Study Guide for "God’s Intent Is to Bring You Home"

In this talk, Elder Patrick Kearon discusses the divine intent of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, to bring us back home to Them. He uses the metaphor of a roadblock to illustrate how unlike earthly barriers, God's plan is not designed to keep us out, but rather to guide us back to Him. Elder Kearon emphasizes the various aspects of God's plan, such as redemption, mercy, happiness, and salvation, and how they are all designed to help us return to our heavenly home.

Before Reading

Before reading or listening to the talk, consider the following questions:

How does Elder Kearon describe God's plan in relation to a roadblock?
What are the various aspects of God's plan that Elder Kearon discusses?
What is the role of Jesus Christ in God's plan according to Elder Kearon?
How does Elder Kearon describe God's intent for us as His children?
What does Elder Kearon say about the concept of infinite atonement?

Topics

Understanding God's Intent for His Children

Elder Kearon emphasizes that God's intent is to bring all His children back to Him. He uses the metaphor of a roadblock to illustrate that unlike earthly barriers, God's plan is not designed to keep us out, but to guide us back to Him. He emphasizes on the relentless pursuit of God for each of His children.

Our Father’s beautiful plan, even His “fabulous” plan, is designed to bring you home, not to keep you out.

God is in relentless pursuit of you.

Everything about the Father’s plan for His beloved children is designed to bring everyone home.

What is God's intent for His children according to Elder Kearon?
How does Elder Kearon describe God's pursuit of His children?
How have you experienced God's relentless pursuit in your life?
In what ways can you align your life more closely with God's intent to bring you back home?

Recognizing the Aspects of God's Plan

Elder Kearon discusses the various aspects of God's plan, such as redemption, mercy, happiness, and salvation. He emphasizes that each of these aspects is designed to bring us happiness, redeem us, extend mercy to us, and ultimately lead us to salvation.

They call it the plan of redemption, the plan of mercy, the great plan of happiness, and the plan of salvation, which is unto all, “through the blood of mine Only Begotten.”

The intent of the Father’s plan of happiness is your happiness, right here, right now, and in the eternities.

The intent of the Father’s plan of redemption is in fact your redemption

The intent of the Father’s plan of mercy is to extend mercy as you turn back to Him and honour your covenant of fidelity to Him.

The intent of the Father’s plan of salvation is in fact your salvation in the celestial kingdom of glory as you receive “the testimony of Jesus” and offer your whole soul to Him.

What are the various aspects of God's plan discussed by Elder Kearon?
How does each aspect of God's plan contribute to our return to Him?
How have you experienced the aspects of God's plan in your life?
In what ways can you better align your life with the aspects of God's plan?

Recognizing the Role of Jesus Christ in God's Plan

Elder Kearon emphasizes the role of Jesus Christ in God's plan. He explains that through His atoning sacrifice, Christ removes every roadblock that would separate us from our eternal home. He also assures us that Christ's atoning sacrifice covers everyone, emphasizing the infinite nature of His atonement.

He sent His precious Beloved Son to this fallen world to live the full range of the human experience, to provide an example for the rest of His children to follow, and to atone and redeem.

Christ’s great atoning gift removes every roadblock of physical and spiritual death that would separate us from our eternal home.

The Son tells us Himself: “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

Infinite covers you and those you love.

What is the role of Jesus Christ in God's plan according to Elder Kearon?
How does Elder Kearon describe the scope of Christ's atonement?
How have you experienced the atoning power of Jesus Christ in your life?
In what ways can you better accept and apply the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ in your life?

Embracing the Call to Change and Repent

Elder Kearon discusses the need for change and repentance in our lives. He explains that while God's plan is designed to bring us back to Him, it also requires us to use our agency to live on a higher plane of moral conduct, to change, repent, and come unto Christ.

Does this mean anything goes with regard to how we live our lives? That the way we choose to use our agency doesn’t matter? That we can take or leave God’s commandments? No, of course not.

Surely one of Jesus’s most consistent invitations and pleas during His mortal ministry was that we change and repent and come unto Him.

God wants for us a radical reorientation of our selfish and prideful impulses, the eviction of the natural man, for us to “go, and sin no more.”

What does Elder Kearon say about the need for change and repentance in our lives?
How does Elder Kearon describe the use of our agency in relation to God's plan?
How have you responded to the call to change and repent in your life?
What changes can you make in your life to better align with God's plan?

Experiencing the Healing and Peace of God's Plan

Elder Kearon concludes his talk by emphasizing the healing and peace that come through aligning with God's plan. He assures us that God's design, plan, purpose, intent, wish, and hope are all designed to heal us, give us peace, and bring us home.

The Father’s design, His plan, His purpose, His intent, His wish, and His hope are all to heal you, all to give you peace, all to bring you, and those you love, home.

How does Elder Kearon describe the healing and peace that come through aligning with God's plan?
How have you experienced the healing and peace of God's plan in your life?
What steps can you take to experience more of the healing and peace that come from aligning with God's plan?