A Tower to Reach Heaven

Choice 3: Genesis 11:1-9. A Tower to Reach Heaven

1. Read Genesis 11:1-9, Helaman 6:28, and Ether 1:3-4, and write your answers to the following questions:

• What was the stated purpose of building a tower?

The Tower was built to reach up to Heaven. The people came together to build it. 

• Why do you think this angered the Lord?

The people were defiant of the Lord and tried to "cheat" their way to heaven. 

• What did God do to scatter the people?

He changed the languages that the people spoke. He made it so they could not communicate. 

• Read Ether 1:33-43 and summarize in writing how the Jaredites from the Book of Mormon fit into this story.

These are the Jaredites from the tower. They were the ones that traveled to the promised land. 

2. As is typical with Satan’s tactics, he will take a truth and twist it into a counterfeit. Note that the people building the tower of Babel tried to make a name for themselves, while the followers of the Lord willingly take His name upon them. Read Acts 4:12; Mosiah 3:17, 5:7-15; and Doctrine and Covenants 18:21-25, and write two to three paragraphs about how we can receive “a name” (Genesis 11:4) that will truly help us reach heaven.

In Acts 4:12 we find that we have to have a name in Heaven in order to be able to return to our Heavenly Father. Without a name in Heaven we have to place and we cannot enter. Through Christ we are able to receive our place in Heaven and only through him can we make it. We are imperfect beings but through Him we are made whole. 

When we make covenants with the Lord we are promised that if we keep those covenants we will be provided a place with God. If we do not repent of our sins then we can be "blotted" out and will lose our place. We must be strong in the gospel and hold firm to our beliefs so we may have that place.