John 1:1–3. Jesus Christ was a member of the Godhead before He came to earth. (15–20 minutes)
Take a baseball (or other ball of a popular sport in your area) to class. Ask:
How much is this ball worth?
- How would the value of the ball change if it were signed by members of a world championship team?
- How might knowing the history of something increase our appreciation of its value?
- Could this principle be true of people as well as objects?
Have students read John 1:1–3 looking for who is described. Ask: How does knowing this history increase our understanding of His importance?
Give students the following true-false test to help them understand the Lord’s premortal greatness.
- (T/F) Jesus created this earth.
- (T/F) Jesus created worlds without number.
- (T/F) Jesus was the firstborn spirit of our Father in Heaven.
- (T/F) Jesus was a God before He was born on this earth.
- (T/F) Jesus was the one who established the covenant with Abraham.
- (T/F) Jesus was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- (T/F) Jesus appeared to Moses in the burning bush.
- (T/F) Jesus helped the children of Israel escape from Egypt and parted the Red Sea.
- (T/F) Jesus gave the Ten Commandments to Moses.
- (T/F) Jesus is Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament.
Correct the quizzes with the class (all the statements are true) and discuss any questions they have. Share the following quotation from Elder James E. Talmage:
“We claim scriptural authority for the assertion that Jesus Christ was and is God the Creator, the God who revealed Himself to Adam, Enoch, and all the antediluvial patriarchs and prophets down to Noah; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Israel as a united people, and the God of Ephraim and Judah after the disruption of the Hebrew nation; the God who made Himself known to the prophets from Moses to Malachi; the God of the Old Testament record; and the God of the Nephites. We affirm that Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the Eternal One” (Jesus the Christ, 32).
Ask students: Why do you think the Creator of the world would choose to come into mortality as a baby born in a humble manger? Have students read 1 Nephi 11:14–22 and share their feelings about God’s love as shown in the birth of Jesus Christ.
