Lesson 2: “Behold, I Am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World”, Doctrine and Covenants and Church History The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Lesson 2: “Behold, I Am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World”

Doctrine and Covenants and Church History The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Attention Activity:
Quickly learn how to do an origami like the one on this link. If you have a small class, you can give a piece of paper to all class members. If you have a large class you can just have a few people come up as an example. Have the group do the origami. The first time, only give verbal instructions to the students. Do not show them any step. No demonstrations! As you go along only giving verbal instructions the students will being to get confused, especially if the instructions are not the most clear. After you are done, have the students hold up their finished products. Ask why there are so many varying finished products, and what would have made it easier (to see it done). Then, have them unfold or give them a new piece of paper, and walk them through the same instructions giving verbal instructions and visual demonstration.

Class Discussion:
Discuss with the class how seeing someone do something is usually better than just hearing about it. The D&C is intended to show us more about who Christ is and what he did so we can come closer to being like Him. Have your chalk and chalkboard ready. Ask the class to talk about some of the main things that they already know that the atonement does for us. Talk about ideas and try to get to the three main points that are listed in the lesson.

Through the Atonement, we will all be resurrected.
Through the Atonement, we can be forgiven of our sins and inherit celestial glory.
Through the Atonement, the Savior gained perfect empathy for us in all our sorrows, pains, and afflictions.

Have each of the scriptures from the lesson manual in Section 2 listed on the board. Give the class a few minutes to read as many as they can and put the scriptures into the main point that they belong to. After a few minutes, start with number 1 and talk about each of these three aspects of the atonement and what the D&C adds to our knowledge regarding the subject. One key aspect to point out is that #1 says “we will” and #2 says “we can be.” Resurrection is a free gift to all, but forgiveness is given to those that repent and strive for a Christ-like life. For #3 ask the class, “How have you felt the Savior helping you during the difficult times in your life?” (This question can be a little more difficult for younger classes, but it can work.)

Application:
The last question can be a great application question. You can also ask, “How does an increased knowledge of the atonement affect how you will live this week?”