Mission Prep Class: Lesson 7: Teaching the Message of the Restoration (Part 1)

Missionary Preparation Class
Lesson 7
Teaching the Message of
the Restoration (Part 1)
www.LatterDaySaintMissionPrep.com
Welcome to Our
Lesson 7: Teaching the Message of

Lesson 7
About the Class Instructor
• My name is Jimmy Smith
• Founder of Latter-day Saint Mission Prep website
• I live in Texas in the United States
• I served my mission to Argentina, 1995-1997

Lesson 7
About this Mission Prep Class
• Following the Church’s
Missionary Preparation
Teacher Manual
• Teaching my two teenage
children and record the
lessons for others to enjoy
• This video, my website, and
other content I create is
NOT a publication of The
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints

Lesson 7
Before We Begin: Make Sure You
Have a Way to Take Notes

Lesson 7
Review of Previous Lessons
The Missionary Purpose—to Invite Others to
Come Unto Christ
Lesson 1:
Our Need for the Atonement of Jesus Christ
Lesson 2:
Learning by the Spirit of God
Lesson 3:
Teaching by the Spirit of God
Lesson 4:
The Role of the Book of Mormon in
Missionary Work
Lesson 5:
Preparing for Life as a Missionary
Lesson 6:

Lesson 7
Table of Contents for this Lesson
• Section 1: The Nature of God
• Section 2: Families are Integral to God’s Plan
• Section 3: Prophets and Dispensations
• Section 4: The Great Apostasy

Lesson 7
• Imagine you receive a
message from a friend who
is discouraged and wonders
whether God is real.
• How would you respond? Do you believe
God is real?
What do you
believe God is like?
I’m discouraged.
Message from Friend
reply
• Today’s lesson focuses on
some of the doctrines in
the first missionary lesson,
including the nature of God
our Heavenly Father.

Lesson 7
God Is Our Loving Heavenly Father
• “God is our Heavenly Father. We are His children. He
has a body of flesh and bone that is glorified and
perfected. He loves us. He understands and feels our
sorrows and rejoices in our progress. He wants to
communicate with us, and we can communicate with
Him through sincere prayer.” (PMG)
God the Father, Cima da Conegliano

Lesson 7
God Is Our Loving Heavenly Father
• Joseph Smith taught that in
order to exercise faith in God
unto salvation, we must know:
• “First, …that he actually exists.
Secondly, A correct idea of his
character, perfections and
attributes.”
• See Lectures on Faith 3: 2-4
• Let’s read some scriptures
about the nature of God
Image used by permission
from the Gospel Media library
on churchofjesuschrist.org

Lesson 7
Scriptures about the Nature of God
• Moses 1:39 “This is my work and my glory—to bring to
pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
• Matt 5: 48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect.”
• Acts 17: 28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our
being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we
are also his offspring.”
• Romans 8: 16-17 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ.”
• 1 John 4:9 “In this was manifested the love of God
toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son
into the world, that we might live through him.”

Lesson 7
Scriptures about the Nature of God
• Mosiah 4:9 “Believe in God; believe that he is, and
that he created all things, both in heaven and in
earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power”
• 3 Nephi 14:11 “If ye then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts unto your children, how much more
shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to
them that ask him?”
• D&C 38:1-3 “[I am] the same which knoweth all
things, for all things are present before mine eyes; I
am the same which spake, and the world was made,
and all things came by me.”
• D&C 130:22 “The Father has a body of flesh and
bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also.”

Lesson 7
What are the characteristics
of God?
Creator of
heaven and
earth
All knowledge All wisdom All power
Good Physical body
Works for
eternal life of
mankind
Perfect
Gives life and
power to us
Has children
(us)
Love Sacrifice
• Why might it be important to first understand these
principles before learning about other doctrines?

Lesson 7
The Almada Family
The Godoy Family
The Flores Family

Lesson 7
Families are Part of God’s Plan to
bring Happiness to His Children
• “The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that all
individuals are part of God’s family and that families can
be united now and in eternity. Because families are
ordained of God, they are the most important social unit
in time and in eternity. God has established families to
bring happiness to His children, allow them to learn
correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and prepare
them for eternal life.” (PMG)

Lesson 7
Families are Part of God’s Plan to
bring Happiness to His Children
• “The home is the best place to teach, learn, and apply
principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A home
established on gospel principles will be a place of refuge
and safety. It will be a place where the Spirit of the Lord
can abide, blessing family members with peace, joy, and
happiness. Through prophets in every age, including our
own, God has revealed His plan of happiness for
individuals and families.” (Preach My Gospel Manual)

Lesson 7
• We “proclaim that marriage between a man and a
woman is ordained of God and that the family is
central to the Creator’s plan”
• “…We declare that God’s commandment for His
children to multiply and replenish the earth remains
in force.”
• “…Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to
love and care for each other and for their children.
• “…Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in
love and righteousness, to provide for their physical
and spiritual needs”

Lesson 7
• “Marriage between man and woman is essential to
His eternal plan. …Successful marriages and families
are established and maintained on principles of faith,
prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love,
compassion, work, and wholesome recreational
activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside
over their families in love and righteousness and are
responsible to provide the necessities of life and
protection for their families. Mothers are primarily
responsible for the nurture of their children. In these
sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are
obligated to help one another as equal partners.”

Lesson 7
Satan Wishes to
Destroy the Family
• President Boyd K. Packer of
the Quorum of the 12 said:
• “The ultimate purpose of the
adversary, who has ‘great
wrath, because he knoweth
that he hath but a short time’
(Rev 12:12), is to disrupt,
disturb, and destroy the
home and the family.”
• “The Father and the Family,” Ensign, May 1994

Lesson 7
Questions to Discuss / Ponder
• Why would Satan’s “ultimate purpose” be to destroy
the home and the family?
• What are some worldly trends that oppose Heavenly
Father’s plan for marriage, home, and family?
• How should missionaries respond to people who
have different views about family than the Church?

Lesson 7
It’s No Small Thing to Hear the
Voice of God through Prophets
• “It is no small thing, my brothers and
sisters, to have a prophet of God in
our midst. Great and wonderful are
the blessings that come into our lives
as we listen to the word of the Lord
given to us through him. … When we
hear the counsel of the Lord
expressed through the words of the
President of the Church, our
response should be positive and
prompt. History has shown that
there is safety, peace, prosperity, and
happiness in responding to prophetic
counsel.”
• M. Russell Ballard, “His Word Ye Shall Receive,” Ensign, May 2001

Lesson 7
Whether by God’s Voice or by His
Servants, It is the Same
• “Search these commandments,
for they are true and faithful,
and the prophecies and
promises which are in them shall
all be fulfilled. What I the Lord
have spoken, I have spoken, and
I excuse not myself; and though
the heavens and the earth pass
away, my word shall not pass
away, but shall all be fulfilled,
whether by mine own voice or
by the voice of my servants, it is
the same.” (D&C 1:37-38)

Lesson 7
Heavenly Father Reveals His Gospel
to Prophets
• “One important way that God shows His love for us is by
calling prophets, who are given the priesthood—the
power and authority given to man to act in God’s name
for the salvation of His children. Prophets learn the
gospel of Jesus Christ by revelation. They in turn teach
the gospel to others and testify of Jesus Christ as the
Savior and Redeemer. The teachings of prophets are
found in sacred books called scriptures.” (PMG)

Lesson 7
• President Henry B. Eyring once told about a time
he followed prophetic counsel for members to
get out of debt.
• When he trusted in God and made efforts to pay
off his mortgage, the Lord miraculously provided
the way. Free of the bondage of debt, he was
better able to serve the Lord (see “Trust in God,
Then Go and Do,” Ensign, Nov. 2010).
• What blessings come to those who follow the
counsel of the Lord’s prophet?
• Can you think of a specific time when following
the counsel of the Lord’s prophet blessed your
life?

Lesson 7
Dispensations Defined
• “Biblical history has recorded many
instances of God speaking to prophets ...
Heavenly Father revealed His gospel
through direct communication to
prophets such as Noah, Abraham, and
Moses. Each prophet was called by God
to begin a new dispensation of the
gospel. To each of these prophets God
granted priesthood authority and
revealed eternal truths. Unfortunately,
in each dispensation people eventually
used their agency to choose to reject
the gospel and then fell into apostasy.”
(PMG)

Lesson 7
Apostasy Defined
• “Whenever people choose to
disregard, disobey, or distort any
gospel principle or ordinance,
whenever they reject the Lord’s
prophets, or whenever they fail to
endure in faith, they distance
themselves from God and begin to
live in spiritual darkness.
Eventually this leads to a condition
called apostasy. When widespread
apostasy occurs, God withdraws
His priesthood authority to teach
and administer the ordinances of
the gospel.” (PMG)
Image courtesy of Joy
Digital Christian Portal
joydigitalmag.com

Lesson 7
The Great Apostasy
• “After the death of Jesus Christ, wicked people
persecuted the Apostles and Church members and killed
many of them. With the death of the Apostles,
priesthood keys and the presiding priesthood authority
were taken from the earth. …Without the Apostles, over
time the doctrine was corrupted, and unauthorized
changes were made in Church organization and
priesthood ordinances, such as baptism and conferring
the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (PMG)

Lesson 7
The Apostasy Led to the
Emergence of Many Churches
• “Without revelation and priesthood authority, people
relied on human wisdom to interpret the scriptures and
the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. False ideas were taught as truth. Much of the
knowledge of the true character and nature of God the
Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost was lost.
Important parts of the doctrine of faith in Jesus Christ,
repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost
became distorted or forgotten. …This apostasy eventually
led to the emergence of many churches.” (PMG)

Lesson 7
Scriptures about the Apostasy
• The prophet Amos said, “Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a
famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the
words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to
sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run
to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find
it.” (Amos 8:11-12)
• Luke wrote: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to
all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made
you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath
purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after
my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you,
not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men
arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples
after them.” (Acts 20:28-30)

Lesson 7
What the Apostle Paul said about
the Apostasy
• Speaking of the second coming of Jesus Christ, Paul said:
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall
not come, except there come a falling away first, and that
man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” (2 Thes 2:3)
• In his letters to Timothy, he said: “Now the Spirit
speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils.” (1 Tim 4:1)
• “For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall
turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables.” (2 Tim 4: 3-4)

Lesson 7
The Scriptures Prophesy of
Restoration after the Apostasy
• “Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may
be blotted out, when the times
of refreshing shall come from
the presence of the Lord; And
he shall send Jesus Christ,
which before was preached
unto you: Whom the heaven
must receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which
God hath spoken by the mouth
of all his holy prophets since
the world began.” (Acts 3:19-
21) Image used by permission

Lesson 7
• Why would it be helpful for investigators to
understand that all previous dispensations ended in
apostasy?
• What has God done throughout history to end
periods of apostasy?
• How would understanding this pattern prepare
investigators to learn about the Restoration of the
gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith?

Lesson 7
Conclusion and Homework
• Summary
• Section 1: The Nature of God
• Section 2: Families are Integral to God’s Plan
• Section 3: Prophets and Dispensations
• Section 4: The Great Apostasy
• Church Talks, Videos, and Resources to Check Out
• Video “The Great Apostasy” (16:33), on the Church’s
website
• Study the Topical Guide entry “Apostasy of the Early
Christian Church”
• Study and ponder the Gospel Topics article “Are Mormons
Christian?” found on the Church’s website
• Read Joseph Smith’s description of the First Vision (Joseph
Smith—History 1:1–19) in preparation for the next class

Lesson 7
Thank You for Watching or Listening
• I have a testimony that these things are true
• Visit the Latter-day Saint Mission Prep Website at
• www.MormonMissionPrep.com

Mission Prep Class: Lesson 7: Teaching the Message of the Restoration (Part 1)

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Mission Prep Class: Lesson 7: Teaching the Message of the Restoration (Part 1)