Plan of Salvation
by Shauna Gibby

The gospel teaches us all we need to know to return to live with our Father in Heaven as resurrected and glorified beings.

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Conference Talk:
For more information on this topic read “The Gospel of Jesus Christ,” by L. Tom Perry, Ensign, May 2008, 44–46.

Thought:
The gospel teaches us all we need to know to return to live with our Father in Heaven as resurrected and glorified beings. (L. Tom Perry, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, May 2008, 44–46.)

Song:
“I Lived in Heaven” Children’s Songbook, p. 4.

Scripture:
For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39)

Object Lesson:
Show your family some of the obituary articles from today’s newspaper. Ask them if most people know the day they are going to die. If tomorrow were your turn to die, what would be some of your concerns?

Read Alma 34:31–36 as a family and look for what Amulek said we ought to be concerned about. Ask:
• What is one of the main reasons we are here on earth?
• What did Amulek say was our best preparation for the time when we will stand before God?
• What rewards will come to those who live each day prepared to meet God?
(Dennis H. Leavitt and Richard O. Christensen, Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families: The Book of Mormon, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003], p. 204.)

Story:
One day [Anna Widtsoe] asked a neighbor . . . to recommend a shoemaker to whom she might take her son’s shoes for repair. One Olaus Johnsen, a very competent, honest workman, was recommended. . . . With a parcel containing a pair of old shoes, the widow set forth in the warm sunshine of the spring of 1879 for the half-hour walk to Johnsen’s shoemaker shop. It certainly did not occur to her that she was making the most fateful visit of her life. . . .

Olaus Johnsen was a wholesome, well-spoken man in his forties, a workman who knew his craft. . . . [He] agreed to put soles on the shoes, strong enough to last a good while even under the wear of a lively, active lad, who was always moving about. The details of business were soon agreed upon; the commonplaces of courteous people were exchanged; the widow was about to leave the shop.

Anna Widtsoe’s hand was on the door latch, when the shoemaker said, somewhat hesitatingly, for the business was concluded and the lady was a stranger, “You may be surprised to hear me say that I can give you something of more value than soles for your child’s shoes.”

She was surprised. She looked into the eyes of the man, who stood straight and courageous in his shop. “What can you, a shoemaker, give me better than soles for my son’s shoes? You speak in riddles,” she answered.

The shoemaker did not hesitate. “If you will but listen, I can teach you the Lord’s true plan of salvation for his children. I can teach you how to find happiness in this life, and to prepare for eternal joy in the life to come. I can tell you whence you came, why you are upon earth, and where you will go after death. I can teach you, as you have never known it before, the love of God for his children on earth.”

Understanding, happiness, joy, love—the words with which she was wrestling! But, this was a shoemaker shop. This man was clearly a humble man who knew little of the wisdom of schools and churches. She felt confused. She simply asked, “Who are you?”

“I am a member of the Church of Christ—we are called Mormons. We have the truth of God.” Mormons! It was terrible. She had innocently walked into a dangerous place. Hurriedly she thanked the shoemaker, left the shop, and climbed the hill.

Yet, as she walked homeward, the words of the shoemaker rang in her ears; and she remembered a certain power in his voice and majesty in his bearing when he delivered his message and bore his testimony. He was a shoemaker, but no ordinary man. Could it really be that the Mormons had the truth of the Lord? No, it was absurd! But, it made her thoughtful and restless.

When the repaired shoes were brought to the house a day or two later by the shoemaker’s young son Anna Widtsoe found, carefully tucked into each shoe, Mormon tracts. . . .

The tracts in the shoes aroused her curiosity to the extent that one Sunday she went to a Mormon meeting. She knew her Bible, but gradually she began to comprehend that her reading had been colored and overshadowed by the teachings of the church of her childhood; and that these men, these Mormon missionaries, accepted the Bible in a truer, more literal manner. She liked it. At length she had to admit that the Bible was all on the side of the Mormons.

At length, on April 1, 1881, a little more than two years after she first heard the gospel, she was baptized into the Church by Elder Anthon L. Skanchy.
(Leon R. Hartshorn, Outstanding Stories by General Authorities, vol. 3, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1974].)

Activity:
With blocks, Legos, or other building components, construct a building or tower with your family. Plan what you are going to build first, then create what you planned. Talk about how knowing what you were going to build, helped you create it.

Refreshment
Moon Cake

1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
3 1/2 cups milk
5 3-ounce packages vanilla instant pudding mix
1 12-ounce carton whipped topping, thawed
1/4 cup chocolate sauce
1/2 cup nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 400°. In a small saucepan, mix the water and margarine. Bring to a boil. Add the flour all at once and stir rapidly until the mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and cool.

With a wooden spoon or electric mixer, beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Spread dough on an 11x15-inch ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool. (Crust will look like the moon’s surface, which is how it gets its name.) Don’t prick, let stand as is.

Beat the cream cheese until it is very soft. In another bowl, mix the milk and pudding mix. Blend cream cheese with pudding and mix together until smooth. Spread on crust; refrigerate 20 minutes. Generously top with whipped topping. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Makes 20 servings.

*Whipping cream may be substituted. (Lion House Entertaining, [Salt Lake City: Eagle Gate, 2001], p. 115.)

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Deseret Book

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