(Below is a list of questions and quotes that help me think about each verse as I read it. The numbers represent the verses in the chapter.)
God will consecrate the suffering and afflictions of the righteous for their gain. It is possible to experience peace and joy in a world filled with misery and opposition. The Fall of Adam and Eve is an essential part of Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. Through the Atonement, Jesus Christ redeemed us from the effects of the Fall and offers redemption from our sins. We are free to choose liberty and eternal life or captivity and death.
1-30. What did Lehi teach in this chapter about how and why you can have joy and who ants you to be miserable?
1. How does rudeness cause affliction and sorrow to come upon those who are the object of it? Have you ever been rude? What can you do to ensure that you never inflict this sort of sorrow on another?
2. When have you experienced the greatness of God? How can afflictions bless your life? What does the word consecrate mean? How do you feel knowing that God will consecrate your afflictions for your gain?
"Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love." - Richard G Scott, GC, October 1995
"One meaning of the word consecrate is to dedicate or make holy. Lehigh seems to be promising Jacob that the Lord will dedicate Jacob's trials for his ultimate benefit." – Book of Mormon Study Guide for Home-study Seminary Students, p. 46
3. How is Jacob to spend his days? How does Lehi know that his son will be sint in the service of God? How much time and effort do you put forth in serving your God? What can you do to serve Him better?
4. What kind of youth do you think Jacob was to have already be held the glory of God? What is glory? How do you glory in your God?
5. What law has been given to men? Do all people really know the difference between good and evil? What is the spiritual law connected to this knowledge?
"To be justified means to be declared not guilty, to be forgiven of sin. It is to be acceptable or righteous before God. Lehi taught that no one is justified or made righteous by the law, but that because of violations of the law, men are cut off from God.… So by the law, that is, speaking as though they were nothing but the law operating, men would be cut off both temporally and spiritually. They would be cut off temporarily because they cannot keep the law perfectly and they would be cut off spiritually because violation of the law makes one unclean and no unclean thing can dwell… in his presence." – Gerald N Lund, The Fall of Man and His Redemption
"Parents and teachers need to know that our youngster can tell right from wrong. This knowledge may be distorted or perverted or covered up in unfortunate life experiences, but intuitively, as a part of the spiritual endowment of all humanity, there is a knowledge of right and wrong. That gives me great hope, for then I understand that every child of God, however reprobate [corrupt] he may have become… has hidden within him the spark of divinity and a sensitivity to that which is wrong as compared to that which is right." – Boyd K Packer, Teach Ye Diligently, p. 81-82
5. How have you personally experienced the consequences of the Fall? What afflictions, pains, and serve have you experienced in this life? Who do you know who has died? How has this person's death affected you? When have you felt spiritually separated from God?
6. From where do you receive redemption of a spiritual nature? How highly do you value this gift? How diligent are you in ensuring that you will be redeemed?
7. Why does it require a broken heart and a contrite spirit in order to use and apply the Atonement of Christ into your life? What does it mean to have a broken heart? How would you define a contrite spirit?
8. What is the only way that flesh can dwell in the presence of God? Is the blessing of dwelling in God's presence worth the effort and the energy expended to get there? Why or why not?
9. What does it mean to make intercession? How do you feel about this gift the Savior gave you of intercession on your behalf?
10. Why is it necessary for God to allow you to reap the consequences of your actions whether they be good or evil?
11. How important is opposition to you in your life? How does opposition help you appreciate the blessings you have been blessed with?
"The law of friction or resistance that we think of as only applying to science seems to find application in our personal lives… We came to mortal life to encounter resistance. It was part of the plan for our eternal progress. Without temptation, sickness, pain and sorrow, there could be no goodness, virtue, appreciation for well-being or joy." – Howard W Hunter, That we Might Have Joy, [1994], p. 97-98
12-13. How does Lehi's explanation of opposition in these verses help you to better appreciate it? What two choices did Adam and Eve have in the garden?
"Mostly see why the Lord gave two conflicting commandments – one to become mortal and have children, the other two not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil out of which mortality and children and death would result. The issue is one of choosing between opposites. I don't must choose to become mortal so he could have children, on the one hand; on the other hand, he must choose to remain forever in the garden in a state of innocence. He chose to partake of the forbidden fruit to so that the purposes of God might be accomplished by providing a probationary estate for his spirit children. I don't must needs fall so that he would know good from evil, virtue from vice, righteousness from wickedness. He could not have done this without breaking the law and becoming subject to sin. He chose the Lords way; there was no other way whereby salvation might come unto the children of men." – Bruce R McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 91
13. How important is law to you? Have you ever been tempted to break a law? How should you feel about the laws of the land? How do you feel about God's law? How is law connected to the very earth that you live upon?
14-15. How do you feel about the testimony your parents have of God? Why do you suppose that Lehi desired to leave his testimony with his children?
16. What did God provide for Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden that allowed them to use their agency? Why were opposites necessary in order for man to use his agency?
17. Who was Satan? How did he become the devil?
18. What was Satan seeking in the Garden of Eden? How do you see Satan pursuing that same purpose today? What does Satan want for you? Why does he resort to trickery and deceit to obtain his evil purposes? How can you identify his tactics so I has to avoid becoming ensnared?
19. Why was it necessary for Adam and Eve to be driven from the garden of Eden?
20. What a great blessing did Adam and Eve obtuse pain as a result of their transgression in the garden of Eden? Could they have fulfilled the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth had they not transgressed? Why or why not?
21. What is required of one who is on probation? How does this definition apply to your time spent here on the earth? How often do you remember each day that you are here to prove your self and be obedient to the commandments of the Lord?
22-23. How would the plan of salvation have been needless if Adam and Eve had never partaken of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil?
24. What comfort do you find in knowing that God has ultimate wisdom and knows all things?
25. From what you have learned about the Fall, how does it bring joy to mankind? Why are we here on the earth? What does the Lord wants us to experience while we are here? How would you define joy? Why do some people lose joy in mortality? What can you do to bring more joy into the lives of others? When you experienced joy because of the positive consequences of the Fall?
26. What are you free to choose? How does the Atonement of Christ make you free forever from sin? Why is it so important for us to use our agency to act for ourselves rather than to be acted upon?
27. What must you do to choose liberty and eternal life?
"Avoid Satan's territory of deceit. It will never lead to happiness. Evidence to the contrary, there are no successful sinners. All of us must one day stand before God and be judged according to our personal deeds done in the flesh. The burdens of the sinner will never be lighter than that of the saint." – Marvin J Ashton, GC, October 1990
28. Have you chosen eternal life?
29. What is eternal death? Who is the author of it?
30. What was Lehi's ultimate objective in sharing these things with his children? Have your parents ever sought to share such things with you? How have you received them?
ADAM AND EVE
19. What did they choose?
20-21, 25. What are the good and bad consequences of their choice?
22-23. What would have happened if they had not chosen to partake of the fruit?
THE SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
3-10, 15-16, 21, 24-26. What does the Savior do for you?
SATAN
17. How did Satan become a devil?
18. Why is he miserable? Because of his misery, what does he desire for us?
27. How can we avoid being miserable like him?
18. What lie did he tell Eve? If we tell lies, whom will we be like? Why do you think living in the presence of Satan is called eternal death?
LAW
5-7, 26. What is the purpose and necessity of law?
OPPOSITION AND CHOICE
11-12. What is the role of opposition?
13, 16. Why do we need opposition to have a choice?
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