Teachings of George Albert Smith Lesson 8: Temple Blessings for Ourselves and Our Ancestors

Excerpt from "Generations Linked in Love," by Russell M. Nelson

Note: As the Church has said, the manual has been prepared as the primary source of lesson material. This supplement, from a general conference address, is only meant as a complement to your study on this lesson's topic.

Excerpt from "Generations Linked in Love" by Elder Russell M. Nelson, April 2010 General Conference:

When I think of the love I feel for each member of our family, I sense, to a slight degree, the love that our Heavenly Father bears for His children. While the family is under attack throughout the world, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims, promotes, and protects the truth that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” and our vast family history efforts are but two evidences of how this Church brings hope and help to the sacred institution of the family.

We teach that God’s love for His children is infinite. Regardless of race, nationality, or gender, He loves all of them. 1 He has done so from the beginning and will continue to do so. He invites all to gain eternal exaltation for their family. His work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life—the exaltation—of His children. 2 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 3

The Atonement of His Beloved Son enabled both of the Father’s objectives to be fulfilled. Without the Atonement, there would be no immortality. Without the Atonement, there would be no return to the presence of the Father and no continuation of the family beyond the grave.

Because of the Atonement, these consummate blessings can be realized by each of God’s children who obey His eternal laws. Through the ages, many of His children have had access to the blessings of the gospel, but many more have not. Before the foundation of the world, our Heavenly Father instituted the ordinance of baptism for those who die without a knowledge of the gospel. 4 He loves those children too.

To read the full talk, click here.

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