Lehi’s family was now in a new land, full of new possibilities. The choices they made in this new place would be important for their success and happiness. Perhaps this is why Lehi taught his son Jacob about agency, or the ability to make choices, in 2 Nephi 2. As you study verses 11–30, write down possible answers to these questions:

• Why is agency so important to Heavenly Father, even though some people use it in hurtful ways?

• How does the adversary try to weaken or destroy your agency?

• How does the Savior help you “choose liberty and eternal life” (verse 27)?

Here’s another way to learn about agency in 2 Nephi 2: Look for things that are essential for us to have agency and to reach our divine potential. For example:

• 2 Nephi 2:5: A knowledge of good and evil; a law

• 2 Nephi 2:11, 16:

• 2 Nephi 2:16:

• 2 Nephi 2:21:

• 2 Nephi 2:6–9, 26–28:

What would happen to our agency if one or more of these things were missing?

Each of the six sections of For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices contains “Invitations” and “Promised Blessings.” Look at one or more of these sections, and choose a promised blessing you hope for in your life. What invitation do you need to act on to receive this blessing? Consider sharing with someone the blessings you have received from following these invitations.

See also Gospel Topics, “Agency and Accountability,” Gospel Library; “Know This, That Every Soul Is Free,” Hymns, no. 240.

IDEAS FOR TEACHING CHILDREN

• To help your children understand what Lehi taught about opposites and making choices, you could play a game in which you say a word (such as light) and your children say its opposite (dark). Help them learn why opposites are part of God’s plan as you read together 2 Nephi 2:11, 16. Then you could share stories about a child who is tempted to make a wrong choice. Your children could share what the opposite of the wrong choice is and act it out.

• To learn about the difference between “liberty” and “captivity” (2 Nephi 2:27), your children could draw pictures of an animal in a cage and an animal in its natural environment. Which animal is free? Invite the children to point at the correct picture when you read the word “free” in 2 Nephi 2:27. Testify that Jesus Christ makes us free.

• Sing together a song like “Choose the Right” (Hymns, no. 239). What do we learn from the song about making choices?

DOWNLOAD Turn Trials into Triumphs match game (HERE or see TEENS below)
Lehi knew that his young son Jacob had suffered “afflictions” and “much sorrow” during his childhood (2 Nephi 2:1). Why do you think Lehi’s testimony in 2 Nephi 2:1–3, 6–25 would have been valuable to Jacob? Why is it valuable to you? Look for words and phrases that you find especially powerful. How has God consecrated your afflictions for your gain? (See 2 Nephi 2:2.)

See also Romans 8:28; Dale G. Renlund, “Infuriating Unfairness,” Liahona, May 2021, 41–45.

IDEAS FOR TEACHING CHILDREN

• Would it help your children to compare God’s commandments to shoes, hats, gloves, or other things that protect us? Maybe you could let them try on some as you talk about how the commandments protect us. Then you could read 2 Nephi 1:20, emphasizing that we “prosper” (are blessed or protected) as we keep the commandments.
  DOWNLOAD Follow the Prophet Cycle of History wheel (HERE or below)
  Share an experience when you were blessed or protected by following the commandments.

• To illustrate the difference between prospering and being cut off from God (see 2 Nephi 1:20), you and your children could look at a healthy plant and a leaf or branch that has been cut off from the plant. Then your children could review choices that Nephi and his brothers made (see 1 Nephi 2:11–16; 3:5–7; 18:9–11). What were the results of these choices? What choices help us stay connected to God?

Many people believe that the Fall was only a tragedy and that Eve and Adam made a permanent mistake when they chose to eat the fruit. In 2 Nephi 2:15–28, Lehi teaches additional truth about the Fall—and about redemption through Christ. As you search these verses, make a list of truths about what happened in the Garden of Eden. Questions like these could help:

• Why was the Fall necessary?

• What role did Jesus Christ play in overcoming the effects of the Fall?
  DOWNLOAD I Can Return Maze: Because of Adam and Eve – Because of Jesus (HERE or below)

• How does correctly understanding the Fall help us better understand our need for Jesus Christ?

See also Dallin H. Oaks, “The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 72–75.

IDEAS FOR TEACHING CHILDREN

• To help your children understand Lehi’s invitation to “shake off the chains” of sin, maybe you could work together to make a chain from slips of paper. On the slips, your children could help you write some things Satan tempts us to do. Then you could read together 2 Nephi 1:13, 15, 23 as they act out some of the phrases in these verses—including shaking off the paper chain. How is sin like a chain? How does Jesus help us “shake off the chains” of sin?