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Dec 6, 2023
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Eternal Family
Case Study #3
Before Class
Step 1:
Review the following required readings for Proclamation paragraph 3 and answer the questions below.
Talks:
Why Ordinances and Covenants Matter
– ChurchofJesusChrist.org
Why the Covenant Path
– Elder D. Todd Christofferson
With the Power of God and Great Glory
– Elder David A. Bednar
Questions (You will probably need 1-2 paragraphs to answer the questions sufficiently):
1.
Explain how covenants and ordinances are different, and how they are interrelated.
2.
What becomes available to us through worthy covenant-making and participating in priesthood
ordinances? (Provide
at least 1 quote
and
1 scripture
in your response.)
3.
What is the next ordinance you will participate in? How could you make it a more sacred and
meaningful experience? What is the next “saving” ordinance on the covenant path for you?
Step 2:
Read the following teaching of Elder Neil L. Andersen to help you respond to the prompts below.
The Lord has long anticipated this important period of human history. He knows the
end from the beginning. The Savior has assured us in our day, “Be of good cheer, and
do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.”
REL 200C
Eternal Family
As we find our way in a world less attentive to the commandments of God, we will
certainly be prayerful, but we need not be overly alarmed. The Lord will bless His
Saints with the added spiritual power necessary to meet the challenges of our day.
Here is my major theme this morning: As evil increases in the world, there is a
compensatory spiritual power for the righteous. As the world slides from its spiritual
moorings, the Lord prepares the way for those who seek Him, offering them greater
assurance, greater confirmation, and greater confidence in the spiritual direction they
are traveling. The gift of the Holy Ghost becomes a brighter light in the emerging
twilight.
To understand better, think of these comparisons: If the world were growing more
physically dark, He could give us enhanced night vision. If loud noises were
constantly in our ears, He could give us a filtering mechanism to block the unwanted
sound. If the race we were running was extended, He could give us increased lung
and muscle capacity. If the exam we were taking was more difficult, He could quicken
our minds—a blessing many here at BYU would like to receive.
My brothers and sisters, as evil increases in the world, there is a compensatory power,
an additional spiritual endowment, a revelatory gift for the righteous.
This added blessing of spiritual power does not settle upon us just because we are
part of this generation. It is willingly offered to us; it is eagerly put before us. But as
with all spiritual gifts, it requires our desiring it, pursuing it, and living worthy of
receiving it. “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he
receive not the gift?”
Faith is the muscle of spiritual knowledge and power. Faith is a spiritual gift of God,
but it is developed and magnified as we eagerly pursue our journey of embracing and
following the Savior.
Questions (You will probably need 1-2 paragraphs to answer the questions sufficiently):
1.
How would you define “compensatory power” considering the context in Elder Andersen’s
teaching above?
2.
List at least three ways how what Nephi taught in 1 Nephi 14:12-14 is like Elder Andersen’s
insight. (Provide the
scriptural phrase
and
verse number
for all three.)
Teaching
Scriptural Phrase
Verse Number
REL 200C
Eternal Family
3.
How does one gain access to this “compensatory power” or “spiritual endowment”?
During and After Class
Step 3:
Complete
one of the following
Case Studies by pondering the scenario and responding to the prompts for
that scenario.
Scenario Options:
Scenario A: Is Baptism (etc.) Really Necessary?
After graduating from BYU-Idaho you take a job that lands you and your new family in a lovely town in
southern Florida. You love everything about your new job, including your energetic coworkers, many of
whom you've learned are Evangelical Christians. Lately, now that they have gotten to know you, these
coworkers have been regularly engaging you in playful religious banter and at times have even
thoughtlessly mocked some of your beliefs. Recently they jokingly chided you for believing too much in
"works" and too little in the "grace" of Jesus Christ. You protested that Jesus is central to your faith and
you're surprised they didn't know that. They retorted that your church only pays lip service to Jesus but
does not truly teach that salvation comes by grace through faith, as the Bible says it does.
Feeling a bit annoyed (but not letting it show), you ask them to explain what they mean. One of them
named Rick says, "
Mormons believe that as long as they get baptized and keep all the Mormon rules they
will be saved—that's called believing in salvation by works. But the Bible is clear that there is nothing
that we can do to cause God to save us. Heck, not even baptism is essential.
"
"
Wait a minute
," you say, pondering that last statement. "
You guys don't believe baptism is necessary to be
saved? Come on, that's all over the place in the Bible!
" "
Well,
" Rick continues undeterred, "
Baptism
might be a nice outward ceremony to show your commitment to God (and we have nothing against people
who do this), but salvation by faith means we are saved when we believe in Christ. Salvation is a free gift
from Christ to those who have faith in him—totally independent of our own works, righteousness, or
ceremonial actions (like baptism).
"
Scenario A: Questions (You will probably need 1-2 paragraphs to answer the questions sufficiently):
1.
What are Rick's assumptions about baptism and by implication all other "ceremonial actions"
(i.e., ordinances)? Why does he think this way (i.e., what is he basing these assumptions on)? Is
REL 200C
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