“Mormon 3: ‘Ye Must All Stand Before the Judgment-Seat of Christ,’” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)

“Mormon 3,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual

Mormon 3

“Ye Must All Stand Before the Judgment-Seat of Christ”

Have you ever wondered what the Final Judgment might be like? As Mormon watched the wickedness of his people, he taught about who will judge us and how we will be judged in this Final Judgment. This lesson can help prepare you to stand with confidence and joy before Jesus Christ at the Final Judgment.

Inviting students to ask questions. As you see topics in the scriptures that students may naturally have questions about, look for opportunities to allow them to express those questions in class. Invite them to seek answers throughout the lesson and in their own personal study.

Student preparation: Invite students to come prepared to share questions they have about the Final Judgment. Consider using an anonymous poll to allow students to send in their questions prior to class. Their questions could guide you in preparing a lesson to meet their needs.

Possible Learning Activities

The final exam

The intent of the following activity is to help students recognize the importance of being prepared for the Final Judgment.

Before class begins, consider preparing and displaying instructions that seem to indicate there will be a surprise final exam or assessment during class today. Then, to begin class, consider asking students several difficult questions such as the following:

How many verses are there in the Book of Mormon?
How many times is Christ mentioned by one of His names or titles in the Book of Mormon?
How many Lamanites were converted by the teaching of Nephi and Lehi in Helaman 5?

Think about whether you could answer these questions accurately without preparation.

How might your feelings about the test be different if your teacher told you about it beforehand and gave you a study guide designed to prepare you for it?
Although we won’t be asked to share random facts from the scriptures in the Final Judgment, in what ways could the Final Judgment be compared to a test we will all take one day? In what ways will it be different than taking an academic test?

One way students might respond to the previous question is to emphasize that the judgment will be more about what we have become than what we know (see Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 32–34). Invite students to reflect silently on how they feel about the Final Judgment. The following paragraph could be used to help guide their thoughts.

Ponder how prepared you feel for the Final Judgment. Do you know how to prepare for it? Why do you want to be prepared for it?

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you and have given the scriptures to help you know about and prepare for the day when you will “stand before the judgment-seat of Christ” (Mormon 3:20). As you study, look for truths that can help you be prepared to stand with confidence and joy before Jesus Christ at the Final Judgment.

Mormon taught about the Final Judgment

Mormon loved the Nephites and led them in battle many times. He pled with them to repent of their wickedness and turn to the Savior. However, they rejected the Lord and boasted in their own strength, swearing with sacred oaths that they had been taught never to use, so Mormon refused to lead them for a time (see Mormon 3:10–16). He then taught about the Final Judgment that all mankind would face.

Consider displaying or otherwise providing students with the following chart and inviting them to complete it with a partner or small group.

On the left side of your chart, make a list of questions you have about the Final Judgment such as the examples provided.

Questions I have about the Final Judgment	Answers, insights, and impressions I received
Questions I have about the Final Judgment Who will judge me?	Answers, insights, and impressions I received
Questions I have about the Final Judgment When will I be judged?	Answers, insights, and impressions I received

After each pair or group has listed their questions, invite them to share their questions with another pair or group. Consider inviting students to list some of their questions on the board to use later in the lesson.

Read Mormon’s words in Mormon 3:18–22; 6:17–22 to search for answers to the questions you listed. List insights you find on the right column of your chart, including the scripture reference where you found each insight.

The judgment seat of Christ

One truth we learn from these passages is that we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged of our works, whether they be good or evil. Consider marking phrases that teach this truth in Mormon 3:20.

Why might it be comforting to know that the Savior is our Judge? (Record your answer in the right column of your chart).

For help answering the previous question, you could read Alma 7:11–13, looking for what the Savior experienced that allows Him to understand us perfectly at the Judgment. You could also listen to a statement from President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency in “The Great Plan” from time code 14:06 to 14:51 available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Consider keeping students in pairs or small groups for the following activity and assigning each group one of the resources to study.

You may still have questions and concerns about the Final Judgment. Search for additional answers and insights using the resources below or other divine sources. List insights you discover in the right column of your chart.

Guide to the Scriptures entry under “Judgment, the Last”
Topical Guide entry under “Judgment, the Last”
Mosiah 3:10; 3 Nephi 27:13–20
Doctrine and Covenants 45:3–5; 58:42–43; 137:9

A member of each group could be invited to share insights from the sources the group studied so the whole class can learn from each of the resources.

If students have questions about who will be involved in our judgment, consider sharing the scripture references in the first section of the Commentary and Background Information section.

You may also want to listen to other teachings from President Oaks about the Final Judgment in “Divine Love in the Father’s Plan” from time code 1:44 to 3:32, or “Cleansed by Repentance” from time code 8:09 to 12:03, both available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Refer students to the questions that were recorded on the board earlier. Consider giving several students a marker to write answers they found next to the appropriate questions. Then have students hand the markers to others to do the same. Repeat until all willing students write something they found. Then, invite students to share their responses to the following questions:

What truths about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, repentance, and the Final Judgment would you share with someone who is nervous about the Final Judgment? Why?

There may be statements in the Commentary and Background Information section that could help students answer the previous question.

Confidence on Judgment Day

Invite students to silently ponder the following:

Think about how you have felt during this study. Do you feel more or less confident and joyful about the Final Judgment than you did prior to this lesson? Why do you feel the way you do? What is the Holy Ghost prompting you to do?

In your study journal, make a plan to begin preparing more intently for the Final Judgment. Ponder and decide on one action you can take to help you feel more confidence and joy as you prepare to stand before Christ. For example, daily, sincere repentance is a powerful way to find “happiness and peace of mind.” (See Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 67.) Commit to following through on your plan.

Commentary and Background Information

Mormon 3:17–22. Who will be involved in our judgment?

The scriptures teach that there will be at least five sources that will be part of our judgment:

Ourselves (see Alma 41:3–7)
Scriptures (see 2 Nephi 25:18; 29:11; 33:14; 3 Nephi 27:25–26)
Apostles (see Matthew 19:27–30; 1 Nephi 12:9; 3 Nephi 27:27; Mormon 3:18; Doctrine and Covenants 29:12)
Jesus Christ (see John 5:22; 2 Nephi 9:41; 3 Nephi 27:14)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained the Savior’s role as Judge.

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Elder Bruce R. McConkie

There will be a whole hierarchy of judges who, under Christ, shall judge the righteous. He alone shall issue the decrees of damnation for the wicked. (Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man [1982], 520)

What will our judgment be based on?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency explained:

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President Dallin H. Oaks

The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become. (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2000, 32)

How can repentance prepare us for the Final Judgment?

President Russell M. Nelson taught:

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President Russell M. Nelson

Our ultimate quest in life is to prepare to meet our Maker. We do this by striving daily to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. And we do that as we repent daily and receive His cleansing, healing, and strengthening power. (Russell M. Nelson, “Opening Message,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 6)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternate beginning to the lesson

Consider inviting students to visualize the Final Judgment and facing the Savior. Ask them to record thoughts and feelings they might have in this situation. Invite them to study this lesson, looking for truths that can help them face this experience with greater confidence and joy.

Mormon 2:10–15. “Sorrow before the Lord”

If students would benefit from studying the difference between sorrow that leads to repentance and sorrow that does not, consider inviting them to read Mormon 2:10–15, looking for what gave Mormon hope for his people’s future and what caused his sadness to return.

Help students discover the truth in this passage that sorrow that leads to sincere repentance helps us access the mercy and long-suffering of Jesus Christ.

Invite students to discuss how a teenager who is unhappy with choices they have made can turn to the Savior for relief.

Mormon 3:9–15. Boasting in our own strength will cause us to lose God’s strength

Ask students to share how being confident is different than boasting and why the difference might be important.

Ask them to study Mormon 3:9–15 and look for the results of the Nephites boasting in their own strength.

Students could then search the Topical Guide under “Boast, Boasting” or the Guide to the Scriptures under “Pride.” They can look for additional examples of how we lose strength from God when we boast in our own strength.

Invite students to list a few Christlike attributes that can help us avoid boasting. Students could write a letter to their future selves, sharing what they learned and felt that could help them avoid relying on and boasting in their own strength.

Visualizing the Judgment

After studying Mormon 3, consider inviting students to visualize being at the Judgment with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Read Doctrine and Covenants 45:3 and remind them of the Savior’s role as their advocate. Ask them to visualize the Savior speaking the words in Doctrine and Covenants 45:4–5. Who does the Savior invite Heavenly Father to look at? Why?

Ask them to share how visualizing these verses gives them confidence for the Judgment and why.