Repentance-Leaving Babylon-1 Nephi 20:14-

1 Nephi 20:14

Repentance-Leaving Babylon

What

 14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them [might be referring to Israel's idols]  hath declared these things [Prophecies]  unto them?[Israel] The Lord hath loved him;[Israel]  yea, and he will afulfil his word which he hath declared by them;[the prophets] and he will do his pleasure on bBabylon,and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans. [Babylon will be destroyed].

From book of Mormon Seminary Teacher's Manual Chapter 21

Remind students that when Nephi shared the prophecies of Isaiah, he urged his brethren, “Liken them unto yourselves” (1 Nephi 19:24).

• • 
  How were some members of Nephi’s family similar to the people Isaiah called to repentance?

Ask a student to read 1 Nephi 20:14, 16, 20 aloud.

• • 
  What did the Lord want His covenant people to do and say? (You may need to explain that leaving Babylon and the Chaldeans is symbolic of leaving worldliness behind and coming unto the Lord.)

Invite students to share examples they have seen of people coming to the Lord and leaving behind worldliness. Have students search 1 Nephi 20:18,looking for blessings the Lord gives to those who  come to Him and hearken to His commandments.

Why

This counsel is given by Isaiah because the Lord loved Israel.

Seminary teacher's Book of Mormon manual lesson 21

Explain that Isaiah was a prophet who lived in Jerusalem and prophesied to the people between 740B.C. and 701 B.C., not long before Lehi and his 

family departed for their promised land. Nephi delighted in the words of Isaiah and used Isaiah’s prophecies to teach his family (see 1 Nephi 19:23; 2 Nephi 25:5).Because Isaiah’s words are poetic and filled with symbolism, people sometimes find his teachings difficult to understand. However, we can receive blessings as we study his words and seek to understand them.

Explain that as Nephi taught his family, he read some of the words of Isaiah that had been included in the brass plates. He did this so that he “might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer”(1 Nephi 19:23; see also verse 24).

Christ

The message of this verse is to repent and come unto Christ.

Pattern

from seminary teachers manual book of Mormon lesson 21

Introduction

As Nephi taught members of his family, he read from the brass plates, focusing on Isaiah’s prophecies about the scattering and gathering of Israel. Then he answered his brothers’ questions about those prophecies. He explained that the prophecies applied directly to their family. Echoing the words of Isaiah,Nephi testified that the Lord would gather His 

covenant people—that even when the people did not live up to their covenants, the Lord loved them and invited them to repent and return to Him.

Conference

(the manual quotes a conference address by President Uchtdorf 4/07

Point of Safe Return-

the Lord invites those who have been disobedient to repent and return to Him.

Have a student read the following statement by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency. Invite students to ponder how it relates to 1 Nephi 20.

“Satan … wants us to feel that we are beyond forgiveness (see Revelation 12:10). Satan wants us to think that when we have sinned we have gone past a‘ point of no return’—that it is too late to change our course. …

“… The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the gift of God to His children to correct and overcome the consequences of sin. God loves all of His children, and He will never cease to love and to hope for us. …

“Christ came to save us. If we have taken a wrong course, the Atonement of Jesus Christ can give us the assurance that sin is not a point of no return. A safe return is possible if we will follow God’s plan for our salvation. …

“… There is always a point of safe return; there is always hope” (“Point of Safe Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May2007, 99, 101).

• • 
  How is President Uchtdorf’s message similar to Isaiah’s message?

Testify that the Lord invites those who have been disobedient to repent and return to Him. Assure students that the Lord loves us individually and always invites us to come to Him. Invite them to ponder what the Lord would invite them to leave behind so they can come to Him more completely.

Apply-

We can certainly see the similarity between our world and Babylon. We are encouraged to not be of the world even though we are in the world. To distinguish that which is wrong and distance ourselves from it. In order to do this we must cling to the right, The gospel of Jesus Christ. It takes constant study and prayer to stay focused and able to receive the spirit to guide us in the right way. This would mean avoiding evil that we find all around us on the internet, TV, in government. It means to avoid drugs and alcohol and to cling to the word of wisdom. It means to be kind instead of rude and abrasive and so much more. We leave Babylon to achieve the promised land. That land is within our homes a place of safety and peace is we live worthily. Eventually that promised land will be the Celestial Kingdom where families will dwell together in peace.

I Am A Child of God

1 Nephi 20:13

What

13 Mine hand hath also alaid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens. I bcall unto them and they stand up together.

He is the creator of the earth and all that is in it.

Why

D&C 76:24

24  That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.

He created the earth for a place for His people (all of us) to come and live and be tested.

Pattern

D&C 76:24

24  That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitantsthereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.

D&C 93:21–22

21  And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn;
22  And all those who are begotten through me are partakers of the glory of the same, and are the church of the Firstborn.

Moses 2:26–27

26  And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let usmake man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so. And I, God, said: Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27  And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.

D&C 14:9

9  Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who createdthe heavens and the earth, a lightwhich cannot be hid in darkness;

Isa. 41:20

20  That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

3 Ne. 9:15

15  Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

Christ

Jesus is the creator of all things.

Conference

10/16 Uchtdorf

O How Great the Plan of Our God!

We Have Answers!

I believe every human being carries in his or her heart some form of fundamental questions regarding life itself. Where did I come from? Why am I here? What will happen after I die?

These kinds of questions have been asked by mortals since the dawn of time. Philosophers, scholars, and pundits have spent their lives and fortunes seeking for answers.

I am grateful that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ has answers to the most complex questions in life. These answers are taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are true, plain, straightforward, and easy to understand. They are inspired, and we teach them to our three-year-olds in the Sunbeam class.

Brothers and sisters, we are eternal beings, without beginning and without end. We have always existed.1 We are the literal spirit children of divine, immortal, and omnipotent Heavenly Parents!

We come from the heavenly courts of the Lord our God. We are of the royal house of Elohim, the Most High God. We walked with Him in our premortal life. We heard Him speak, witnessed His majesty, learned His ways.

You and I participated in a Grand Council where our beloved Father presented His plan for us—that we would come to earth, receive mortal bodies, learn to choose between good and evil, and progress in ways that would not otherwise be possible.

When we passed through the veil and entered this mortal life, we knew that we would no longer remember the life before. There would be opposition and adversity and temptation. But we also knew that gaining a physical body was of paramount importance for us. Oh, how we hoped that we would quickly learn to make the correct choices, withstand the temptations of Satan, and eventually return to our beloved Parents in Heaven.

We knew we would sin and make mistakes—perhaps even serious ones. But we also knew that our Savior, Jesus Christ, had pledged to come to earth, live a sinless life, and voluntarily lay down His life in an eternal sacrifice. We knew that if we gave our heart to Him, trusted Him, and strived with all the energy of our soul to walk in the path of discipleship, we could be washed clean and once again enter the presence of our beloved Father in Heaven.

So, with faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, you and I accepted, by our free will, Heavenly Father’s plan.

That is why we are here on this beautiful planet earth—because God offered us the opportunity, and we chose to accept it. Our mortal life, however, is only temporary and will end with the death of our physical body. But the essence of who you and I are will not be destroyed. Our spirits will continue living and await the Resurrection—a free gift to all by our loving Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.2 At the Resurrection, our spirits and bodies will be reunited, free from pain and physical imperfections.

Apply

To know that we are children of God and that we are here on earth for a divine purpose is a great comfort and guide. It gives us identity and purpose to our personal lives. It makes me think of the Relief Society theme.

We are beloved spirit daughters of God, and our lives have meaning, purpose, and direction. As a worldwide sisterhood, we are united in our devotion to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Exemplar. We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity who:

Increase our testimonies of Jesus Christ through prayer and scripture study.

Seek spiritual strength by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Dedicate ourselves to strengthening marriages, families, and homes.

Find nobility in motherhood and joy in womanhood.

Delight in service and good works.

Love life and learning.

Stand for truth and righteousness.

Sustain the priesthood as the authority of God on earth.

Rejoice in the blessings of the temple, understand our divine destiny, and strive for exaltation.

And the Young Women theme

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

Faith • Divine Nature • Individual Worth • Knowledge • Choice and Accountability • Good Works • Integrity • and Virtue

We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

Hymns

90 From All That Dwell Below the Skies

Children

24-I Am A child OF God

232 All Things Bright And Beautiful