3 The Premortal Life
3 The Premortal Life
It’s so interesting to know that we all lived with our
Heavenly Parents in our premortal life. Abraham was actually privileged to see
that in vision. Jehovah, or Jesus shoes Abraham His works and creations. He
showed Him his spirit children in premortality, and showed Abraham those noble
and great spirits who were chosen to be leaders.
Abraham saw that Jesus was chosen to be the Son of God. Abraham was told that
he too was chosen to be the Father of many nations.
Student preparation: Invite students to ask a friend
or family member what they know about the premortal life and how knowing about
the premortal life could help them.
How old are we?
Where
did we get the Book of Abraham from?
Abraham
recorded an experience that can help us understand more about the premortal
life. Abraham was born about 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. He
recorded a few details of his life along with visions he received from God that
can be found in the book of Abraham. This record originated from scrolls of
papyrus discovered in Egypt and purchased by members of the Church. This record
was then revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith by the gift and power of God.
Read Abraham 3:11–12, 21 11 Thus I,
Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh with
another; and he told me of the works which his hands had made;
12 And he said unto me: My son, my son
(and his hand was stretched out), behold I will show you all these. And he put
his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which his hands had made, which
were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end
thereof.
21 I dwell in the midst of them all; I
now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee
the works which my hands have made, wherein
my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens
above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the
intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the
beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
After the
Lord taught Abraham about the order that was found in the spirit world, he also
let Abraham know that
22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham,
the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among
all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good,
and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers;
for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and
he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou
wast chosen before thou wast born.
What do you think that it means to be noble and great? I
think that many of us here were among the valiant spirit sons and daughters of
Heavenly Father in our premortal existence.
But guess what, so did President Russel M Nelson.
Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I
might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those
finest players, those heroes—are you! … You are among the best the Lord has
ever sent to this world. You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have
more impact on the world than any previous generation! (“Hope
of Israel” [worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018], 8, 16)
Of [Jesus Christ] it was said that He is “more intelligent
than they all.” (Abraham
3:19.) … Moreover, what the Lord knows is, fortunately, vastly more—not
just barely more—than the combination of what all mortals know. (All These
Things Shall Give Thee Experience [1979], 22)
Our Divine Redeemer … far surpasses the individual and
[total combination of] … capacities and achievements of all who have lived,
live now, and will yet live! (“O,
Divine Redeemer,” Ensign, Nov. 1981, 8)
Overview for lesson 3: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-seminary-manual-2026/02-moses-1-abraham-3/020-overview?lang=eng
1.
The Lord showed Abraham that, in the premortal
life, He called rulers to help us.
2.
The Lord taught Moses that He was a child of God
who had a work to do, and that it was the Lord’s “work and glory.
The Lord has revealed things to many people, and as a
result, we have the benefit of learning from their revelations and preparing
for our own.
Abraham sought to know the things that the fathers had been given and to attain
the same blessings. We do that too when we get on the covenant path through
baptism, and then enter the temple to make more covenants and receive the same
promised that were given to Abraham.
Moses was called to save Israel from the Pharoah. He was
taught by his father-in-law Jethro, who ordained him to the Priesthood. He
learned of God’s glory, that he himself was a child of God, that God has a
perfect plan for our salvation in the gift of His Son.
What are some of the trials Abraham went through? What are
some of the trials that Moses went through?
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