1. DOCTRINES AND PRINCIPLES IN THIS LESSON:
•The righteous in the land of promise receive blessings (see 2 Nephi
1:5–12).
•The Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement are essential in Heavenly
Father’s plan of redemption (see 2 Nephi 2).
•The Restoration of the gospel fulfilled ancient prophecy (see 2 Nephi
3).
Chapter 7
2 Nephi 1-3

2. The righteous in the land of promise receive blessings.
2 Nephi 1:5-12
What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase
“land of promise”?

3. The Lord has designated different lands of promise for His
people based on their circumstances and needs.
On what continent is the land of promise in
this prophecy?
2 Nephi1:5 But, said he, notwithstanding our
afflictions, we have obtained a land of
promise, a land which is choice above all
other lands; a land which the Lord God hath
covenanted with me should be a land for the
inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath
covenanted this land unto me, and to my
children forever, and also all those who
should be led out of other countries by the
hand of the Lord.
Hebrews 11
8 By faith Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he
should after receive for an
inheritance, obeyed; and he went
out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of
promise, as in a strange
country, dwelling in tabernacles with
Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of
the same promise:
Where was the land of promise for
Abraham?

4. Lehi told his children of the blessings and cursings that were associated with their land of promise.
ACTIVITY
GROUP 1
Read 2 Nephi 1:7-9
Look for blessings and record it on
the chart.
GROUP 2
Read 2 Nephi 1:10-12
Look forcursings and record it on the
chart.
BLESSINGS CURSINGS
Verse 7
1.
2.
Verse 8
1.
Verse 9
1.
2.
3.
Verse 10
1.
Verse 11
1.
2.
Verse 12
1.
Chart provided.

5. BLESSINGS CURSINGS
Verse 7
1. land of liberty
2. never brought down into captivity
Verse 8
1. kept from knowledge of other
nations for a while
Verse 9
1. prosper upon the face of the land
2. none to take away the land of their
inheritance
3. dwell safely forever
Verse 10
1. judgments of God to rest upon them
Verse 11
1. bring other nations that will have
power to take away lands of their
possessions
2. scattered and smitten
Verse 12
1. bloodshed
In the latter days, it was necessary for a nation to
be established that would allow for the blessings of
the gospel to be restored. Once the gospel had
been established there, the kingdom of God could
expand throughout the world.
Answer:
What blessings relating to the land of
promise can also apply to other
countries where Church members live?
How has the gospel blessed you and
your country?

6. The Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement are essential in
Heavenly Father’s plan of redemption. 2 Nephi 2
[2 Nephi 1-4 contain] some of Lehi’s final counsel to his
children before he died. The principles Lehi taught are vital
to us today. He taught of the blessings God promises the
obedient. He testified of the Creation, the Fall of Adam and
Eve, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ in a way that can
help us see how they relate to each other. He also included
a prophecy given by Joseph in Egypt, bearing testimony of
the calling and ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Elder Russell M. Nelson:
“The plan required the Creation, and that in turn required both the Fall and the Atonement.
These are the three fundamental components of the plan. The creation of a paradisiacal planet
came from God. Mortality and death came into the world through the Fall of Adam. Immortality
and the possibility of eternal life were provided by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The
Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement were planned long before the actual work of the Creation
began” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2000, 105; or Ensign, May 2000, 84).

7. The Creation
2 Nephi 2:11-16
What are the purposes of the Creation, as expressed in
this passage?
Why was the Creation a necessary step before the Fall
and the Atonement?
What are some examples of “opposition in all things”?
Why do we need opposition?

8. The Fall
2 Nephi 2:17-25
BEFORE THE FALL AFTER THE FALL
Adam and Eve would
not have had
children.
Adam and Eve would
not have known joy
or misery.
They would not have
done good or evil.
They would have
remained in the
Garden of Eden
forever.
They had children.
They could
experience both joy
and misery.
They could do good,
and they could also
sin.
They were cast out of
the Lord’s presence
and out of the
Garden of Eden. They
became fallen and
mortal—subject to
physical death (see
also Moses 6:48).
Many people feel that the Fall of Adam and Eve was a
terrible mistake.
Elder Bruce C. Hafen of the Seventy:
“The Fall was not a disaster. It wasn’t a mistake or an
accident. It was a deliberate part of the plan of
salvation. We are God’s spirit ‘offspring,’ sent to earth
‘innocent’ of Adam’s transgression. Yet our Father’s plan
subjects us to temptation and misery in this fallen world
as the price to comprehend authentic joy. Without
tasting the bitter, we actually cannot understand the
sweet. We require mortality’s discipline and refinement
as the ‘next step in *our+ development’ toward
becoming like our Father. But growth means growing
pains. It also means learning from our mistakes in a
continual process made possible by the Savior’s
grace, which He extends both during and ‘after all we
can do’” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2004, 100; or
Ensign, May 2004, 97; in this statement, Elder Hafen
quotes the following sources: Acts 17:28; D&C 93:38;
Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The
Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon [1997], 207;
2 Nephi 25:23 with italics added).

9. The Atonement
2 Nephi 2:6-10, 26-29
According to these verses, why was
the Atonement necessary?
According to 2 Nephi 2:7, what must
we do to fully take advantage of the
sacrifice Jesus Christ offered us?
What can we do to “make these
things known unto the inhabitants
of the earth”?
The Third Article of Faith
We believe that through the Atonement
of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by
obedience to the laws and ordinances of
the Gospel.
The Atonement of Christ overcomes the
effects of the Fall of Adam for all people.
We will all be resurrected—saved from
physical death. We will also be saved
from the spiritual death brought about
by the Fall—we will return to God’s
presence to be judged. (See Helaman
14:15–17.) In order to receive all the
blessings of the Atonement—in order to
receive exaltation—we must be
concerned with our individual “fall” due
to our personal sins. We must qualify for
all the blessings of the Atonement “by
obedience to the laws and ordinances of
the Gospel”

10. We Have the Freedom to Choose Liberty and
Eternal Life or Captivity and Death.
2 Nephi 2
26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of
time, that he may redeem the children of men
from the fall. And because that they are
redeemed from the fall they have become free
forever, knowing good from evil; to act for
themselves and not to be acted upon, save it
be by the punishment of the law at the great
and last day, according to the commandments
which God hath given.
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the
flesh; and call things are given them which are
expedient unto man. And they are free to
choose liberty and eternal life, through the
great Mediator of all men, or to choose
captivity and death, according to the captivity
and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all
men might be miserable like unto himself.
What do you think it means to
“act for *our]selves and not to
be acted upon”?
Why is agency such a critical
element in the plan of
salvation?
According to verse 27 , what are
we free to choose?

11. Christ's infinite atonement frees us from the fall of Adam. It allows us to
exercise our agency in choosing right and wrong. The term, "free agency" is
redundant. It is not found in the scriptures. Rather, the scriptures use the
term, "agency of man" (Moses 4:3). People only remain free as long as they
exercise this agency wisely. Lehi makes it clear that if they choose the plan of
Satan, they are choosing captivity and death. Thus, the wicked voluntarily
give up their freedom so that Satan can drag them down to his miserable
level.
Joshua tried to help the children of Israel decide how to use their agency
righteously, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods
which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the
gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord (Josh 24:15). It is only through serving the
Lord that we remain free, for we are able to avoid the bondage of sin and
the captivity of the devil.
gospeldoctrine.com

12. Brigham Young:
"You are aware that many think that the Devil has rule and power over both body and spirit.
Now, I want to tell you that he does not hold any power over man, only so far as the body
overcomes the spirit that is in a man, through yielding to the spirit of evil. The spirit that the Lord
puts into a tabernacle of flesh, is under the dictation of the Lord Almighty; but the spirit and body
are united in order that the spirit may have a tabernacle, and be exalted; and the spirit is
influenced by the body, and the body by the spirit.
"In the first place the spirit is pure, and under the special control and influence of the Lord, but
the body is of the earth, and is subject to the power of the Devil, and is under the mighty
influence of that fallen nature that is of the earth. If the spirit yields to the body, the Devil then
has power to overcome the body and spirit of that man, and he loses both.
"Recollect, brethren and sisters, every one of you, that when evil is suggested to you, when it
arises in your hearts, it is through the temporal organization. When you are
tempted, buffeted, and step out of the way inadvertently; when you are overtaken in a fault, or
commit an overt act unthinkingly; when you are full of evil passion, and wish to yield to it, then
stop and let the spirit, which God has put into your tabernacles, take the lead. If you do that, I will
promise that you will overcome all evil, and obtain eternal lives. But many, very many, let the
spirit yield to the body, and are overcome and destroyed." (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 69-70
as taken from the Book of Mormon Student Manual, 1981 ed., p. 73-4)

13. The Restoration of the gospel fulfilled ancient prophecy. 2 Nephi
3Read 2 Nephi 3:6-18
The Restoration of the gospel through the
Prophet Joseph Smith fulfilled a prophecy
by the Old Testament prophet Joseph, son
of Jacob. Turn to pages 56 and 57 of your
Student Manual
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles:
“The Lord foreordained … Joseph Smith, Sr., who is
spoken of in the holy scriptures, to be one of the
earthly parents of the Prophet. Joseph of Egypt
prophesied that the latter-day seer whom God
would raise up to do his work would be ‘called
Joseph’ (Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 50:33),
and his name would ‘be after the name of his
father’ (2 Nephi 3:15). The heavenly messenger
Moroni admonished young Joseph to go to his
father following a glorious night of sacred
instruction. In Joseph’s words, this messenger
‘commanded me to go to my father and tell him of
the vision and commandments which I had
received. I obeyed; I returned to my father in the
field, and rehearsed the whole matter to him. He
replied to me that it was of God, and told me to go
and do as commanded by the messenger’ (Joseph
Smith—History 1:49–50)” (in Conference Report,
Oct. 1991, 4; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 5–6).