To download past handouts, go to: highlandvalleysundayschoolnotes2012.blogspot.

com

Adonai (Hebrew: my Lord) Advocate Almighty God Alpha and Omega Amen Ancient of Days Anointed One Austere Man Author of Salvation Beginning and End Beloved Son Bishop Brazen Serpent Bread of Life Bridegroom Bride of the Lamb Bright and Morning Star Captain of Salvation Captain of the Lords Host Carpenters Son, Chief Cornerstone Chosen One Counselor Creator Crucified One Deliverer Desire of All Nations Door of the Sheep Elder Brother Elias Eternal Judge Everlasting Father Exemplar Expiator Faithful and True Father Finisher of Faith First and Last, Firstborn Firstfruits Forerunner Galilean God God of Battles God of Gods God of Jeshurun God of Spirits God of the Whole Earth God of Truth Good Shepherd Governor Great I Am Healer Heir of All Things High Priest Holy Holy One Husband I Am Immanuel Incarnate God Intercessor Jah (shortened form of Yahweh) Jehovah Jesus Judge of All the Earth Just One Keeper of the Gate Key of David King of Glory King of Heaven King of Kings King of Zion Lamb of God Law Lawgiver Light of Life Light of the World Lion of the Tribe of Judah Living Bread Living Stone Living Water Logos (Greek: Word) Lord Lord God Lord of Glory Lord of Hosts Lord of Lords Lord of Sabaoth Lord of the Harvest Lord of the Sabbath Lord of the Vineyard Lord Omnipotent Lord Our Righteousness Maker Man of Counsel Man of Holiness Manna Master Mediator Meek and Lowly One Messenger of the Covenant Messenger of Salvation Messenger of the Covenant Messiah Messias (Greek: anointed) Mighty God Minister of Salvation Most High Omegus Only Begotten Our Passover Paraclete Physician Potentate Potter Power of God Prince of Peace Prophet Propitiator Purifier Quetzalcoatl Rabbi Reconcilor Redeemer Refiner Restorer Resurrection Resurrection and the Life Righteous Man Risen Lord Rock of Heaven Root of David Ruler The Sacrifice Salvation Savior Second Adam Second Comforter Servant Shiloh Sign of Jonas Sign of the Cross Son Son Ahman Son of David Son of God Son of Man Son of Righteousness Son of the Highest Spirit of Truth Stem of Jesse Stone of Israel Teacher Come from God Testator True Vine Truth Unchangeable One Way Well Beloved Wisdom of God Wonderful Truth and Life Word of God Word of Life Worthy Yahweh ..

After Jesus Christ was crucified, His Apostles presided over the Church. But soon persecution, divisions, and apostasy increased. Within a few decades, there was a falling away from the Church, as the Apostles had prophesied (Acts 20:2830; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 4:34). This falling away is known as the Great Apostasy. What were some of the consequences of the Great Apostasy? (See D&C 1:1516; Joseph SmithHistory 1:89, 19, 21; Mormon 1:1314.) Why was Joseph confused about which church he should join? (See Joseph SmithHistory 1:5 10.) How was Josephs situation like that of people today who are searching to know the truth? What are some of the truths we can learn from the First Vision? SCRIPTURE CHAIN: The Apostasy and the Restoration Amos 8:11-12 Acts 3:20-21 D&C 1:14-17 D&C 128:20-21

#1: Elder Tad R. Callister of the Seventy: Because of the Atonement, every event, every encounter, every disaster, however despairing it may seem to the outward eye, may be met with spiritual success. A temporal tragedy need never result in a spiritual defeat. (The Infinite Atonement, 244) #2: Though he might have become a Christian, he did not yet allow it to interfere with his making a living He was hardly the poster boy for the truly penitent. (Barbara Mikkelson, Snopes.com)

#3: Newton did eventually grow into his conversion, so that by the end of his days he actually was the godly man one would expect to have penned Amazing Grace. But it was a slow process effected over the passage of decades, not something that happened with a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning. In Newtons case, the amazing grace he wrote of might well have referred to Gods unending patience with him. Still, Newtons story gives us all hopeeven the greatest of sinners can ultimately and meaningfully repent. (Ibid.)

AMAZING GRACE
By John Newton Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That sav'd a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears reliev'd; How precious did that grace appear, The hour I first believ'd! Thro' many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home. The Lord has promis'd good to me, His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures. Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease; I shall possess, within the veil, A life of joy and peace. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine; But God, who call'd me here below, Will be forever mine.

Doctrine & Covenants 93

Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants A Guided Tour Through Modern Revelations (pp. 345-49) Steven C. Harper

ORIGIN Historical records say nothing about why Doctrine and Covenants 93 was given, but the Lord tells us why in verse 19 of the text itself: 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 fullness. CONTENT Doctrine and Covenants 93 adds intelligence to the impressive catalog of synonyms in section 88 that include light, life, law, power , and glorymost memorably in verse 35: The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth. The Lords use of the word fulness tells us that section 93 is a revelation about exaltation. Fulness is used occasionally in the Book of Mormon and early revelations to describe the gospel, but in section 76, the first of the revelations to describe progress beyond simple salvation from sin and death, the word bursts onto the page nine times. In section 93 we hear it fifteen times, sometimes enriched as in fulness of truth (v. 26) or fulness of joy (v. 34). Section 93 is an introductory text on how to come into the Lords presence and become like him. From the beginning the revelation describes what we must do to see his face and know him. Critics of the Church argue that such revelations as section 93 emphasize works, what we must do to earn exaltation. They feel that such theology minimizes or negates the atonement of Jesus Christ. But there is not a more Christ-centered revelation than section 93. It says nothing about earning Gods fulness. Rather, Christ himself describes what we must do to become like him, to grow in light as he did until we have been given Gods fulness. The reception of grace is conditional. We must forsake sins, come to Christ, and call upon and obey him in order to see and know him face to face (v. 1). Section 93 draws on otherwise lost writings of John. The revelation clearly echoes the New Testament Gospel of John (vv. 7-11), but it also recounts the testimony of John the Baptist (v. 15). Authorities have expressed different opinions about which John is the writer. It is clear that the revelation restores tantalizing lost texts and promises that even more will be forthcoming (vv. 6, 18). By drawing on these lost sources, section 93 restores richness about the nature of God, Christ, and man that is lost from traditional Christianity. Indeed, it explains how and who to worship (v. 19). We worship the Father, the organizer of eternal elements and intelligent beings whom he designs to inherit his attributes and with them his fulness of joy (v. 33). We worship a God who did not create us from nothing but rather from eternally existing element and intelligence (see vv. 33-35). We worship a God whose work is to frame worlds and inhabit them with his children to provide them a sphere in which they can act independently, truly free to do their Fathers will or their own. And that is how we worship: by choosing of our own free will to receive the light he offers us, to keep his commandments and therefore receive more truth, more light, more intelligence, until we know all he knows and have become all he is. We worship our Heavenly Father by becoming like him. To emulate him is the higher worship we can offer him. Christ is the example: He received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace (v. 12). He obeyed his Father and grew by degrees of glory until he received a fulness (v. 13). Christ declares that we have similar potential for growth and godliness (v. 20). Critics reject the premise of section 93 that Christ became God and they find especially blasphemous the idea that mortals can also aspire to grow up (D&C 109:15) to become like their Heavenly Father. But such critics offer nothing as compelling as the description in section 93 of the nature of a Heavenly Father (in every sense of those words), of his firstborn Son (see vv. 4, 21), and of mankind as uncreated and

therefore agents under a Heavenly Fathers care but not compulsion. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of section 93 is the transition at verse 40 to practical instructions. The final verses descend from the heavens into the everyday concerns of Joseph and his friends Section 93 is a masterpiece of parenting from a most concerned Father and a commandment to go and do likewise (v. 40). Moreover, since the glory of God is intelligence, he adds a commandment to worship by learning, by obtaining knowledge as a means to the end of exaltation. Exalting knowledge comes by obedience to Gods light and truth. He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things (v. 28). OUTCOMES It may be true that Doctrine and Covenants 93 suggests more than it precisely defines, but it also affirms good Bible teaching. The apostle Paul admonished the Philippians: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:5-12). If Joseph Smith blasphemed, then so did Paul. More likely, both revealed sublime truth about the nature of God and man that was lost in the intervening years (quoted from Truman Madsen:) Section 93 was received in May 1833, when Joseph was twentyseven years old. It defines beginningless beginnings, the interrelationships of truth, of light, of intelligence, of agency, of element, of embodiment, of joy. Every sentence, every word, is freighted with meaning. In one fell swoop it cuts many Gordian knots. For example: How can something come from nothing? Answer: The universe was not created from nothing. The elements are eternal. How can Christ have been both absolutely human and absolutely divine at the same time? Answer: He was not both at the same time. Christ received not of the fulness at the first, but continued...until he received a fulness. If man is totally the creation of God, how can he be anything or do anything that he was not divinely pre-caused to do? Answer: Man is not totally the creation of God. Intelligence...was not created or made, neither indeed can be...Behold, here is the agency of man. How can man be a divine creation and yet be totally depraved? Answer: Man is not totally depraved. 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. What is the relationship of being and beings, the one and the many? Answer: Being is only the collective name of beings, of whom God is one. Truth is knowledge of things (plural), and not, as Plato would have it, of Thinghood. Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come. How can spirit be related to gross matter? Answer: Spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy. If we begin susceptible to light and truth, how is it that people err and abuse the light? Answer: People are free; they can be persuaded only if they choose to be. They cannot be compelled. The Socratic thesis that knowledge is virtue (that if you really know the good you will seek it and do it) is mistaken. It is through disobedience and because of the traditions of the fathers that light is taken away from mankind. During a presentation at the Yale Divinity School, Brother Madsen told of a conversation with some Catholic priests, learned Jesuits, who expressed their inability to conceive of God as an intimate father intent on raising mankind to share in his glory and status. Brother Madsen offered to them how hard it is for Latter-day Saints to conceive of God as anything other than a concerned father whose work and glory is to glorify and exalt all of his willing children in the ways outlined by section 93.

D&C LESSON 2 OUTLINE [On Board: Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can]

You may have noticed on the handout a list of a few of the names of Christ as used in the scriptures. ~As you peruse them, is there anything that strikes you about them? What do they tell us about Christ? (His roles and attributes) We could make a similar kind of list for each of us here. Lets take as an example ___________. (name of person) (~What are some of his/her titles, roles or attributes?) Mother Wife Sister Friend Daughter Teacher Pianist Gardener. By these titles, we come to know _______ a little better, dont we? Of course one big difference between our lists and the Saviors is that He has attained perfection in each, and were, of course, a work in progress! The Doctrine and Covenants contains at least 66 names and titles for the Savior. ~Who is speaking in these revelations? (the Savior Himself) So just as _______ helped us to know some of her roles, interests, attributes and talents, the Savior by revealing these different names is helping us to understand and know Him better. He tells us why He reveals these things in: D&C 93:19 ~So what happens as we come to know Christ more and more? (see v. 20, we receive grace for grace until we receive all) Lets go down to verses 26-28 to see how learning Christs titles can help us to understand Him as well as His scriptures. Would someone mind reading while I interrupt you from time to time? 26: ~Who is the Spirit of Truth from? (God)

~And who is the Spirit of Truth? (Christ) 2 ~Can more than one being be the Spirit of Truth? (yes, God the Father is all of these things as well) ~How did Christ become the Spirit of Truth? (by receiving all truth) ~From whom did he receive it? (God the Father ~What does receive mean here? (Websters 1828 dictionary: embrace, so it means to accept and obey) 27: ~A fullness of what? (truth) ~When Christ received a fullness of truth, what did he become? (the Spirit of TruthHe became perfected in that attribute) ~Are we expected to do the same? ~How do we receive this fullness of truth? (by keeping His commandments) 28: ~Who personifies truth and light? (Christ) ~So who is it we are receiving as we keep the commandments? (Christ) ~Conversely, who are we rejecting when we dont keep the commandments? (Christ) ~What is the end result of being more and more obedient? (glorified in truthknoweth all things) In other words, we can also receive a fullness of truth, through Christ. I think if I could Id add another name to that list on the handout: Generosity. Christ and the Father are not stingy or protective of their turf, are they? No! They want to give us all that we are willing to receive. Pondering each revealed name of Christ is a worthwhile and faith strengthening endeavor. In fact, that would be a really great approachto study each name in depth and thereby come to know our Savior better. ~One reminder: Was Christ always perfect in all of these traits and roles? (No, see 93:13. And this is why He knows how to help us along the path to fullness) ~What was Christs most important role for us? (Savior) D&C 19:16-19 ~When he talks about finishing His preparations, what is He referring to? What did He prepare for us? (the way back to the Fatherhe over

came all the obstacles: sin, death, Satanall obstacles that would keep us from receiving a fullness of joy with the father.)

Lets finish the sentence on the board: ~Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can.What? (be resurrected, repent, have peace of mind, be succored in our challenges, be motivated, be exalted, be made free, receive grace) Quotation #1 ~Do you ever wonder why Heavenly Father doesnt just remove excessively wicked people from the world? (sometimes He does, when they are ripe, but the scriptures are full of examples of extremely wicked people who eventually had a change of heart and repented: The people of Jonahs Ninevah, Alma the Elder and Younger, Paul) There is a more current example of this which Id like to relate so that we can feel hope for ourselves that through the Atonement we, too, can overcome the challenges of life, no matter what mistakes we may have made. Put picture of John Newton on Board ~Does anyone recognize this man? His name is John Newton, and he was born in the year 1725. He was British, a slave buyer in Africa, and the captain of slave ships. He also wrote the hymn Amazing Grace. He became a Christian in the year 1748 at the age of 23, after surviving a violent storm at sea. ~Do you think his converting to Christianity changed him instantly from John the slave trader to John the perfect Christian? Are you the perfect Christian yet? Or is it a lifetime of work? Baptism is the beginning of the journey. It is not the gate to the Celestial Kingdom, is it? ~What do we enter by opening the gate of baptism? (the path leading to eternal life) Quotation #2 John Newton didnt quit the salve trade until about 7 years after his conversion, when his wife begged him to settle down. At that point he became a tides surveyor, or customs officer.

Two years later, in 1764, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England. 4 From slave trader to priest is already a remarkable conversion, wouldnt you say? But around 1772, with a growing awareness of his grave past sins, and in gratitude for the Atonement, he composed the hymn Amazing Grace In 1780 he expressed regrets about his role as slave trader and in 1785, about 37 years after his initial conversion, he began the fight to abolish slavery. He continued this crusade until his death in 1807, the same year in which the abolition of the slave trade in England was finally achieved. Note: this was 50 years before it was achieved in the U.S., and without a civil war. Quotation #3 In John Newtons own words, Only Gods amazing grace could and would take a rude, profane, slave-trading sailor and transform him into a child of God The adjectives we would use would certainly be different, but couldnt each of us say the same? At the end of his life, John Newton said this: My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior. (http://www.reformedreader.org/rbb/newton/neindex.html) Amen to that! (May want to close with a solo or everyone singing Amazing Grace)