Doctrinal Mastery: Alma 34:9–10

Have you ever noticed it can be easier to understand something in your mind than to explain it in words? One of the purposes of doctrinal mastery is to give you opportunities to explain the doctrine from the doctrinal mastery passages in your own words.

In your recent study of Alma 34:9–10, you learned that without the infinite and eternal Atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind would be lost forever.

Imagine that you had an opportunity to explain the meaning of Alma 34:9–10 to someone who knows very little about Jesus Christ. Take a moment to review these verses and mark or write down words or phrases you would want this person to understand.

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1. Answer the following question:

   • How would you explain the teachings of Alma 34:9–10 in your own words?

The key scripture phrase for Alma 34:9–10 is: “There must be an atonement made, … an infinite and eternal sacrifice.”

To help you memorize the scripture reference and key scripture phrase, write “There must be an atonement made, … ” a few times on paper until you have this portion of the phrase memorized. Then do the same thing for the second part of the phrase: “an infinite and eternal sacrifice.” Once you have the second part memorized, repeat the entire scripture reference and key scripture phrase together until you have all of it memorized.

Can you remember the names of the three principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge? See if you can repeat them without looking. If you need help, you can review these principles by studying paragraphs 5–12 of the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2023). You will have opportunities to review these principles and practice applying them during this lesson.

Imagine that you were asked to teach a lesson about the Atonement of Jesus Christ in your Sunday School class. As part of your preparation, you reach out to a young woman in your ward named Olive and ask her to share her thoughts about how Jesus Christ has blessed her life because of His Atonement.

Olive’s response surprises you. She says, “To be honest with you, I think the Atonement of Jesus Christ is great for most people, but I’m not sure how much it applies to me anymore because of some of the mistakes I have made and continue to make. There are some sins I don’t know if I will ever be able to overcome.”

As you continue to prepare your lesson, you keep thinking about Olive’s comments and want to help her. Consider how the teachings in Alma 34:9–10 and the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge might help Olive with her concern.

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2. Answer the questions associated with at least one of the following bullet points:

   • What are specific faithful actions you think Olive could do that could help her?

   • What could you teach Olive about Jesus Christ and His Atonement that might help her act in faith? How might the teachings in Alma 34:9–10 help?

For other ideas about how Olive could act in faith, you could read paragraphs 5–7 of the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document.

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3. Answer at least one of the following questions:

   • How do you think Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would view a concern like Olive’s?

   • Why is it important for Olive to remember that the Savior’s Atonement is “infinite and eternal” (Alma 34:10)?

   • How might remembering that all are fallen and lost without the Savior’s Atonement help her to view her concern differently?

For other ideas about how Olive could examine concepts or questions with an eternal perspective, you could read paragraph 8 of the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document.

For other ideas about how Olive could seek further understanding through divinely appointed sources, you could read paragraphs 11–12 of the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document.