The Importance of Seeing
Reading Assignment No. 1
the Big Picture
Course Introduction
Introductory Statements
The topic of this reading assignment is to
understand the necessity of both understanding and
seeing the Big Picture of “the great plan of the
Eternal God” (D&C 34:9). We must comprehend the
difference between understanding and seeing?
This topic will be divided into several principles
that are needed in understanding this topic.
Write-up:
Produce a write-up from the following principles
associated with the importance of seeing the Big
Picture of the Lord’s plan. Suggestions will be
found in each principle.
[Keep in mind that the write-ups that you do for every reading assignment are to become your notes for writing about this topic in the Course Review Paper that will be due at the end of this semester. The questions you want to ask and answer are: What is the main topic? What principles were discussed regarding that topic. What documents (scriptural references, quotations from latter-day prophets) do I want to use from this reading assignment that will enable me to briefly summarize this topic with its principles? Make sure you record the documentation (scripture reference or the source documentation reference for the quotes you would like to use. ]
I. Dispensation of the Fulness of Times
We live in the most significant dispensation since the
Fall of Adam. Consider the following statements made
by latter-day prophets and apostles–
1. Jeffrey R. Holland
Quorum of the Twelve ApostlesWe are making our appearance on the stage of mortality in the greatest dispensation of the gospel ever given to mankind,and we need to make the most of it. (“Preparing for the Second Coming,” New Era, Dec. 2013, 2)
2. Joseph Smith
(1805-44) President of the Church∙
The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon whichprophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory . . . (Teachings of Prophets of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007] 513; italics added)
∙ The work of the Lord in these last days is one of vast magnitude and almost beyond the comprehension of mortals. Its glories are past description, and its grandeur unsurpassable. It is the theme which has animated the
bosom of prophets and righteous men from the creation of the world down through every succeeding generation to the present time; . . . (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 512; italics added).
Write-up: Briefly record (1) briefly record what is
taught in these two quotations about the time in which
we live; (2) what surprised you? What intrigued you?
What do you feel you need to understand to
comprehend what they have said?
What is the ultimate purpose of the final Gospel dispensation?
Read Ephesians 1:10
John Taylor (1808-87) President of the Church
What is meant by the dispensation of the fulness of times? It is a dispensation in which all other dispensations are merged or concentrated. It embraces and embodies all the other dispensations that have existed upon the earth wherein God communicated himself to the human family.
(Journal of Discourses, 26.vols., 21:95)
Spencer W. Kimball(1895-1985) President of the Church
We see that in each dispensation prior to our own, certain aspects of the work of salvation for all the larger family of God have been introduced and a part of the labor completed.
In our own dispensation, which the scriptures have identified as the dispensation of the fulness of times, the Lord has promised that he would “gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.” (D&C 27:13; see also Eph. 1:10.)
Certainly gathering “together in one all things” is related to the apostle Peter’s statement regarding the “times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the
mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:21.) This very important prophecy refers especially to the return of those prophets of old who held the various priesthood keys of the kingdom.
Thus, the keys of the divine patriarchal order which were held by the fathers anciently were restored, saying, in effect, that the time had finally come for Abraham’s great lineage to be restored to the gospel and the priesthood. Through this priesthood “shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Abr. 2:11)—meaning in part that the blessings of the gospel are brought to individuals and also that, through the priesthood’s new and everlasting covenant of marriage, all the elect children of God who are gathered together out of the earth may be sealed together in family units into the lineage of Abraham, or, in other
words, into the organized, eternal family of God. (“The Things of Eternity–Stand We in Jeopardy,” Ensign, Jan. 1977, 3-4; emphasis added)
Write-up: Though you will not yet fully understand
what the final dispensation will involve, write down
what was taught in these teachings is the goal of the
final dispensation? Do further questions come to your
mind?
II. Choice Spirits Held in Reserve to Complete the
Work of the Last Gospel Dispensation
It will take people of special character and spiritual
attainment to accomplish the latter-day work. The Lord
has held in reserve such a group. Read the following
teachings carefully–
Read Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) 138:53 Russell M. Nelson President
Many people refer to you as Millennials. . . There is something about the way they use the term Millennial that bothers me. . . .
When I pray about you and ask the Lord how He feels about you, I feel something far different from what the researchers say. Spiritual impressions I have received about you lead me to believe that the term Millennial may actually be perfect for you–but for a much different reason that the experts may ever understand.
The term Millennial is perfect for you if that term reminds you of who you really are and what your purpose in life really is. A True Millennial is one who was taught and did teach the gospel of Jesus Christ premorally and who mad covenants with our Heavenly Father there about courageous things–even morally courageous things–that you would do while here on earth.
A true millennial is a man or woman whom God trusted enough to send to earth during the most compelling dispensation in the history of this world. A true millennial is a man or woman who lives now to help prepare the people of this world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and His millennial reign. (“Stand as True Millennials,”Ensign, Oct. 2016, 24 )
Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994) President
For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the second coming of the Lord. . . While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of His strongest children, who will help bear off the kingdom triumphantly. That is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God. ...
In all ages prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it–you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time than there is of us. Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized. Now is the great day of the devil's power. But now is also the great day of the Lord's power, with the greatest number ever of priesthood holders on the earth. (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], 104-5)
Write-up: What is taught about those who are held in
reserve to come forth in this dispensation and the work
they have been held in reserve to fulfill?
III. What Must we Do to Survive the Difficult Age in
Which We Live
Satan is greatly opposed to the work that will be
fulfilled in this dispensation.
Read Revelation 12:12.
How will you be able to withstand Satan’s wrath? How
will you be able to remain faithful? Consider the
following--Neal A. Maxwell (1926-2004) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
We have long heard, and believed, that the Lord has reserved special spirits to come forth in the last days of the last dispensation. The Church’s rising generation of young men and women are a part of that vanguard. Reserved by the Lord for this time, they must now be preserved by parents and prepared for their special moment in human history! They have been held back to come forth at this time, but now they need to be pushed forward to meet their rendezvous. . . .
This rising generation is the first generation to be reared in a time when society’s other institutions, previously supportive of certain moral standards, have been largely neutralized, or worse, secularized. This rising generation, shorn of such external support systems, must therefore believe “because of the word”—and behave because they believe! (See Alma 32:13–14.) (“Unto the Rising Generation,” Ensign, Apr. 1985, 8; underling added)
word”:
Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994) President
In his dream, Lehi saw an iron rod which led through the mists of darkness. He saw that if people would hold fast to that rod, they could avoid the rivers of filthiness, stay away from the forbidden paths, stop from wandering in the strange roads that lead to destruction. Later his son Nephi clearly explained the symbolism of the iron rod . . ."It was the word of God; and [note this promise] whoso would
hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction." (1 Ne.
15:23-24; italics added.) . . .
My dear brethren, this is an answer to the great challenge of our time. The word of God, as found in (1) the scriptures, in (2) the words of living prophets, and in (3) personal revelation, has the power to fortify the Saints and arm them with the Spirit so they can resist evil, hold fast to the good, and find joy in this life. ("The Power of God," Ensign, May 1986, pp. 79-82; emphasis and numbering added)
Write-up: What is essential to remaining faithful?
IV. The Necessity of Seeing God’s Eternal Plan
Acquiring our own understanding and testimony of the
word of God is absolutely necessary.
Heber C. Kimball
(1801-68) First PresidencyThis Church has before it many close places through which it will have to pass before the work of God is crowned with glory.
The difficulties will be of such a character that the man or woman who does not possess a personal knowledge or witness will fall. If you have not got this testimony, you must live right and call upon the Lord, and cease not until you obtain it.
Remember these sayings: The time will come when no man or woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within themselves. If you do not have the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, how can you stand? (From a conference talk given by his son, J. Golden Kimball, Conference Report Oct. 1930, 58-9)
The “word of God” centers around what Amulek
called, “the great plan of the Eternal God” (Al. 34:9).
That great plan is “the big picture” all must have
knowledge and testimony of if they are to survive the
difficulties we have been held in reserve to endure.
Carefully read the following teachings from our
Prophets:
Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) President of the Church
•
We must ever keep before us the big picture, while not neglecting the details. That large picture is a portrayal of the whole broad mission of the Church; but it is paintedone brush stroke at a time through the lives of all members, the composite of whose activities becomes the Church at work.(Ensign, Nov. 1983, 51)
•
Keep before you the big picture, for this cause is as large as all mankind and as broad as all eternity. This is the church and kingdom of God. It requires the strength, the loyalty, the faith of all if it is to roll forward to bless the lives of our Father's children over the earth. (Ensign, May 1982, 46)Russell M.. Nelson, President of the Church
Imagine, if you will, a pair of powerful binoculars. Two separate optical systems are joined together with a gear to focus two independent images into one three-dimensional view. To apply this analogy, let the scene on the left side of your binoculars represent your perception of your task. Let the picture on the right side represent the Lord's perspective of your task–the portion of His plan He has entrusted to you. Now, connect your system to His. By mental adjustment, fuse your focus. Something wonderful happens. Your vision and His are now the same. You have developed an "eye single to the glory of God" (D&C 4:5; see also Morm. 8:15). With that perspective, look upward–above and beyond mundane things about you. The Lord said, "Look unto me in every thought" (D&C 6:36). That special vision will also help clarify your wishes when they may be a bit fuzzy and out of focus with God's hopes for your divine destiny. Indeed, the precise challenge you regard now as "impossible" may be the very refinement you need, in His eye. (Ensign, May 1988, 33)
Write-up: What did each of these latter-day Prophets
teach about the necessity of keeping the big picture
always in mind? What do you think President Hinckley
meant when he said: “We must ever keep before us the
big picture, while not neglecting the details.”?
V. What Comprises “the Big Picture”?
God’s eternal plan is “the big picture” we must keep in
mind. What does this comprise?
Boyd K. Packer (1924-2015) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
The plan of redemption, with its three divisions, might be likened to a grand three-act play. Act I is entitled “Premortal Life.” The scriptures describe it as our First Estate. (See Jude 1:6; Abr. 3:26-28) Act II, from birth to the time of resurrection, the “Second Estate.” And Act III, “Life After Death or Eternal Life.” (“The Play and the Plan,” In Wisdom & Order [2013], 182-3).
Write-up: What does the great plan comprise?
Of course, there is much, much more to this big
picture. In the above statement, he simply alerted us to
“headlines” upon which play is based upon. Knowing the
details of each “act” is an essential part of knowing and
keeping “the big picture” in mind.
Figure 1 Book sealed with seven seals was a scroll bound with string
sealed with a seal, piece of clay stamped with an official seal, a special design. Only one who had proper authority could open a sealed document carry out or put into effect the content on the scroll–such as a will.
three acts of the eternal plan of salvation.
NOTE: For No. VI– closely read through summarize
importance of D&C 77:6-7--the earth during its seven
thousand years of temporal existence is a “big picture”
within the “big picture” of the eternal plan.
VI. “The Big Picture” Within “The Big Picture”
Before you begin our study of “the big picture,” it is
helpful to know in advance that there is a “big picture”
within the “big picture.” In listed the three acts, he said
that Act I is the premortal life, called “our First Estate.”
That comes from Abraham 3:26). The second act, is the
“Second Estate,” also from Abraham 3:26). But he
qualified what that included: “from birth to the time of
resurrection.” The third act, stated, is “Life After Death
or Eternal Life.” Alma spoke of this is “that endless state
which has been spoken of by us, which is after the
resurrection of the dead” (Al. 12:24).
Yet, the second estate does not consist only of our
mortal life. We gain greater understanding of what
makes up the second estate.
When John received the revelation recorded in the
Book of Revelation, he was the only Apostle left of the
Twelve Apostles called and ordained by Jesus Christ. As
such, John was the head of the Church. In Revelation
chapters one through three John records what he saw of
the Church in his day. There was both good and bad. But
John knew the great apostasy was just about the happen.
In Revelation 4-7, John was shown sacred history from
the days of Adam through the Second Coming. To set up
the vision, John was shown God sitting on His throne.
On the base upon which God’s throne located there were
twenty-four elders sitting on thrones--
Read Revelation 4:1-6; also footnote 4a JST Rev. 4:4)
Joseph Smith asked God about the meanings of what
John wrote in these verses. He first asked about the sea
of glass–
Read D&C 77:1 What did the sea represent?
He asked about the twenty-four elders–
Read D&C 77:5 Who were they?Let’s step back for a moment and review what John
has seen. In Revelation 1-3, he saw the Church in his
day, both good and bad, but the apostasy was coming.
John knew the Church would be taken from the earth.
Then, in Revelation 4 John sees the earth in its celestial
state with God on his throne ruling over the universe.
Then John sees 24 elders from the Church in his day
sitting on thrones with God on His throne, meaning they
are ruling with God!!
It is imperative that we visit a verse recorded in
Revelation 3 just before the vision found in Revelation
4.
Read Revelation 3:21. What is the promise to those who overcome the wickedness of this world?
So, according to Revelation 3:21, the 24 elders have
overcome the wickedness of this world and are ruling
with God!
At this point, the Apostle John must be asking himself,
what happened between the end of Revelation 3, the
Church in John’s day, and Revelation 4, the earth in its
celestial state with God and 24 elders from the Church in
John’s day ruling over the universe?? John wanted to
know!!
The answer was in a book sealed with seven seals held
in the right hand of God–
Read Revelation 5:1
See Figure 1. The book was written “within and on the
backside,” meaning it was complete. Only one who had
proper authority, and could prove they had authority by
producing a seal exactly like the seal on the document,
could open the document and carry out what was written
within.
Joseph Smith asked about this book and received this
answer from God–
Read D&C 77:6-7. What was the book? What are the
seven seals?
What does this book contain?
Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) President of the Church
By the seven thousand years of temporal existence is meant the time of the earth's duration from the fall of
Adam to the end of time, which will come after the Millennium and "a little season" which will follow. The earth and all on it were in a spiritual condition before the fall, for mortality had not come bringing temporal conditions. We are now living in the second period of the earth's history, which is referred to as being a telestial condition. In other words, a condition where wickedness and all the vicissitudes of mortality endure. It is the earth and its inhabitants in the fallen state which Adam brought through his transgression. This condition will continue until Christ comes. (Church History and Modern Revelation, 4 vols. [1947], 2:64)
The earth in its temporal state, as it has been since the
Fall of Adam, will continue until the end of the
Millennium. God’s children are born into this world.
They die and dwell in the spiritual realm of this earth.
Those who are worthy will be resurrected and return
with Jesus Christ to the temporal realm where they will
continue their growth and development for a thousand
years. In fact, as John tells us, during that thousand year
period they will “reign” with Christ (Rev. 20:4-6).
After the “little season” when the Millennium is over,
the earth is celestialized (see D&C 88:17-20). Then, in
that “endless state” (Alma 12:26) they will “reign” with
God “for ever and ever” (see Rev. 22:5).
So, we see that the second estate, the earth from the
Fall of Adam through the end of the Millennium is “a big
picture” with in God’s eternal plan, or “big picture.”
7,000 Years of the Earth’s Continuance
or Temporal Existence
(D&C 77:6)
HEAVEN? 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 Adam (0-930) Enoch (622-1052) Noah (1056-2006) Translation of City of Enoch Moses Judges Abraham Saul Isaac Dav. Jacob Sol. Joseph Melchizedek K. of Israel 10 Tribes (975-720 B.C) Scattering K. of Judah (975-587 B.C) Exi le JESUS CHRIST -Mortal Ministry -Atonement -Opening of Spirit World Beginning of Gospel to Gentiles DISPENSATIO N Joseph Smith of FULNESS of TIMES MILLENNI UM Little Season 4,000 B.C. 3,000 B.C. 2 ,000 B. C. 1 ,000 B.C. 0 1 ,000 A.D. 2 ,000 A.D. 3 ,000 A.D.
SPIRIT WORLD–
Prison
SPIRIT PRISON WORLD – Those in a state of righteousness and rest – Those in a state of wickedness and torment
Supplemental Reading
The “great plan of the Eternal God” represents
the big picture, the eternal picture. The phrase big
picture is defined in the Meriam-Webster Dictionary as
“the entire perspective on a situation or issue” and
includes “everything that relates to or is involved in a
situation or issue.” What do the following statements
teach about the importance of seeing the big picture?
Supplemental Reading
(Not required reading)
The following are not required reading for this
assignment, but are suggested reading to see examples of
when “the big picture” is taught to by prophets and Jesus
Christ.
1. Adam at Adam-ondi Ahman
Three years before Adam died, he called all his
righteous descendants to Adam-ondi-Ahman–the
location where Adam and Eve lived after being driven
out of the garden of Eden. The following is the only
scriptural account of the meeting. Observe what Adam
taught his righteous descendants.
Read D&C 107:53-57.
What did Adam teach his
righteous posterity at Adam-ondi-Ahman?
2. The Savior Teaches the Big Picture to the Nephites
In 3 Nephi, Mormon gives an account of the Savior’s
appearance over a three day time period to the ancient
descendants of Lehi in Bountiful. Included in this
account are some extremely important teachings–these
are found in 3 Nephi 11-25. Upon the conclusion of
these teachings, the Savior then explained the “big
picture” to the Nephites:
*
Read 3 Nephi 26:1-6.
Other examples exist in the scriptures such as to Nephi
(1 Nephi 11-14) and Enoch (Moses 7:21-67).
In the Apirl 1925 General Conference President
Anthony W. Ivins, counselor to Heber J. Grant in the
First Presidency gave a wonderful “big picture” sermon.
Towards the beginning, he made this important
statement:
Anthony W. Ivins (1852-1934) First Presidency
To properly comprehend the great plan of human redemption, designed by the Father for the blessing of his children, it is necessary that we be familiar with his hand-dealings with the people of the world, from the
beginning of time, as we count it, until the present. It is
not sufficient that we familiarize ourselves alone with the dispensation in which we live, important though that be. We must know something of the past, as history has written it, the present as we see and understand it, and the
future as the prophets have declared it. Without this grouping of the past, the present and the future, our vision
will be restricted, and incomplete