Lesson 2: Jesus Christ, the Savior

Young Women Manual 1, (2002), 6–8


Each young woman will realize that Jesus Christ is her Savior and that his atonement makes it possible for her to be resurrected and live with God again.


  1. 1.


  2. 2.

    Assign the young women to present any stories, scriptures, or quotations you wish.

Suggested Lesson Development

The Scriptures Testify That Jesus Is the Christ, the Savior of the World

Chalkboard and scripture discussion

Write Jesus Is the Christ and the following scripture references on the chalkboard. Have each young woman turn to the references in her scriptures. Read them together. Have class members mark the passages. Discuss each scripture thoroughly.

Explain that these are only a few of the many passages that testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ Makes Salvation and Exaltation Possible

Scripture discussion

Ask for a volunteer to recite the third article of faith. Discuss with the class what the atonement of Christ is and what it means to us. Your discussion should include the following points:

  1. 1.

    Christ volunteered to give his life so that all people could be saved.

  2. 2.

    Christ was foreordained, or chosen, for this mission before the world was created.

  3. 3.

    The transgression of Adam brought death into the world. Christ’s sacrifice paid the penalty for that broken law and made it possible for us to overcome death.

  4. 4.

    Christ paid not only for Adam’s sins but for ours as well—if we obey the laws and ordinances of the gospel.

  5. 5.

    Because he is the literal son of God, Christ is the only person who could ever have power over death. He had inherited from God the power of immortality. Also, he was the only sinless person who lived on earth, having resisted all of Satan’s temptations. For these reasons, he is the only person who has ever lived who could accomplish the Atonement.

  6. 6.

    Because of Christ’s sacrifice, all people will be resurrected.

  7. 7.

    The prophets, both before and after Christ’s life on earth, have testified of him.

Write the following scripture references on the chalkboard:

Have the young women silently read the scriptures and identify the two important results of Jesus Christ’s atonement. (We can be resurrected, and we can be exalted or gain eternal life.)

  • According to Alma, what group of people will gain eternal life? (Those who believe on the name of Jesus Christ.)


Ask the class if they have ever tried to imagine how it must have been for the Savior to take upon himself our sins. Read aloud or have a young woman read aloud the following account by Elder Orson F. Whitney:



“Presently He arose and walked to where those Apostles were kneeling—fast asleep! He shook them gently, awoke them, and in a tone of tender reproach, untinctured by the least show of anger or impatience, asked them plaintively if they could not watch with him one hour. There He was, with the awful weight of the world’s sin upon his shoulders, with the pangs of every man, woman and child shooting through his sensitive soul—and they could not watch with him one poor hour!” (Through Memory’s Halls: The Life Story of Orson F. Whitney [Independence, Mo.: Zion’s Printing and Publishing Co., 1930], p. 82).

Thought question

  • Are we ever indifferent to the suffering Christ went through for us? Do we fail to appreciate the two important gifts he gave us?



To Be Exalted, We Must Repent and Turn to the Savior

Scripture discussion

Write on the chalkboard: Helaman 14:13.

  • According to Helaman 14:13, if we truly believe in Jesus Christ, what will we feel motivated to do?

Add on the chalkboard: Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19. Have these verses read aloud.


Add on the chalkboard: Doctrine and Covenants 58:43.

True repentance takes time and effort. We must show ourselves and the Lord that we have forsaken our errors.


“Some people believe in instantaneous repentance. While you can stop doing something instantaneously … , true repentance occurs when you have demonstrated, through the passage of time, that what you resolved to do has actually come to pass and [the sin] is truly out of your life” (Loren C. Dunn, Read, Ponder, Pray, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [Provo, 7 Mar. 1972], p. 4).

Scripture discussion

Explain that confessing and forsaking sin is necessary and vital. Some sins need to be confessed to priesthood leaders. But more is needed to obtain forgiveness.

  • What more is necessary?

Explain that the people in the following three scriptures were all repentant and seeking forgiveness of sin, and they all had a similar experience. Have the young women read silently as the following scriptures are read aloud:

  • In each of these scriptural examples, how did the people obtain forgiveness?

Teacher presentation

Remind the young women that to be forgiven for our sins, we must turn to Heavenly Father with faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has extended to each of us two tremendous gifts. Resurrection is free to all. Exaltation, or eternal life, is conditioned upon our having faith in Jesus Christ and repenting with all our hearts.



You may wish to bear testimony of the importance of Jesus Christ as our Savior. Help the young women realize his importance to them. Without him we would have no resurrection or hope of returning to his presence. Because of Christ we have not only that hope, but also the promise of blessings in this life through our faithfulness.