To accompany your Come Follow Me study for June 5-11

In addition to reading the indicated chapters, you may wish to:

Read the applicable portions of the New Testament Institute Student Manual at

See the following video: Come Follow Me (June 5-11) John 14-17 | Nevertheless: The Garden of Gethsemane at (1) Come Follow Me (June 5-11) John 14-17 | Nevertheless: The Garden of Gethsemane – YouTube

See from minute 2:00:08 to 2:18:50 of the following video:

If you would like a Kahoot game related to this material which you could use for personal study or use with your family or your class, click here: https://create.kahoot.it/share/john-14-17/0c6e16c1-a1a5-4d3e-a730-26a87861fc40. (To use it with a group, after clicking on this link, you will need to log into Kahoot, creating a free account if you have not done so previously, then click on the blue “Start” button.)

Points to Ponder in John 14-17

1. Jesus begins this memorable sermon urging, “Let not your heart be troubled.” He later says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” What specific teachings from these four chapters do you feel are most likely to bring peace to the New Testament reader of today?

2. Find the passages in John 14-17 which teach, though not necessarily prove conclusively, the following doctrines:

There are various degrees of glory in heaven. [Why wouldn’t this passage be sufficient to convince everyone? What other passages would be even clearer?]

“There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

The Father has a body of flesh and bones.

In spite of John 14:9, the Father and the Son are not the same person.

Miracles will be found in the true church.

It is not enough to just believe in Christ. We have to do something about it.

There will be revelation in the true church.

The Holy Ghost can take away much of the pressure and stress from our daily lives.

The Holy Ghost can bring us a fulness of joy.

The Holy Ghost can help us remember the scriptures and anything else we need to recall.

The Holy Ghost can reveal to us truths we had not previously known, including coming events.

The Holy Ghost can let us know that Jesus Christ is really the Son of God and the Savior of us all.

The Holy Ghost causes us to feel guilt when we have sinned.

Satan has dominion over this world and its activities.

We can expect trials and difficulties in this life, but they will be for our good.

Jesus tells us what He’d really like as a birthday present.

It is necessary to have divine authority to legally represent the Savior. It is not enough just to feel an inner calling.

The retention of new converts is as important as their conversion.

Those who die without hearing the gospel will not be punished for having rejected it.

We shouldn’t depend too much on another person to answer our religious questions and doubts but should learn to receive answers directly from heaven.
We not only can but must come to know both Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father intimately.

There is a premortal life.

We know the name of at least one son of perdition.

It is not necessary to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world in order to avoid sin.

The oneness of the Father and the Son is a oneness of purpose, not an identity of being.

3. How do you reconcile Jesus’ promise in 14:13-14, which seems to say that anything we ask in His name will be granted, with the fact that almost all of us have asked for things in prayer that we didn’t get?

4. Why was it necessary for Jesus to leave before the disciples could receive the Comforter, or Holy Ghost? (16:7)

5. What is the difference between knowing a lot about Heavenly Father and Jesus and actually knowing them? (John 17:3)

6. What thoughts do you have on being “in the world” without being “of the world,” as Jesus indicated we should be? (John 17:15.) Why shouldn’t we in fact withdraw from the world as much as possible? Should Latter-day Saint youth socialize only with other Latter-day Saints? Suppose a Latter-day Saint oriented private school were to be organized in our area. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of sending your children there?

Possible Answers to Points to Ponder in John 14-17

They could certainly include the following:

14:2: “In my Father’s house are many mansions,” implying there is one there for us.
14:12: We can do even greater works than Jesus did.
14:13-14: We can reach the point that our prayers will always be answered in the affirmative. See also 15:7 and 16:23.
14:16: Another Comforter, the Holy Ghost, is promised.
14:18: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
14:19: “Because I live, ye shall live also.”
14:23: Even the Father can visit us.
15:11: Our joy may be full. See also 16:20, 24.
16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in my ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

2. Find the passages in John 14-17 which teach, though not necessarily prove conclusively, the following doctrines:

There are various degrees of glory in heaven. [Why wouldn’t this passage be sufficient to convince everyone? What other passages would be even clearer?]

14:2—But it could be understood as simply speaking of there being a place in heaven for many people, all of whom would receive the same glory. D&C 76 and 1 Corinthians 15:40-42 are clearer that there are diverse degrees of glory.

“There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

14:6

The Father has a body of flesh and bones.

14:9. Jesus says He and His Father are just alike in all fundamental ways—not that they are the same person.

In spite of John 14:9, the Father and the Son are not the same person.

14:12; 14:28; 17:20-23

Miracles will be found in the true church.

14:12

It is not enough to just believe in Christ. We have to do something about it.

14:15; 15:2; 15:10

There will be revelation in the true church.

14:18-23; 14:26; 15:1-5; 17:3 (with Matthew 11:27)

The Holy Ghost can take away much of the pressure and stress from our daily lives.

14:26-27

The Holy Ghost can bring us a fulness of joy.

15:11

The Holy Ghost can help us remember the scriptures and anything else we need to recall.

14:26

The Holy Ghost can reveal to us truths we had not previously known, including coming events.

14:26; 16:13

The Holy Ghost can let us know that Jesus Christ is really the Son of God and the Savior of us all.

15:26

The Holy Ghost can cause us to feel guilt when we have sinned.

16:8

Satan has dominion over this world and its activities.

14:30

We can expect trials and difficulties in this life, but they will be for our good.

15:2. Jesus says it’s like pruning a fruit tree. Only by cutting it back can we induce it to be maximally productive.

Jesus tells us what He’d really like as a birthday present.

14:15

It is necessary to have divine authority to legally represent the Savior. It is not enough just to feel an inner calling.

15:16

The retention of new converts is as important as their conversion.

15:16

Those who die without hearing the gospel will not be punished for having rejected it.

15:22-24

We shouldn’t depend too much on another person to answer our religious questions and doubts but should learn to receive answers directly from heaven.

16:7. It appears that one reason the Holy Ghost couldn’t come as a permanent gift while Jesus was on the earth was that it was too easy for His disciples to go directly to Him and not learn to hear the still, small voice from heaven.

We not only can but must come to know both Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father intimately.

15:14-15; 17:3

There is a premortal life.

16:28; 17:5; 17:24. These passages only directly establish that Jesus Christ had a premortal life, but if He did, it is not too great a stretch of the imagination to believe that we did, too.

We know the name of at least one son of perdition. Conocemos el nombre de por lo menos un hijo de perdición.

17:12, which refers to Judas.

It is not necessary to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world in order to avoid sin.

17:15

The oneness of the Father and the Son is a oneness of purpose, not an identity of being.

17:20-23. Jesus prayed that His followers might be one in the same sense in which He and His Father were one. The scriptures clearly indicate that we will be individuals in the life to come, not all rolled up into the same eternal being. Otherwise, there would be no need for the “many mansions” Jesus taught there were in his Father’s “house.” (14:2)

The promise of 14:13-14 (and 16:23-24) seems to be specific to the Twelve Apostles, who evidently had reached the same point of righteousness as Nephi, the son of Helaman, who was promised in Helaman 10:5 that whatever he asked would be granted. It is not a promise to everyone. John 15:7 indicates the same thing, quoting Jesus as saying, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” The operative word there is “if.”

4. Why was it necessary for Jesus to leave before the disciples could receive the Comforter, or Holy Ghost? (16:7)

We don’t know for sure. In the Bible Dictionary, we find the following comments: “For some reason not fully explained in the scriptures, the Holy Ghost did not operate in the fulness among the Jews during the years of Jesus’ mortal sojourn (John 7:39; 16:7). Statements to the effect that the Holy Ghost did not come until after Jesus was resurrected must of necessity refer to that particular dispensation only, for it is abundantly clear that the Holy Ghost was operative in earlier dispensations. Furthermore, it has reference only to the gift of the Holy Ghost not being present, since the power of the Holy Ghost was operative during the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus; otherwise no one would have received a testimony of the truths that these men taught (Matt. 16:16–17; see also 1 Cor. 12:3)” (“Holy Ghost”).

Perhaps with Jesus present, it was too easy for the disciples to ask Him their questions and thus avoid seeking answers directly from heaven. Once Jesus left, they would have no choice but to seek the guidance, comfort, and strengthening power of the Holy Ghost.

5. What is the difference between knowing a lot about Heavenly Father and Jesus and actually knowing them? (John 17:3)

We can know about them by reading and listening to sermons. But we really know them only by a close and personal association with them: talking to them in prayer, listening to them, and following their teachings, and becoming like them. As Jesus said in 15:14, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” King Benjamin gives us a further clue when he asks, “For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart? (Mosiah 5:13.)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie summed it up as follows: “It is one thing to know about God and another to know him. We know about him when we learn that he is a personal being in whose image man is created; when we learn that the Son is in the express image of his Father’s person; when we learn that both the Father and the Son possess certain specified attributes and powers. But we know them, in the sense of gaining eternal life, when we enjoy and experience the same things they do. To know God is to think what he thinks, to feel what he feels, to have the power he possesses, to comprehend the truths he understands, and to do what he does. Those who know God become like him, and have his kind of life, which is eternal life” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:762).

Potential advantages could be a more pleasant environment and the opportunity to learn without so many distractions from the world.

Disadvantages would include:

Students wouldn’t as easily grow from overcoming the challenges the world provides.
It would be hard to be an influence for good on the world if our people were not in it. If we are to be the “salt of the earth,” we can’t have all the salt remain in the shaker!