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2 Nephi 2-4

Doctrinal Mastery Quotes:
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
“It is an eternal principle that has existed with God from all eternity that man should be free. God ordained the law of agency in [the premortal life] so that his spirit children could either follow him or rebel against his laws and go to perdition with Lucifer. Then in this mortal probation man again was given freedom of choice, freedom to gain salvation by obedience or to be damned through disobedience.” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 2:415–16)

President Gordon B. Hinckley
“The gospel is not a philosophy of repression, as so many regard it. It is a plan of freedom that gives discipline to appetite and direction to behavior. Its fruits are sweet and its rewards are liberal.” (Teaching of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinkley, 182)

Elder D. Todd Christofferson
“Satan ... promotes conduct and choices that limit our freedom to choose by replacing the influence of the Holy Spirit with his own domination. Yielding to his temptations leads to a narrower and narrower range of choices until none remains and to addictions that leave us powerless to resist.”

“Using our agency to choose God’s will, and not slackening even when the going gets hard, will not make us God’s puppet; it will make us like Him. God gave us agency, and Jesus showed us how to use it so that we could eventually learn what They know, do what They do, and become what They are.”

Story from Elder Mervyn B. Arnold, about his wife's experience as a teenager
"When I was 15 years old, I often felt that there were too many rules and commandments.  I wasn't sure that a normal, fun-loving teenager could enjoy life with so many restrictions.  Further more, the many hours spent working on my father's ranch were seriously dipping into my time with my friends.

This particular summer, one of my jobs was to ensure that that cows grazing on the mountain pasture did not break through the fence and get into the wheat field.  A cow grazing on the growing wheat can bloat, causing suffocation and death.  One cow in particular was always trying to stick her head through the fence.  One morning, as I was riding my horse along the fence line checking on the cattle, I found that the cow had broken through the fence and gotten into the wheat field.  To my dismay, I realized that she had been eating wheat for quite some time because she was already bloated and looked much like a balloon.  I thought, "You stupid cow! That fence was there to protect you, yet you broke through it and you have eaten so much wheat that your life is in danger."

I raced back to the farmhouse to get my dad.  However, when we returned, I found her lying dead on the ground.  I was saddened by the loss of that cow.  We had provided her with a beautiful mountain pasture to graze in and a fence to keep her away from the dangerous wheat, yet she foolishly broke through the fence and caused her own death.

As I thought about the role of the fence, I realized that is was a protection, just as the commandments and my parents' rules were protection.  The commandments and rules were for my own good.  I realized that obedience to the commandments could save me from physical and spiritual death.  That enlightenment was a pivotal point in my life.

Sister Arnold learned that our kind, wise, and loving Heavenly Father has given us commandments not to restrict us, as the adversary would have us believe, but to bless...and to protect." ("What Have You Done with My Name?", Ensign, Nov. 2010, 106-107).

Lesson Quotes:
Elder Neil L. Andersen
“Questions concerning the Prophet Joseph Smith are not new. They have been hurled by his critics since this work began. To those of faith who, looking through the colored glasses of the 21st century, honestly question events or statements of the Prophet Joseph from nearly 200 years ago, may I share some friendly advice: For now, give Brother Joseph a break! In a future day, you will have 100 times more information than from all of today’s search engines combined, and it will come from our all-knowing Father in Heaven. Consider the totality of Joseph’s life—born in poverty and given little formal education, he translated the Book of Mormon in less than 90 days. Tens of thousands of honest, devoted men and women embraced the cause of the Restoration. At age 38, Joseph sealed his witness with his blood. I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Settle this in your mind, and move forward!” (“Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice,” Ensign, Nov. 2015, 66).

Elder Neil L. Andersen
“The negative commentary about the Prophet Joseph Smith will increase as we move toward the Second Coming of the Savior. The half-truths and subtle deceptions will not diminish. There will be family members and friends who will need your help. …
“To the youth … , I give a specific challenge: Gain a personal witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith” (“Joseph Smith,” Ensign, Nov. 2014, 30).

President Gordon B. Hinckley
“Permit me to name a few of many doctrines and practices which distinguish us from all other churches, and all of which have come of revelation to the youthful Prophet [Joseph Smith]. …
“[The] knowledge of Deity. …
“The Book of Mormon. …
“… The restored priesthood. …
“… The plan for the eternal life of the family. …
“The innocence of little children. …
“… The great doctrine of salvation for the dead. …
“The eternal nature of man. …
“… The principle of modern revelation. …
“… During the brief 38 and one-half years of his life, there came through him an incomparable outpouring of knowledge, gifts, and doctrine” (“The Great Things Which God Has Revealed,” Ensign, May 2005, 80–83).

President Brigham Young
“It was decreed in the counsels of eternity, long before the foundations of the earth were laid, that he, Joseph Smith, should be the man, in the last dispensation of this world, to bring forth the word of God to the people, and receive the fulness of the keys and power of the Priesthood of the Son of God. The Lord had his eyes upon him, and upon his father, and upon his father’s father, and upon their progenitors clear back … to Adam. He has watched that family and that blood as it has circulated from its fountain to the birth of that man. He was fore-ordained in eternity to preside over this last dispensation” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 96, 343).

Elder Neil L. Andersen
“A testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith can come differently to each of us. It may come as you kneel in prayer, asking God to confirm that he was a true prophet. It may come as you read the Prophet’s account of the First Vision. A testimony may distill upon your soul as you read the Book of Mormon again and again. It may come as you bear your own testimony of the Prophet or as you stand in the temple and realize that through Joseph Smith the holy sealing power was restored to the earth. With faith and real intent, your testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith will strengthen” (“Joseph Smith,” Ensign, Nov. 2014, 30).


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