Genesis 3–4; Moses 4–5

Consider displaying the following questions and inviting students to discuss them with a partner. If students need help, they could study Topics and Questions, “Agency and Accountability” (Gospel Library) before they begin their discussion.

• What is agency?

• Why is agency important?

Explain that Moses 4 describes the premortal Council in Heaven, in which Heavenly Father chose Jesus Christ be our Savior. Agency was one of the main issues to arise in this premortal council. Invite students as they study today to see what they can learn about the importance of their agency and how they can protect it.

Consider displaying the following study activity and inviting students to complete it in partnerships or small groups:

Study Moses 4:1–4, then discuss the following questions:

• What are some contrasts you noticed between the words of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the words of Satan?

• How did you see agency being honored or disregarded in these verses?

Invite various students to share with the class insights they gained from their study and discussion. As they share, they could identify truths like this: Jesus Christ humbly does the will of our Father in Heaven. Satan seeks to destroy our agency and lead us to captivity.

• How does Satan seek to destroy our agency today? As part of your discussion, consider sharing the following statement from Elder Paul V. Johnson:

Satan now deceives and blinds men, and he leads them captive at his will. If he is leading people captive, doesn’t that sound like he is destroying agency?

The fact is, he couldn’t destroy agency in the pre-earth life, and he can’t do it now either. But he leads us captive by enticing us to sin. When we sin, we subject ourselves to him. We, in effect, give part of our agency to him. He can’t take it from us, but we can relinquish it. (“Free to Choose,” Ensign, Feb. 2019, 64)

Explain that in contrast with Satan, who seeks to destroy our agency, Jesus Christ seeks to preserve and protect it.

• How did Heavenly Father’s and Jesus Christ’s actions in the Council in Heaven protect your agency?

• How do Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ continue to protect your agency today? (You could share the following statement from Elder Johnson as part of this discussion:)

When we obey Satan, we give him power. When we obey God, He gives us power. This is not the message we get from the world, but it is the truth. Real power, the power to become like the Savior, is found only in obedience. Real freedom is found only in obedience—in subjecting ourselves to God’s will rather than to the will of the flesh or the will of the devil. Obedience brings freedom, power, joy, peace, and hope.

… By living righteously, we can be free from any power the adversary would like to exercise over us. He gains power only as we allow it by our choices. If something in our life bothers us and binds us down, let us repent. Let’s get rid of it and increase the freedom in our lives. (“Free to Choose,” 69)

Give students time to ponder ways they feel Satan may be trying to lead them to captivity. Encourage them to think of actions they can take to more fully rely on Jesus Christ so they can experience the increased freedom that comes from Him. Invite them to write down the thoughts and impressions they receive.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”

Consider sharing the following scenario:

• What thoughts do you have about Lucas’s response to his situation?

Explain that the actions of Adam and Eve after they partook of the forbidden fruit can teach us important lessons about where to turn when we have transgressed God’s commandments. (If needed, you could review the account of Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit by studying Moses 3:15–17; 4:5–12.) Encourage students to seek understanding from Heavenly Father about how the truths they study today can apply to their lives.

Study together Moses 4:12–19, 27. Invite students to look for truths from these verses that might help Lucas reframe how he views his mistakes. Give students opportunity to share their insights in partnerships or small groups. You could display questions like the following to enhance the discussion:

• Why do you think Adam and Eve tried to hide from God? How do people sometimes try to “hide” from God today?

• What can you learn from God’s question “Where goest thou?” (verse 15)?

• How did God help Adam and Eve in verse 27? How can He help us when we have fallen into transgression?

After students finish their discussions, explain that there is important symbolic meaning in the “coats of skins” God provided for Adam and Eve. Share the following statement from Sister J. Anette Dennis. (Or you could study “Genesis 3:21; Moses 4:27. What is the significance of God clothing Adam and Eve with coats of skins?” in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.)

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, those of us who have chosen to make covenants with God in the house of the Lord wear sacred ceremonial outer clothing during temple worship, symbolic of the clothing worn in ancient temple rituals. We also wear the garment of the holy priesthood, both during temple worship and in our everyday lives.

The garment of the holy priesthood is deeply symbolic and also points to the Savior. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit and had to leave the Garden of Eden, they were given coats of skins as a covering for them. It is likely that an animal was sacrificed to make those coats of skins—symbolic of the Savior’s own sacrifice for us. Kaphar is the basic Hebrew word for atonement, and one of its meanings is “to cover.” Our temple garment reminds us that the Savior and the blessings of His Atonement cover us throughout our lives. As we put on the garment of the holy priesthood each day, that beautiful symbol becomes a part of us. (“Put Ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,” Liahona, May 2024, 11)

Invite students to share what they learn about Jesus Christ and temple garments from Sister Dennis’s statement (Using their own words, they could share a truth like this: Temple garments symbolically represent Jesus Christ and the blessings of His Atonement.)

• How can understanding this truth affect our willingness to receive the blessings of the temple and wear the holy garment? How can it influence the way you feel about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Consider sharing the following statement from President Jeffrey R. Holland and inviting students to share what stood out to them:

When we put on the garment, we are, as the First Presidency has taught, putting on a sacred symbol of Jesus Christ. That being the case, why would we ever look for an excuse to take that symbol off? Why would we deprive ourselves of the promise of power, protection, and mercy the garment represents? On the contrary, whenever we do have to temporarily remove the garment, we should be eager to put it back on, as soon as possible, because we remember both the promises and the perils that give meaning to our covenants. Above all, we remember the cross and empty tomb of Christ.

Some might say, “I have other ways to remember Jesus.” And I would respond, that’s wonderful. The more the better. Let’s all think of as many ways as we can to keep our commitment to “always remember him.” But in so doing, it would be disingenuous to intentionally neglect the reminder the Lord Himself gave to the endowed, the garment of the holy priesthood. (“The Garment of the Holy Priesthood,” Liahona, Sept. 2024, 7)

Testify of the truths you have discussed. Invite students to record spiritual impressions they may have received from the Holy Ghost about how they could apply the truths they have been studying. Encourage them to act on their spiritual impressions.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”

Before students arrive, consider writing words like peace, growth, satisfaction, joy, and happiness on one side of the board and words like pain, anxiety, sorrow, injury, and sadness on the other side of the board.

Ask the class to think of times when they have recently experienced any of these things. You might also ask:

• What role did the Fall of Adam and Eve play in us having these feelings or experiences?

In this learning activity, students will study ways they are affected by the Fall, as well as the essential role of Jesus Christ in overcoming the effects of the Fall. Before they begin studying, it may be helpful to have a few students share what they know about the events leading up to the Fall of Adam and Eve. (If needed, you could study Moses 3:15–17; 4:5–12 together.)

Display the following table and invite students to create a version of their own. Give them time to complete the table individually or with a partner. (You could also have them study entries related to these verses in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.)

After sufficient time, ask students to share their responses for the two columns in the table. Some of their responses could include truths like the following: The Fall was an essential part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. If Adam and Eve had not fallen, they would not have been able to have children. As a result of the Fall, all people experience physical and spiritual death. Through Jesus Christ, we can be redeemed from the Fall.

To help students better understand and feel the importance of these truths, consider asking some of the following questions:

• Why was the Fall an essential part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation?

• How does understanding the Fall help you better understand your need for Jesus Christ?

• What does the Fall reveal about Heavenly Father’s love and hopes for His children?

Some of the following statements may be helpful to use at different points in the discussion:

Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ. No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon all mankind. (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants,” Ensign, Apr. 1987, 85)

Mortal life is inherently unfair. … In unfair situations, one of our tasks is to trust that “all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ” [Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2018), 52]. Jesus Christ overcame the world and “absorbed” all unfairness. Because of Him, we can have peace in this world and be of good cheer. (Dale G. Renlund, “Infuriating Unfairness,” Liahona, May 2021, 43)

Adam and Eve acted for all who had chosen to participate in the Father’s great plan of happiness. Their Fall created the conditions needed for our physical birth and for mortal experience and learning outside the presence of God. With the Fall came an awareness of good and evil and the God-given power to choose. Finally, the Fall brought about physical death needed to make our time in mortality temporary so that we would not live forever in our sins. (D. Todd Christofferson, “Why Marriage, Why Family,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 51)

You could conclude by inviting students to imagine they are speaking with someone who feels that the Fall is a bad thing and the source of all evil in the world, and they wonder why members of the Church think it is a positive thing. Consider giving them time to practice with a partner how they would respond.

Return to “Learning Activity Options.”