making an intentional, concentrated effort to do so.

I think Benjamin Franklin is a great example of this attitude. He realized that he too often gave in to vices and temptations. So one day, he sat down and determined that there were 13 virtues that he felt he needed to integrate them into his life. If he could develop these 13 qualities, it would make him a better person—the kind of person he wanted to be. Some of those virtues were Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Cleanliness, Chastity and Humility.  And then he just set to work, consciously striving to develop those virtues. He would focus on just one each week, striving to incorporate it into his life, and then move on to another the next week. He’d review his progress, record his successes and failures, and make concrete plans to improve. He’s an excellent example of someone striving to progress grace to grace.

The church’s former youth programs made use of this idea. You had the 12 principles of the Scout Law, and the Young Women’s values. They were repeated frequently, and the youth were encouraged to do specific things to integrate those values into their lives.

For myself, I can see certain qualities or Christlike attributes that I do fairly well at, and others that I still need a lot of work on. I feel that I’m pretty good at gratitude, but my charity could use some work. I feel that my faith is strong, but I could use a little more patience.

The key is not to just sit back and say, “Well, that’s just the way I am”. But to try to imitate Christ—to worship him.

So, his answer to our question of “What is it that you did that I should imitate?”  His answer is “Progress from grace to grace, like I did”.

QUESTION #4 AREN’T YOU A VASTLY DIFFERENT KIND OF BEING THAN I AM?

But then we might argue a little bit with him and ask our fourth question, “But aren’t you a vastly different kind of being than I am?”

His answer: “Not really”

:23

Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth;

And then

:29-30

²⁹ Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.

³⁰ All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.

31 Behold, here is the agency of man, . . .

Now that’s a deep doctrinal truth. There is a part of us that is eternal. Wow! Just like God. This elevates the nature of man beyond anything the Christian world had dreamed of before.  We are also eternal. Intelligence can’t be created or made. So, since I am a being of intelligence, then I have a spark of eternity in me. Now I don’t think we know exactly what that means. Were our spirits originally formed by being carved out of some element called “intelligence”?  Or, were there already separate intelligences out there that our heavenly parents then created and fashioned into spirits? I don’t know, but we are beings of intelligence, created with eternal matter, that possess the divine gift of agency within us. What are the other words for intelligence? Since we are beings of intelligence, we could also say that we are beings of glory, beings of light, beings of truth, beings of spirit, they all work. There is something glorious within each one of us. But then, that may cause us to wonder why we all seem to be at different levels of intelligence, or light, or glory. Were some spirits made of better stuff than others? Were there varying levels of intelligence to start from?

QUESTION #5  DID SOME SPIRITS BEGIN AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN OTHERS?

That’s our next question. Did some spirits begin at a higher level than others?  What was the starting point for all of us in this process of growing grace for grace?

Jumping to verse :38

³⁸ Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God.

So, the answer is no. We all started out on equal ground. Nobody started out with an advantage over the others. We all started out innocent. Both in the premortal realm and in this life. It’s not that the intelligence some were created out was of higher quality or better potential than another. We all began at the same point... And then we began to exercise our agency. Then differences began to show as individual intelligences responded differently to the choices presented to them. And, when we were born into mortality, same kind of thing, we all started out innocent before God as little children, redeemed from the fall by Christ’s atonement. Then as we age and progress, our souls are shaped by our choices, our environment, and the nature of the already developed spirit we’ve brought with us from premortality.

Agency though, is a bit of a two-edged sword. With it, I can progress from grace to grace and become more and more like Christ. But it also opens up another possibility.

QUESTION #6: IS IT POSSIBLE TO LOSE LIGHT AND TRUTH? HOW?

And so with a worried look on our face, we ask Jesus our next question: “If I can gain light and truth through agency. Is it possible to lose it as well?”

Jesus nods “Yes”

“How?” We ask.

:39

³⁹ And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers.

So, if every act of obedience lifts me higher and grants me more and more light and truth, then every act of disobedience will cause me to lose light and truth. The wicked one tempts us to reject the wisdom and intelligence of God and moves us in the opposite direction. So instead of a fulness of light, I’m moving towards a fulness of darkness. Instead of truth, deception. Instead of intelligence, ignorance. Instead of glory, condemnation.

QUESTION #7 WHY AM I CONDEMNED FOR THAT?

At that we ask: Why am I condemned for that?

Verses 31-37

³¹ Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light.

³² And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation.

³³ For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;

³⁴ And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.

³⁵ The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple.

³⁶ The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.

³⁷ Light and truth forsake that evil one.

This can be a confusing section for many, and I’m not even sure if I completely grasp it. But what I think he’s saying is that we are condemned for disobedience and not receiving light because the light is plainly manifest to us. We are beings of light and glory and truth; therefore, we naturally should be drawn to it. And as per section 88:40

intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light . . .and so on.

There is something inside us that is attracted to that light—that recognizes what is good—that wants what is good. We see this in little children. They’re innocent. Even as a society there is still some measure of a desire to protect that innocence and shield children from certain experiences or types of entertainment. We all have a conscience or that light of Christ that illuminates our decisions. A sense of right and wrong and fairness. That’s why we’re condemnable. We are spirit and element. Our spirits inhabit those elements. Our bodies are the temples of the spirit, and a temple is a holy thing. Some may argue that it is our bodies that are the source of all our troubles. Our lusts, hungers, habits, and impulses. King Benjamin talks about the natural man being an enemy to God. Is it the flesh that is the cause of all temptation? I’m not so sure. The scriptures here seem to suggest that the elements are holy as well. I mean, God created the body and the earth around us, right?! Should we blame all our troubles on flesh and element? C. S. Lewis thought about this and wrote this interesting little imaginary conversation between the Spirit and the Body.

“You are always dragging me down,” said I to my Body. “Dragging you down!” replied my Body. “Well I like that! Who taught me to like tobacco and alcohol? You, of course, with your idiotic adolescent idea of being ‘grown-up.’ My palate loathed both at first: but you would have your way. Who put an end to all those angry and revengeful thoughts last night? Me, of course, by insisting on going to sleep. Who does his best to keep you from talking too much and eating too much by giving you dry throats and headaches and indigestion? Eh?” “And what about sex?” said I. “Yes, what about it?” retorted the Body. “If you and your wretched imagination would leave me alone, I’d give you no trouble. That’s Soul all over; you give me orders and then blame me for carrying them out.”⁸

C. S. Lewis, “Scraps,” in God in the Dock, 216–17.

I agree with Lewis on this one. It’s not Spirit: all good and body: all bad. Spirit and body are both created by God. What is the source of the natural man then? I don’t know. Perhaps it lies within the principle of agency itself. The fact that we can choose something other than light and truth opens the possibility of following that path. We are condemned for following that path because we are acting against the very nature of our spirits and the elements we are created from.

QUESTION #8 WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW? (THE APPLICATION)

Well, we have one final question to pose to the Savior after all of that. By this time, he’s successfully blown our minds and we’ve had about all our little mortal understandings can handle. So, there’s a noticeable shift in verse 40. And you know, I used to think of the last half of the section as being detached from the first. Like he tacked this on to the end on an unrelated note. Until I read a bit more closely and saw the clear connection between the two. With the theological and the philosophical behind us, now it’s time for the practical. In verse :39, there was another way mentioned that light and truth can be lost other than just the improper use of agency. Do you see what it is? The traditions of their fathers.  Light and truth can also be lost when parents fail to do something.

:40

But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.

The remainder of the section is going to deal with that. Our final question to the Savior then is.  What should I do now?

And he says, “Raise your children in light and truth. Be sure to pass the light ON to the next generation”. So, section 93 turns out to be primarily a message for parents!

In context, the Lord takes the leadership of the church to task on that one. All the big names basically get the same message and chastisement. To Frederick G. Williams:

⁴² You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and this is the cause of your affliction.

⁴³ And now a commandment I give unto you—if you will be delivered you shall set in order your own house, for there are many things that are not right in your house.

To Sidney Rigdon:

in some things he hath not kept the commandments concerning his children; therefore, first set in order thy house.

To Joseph Smith himself:

You have not kept the commandments, and must needs stand rebuked before the Lord;

⁴⁸ Your family must needs repent and forsake some things, and give more earnest heed unto your sayings, or be removed out of their place.

And Newel K. Whitney:

hath need to be chastened, and set in order his family, and see that they are more diligent and concerned at home, and pray always, or they shall be removed out of their place.

See the common thread there? The Lord says, “Make your home the priority. Create an environment of light and truth for your children. Start them out right. That’s your major responsibility. You see those beautiful little children in your home? They are beings of light and truth and intelligence. You can start them on the diagonal path. Teach them what good things are. Show them how to respond to light. Set a good example by following that path yourself. Teach them the gospel and set them on the right trajectory. Since there are two principal ways that light and truth can be lost, let’s strive to eliminate at least one of those.” Now our children may choose to lose light and truth through disobedience on their own regardless of what we, as parents, do. They may take that other option. But hopefully, they won’t lose light and truth because we didn’t do everything in our power to put them in the best position to follow it.

President Nelson has emphasized this idea in his ministry. Maybe this sounds familiar to you?

“As Latter-day Saints, we have become accustomed to thinking of “church” as something that happens in our meetinghouses, supported by what happens at home. We need an adjustment to this pattern. It is time for a home-centered Church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.  . . .

We are each responsible for our individual spiritual growth. And scriptures make it clear that parents have the primary responsibility to teach the doctrine to their children.² “

Russell M. Nelson

(Conference Report, October 2018)

One of my favorite phrases from this last section is the charge to Newel K. Whitney to be more diligent and concerned at home. What a wonderful phrase. Diligent and concerned. Parents and children can strive to be more diligent in their commitment to gospel principles. And they can be more concerned. Concerned about what? Concerned about the things they say. Concerned about the entertainment they consume. Concerned about the way they treat each other. Concerned about the influence the outside world is exerting on their home. I am eternally grateful for parents who earnestly strove to create an environment of truth and light in our home. We had family home evenings. We studied the scriptures together. We had family prayer and went to church and to the temple. My parents showed us good movies and listened to good music. We played games. We went on family vacations. We worked through challenges together. My parents were very careful about protecting us against worldly influences and temptation. Now as a kid, I know I took that for granted and sometimes even grumbled about their protections. But I’m so much more appreciative now and consider myself so blessed for the parents I have. I couldn’t have asked for better. If I were to ever stray from the path through disobedience, it wouldn’t be because of a failure of my parents to raise me in light and truth.

TRUTH

Now with all we’ve discussed here. What are the takeaways? What are the major truths that the Lord wanted us to understand from section 93? Here’s what I’ve come up with.

What do we worship? We worship God and Jesus Christ—beings who possess a fulness of glory, intelligence, light and truth.

How do we worship them? We worship them by imitating the Savior’s obedience and developing grace for grace, as he did.

We were created from intelligence. Therefore, there is something eternal and glorious in each of us.

We are blessed and progress every time we accept and act on light and truth.

We are condemned and retrogress every time we reject and disobey light and truth.

Parents have the responsibility to raise their children in light and truth.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

Now what do we do with these truths? Hopefully, we act on them. To help my students apply the scriptures and act on these truths, I give them this application handout. Encourage them to take some time to ponder what you’ve discussed and to listen to what the Spirit wants them to do now that they understand these truths. There are two videos that go along with this handout, and I’ll provide links to them here and in the video description below.

Here’s what the handout encourages them to do.

Watch the video “Christlike Attributes” and ponder the qualities that Christ possessed.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0YNVqEYlkU)

Then after they’ve watched the video, they:

Choose a quality or virtue that the Savior possesses that they most wish to imitate.

And then I give them a list of some possibilities. They choose at least one, or they can come up with one of their own.

Then I ask: How did the Savior demonstrate that quality?

And then: What could you do this week that would help you to develop that quality more in yourself?

Then another little video. David A. Bednar gave a conference talk entitled “More Diligent and Concerned at Home” back in October of 2009. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2014-11-1000-more-diligent-and-concerned-at-home?lang=eng) And in that talk, he gave three suggestions on how to do just that.  What were those three things?

Express love and show it.

Bear testimony and live it.

Be consistent.

Then I ask them: What suggestions would you add to Elder Bednar’s that could help a family be more diligent and concerned at home and create an environment of light and truth?

Then our final question:

What are you willing to do to be more diligent and concerned at home?

CONCLUSION

I wanted to conclude by sharing with you the personal experience I had with this section as I prepared this week. That last part really sunk deep for me. That phrase, to be “more diligent and concerned at home” seemed to jump off the page and shout “This is for you! Not just your listeners”. And I had to sit back and reflect on that admonition, and I had to admit, that there are some things in that area that I’ve been neglecting. I’ll be honest with you, I felt a little chastened by the Lord. This wasn’t just for Newel and Joseph and Sydney, but for me.  And I’m grateful for a Lord that loves me enough to chasten me. And I want you to know that I’m currently working on concrete plans to act on that admonition—to be more diligent and concerned at home. As important as my ward members, and my students, and all of you are to me, it’s my family that needs to take priority above all. Setting in order my own house should be at the top of my list. I want my children, more than anything else to continually walk that upward path of grace to grace. Something that John said at the end of one of his letters perfectly reflects my greatest desire in life. He said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4) So Caleb, Braden, Avery, and Seth, I pray every night that you will do so. Walk in light and truth. Well, such is the power of the scriptures. May they mold and shape and inspire you and me as we all seek to grow grace for grace in light and truth. If we do this, brothers and sisters, the Lord promises us that one day, you “shall see my face and know that I am”, and we will “come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness”. His fulness of glory, and intelligence, and light, and truth, and power, and joy. That you and your families may reap these great rewards, is my prayer.

Teaching Activities

NOTE:

I’m just going to come right out and say it. This was a difficult week to try and separate into three distinct lessons. And the reason for that is that this is a one section week, and section 93 is meant to give us a unified, cohesive message. It’s hard to separate the different elements of the section without losing something in the process. Still, that being said, you can’t cover it all in depth. So, my suggestion for you as teachers would be not to completely ignore any particular message of the section, but to choose which section to emphasize. That’s the key. And the three main sections or messages that I see here are 1—What or Who we worship, 2—How we worship, and 3—Passing the light on to the next generation. If I were teaching this week, I would emphasize one of those sections and then summarize the other two. But still, as usual, I’m going to give you three complete lesson plans here and then you can pick and choose which truths, activities, and questions you want to use to help your students grasp at least a small measure of the power of this section.

LESSON #1 WHAT(WHO) WE WORSHIP (Doctrine and covenants 93:1-18)

TRUTH:

We worship Jesus Christ—a being of perfect light, glory, grace, power, and truth—who understands mortality and showed us by His own “grace for grace” growth how to progress toward God.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

One of the most comforting messages of this section is its emphasis on the process Jesus underwent to become who he is. Even Jesus took time to develop and learn and prepare himself to fulfill his great eternal role. In this lesson, we can help our students to understand that their eternal progress is also going to take time, struggle, and patience. Section 93 helps us to more deeply understand who Jesus Christ is, and by understanding Him, we come to understand ourselves better.

OBJECT:

Bring in a ladder for this lesson and place it at the front of the class. And when you get to the point in the lesson where you’re discussing the concept of “grace for grace” progression, you can refer to the ladder as an illustration how Jesus became what he did. He climbed the ladder, step by step, or in scriptural terms “grace for grace”

ICEBREAKER/GAME:

Then, for an icebreaker, something we’ve done before. WORDLE. I won’t go through all the instructions on how to do this activity here, but if you click up here, that link will take you to last year’s Mosiah 4-6 video which has the instructions on how to do this activity. But the WORDLE word here is TRUTH. And truth is a major theme and key word of section 93. After that activity, challenge your students to see if they can be the first one to find section 93’s definition of truth. What is TRUTH?  We get one of the greatest definitions of that word here. The answer is verse 24. Truth is “knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.” Then explain that there are two specific, fundamental TRUTHS that the Lord wants us to understand here. He’s going to provide us with the answers to two critical questions. What are those questions according to verse 19? One, he wants us to know HOW to worship. And two, he wants us to know WHAT we worship. Verses 1-18 give us the answer to the second question and verses 20-53 answer the first.  But we’ll start with the second question since that’s how the section is set up structurally.

SEARCH ACTIVITY/ HANDOUT:

For a search activity, I like the following study guide handout that helps guide your students through the first 18 verses of section 93. Give them time to search for the answers either individually, in pairs, or in groups. And as you correct it with them, you can discuss its concepts more deeply as you go.  The handout is entitled, “What (Who) We Worship”.  The instructions tell them that the Lord wants us to understand the kind of being that Jesus Christ is. And then invites them to fill in the blanks using the identified verses. Here are the answers.

1.    Jesus Christ is a being of L______.    (See verses 2, 9). LIGHT

2.    Jesus Christ is a being of G______.  (See verses 6, 7, 11, 16) GLORY

3.    Jesus Christ is a being that understands all T______.  (See verses 9, 11) TRUTH

4.    Jesus Christ is a being that is full of G _______.  (See verse 11) GRACE

5.    Jesus Christ is a being that possesses all P_______.    (See verse 17) POWER

6.    Jesus Christ possesses a F____________ of all these qualities. (See verse 4, 12, 13, 14, 16) FULNESS

7.    Jesus Christ dwelt in the F_______, among us. Therefore, he is a being that understands what it means to be human. (See verses 4, 11) FLESH

8.    Verses 7-17 give us John’s testimony of Jesus’s character. John wanted us to understand HOW Jesus gained a fulness of all those qualities you just discovered above. He repeats a phrase three different times in three successive verses. He must really want us to understand this truth about Jesus. Jesus did not receive a fulness at the F______.  (See verses 12-14) FIRST

9.    Instead, Jesus received a fulness G_______   F____  G _______.  (See verses 12-13) GRACE FOR GRACE

Now I feel that if your students do that little handout, they’re going to have a really good understanding of the main message of those first 18 verses. If you’re not going to emphasize this portion of section 93, then you could summarize it very easily by just saying something like: These first 18 verses answer that second question in verse 19. What (or Who) do we worship? We worship Jesus Christ, a being that possesses a fulness of light, glory, truth, grace, and power, and that knows what it’s like to be human. But he didn’t receive a fulness of those qualities at first. He developed them grace for grace (meaning little by little).  And, in my opinion, that’s a really cool TRUTH to understand. Jesus didn’t just have these qualities and powers and knowledge magically bestowed upon him. He had to learn it, he had to work at it, and he developed those things over a period of years.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

Why do you think John was so adamant about us understanding that Jesus didn’t receive a fulness at the first, but gained it over time, grace for grace? How does that change your perspective on Him?

And personally, that is a very comforting thought to me. That gives me hope. If it took Jesus 30 years before he was ready to begin his mortal ministry, to be the Savior of all mankind, then it’s probably all right for it to take me a lifetime before I can even begin to approach some of his qualities.

VIDEO:

For a video suggestion, you could show “Christlike Attributes” which shows a number of qualities and attributes Jesus Christ developed and possessed. As they watch, have them ponder which of Jesus’s attributes they most admire and why.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2014-01-001-christlike-attributes?lang=eng 

TAKE IT TO HEART QUESTION:

How does knowing that Christ also grew “grace for grace” give you hope in your own spiritual journey? 

Now I’m not going to give you a specific “I will go and do” question for this portion of the section because I think that’s the type of question that‘s better suited to the next two portions of the section we’re going to look at. The main purpose of the first 18 verses is to teach us an important truth about the nature of Jesus Christ. The rest of the section is going to teach us what we should do about it, now that we understand those things about Him.

TAKEAWAY:

Our takeaway slide emphasizes that major message about Jesus’s character. What do we worship? A being that developed grace for grace.

LESSON #2  HOW DO WE WORSHP (DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 93:19-39)

TRUTH:

We worship Christ best by imitating Him—choosing, through our agency, to obey and grow ‘grace for grace’ as He did, until we too receive a fulness of light, truth, and glory.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

I feel a fire in the bones for this portion as I consider just how empowering these verses can be to a disciple of Christ.  

OBJECT:

Our object here still continues to be the ladder, but now we’re going to look at it in a different context—a personal one. Yes, Jesus developed grace for grace, but that ladder wasn’t just for him. We too have been invited to climb it in the same way.

ICEBREAKER:

Our icebreaker here involves a quote and a story. Challenge them to complete what they feel are the missing words in this quote from former apostle Elder Bruce R. McConkie. He said: “Perfect worship is _____________. We honor those whom we _________” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ [1978], 568).  And he uses two different words in those blanks that are synonymous with each other. Challenge your students to guess either of those two words.

But before they start guessing, tell them a little story that illustrates the principle that perfect worship is emulation. We honor those whom we imitate. That’s the solution to the quote puzzle. In the insight video, I used the story of my son and mowing the lawn with me with his little plastic lawnmower to make that point. And you’re welcome to use that story as well and just tell your class that it was an experience a friend of yours shared with you (which, by the way, I do hope you consider me a friend). Or alternatively, you may have had a similar experience as a parent where one of your children sought to imitate you. Or perhaps you have a story of somebody you know who sought to imitate a celebrity or expert in their field or hobby. For example, sometimes I like to tell the story of a childhood friend of mine who would stick out his tongue when driving to the basket while playing basketball. Why did he do that? Well, he was “worshipping” his basketball idol, Michael Jordan, who would do the same thing.

And with that, we have the beginnings of the answer to our other question from verse 19. How do we worship? We know what/who we worship, Jesus Christ, but how do we worship him? We worship him by seeking to imitate him

SEARCH ACTIVITY/HANDOUT:

And now is where I would introduce the idea of the interview. Invite your class to imagine that they’re having an interview with Jesus Christ. We’re going to use the doctrines and truths taught by these verses in section 93 to form the content of that imagined conversation so that we can come to a better understanding of the TRUTHS the Lord wants us to get here.  To help engage your students a little more in that discussion, I’ve created a document with the individual questions that formulate that imaginary interview. What you do is cut these sheets up into strips and give each one to a different student. Then, as you move through the discussion, you can call on those students to ask their indicated question. That should help to get your class more involved with the discussion and it will seem more like a real interview where two people are interacting back and forth.

I’m not going to lead you through all the details of that possible discussion here, but I invite you to review the insight video for the flow of it. I will, however, review the basic structure of that discussion.  

Question 1: How do I worship you? Jesus responds: Imitate me.

Question 2: What did you do that I must imitate? He says: be obedient to the commandments and progress from grace to grace just like I did.

Question 3: But aren’t you a vastly different kind of being than I am? His answer: Not really, you too are eternal and have a divine potential.

Question 4: Do some spirits begin at a higher level than others? Jesus responds: No, all started innocent and on equal ground.

Question 5: Is it possible to lose light and truth? If so, how? Jesus says, yes, it is. Through disobedience and following incorrect traditions.

Question 6: Why am I condemned for that? Jesus explains: Because you are a being of light that knows the difference between good and evil.

And that’s the little back and forth conversation that I believe we can imagine happening between us and the Savior using section 93 as the source of those answers and truths.

VIDEO:

The video suggestion for this section would be to play a special musical number by the Tabernacle Choir:  “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus” . That’s a perfect song to accompany the message of this lesson.  As they watch, invite them to ponder how they could apply the message of that primary song.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2014-05-0010-im-trying-to-be-like-jesus?lang=eng 

QUOTE:

At some point in the lesson, you may want to share the following quote from Joseph Smith as you refer them to the ladder you have set up at the front. He said:

“When you climb up a ladder you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 268).

TAKE IT TO HEART QUESTION:

Can you think of a time in your life when a small act of obedience led you to greater light or understanding?

I WILL GO AND DO QUESTION:

Then for the I Will Go and Do, some questions for them to consider.

Choose a quality or virtue that the Savior possesses that they most wish to imitate.

And then I give them a list of some possibilities. They choose at least one, or they can come up with one of their own.

Then I ask: Ponder how the Savior demonstrated that quality.

And then: What is one thing you could do this week that would help you to develop that quality more in yourself?

TAKEAWAY:

The takeaway slide reminds us of the principle that imitating Christ is the way we worship him. It encourages us to seek to “Mirror the Master” in everything we do. Because, in the end,  that’s the only way that we are going to climb that ladder and arrive where Jesus and God are.

LESSON #3  MOre diligent and concerned at home (DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 93:40-53)

TRUTH:

The Lord calls parents to be diligent and deliberate in filling their homes with light and truth, so that their children will grow up surrounded by His influence and continue to pass on a legacy of faith.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

As a parent, it’s almost natural to feel a fire in the bones for this lesson because it focuses on our duty to fill the lives and experiences of the next generation with light and truth. But, this can apply to more than just parents. I imagine that almost all of us are going to have, in some capacity, opportunities to influence and guide young people. So whether they’re engaged in raising children right now or are preparing for that day or are placed in a position to influence the young, help them to feel the urgency, to see the beauty, and to accept the privilege of magnifying that calling.

OBJECT:

For an object, something simple here. A lamp, because the major symbol of this section is light. Light represents a number of different things in section 93. It’s truth. It’s intelligence. It’s glory, It’s power. So, bring in a lamp, but if possible, bring in the most beautiful, or fancy, or ornate lamp you can find. Set that at the front of the class and plug it in. As you talk about passing the light and truth of the gospel on to the next generation, point to the lamp and encourage your students to create an environment in their own homes where the light of the gospel is held up as a beautiful, precious, and vital thing.

ICEBREAKER:

The icebreaker for this portion of section 93 is a simple pair and share discussion question. Invite them to turn to a neighbor and discuss their answer to the following question: What is a family tradition that your parents passed on to you?  

Then to transition them to the scriptures, you can talk about how powerful traditions can be. But traditions can be either positive or negative. When it comes to the light and truth of the gospel, section 93 talks about two different ways that those things can be lost. One, we can lose light and truth through disobedience, but there’s another way they can be lost. What is it, according to verse 39? It’s traditions—the traditions of the fathers. In other words, light and truth can also be lost when one generation fails to pass it on to the next. That’s what the rest of section 93 is all about. It’s a practical application of the previously taught truths.

SEARCH ACTIVITY:

For a search activity, invite your students to look for and mark any phrases in verses 40-50 that refers in some way to home and family. And they’re going to find all kinds of things in there. The insight video discusses a bunch of them. But you’ll see that the Lord has instructions and chastisements for each of the members of the first presidency regarding their homes and families. My favorite one? Verse 50: “See that they are more diligent and concerned at home”.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

What does it mean to be “more diligent and concerned at home”?

VIDEO/HANDOUT:

Then a video suggestion. Elder David A. Bednar gave a conference talk a number of years ago that was actually entitled “More Diligent and Concerned at Home” back in October of 2009. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2014-11-1000-more-diligent-and-concerned-at-home?lang=eng) And in that talk, he gave three suggestions on how to do just that.  This video summarizes and shares those three things in a short clip. Give your students the following handout and encourage them to write down what those three things are. And after you’ve discussed those three things, give them time to answer the next question. What suggestions would you add to Elder Bednar’s that could help a family be more diligent and concerned at home in creating an environment of light and truth?

QUOTE:

From President Russell M. Nelson

“As Latter-day Saints, we have become accustomed to thinking of “church” as something that happens in our meetinghouses, supported by what happens at home. We need an adjustment to this pattern. It is time for a home-centered Church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.  . . .

We are each responsible for our individual spiritual growth. And scriptures make it clear that parents have the primary responsibility to teach the doctrine to their children.² “

Russell M. Nelson

(Conference Report, October 2018)

TAKE IT TO HEART QUESTION:

When have you felt the most light and truth in your home?

What was happening that made it that way?

I WILL GO AND DO QUESTION/HANDOUT:

The final activity for this lesson focuses on application. Give them time to ponder and answer the final question that we see on the handout. It asks: What are you willing to do to be more diligent and concerned at home? Encourage them to make some concrete plans to implement real changes in their homes or in their opportunities to influence the next generation.

TAKEAWAY:

The takeaway slide emphasizes that wonderful scriptural phrase from verse 50—“More Diligent and Concerned at Home.”  Conclude the lesson with your own testimony of the importance of passing on light and truth to others. Invite them to say something, do something, or change something that will help their family feel the light and glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then you can promise them that if they do, they’ll feel His Spirit more often, their homes will feel warmer and safer, and they will give the rising generation the best possible opportunity to light and fan that flame within their own hearts.