Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
This week we study the great and last discourse that Christ gave before His death and resurrection. Christ focuses on topics vital to us, including the Comforter, or Holy Ghost, promises and joy found in Christ and Christ's “Great Intercessory Prayer.”
Elder Jeffery R. Holland: “Christ said, “I am the true vine, and … ye are the branches.”2 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”3
“Abide in me” is an understandable and beautiful enough concept in the elegant English of the King James Bible, but “abide” is not a word we use much anymore. So I gained even more appreciation for this admonition from the Lord when I was introduced to the translation of this passage in another language. In Spanish that familiar phrase is rendered “permaneced en mi.” Like the English verb “abide,” permanecer means “to remain, to stay,” but even gringos like me can hear the root cognate there of “permanence.” The sense of this then is “stay—but stay forever.” That is the call of the gospel message to Chileans and everyone else in the world. Come, but come to remain. Come with conviction and endurance. Come permanently, for your sake and the sake of all the generations who must follow you, and we will help each other be strong to the very end.
“Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing.”6 I testify that that is God’s truth. Christ is everything to us and we are to “abide” in Him permanently, unyieldingly, steadfastly, forever. For the fruit of the gospel to blossom and bless our lives, we must be firmly attached to Him, the Savior of us all, and to this His Church, which bears His holy name. He is the vine that is our true source of strength and the only source of eternal life. In Him we not only will endure but also will prevail and triumph in this holy cause that will never fail us.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2004/04/abide-in-me?lang=eng)
“I have manifested thy name”
“Special significance is attached to receiving and knowing the name of God. A few important points concerning this are recorded in Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible:
After his death, the Prophet Joseph Smith came to Brigham Young in a vision and Brigham asked him if he had a message for the Saints. His message was, “Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small still voice; it will teach you what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom.” (Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1846-1847, 529).
Brigham Young appeared to Wilford Woodruff two years after his death and President Woodruff asked Brother Brigham if he had a message for the Saints in Arizona [and] he replied, “Tell the people to get the Spirit of the Lord and keep it with them.” (Ensign, Aug. 1981, 13).
President Ezra Taft Benson: “The most important thing in our lives is the Spirit. I have always felt that…. Spirituality—being in tune with the Spirit of the Lord—is the greatest need we all have. We should strive for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost all the days of our lives. (Ensign, Apr. 1988, 3)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “There is no price too high, … no struggle too severe, no sacrifice too great, if out of it all we receive and enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost. (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, 253)
President Dallin H. Oaks: “To have the continuous companionship of the Holy Ghost is the most precious possession we can have in mortality.” ( Ensign, November 1998, 37)
“To correctly understand these verses, we must rely an alternate translation provided by the Prophet, who said, "It ought to read thus: 'And he shall remind the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.' This comforter reminds of these things through the servants of the Lord." (Kent P. Jackson, Joseph Smith's Commentary on the Bible, p. 139)
"'Reprove' has also been translated 'convince,' 'prove,' and 'show.' The meaning is to prove that a person is wrong, or to convict him." (Daniel Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the New Testament, 426.)
The Prophet taught that "no man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations. The Holy Ghost is a revelator." (Teachings, 328.) He also said that "a person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; that is, those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning to recognize the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus." (Teachings, 151.)
President Ezra Taft Benson: “Christ gave us the perfect model-himself-after which we are to pattern our lives. He said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). Not only did he lay down before us the perfect example for earthly living, but for our sake he willingly gave us his life. He went through an agony both in body and spirit, of which we cannot comprehend, to bring to us the glorious blessing of the Atonement and the Resurrection (see D&C 19:15 19).
“Some men are willing to die for their faith but will not fully live for it. Christ both lived and died for us. . .
“That man is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely fits the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ.” (I Know That My Redeemer Lives: Latter day Prophets Testify of the Savior Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990, 216.)
“As our Bible Dictionary states, “The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them’ (p. 753). In other words, prayers bring our desires and the desires of our Father into harmony, thus bringing us both the blessing we are seeking and also the blessing of greater unity with the Father...The greatest blessing and benefit is not the physical or spiritual blessings that may come as answers to our prayers but in the changes to our soul that come as we learn to be dependent on our Heavenly Father for strength...The very act of praying will improve us.” (David E. Sorensen, Ensign, May 1993, pp. 30 1)
“Once each year, the presiding high priest in ancient Israel entered into the holy of holies, the most sacred place within the tabernacle. There he would perform certain rites in connection with the Day of Atonement, a day set aside for national humiliation and contrition. Having bathed himself and dressed in white linen, he would present before the Lord a young bullock and two young goats as sin offerings, and a ram as a burnt offering in behalf of his sins and those of the people. The high priest's role was that of a mediator, or one who interceded with the Lord in behalf of the people. His role, of course, was but a type of the great mediating role of the Savior in our behalf. Thus, when Jesus pleaded to the Father for all those who believed on him, he did so as our Intercessor, or Great High Priest.
"The prayer he offered on this occasion had three distinct parts: In the first part (see John 17:1-3), Jesus offered himself as the great sacrifice. His hour had come. The next part of the prayer (see John 17:14-19) was a reverent report to the Father of his mortal mission. In the last part (see John 17:20-26) of his prayer, Jesus interceded not only for the eleven apostles present, but for all who shall believe on Jesus 'through their word,' in order that all would come to a perfect unity, which unity invested Christ in them as Christ is in the Father. Thus all would be perfect in unity, and the world would believe that the Father had sent his Son." (Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles, 171.)
When Harvard University opened its doors in 1636, their mission statement was “to know God and Jesus Christ which is life eternal.” (forchrist.org/2012/08/18/harvard-college-mission-statement-in-1636/.)
President Ezra Taft Benson: “We cannot know God and Jesus without studying about them and then doing their will. This course leads to additional revealed knowledge that, if obeyed, will eventually lead us to further truths. When we follow this pattern, we will receive further light and joy, eventually leading into God's presence where we, with Him, will have a fullness." (Come unto Christ Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983, 32.)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “It is one thing to know about God and another to know him. We know about him when we learn that he is a personal being in whose image man is created when we learn that the Son is in the express image of his Father's person when we learn that both the Father and the Son possess certain specified attributes and powers. But we know them, in the sense of gaining eternal life, when we enjoy and experience the same things they do. To know God is to think what he thinks, to feel what he feels, to have the power he possesses, to comprehend the truths he understands, and to do what he does. Those who know God become like him, and have his kind of life, which is eternal life.” (Doc. New Test. Comm. 1: 762.)
Elder Marion D. Hanks: “Thus the promise is that in times of sorrow and affliction, if we endure and remain faithful and put our trust in him and are courageous, the Lord will visit us in our afflictions, strengthen us to carry our burdens and support us in our trials. He'll be with us to the end of our days, lift us at the last day to greater opportunities for service, and exalt us at last with him and reunited loved ones, and he will consecrate our afflictions to our gain. ("A Loving, Communicating God," Ensign, Nov. 1992, 64)
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “Joseph Smith speaks of two Comforters: the first is the Holy Ghost, the second is the Son of God himself. He uses the 14th chapter of John as the basis for his discourse. Verses 16, 17, and 26 definitely refer to the Holy Ghost. They speak of the Spirit of Truth which "dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Verses 18, 21, 23 clearly refer to the Lord himself and his coming to man.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:55)
Joseph Smith: The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, …
then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses. Note the 16, 17, 18, 21, 23 verses.... Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him …
and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn. (TPJS, pp. 149-51)
Christ’s assistance for us while he is with His Father (in John 14-17)
Teaching Thoughts:
Elder Jeffery R. Holland: “Christ said, “I am the true vine, and … ye are the branches.”2 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”3
“Abide in me” is an understandable and beautiful enough concept in the elegant English of the King James Bible, but “abide” is not a word we use much anymore. So I gained even more appreciation for this admonition from the Lord when I was introduced to the translation of this passage in another language. In Spanish that familiar phrase is rendered “permaneced en mi.” Like the English verb “abide,” permanecer means “to remain, to stay,” but even gringos like me can hear the root cognate there of “permanence.” The sense of this then is “stay—but stay forever.” That is the call of the gospel message to Chileans and everyone else in the world. Come, but come to remain. Come with conviction and endurance. Come permanently, for your sake and the sake of all the generations who must follow you, and we will help each other be strong to the very end.
“Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing.”6 I testify that that is God’s truth. Christ is everything to us and we are to “abide” in Him permanently, unyieldingly, steadfastly, forever. For the fruit of the gospel to blossom and bless our lives, we must be firmly attached to Him, the Savior of us all, and to this His Church, which bears His holy name. He is the vine that is our true source of strength and the only source of eternal life. In Him we not only will endure but also will prevail and triumph in this holy cause that will never fail us.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2004/04/abide-in-me?lang=eng)
“I have manifested thy name”
“Special significance is attached to receiving and knowing the name of God. A few important points concerning this are recorded in Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible:
- Unless man knew the name of God, it was impossible to enter into relationship with Him and invoke Him in worship.
- Anciently, it was held that knowing the name of God gave man great power and authority.
- Because the divine name discloses God's nature, it is laden with the authority, power, and holiness of God himself.
- God's name, being filled with his very self, is active and powerful, for it is the sign of his real presence in the midst of his people.
- Those who "know the name of God" (Psalms 9:10 11; 91:14) know his identity and personal character and therefore, in contrast to the heathen (Psalms 79:6; Jeremiah 10:25), trust and hope in him.
- Thus when Jesus said "I have have manifest thy name" (John 17:6, 26), the meaning is that his mission was to reveal the very character and purpose of God…
- Knowledge about the name, the ancients believed, would give men power over deity. (See Genesis 32:22 32 and Judges 13:17-18).
- To know the name of God is to know God himself as he is revealed. (Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, E J, 408 10. and Vol. K Q, 502.)
After his death, the Prophet Joseph Smith came to Brigham Young in a vision and Brigham asked him if he had a message for the Saints. His message was, “Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small still voice; it will teach you what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom.” (Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1846-1847, 529).
Brigham Young appeared to Wilford Woodruff two years after his death and President Woodruff asked Brother Brigham if he had a message for the Saints in Arizona [and] he replied, “Tell the people to get the Spirit of the Lord and keep it with them.” (Ensign, Aug. 1981, 13).
President Ezra Taft Benson: “The most important thing in our lives is the Spirit. I have always felt that…. Spirituality—being in tune with the Spirit of the Lord—is the greatest need we all have. We should strive for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost all the days of our lives. (Ensign, Apr. 1988, 3)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “There is no price too high, … no struggle too severe, no sacrifice too great, if out of it all we receive and enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost. (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, 253)
President Dallin H. Oaks: “To have the continuous companionship of the Holy Ghost is the most precious possession we can have in mortality.” ( Ensign, November 1998, 37)
“To correctly understand these verses, we must rely an alternate translation provided by the Prophet, who said, "It ought to read thus: 'And he shall remind the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.' This comforter reminds of these things through the servants of the Lord." (Kent P. Jackson, Joseph Smith's Commentary on the Bible, p. 139)
"'Reprove' has also been translated 'convince,' 'prove,' and 'show.' The meaning is to prove that a person is wrong, or to convict him." (Daniel Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the New Testament, 426.)
The Prophet taught that "no man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations. The Holy Ghost is a revelator." (Teachings, 328.) He also said that "a person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; that is, those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning to recognize the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus." (Teachings, 151.)
President Ezra Taft Benson: “Christ gave us the perfect model-himself-after which we are to pattern our lives. He said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). Not only did he lay down before us the perfect example for earthly living, but for our sake he willingly gave us his life. He went through an agony both in body and spirit, of which we cannot comprehend, to bring to us the glorious blessing of the Atonement and the Resurrection (see D&C 19:15 19).
“Some men are willing to die for their faith but will not fully live for it. Christ both lived and died for us. . .
“That man is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely fits the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ.” (I Know That My Redeemer Lives: Latter day Prophets Testify of the Savior Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990, 216.)
“As our Bible Dictionary states, “The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them’ (p. 753). In other words, prayers bring our desires and the desires of our Father into harmony, thus bringing us both the blessing we are seeking and also the blessing of greater unity with the Father...The greatest blessing and benefit is not the physical or spiritual blessings that may come as answers to our prayers but in the changes to our soul that come as we learn to be dependent on our Heavenly Father for strength...The very act of praying will improve us.” (David E. Sorensen, Ensign, May 1993, pp. 30 1)
“Once each year, the presiding high priest in ancient Israel entered into the holy of holies, the most sacred place within the tabernacle. There he would perform certain rites in connection with the Day of Atonement, a day set aside for national humiliation and contrition. Having bathed himself and dressed in white linen, he would present before the Lord a young bullock and two young goats as sin offerings, and a ram as a burnt offering in behalf of his sins and those of the people. The high priest's role was that of a mediator, or one who interceded with the Lord in behalf of the people. His role, of course, was but a type of the great mediating role of the Savior in our behalf. Thus, when Jesus pleaded to the Father for all those who believed on him, he did so as our Intercessor, or Great High Priest.
"The prayer he offered on this occasion had three distinct parts: In the first part (see John 17:1-3), Jesus offered himself as the great sacrifice. His hour had come. The next part of the prayer (see John 17:14-19) was a reverent report to the Father of his mortal mission. In the last part (see John 17:20-26) of his prayer, Jesus interceded not only for the eleven apostles present, but for all who shall believe on Jesus 'through their word,' in order that all would come to a perfect unity, which unity invested Christ in them as Christ is in the Father. Thus all would be perfect in unity, and the world would believe that the Father had sent his Son." (Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles, 171.)
When Harvard University opened its doors in 1636, their mission statement was “to know God and Jesus Christ which is life eternal.” (forchrist.org/2012/08/18/harvard-college-mission-statement-in-1636/.)
President Ezra Taft Benson: “We cannot know God and Jesus without studying about them and then doing their will. This course leads to additional revealed knowledge that, if obeyed, will eventually lead us to further truths. When we follow this pattern, we will receive further light and joy, eventually leading into God's presence where we, with Him, will have a fullness." (Come unto Christ Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983, 32.)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “It is one thing to know about God and another to know him. We know about him when we learn that he is a personal being in whose image man is created when we learn that the Son is in the express image of his Father's person when we learn that both the Father and the Son possess certain specified attributes and powers. But we know them, in the sense of gaining eternal life, when we enjoy and experience the same things they do. To know God is to think what he thinks, to feel what he feels, to have the power he possesses, to comprehend the truths he understands, and to do what he does. Those who know God become like him, and have his kind of life, which is eternal life.” (Doc. New Test. Comm. 1: 762.)
Elder Marion D. Hanks: “Thus the promise is that in times of sorrow and affliction, if we endure and remain faithful and put our trust in him and are courageous, the Lord will visit us in our afflictions, strengthen us to carry our burdens and support us in our trials. He'll be with us to the end of our days, lift us at the last day to greater opportunities for service, and exalt us at last with him and reunited loved ones, and he will consecrate our afflictions to our gain. ("A Loving, Communicating God," Ensign, Nov. 1992, 64)
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “Joseph Smith speaks of two Comforters: the first is the Holy Ghost, the second is the Son of God himself. He uses the 14th chapter of John as the basis for his discourse. Verses 16, 17, and 26 definitely refer to the Holy Ghost. They speak of the Spirit of Truth which "dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Verses 18, 21, 23 clearly refer to the Lord himself and his coming to man.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:55)
Joseph Smith: The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, …
then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses. Note the 16, 17, 18, 21, 23 verses.... Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him …
and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn. (TPJS, pp. 149-51)
Christ’s assistance for us while he is with His Father (in John 14-17)
- A lifetime of Christ’s example 14:6
- Relationship with Christ 15:2, 5; 17:6
- The Comforter 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-8; 16:13;
- Love 14:15; 15:12, 13, 17
- Prayer 14:14; 15:7, 15:16; 16:23; 17 Overview, 17:1-3
- Unity 17:9-11, 17:20-22
- Joy 16:22; 17:13
- Promises 14:1-2; 14:18, 27; 16:2-3; 16:33
Teaching Thoughts:
- Ask family/class to write their last words to their friends. What is the most important three things that you would want them.
- Or have them write Christ’s last sermon. What would the three most important things that Christ would want you to know.
- When a student is done – write it on the board. Focus the experience on their emphasis and add topics to discuss as needed.