Abraham Chapter 4

One of the many things revealed to the prophet Abraham, was the plan of salvation. In this chapter, Abraham wrote down what he knew of the creation. This chapter begins:

1 And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.

This is one of three writings which tell about the creation. The Lord has said that two to three witnesses will establish his gospel. I have a testimony that the scriptural accounts of the creation is true. Our Father in Heaven, as the ultimate creator, directed His Son, Jesus Christ, to create the heavens and the earth. We learn earlier in the Book of Abraham, that other righteous foreordained leaders assisted Him in the physical creation. I believe that when it says “the Gods”, it is referring to God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. The creation of the heavens and the earth, were from matter that already existed. It would not make sense to organize them from nothing. I think that you can only organize things which already exist. In this sense, I don’t believe that their was some “big-bang” that made them exist.

2 And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate, because they had not formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of the Gods was brooding upon the face of the waters.
3 And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light; and there was light.
4 And they (the Gods) comprehended the light, for it was bright; and they divided the light, or caused it to be divided, from the darkness.
5 And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until morning they called night; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of that which they called day and night.

The spirit of God brooding over the world. The word brooding is the word used for the work of a mother bird. My understanding of this is that the spirit watches over the creations of God, just like a mother bird broods over her eggs or babies after they are hatched. The spirit continues to watch over God’s creations, and we can feel this watchful eye when we feel the guidance and comfort of the spirit. God cannot physically be with us or we would never learn the gospel for ourselves. Instead, the spirit is there to watch over us and to help us to find our way.

God created the light and called it day. It was separated from the darkness, or the night. The footnotes in verse four, say that God saw the light and it was good. I can picture God as an artist who created the light and then stood back to view His work, making sure that it was exactly the way he wanted it. Then He decided that it was good, gave it a name and then moved on to the next step. These verses teach us about the origin of what we know as days and nights. God established that the time from morning until evening was day, and that the time from evening until morning was night. This idea is not a man-made idea. I think it is important for us to recognize this, because there are many references to day and night throughout the scriptures. With this understanding, we may comprehend what is meant and be able to live the gospel more fully.

6 And the Gods also said: Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and it shall divide the waters from the waters.
7 And the Gods ordered the expanse, so that it divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so, even as they ordered.
8 And the Gods called the expanse, Heaven. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and this was the second time that they called night and day.
9 And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the earth come up dry; and it was so as they ordered;
10 And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.

The waters of heaven were divided from the waters of the earth. I believe that this is referring to the atmosphere being separate from the water on the earth. Then the waters of the earth were gathered together, and the land was gathered as the earth. I believe that it was at this time that the cycles of water began to work on the earth.

11 And the Gods said: Let us prepare the earth to bring forth grass; the herb yielding seed; the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose seed in itself yieldeth its own likeness upon the earth; and it was so, even as they ordered.
12 And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth grass from its own seed, and the herb to bring forth herb from its own seed, yielding seed after his kind; and the earth to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit, whose seed could only bring forth the same in itself, after his kind; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.
13 And it came to pass that they numbered the days; from the evening until the morning they called night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening they called day; and it was the third time.

Once the earth was prepared to receive seeds of plants, God created the grass, herbs, and fruit which grow from the ground. This is noted here as the third time, instead of the third day as in other versions of the creation. I think that this is a reminder that our version of time is not the same as God’s. This was probably more like a period of time marked by the light. We don’t know how long the days were at that time, and it is likely that they were a lot longer than we know them to be now.

14 And the Gods organized the lights in the expanse of the heaven, and caused them to divide the day from the night; and organized them to be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years;
15 And organized them to be for lights in the expanse of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.
16 And the Gods organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; with the lesser light they set the stars also;
17 And the Gods set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to cause to divide the light from the darkness.
18 And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed.
19 And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that it was night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that it was day; and it was the fourth time.

God created the sun, moon, and stars which were set to distinguish the day from the night. It was at this time, that they were organized into their times and seasons as well. There is no coincidence to how the stars come and go. They were placed specifically to serve their own purposes. They truly are a beautiful site to see. Another note here, is that Abraham calls the sun the greater light, which rules the day. In the previous chapters, we have learned that the use of the word greater can mean closer to God. I think that this is true. The sun is the greater light, because it is closer to God, or closer to being a celestial body. It’s power is therefore greater, which is why it can more fully dispel the darkness of the night.

20 And the Gods said: Let us prepare the waters to bring forth abundantly the moving creatures that have life; and the fowl, that they may fly above the earth in the open expanse of heaven.
21 And the Gods prepared the waters that they might bring forth great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters were to bring forth abundantly after their kind; and every winged fowl after their kind. And the Gods saw that they would be obeyed, and that their plan was good.
22 And the Gods said: We will bless them, and cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas or great waters; and cause the fowl to multiply in the earth.
23 And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and it was the fifth time.
24 And the Gods prepared the earth to bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind; and it was so, as they had said.
25 And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and the Gods saw they would obey.

The water and earth were then prepared for the animals of every kind. All things were created to reproduce “after their kind”, meaning that the fish have been fish, and that the monkey did not come from the waters. I don’t know everything about the beliefs of evolution and such, but I do believe that animals were created to be what they are and that one did not come from another. I do understand that within our own species, there are changes to adapt to our environments, but that is as far as it goes for me.

26 And the Gods took counsel among themselves and said: Let us go down and form man in our image, after our likeness; and we will give them dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.
28 And the Gods said: We will bless them. And the Gods said: We will cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And the Gods said: Behold, we will give them every herb bearing seed that shall come upon the face of all the earth, and every tree which shall have fruit upon it; yea, the fruit of the tree yielding seed to them we will give it; it shall be for their meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, behold, we will give them life, and also we will give to them every green herb for meat, and all these things shall be thus organized.
31 And the Gods said: We will do everything that we have said, and organize them; and behold, they shall be very obedient. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and they numbered the sixth time.

In the sixth creation period, man was created. Here is another account, that teaches us that we are created in the image of God. This belief has always made perfect sense to me. I am created like God, and I am able to become like God as well. Mankind was given dominion over all living things on the earth. I know there was great wisdom in man being created last on this earth. It makes logical sense that man was after animals, which would provide food and clothing among other things. Animals and man came after the sun and moon, because they needed to be able to have light to survive. Plants came before the animals, because that is how the animals would have food. The water and earth were separated and prepared in order for the plants to grow and animals to have the proper place to live. The waters were separated so that the cycle – water in the atmosphere giving water to the earth, and the earth giving back its water to the atmosphere – would sustain everything living, and so on. This is just another example that God is a being of order.

I am so grateful to have all the beautiful creations of God around me. I know that all things serve a purpose in the plan of salvation, and that I can be blessed because of the perfection in that plan. I am so grateful to be created after the image of my Father in Heaven. I have a great hope and faith in being able to become like Him someday.

Abraham Chapter 3

Abraham was a prophet, called by God to preach and to lead his righteous family and followers to Egypt. So far in the Book of Abraham, we have read a few times where the Lord has protected and guided Abraham directly. Abraham’s record continues:

1 And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees;
2 And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it;
3 And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.

The Urim and Thummim is an instrument that God has given to prophets throughout the history of the world, which assists them in translation and receiving revelations. This instrument requires the power and authority of the priesthood in order to be used. The Lord gave Abraham a Urim and Thummim in which he learned about all the stars, including the star of Kolob, which governs all the other stars we can see. From the footnote for Kolob, it references other scriptures which teach us about heaven, and the place where God is. I think that Kolob is the closest place to God.

4 And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord’s time, according to the reckoning of Kolob.
5 And the Lord said unto me: The planet which is the lesser light, lesser than that which is to rule the day, even the night, is above or greater than that upon which thou standest in point of reckoning, for it moveth in order more slow; this is in order because it standeth above the earth upon which thou standest, therefore the reckoning of its time is not so many as to its number of days, and of months, and of years.
6 And the Lord said unto me: Now, Abraham, these two facts exist, behold thine eyes see it; it is given unto thee to know the times of reckoning, and the set time, yea, the set time of the earth upon which thou standest, and the set time of the greater light which is set to rule the day, and the set time of the lesser light which is set to rule the night.
7 Now the set time of the lesser light is a longer time as to its reckoning than the reckoning of the time of the earth upon which thou standest.
8 And where these two facts exist, there shall be another fact above them, that is, there shall be another planet whose reckoning of time shall be longer still;
9 And thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord’s time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.
10 And it is given unto thee to know the set time of all the stars that are set to give light, until thou come near unto the throne of God.

We learn here, that a revolution on Kolob, is one thousand years to us on earth. We also learn here that the moon is greater than the earth in its movement of time. According to these verses, Abraham was taught that the moon revolves more slowly than the earth, which is the proper order of time because it is above the earth, which I think means that it is closer to Kolob. Then he was taught that the next greater planet will move even slower because it is closer to Kolob. These things were revealed to Abraham to know the nature of time for the earth, planets and stars.

11 Thus I, Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh with another; and he told me of the works which his hands had made;
12 And he said unto me: My son, my son (and his hand was stretched out), behold I will show you all these. And he put his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which his hands had made, which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end thereof.
13 And he said unto me: This is Shinehah, which is the sun. And he said unto me: Kokob, which is star. And he said unto me: Olea, which is the moon. And he said unto me: Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven.
14 And it was in the night time when the Lord spake these words unto me: I will multiply thee, and thy seed after thee, like unto these; and if thou canst count the number of sands, so shall be the number of thy seeds.
15 And the Lord said unto me: Abraham, I show these things unto thee before ye go into Egypt, that ye may declare all these words.

The Lord revealed all his creations to Abraham, with the touch of his hands. Then the Lord told Abraham that he was shown these things so that he would preach them to the people when he got to Egypt. The Lord reveals these things to the prophets, so that everyone else can learn of them. Abraham was given this knowledge to be able to teach the people and bring them closer to God. I have to wonder if the topic of the universe and time was a major topic of learning at this point in Egypt, and if this was the way that the spirit would be able to touch the hearts of mankind most.

Abraham was promised again that his seed would be great in number. This promise is an eternal promise of the blessings of eternal life, which include a posterity that goes on forever. This promise is extended to everyone who makes covenants in the temple through the sealing power of the priesthood. I am hopeful of the blessings that come from the covenants that I have made in the temple.

16 If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto me.
17 Now, if there be two things, one above the other, and the moon be above the earth, then it may be that a planet or a star may exist above it; and there is nothing that the Lord thy God shall take in his heart to do but what he will do it.
18 Howbeit that he made the greater star; as, also, if there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal.
19 And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.

Here the Lord teaches Abraham about our eternal nature. Just as one planet is above another because of it relation in space to Kolob or to Him, one spirit will be above another because its intelligence is closer to that of God, who is the greatest. This makes perfect sense to me. We are all on different levels of spiritual intelligence. We learn line upon line, from our individual experiences. This is okay. I don’t think that this makes any one of us greater than another in the eternal view of things, because we are all working towards becoming like God. The important thing is that we are all striving to grow closer to Him. It is not important where we are in relation to others right now, it only matters what we are each trying to become.

20 The Lord thy God sent his angel to deliver thee from the hands of the priest of Elkenah.
21 I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.

God is the being of the most intelligence, or the greatest. As the greatest, he was the creator of all that we now know, and became the leader of other spirits of great intelligence. Those spirits were chosen to be leaders in this life, such as the prophets of God. Abraham was told that he was among the greatest and was chosen before this life, or foreordained. In this group of the greatest, there was one who was like God, and He led the other foreordained leaders in creating the earth and everything on it. This leader was Jesus Christ. I have heard it said that God is the architect who designed the world, Christ is the general contractor, and there are several great spirits who were called to be the workers and who literally built the world. I think that it helps me to understand these verses more. I believe that many spirits were given the opportunity to learn and grow in their state of progression, by being given the work of creating different parts of the world we have now. This is one of those things that I am curious to know about after this life. I think it will be great to know who created the beautiful things I enjoy, and to know if I played any part in that work.

Abraham was told of the plan for the spirits in heaven. He was told about the choice we had to keep our first estate, which means to follow our spiritual leader, Christ, and choose to gain a body and live on this earth. Christ was the first, who was chosen in the pre-existance, to be our Savior and to lead us all back to God. All people who live on the earth, have kept their first estate. The Lord taught Abraham, that all those who made this choice, would be added upon. I believe that this means that we are given the opportunity to progress and gain intelligence, where those who did not choose to follow Christ, are halted in their progression. The second spirit who offered himself to be sent by God, was Satan, who led away many spirits in the pre-existence. Those spirits did not keep their first estate. Our second estate is to make and keep covenants in this life. We will be added upon forever if we choose to make and keep our covenants with God. I believe that these things are true. The knowledge of where we came from, our reason for being here, and where we are going, gives me a greater hope in this life. I am so grateful for the gospel and for the opportunity to learn and grow in intelligence, so that I may one day become like God and live with Him again.

Moses Chapter 3

In the book of Moses up to this point, God has been teaching Moses about the creation of the earth and everything upon it. This left off, at the creation of man and woman, who were given the first commandments and made ruler of the earth. This was the end of the sixth day of the creation.

1 Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day I, God, ended my work, and all things which I had made; and I rested on the seventh day from all my work, and all things which I had made were finished, and I, God, saw that they were good;
3 And I, God, blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it I had rested from all my work which I, God, had created and made.
4 And now, behold, I say unto you, that these are the generations of the heaven and of the earth, when they were created, in the day that I, the Lord God, made the heaven and the earth,
5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. For I, the Lord God, had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air;
6 But I, the Lord God, spake, and there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

As I read this bit of scripture, it makes me ponder over what my seventh day, the Sabbath, should be. God rested from his work and then reflected on the fruits of his labor. I’ve known that I should think about my week on the Sabbath, but I never thought of it in this way. Usually, I think about what in my week I may have done wrong and how to fix it. This is actually part of a bigger picture. What we do all week long is create: create tangible things (good and bad), create memories (good and bad), create relationships (good and bad), create habits (good and bad), and so on. I think that we should be thinking of the things we took the time to create during our week and see if they were good. If we don’t feel like we created anything worthwhile, then we need to think of ways to do better. I think that this approach to reflecting on my week is more pro-active, puts less focus on the negative, and more focus on all that I have done, which will help me to be better as a whole.

God revealed to Moses, that all things had been created spiritually in heaven, before they were created physically on the earth. All the host of heaven, includes all of God’s spiritual children. This is where we learn that there was a pre-mortal existence. We all were created and existed before coming to this earth. God gave us life both in heaven and when we came here. Before God created us on the earth, He had a design or plan for all things. He is a God of order, and we should be people of order. This adds to what we should be thinking about on the Sabbath. Before our next week of creation begins, we should actively think of the things we want to create the next week, with a plan for the purpose of those things. For example, I should think more about the time I want to devote to my children in the next week, and what I hope to get out of it. Setting goals and making plans for the week ahead, seems like a great thing to do on the Sabbath if I want to be more like my Father in Heaven.

All of these moments of reflection and preparation about the things we create, should all lead to our worship of God on the Sabbath day. Everything we do on that day, should be with the realization of God’s hand in our work. We should have a heart full of gratitude for the blessings that God has given us which allow us to create. That is when we will see if we have used all that God has given us for good and for His purposes.

7 And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word.
8 And I, the Lord God, planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there I put the man whom I had formed.
9 And out of the ground made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to the sight of man; and man could behold it. And it became also a living soul. For it was spiritual in the day that I created it; for it remaineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it, yea, even all things which I prepared for the use of man; and man saw that it was good for food. And I, the Lord God, planted the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and also the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
10 And I, the Lord God, caused a river to go out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
11 And I, the Lord God, called the name of the first Pison, and it compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where I, the Lord God, created much gold;
12 And the gold of that land was good, and there was bdellium and the onyx stone.
13 And the name of the second river was called Gihon; the same that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
14 And the name of the third river was Hiddekel; that which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river was the Euphrates.
15 And I, the Lord God, took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.
16 And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The first man was created as an immortal being, from the elements of the earth or the dust of the ground, given the breath of life, and put in the garden of Eden. We learn also here that just as we have a spirit in our mortal body, the plants were created spiritually first and so they have spirits in their now mortal bodies as well. The plants were prepared for the use of man, and the first man learned that the plants were good for food. All the living things on the earth, have a soul and deserve to be treated as living things made by God. However, they were given to man for our use, including for us to eat. It is good for us to understand the purpose of these things as God intended them.

We learn here about some of the physical appearance of Eden, which brings beautiful images to the mind. The modern prophets have taught us that the garden of Eden was on what we now know as the American continent. There were two specific trees mentioned here, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. These trees are mentioned in later scriptures, and I think now as I think of them, I will imagine them in this perfect setting of the garden of Eden. I think it interesting that we have a tree that represents eternal life, which comes with immortality, and a tree which represents mortal life, which comes with morality. We also learn that there were four great rivers of the earth, which came out from Eden. God created the gold and other precious things of the earth. This brings to mind an even greater beauty of the garden of Eden.

After being told to take care of all the things on the earth, man was given the commandment that he should not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, because with it would come mortality and death. However, even though we are given commandments, God always allows us the agency to choose for ourselves. This agency is one of the greatest gifts that we have been given in this life. The choice that man had, was either to continue to be allowed to eat the food of the tree of life and live forever in immortality, or to eat the food of the the tree of knowledge and live in mortality until death. This was a great responsibility and I am personally very grateful that he made the choice that would allow all of us the opportunity to progress.

18 And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten, that it was not good that the man should be alone; wherefore, I will make an help meet for him.
19 And out of the ground I, the Lord God, formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and commanded that they should come unto Adam, to see what he would call them; and they were also living souls; for I, God, breathed into them the breath of life, and commanded that whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that should be the name thereof.
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but as for Adam, there was not found an help meet for him.
21 And I, the Lord God, caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and I took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof;
22And the rib which I, the Lord God, had taken from man, made I a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said: This I know now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

It was not good for man to be alone, because the progression of all souls would have stopped there. No one else would have entered life on earth. It was also not good for man to be alone, because our eternal progression is dependent upon one another. A man and woman must be joined together through an eternal marriage in order to be exalted to the highest glory of the Celestial Kingdom. Adam and Eve were eternally married by God, while they were in the Garden of Eden, and before they entered mortality from the fall.

Woman was created as a “help meet” for man. I looked this word up to understand it better, and the most common definition was the word helpmate. The thesaurus has related words also, such as “better half, married person, partner, spouse, mate – a person’s partner in marriage”. The modern prophets have taught that woman was created to be an equal companion in the leadership of the home and family. The design of God is for a man and woman to learn to work together and grow together as husband and wife and as parents. We will not have a fulness of the joy of marriage if one spouse takes control over the other or considers the other subservient to themselves.

Adam, as the Lord of the Earth, was given the responsibility of naming all the animals. As I read through the footnote on the word name, I saw that it referenced language. At the time of Adam and Eve, there was only one language. All words were understood by all people until the time when the languages were confounded by God. It was the wickedness of man that caused animals to be unknown, “discovered”, and renamed by man. I think that because Adam was still in a pre-mortal state, that the names he gave the animals are eternally what they will be called.

The thing I find most interesting here, is that after all other things were created from the elements of the earth, these scriptures say that God created woman from man. President Spencer W. Kimball explained that this was not literal, but figurative. I’m not sure how to interpret this, seeing as the description is given very plainly that the flesh of Adam was closed back up after removing a rib. It is clearly something that is not simple to understand, but I think that the point of this verse is that Adam was to have the closest relationship to Eve, over all the other creations, because she was created from him or like him. Adam was given the duty of naming her as well, and he chose to call her woman because she was part of man.

Finally, God teaches Moses the proper relationship of a husband and wife. Verse 24 teaches that husbands should become one with their wives, just as Adam became one with Eve. Cleave is an interesting word. In one sense (when using an object on something) it means to separate something into two, but in the case of this verse, it means to take take something and adhere it to another. Other words that are related are cling and stick. There is nothing about this word that implies that we should be married and then just be casual in our relationship. It sounds like in marriage, a couple should be so close that you would think they were one. The manual I am studying uses the word united, and so a husband and wife should be united in all things mentally, socially, physically and spiritually. When a married couple have differences, it is important to work through them and become united. Anything less would not be considered cleaving unto one another. The word cleave, also can be used in relation to faithfulness. In this case, a husband and wife should be completely faithful to one another. The lesson I get from this, is that no other relationship in this life should be as important then that with his wife. The same goes for the wife. A man should not be more devoted to his parents than to his spouse. The footnote for the word wife in this verse, references love within the family. I know that there is no greater way to cleave to another, then through love. A husband and wife should love each other more than any other person, even their children.

It may seem odd to some to have the last verse in the chapter, but it is important to understanding why it was that Adam and Eve had to experience the fall. Adam and Eve were not ashamed because the feeling of shame was not a feeling they could have before mortality. Shame did not come until sin existed for man. Adam and Eve were completely innocent and all they knew was happiness, joy, love, and so on. In their innocence their was no way for them to understand anything evil or any of the emotions and feelings that come from imperfection. The only way to understand these things is to experience them and witness them. In order to gain knowledge, they would need to be able to experience these things.

I am grateful for this deeper understanding of the creation and of our first parents, Adam and Eve. I love the purposes that we have been designed for. I am grateful to be sealed to my husband and to be able to learn and grow with him. I love that we are an equal partnership and that he needs me just as much as I need him. I am glad to have the example of Adam and Eve to pattern my own relationship after.

Moses Chapter 2

In Moses, Chapter 1, God had given Moses the power to see the earth and all of the people upon it. He told Moses that he would tell him more about the earth. This chapter is the beginning of this teaching.

1 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak. I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep; and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God.
3 And I, God, said: Let there be light; and there was light.
4 And I, God, saw the light; and that light was good. And I, God, divided the light from the darkness.
5 And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake; and the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 And again, I, God, said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and it was so, even as I spake; and I said: Let it divide the waters from the waters; and it was done;
7 And I, God, made the firmament and divided the waters, yea, the great waters under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so even as I spake.
8 And I, God, called the firmament Heaven; and the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And I, God, said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so; and I, God, said: Let there be dry land; and it was so.
10 And I, God, called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, called I the Sea; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.
11 And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself upon the earth, and it was so even as I spake.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, every herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself, after his kind; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years;
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.
16 And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon; and the stars also were made even according to my word.
17 And I, God, set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And the sun to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

In the beginning of time as we understand it, God created the earth and all things in our universe. We have learned from the prophets, that God the Father created these things through His Only Begotten, Jesus Christ. Some of the footnotes in this chapter, reference the verses in Abraham, which say that the Gods created these things, and this goes right along with this. The prophets have taught us that several others helped in the creation, which makes sense to me as well. All these things were done by the power of God, which we know as the priesthood. In the pattern of the priesthood all things are done with delegation of responsibility so that everyone can learn and grow from the experience. The pattern of the priesthood is eternal and therefore, it makes sense to me that God the Father would have delegated to His Son, who also delegated to the righteous leaders of the spirit world.

On the first day, he created light and darkness and made them day and night. On the second day, God made the heavens and used the water to create the waters of the earth and the water above the heavens. I think this sounds like the creation of what we know as the water cycle, or the separation of the waters on earth from the water that is in the atmosphere. This makes me think that God was preparing the world for the things that would need to grow on it eventually. I am reminded of the process to prepare for a garden and that I was taught to make sure the dry ground was given plenty of water before planting the first seeds. On the third day, God brought the waters of the sea together and then formed the land of the earth. He created the plants that grow on the earth. I think that it is pretty amazing how plants start from little seeds and grow to be so many different and wonderful things, and that each seems to know what it will be and it becomes exactly that thing. On the fourth day, God created the lights in the sky, such as stars. It is interesting that the scriptures tell us that they are for so many different things and lengths of time. Some stars do not last long, but others last for years. Some stars represent something specific to us, and others do not. Each one gives a little light in the night for us on the earth. Then God made the sun and moon to rule over the day and night respectively.

I fully believe in the creation. I do not think that all that we have around us, just came to be one day without a purpose or just by coincidence. I am so grateful for the beauty of the world around us. I love the peace that comes from taking the time to reverence these things. It can be so easy to take these things for granted as we hurry through our lives, but stopping for a moment and appreciating them, will give us greater gratitude to God and bring us closer to Him.

20 And I, God, said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl which may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And I, God, created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind; and I, God, saw that all things which I had created were good.
22 And I, God, blessed them, saying: Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the sea; and let fowl multiply in the earth;
23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

On the fifth day, God created the animals of the sky and water. I think I imagined all animals other than man, were created on the fifth day, but these scriptures don’t say that. It makes sense to me that these would be separated, because the water of the earth, and the sky are so much greater in size than the earth itself and I am sure that there are so many more species of animals that can be found in them. I don’t think that I appreciate these animals as much as I should, although I do enjoy watching shows that tell about the animals of the sea.

24 And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so;
25 And I, God, made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything which creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and I, God, saw that all these things were good.
26 And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so. And I, God, said: Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.
28 And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And I, God, said unto man: Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which shall be the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein I grant life, there shall be given every clean herb for meat; and it was so, even as I spake.
31 And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good; and the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

On the sixth day, God created the rest of the animals, which were created from the earth and were to live upon the earth. Then God created man, in His image, meaning we look like God. There are many people who do not believe this, either because they have not heard it, or they choose to believe otherwise. I have a testimony of the truth that we are created literally to look like God. My testimony comes mostly from the account of Joseph Smith’s first vision, where we learn what he saw when he saw God and Jesus Christ. I have a hope to become like God and this hope just simply cannot be based on God being anything other than a being of flesh and bones like myself. Man was placed as a ruler or governor over all living things on the earth. The manual I am studying points out that the most important thing for us to govern is ourselves. So the greatest control we should exert is self-control. I think that this is something that we spend our entire lives working on. I think that learning to govern ourselves is what brings us closest to becoming like our Father in Heaven. God created both man and woman (Adam and Eve) and commanded them to multiply and replenish the earth. In my study it breaks down the hebrew translation of the phrase we have, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth”, which means to increase or bear many to fill the earth. I believe that this commandment remains for us today and that we should be doing the best we can to have children while on this earth. Also, man was taught to eat the herbs and fruit from the trees and the animals were given the plants to eat.

I am in awe of how all these things have been created so perfectly for us. When we take time to think of how we grow and how our bodies work, it should amaze us. There are so many different types of animals and plants, each with their own purpose and unique qualities. And all these things were created for us in some way. I hope that we all can show greater respect and worship to God for the many beautiful things that He had created and given to us to enjoy.

Moses Chapter 1 (Part 2)

This post is a continuation of the previous post (Moses Chapter 1 Part 1)

At this point, Moses has seen God face-to-face by the power and glory of God. He has witnessed the many creations of God and knows that he is called to do the work of God. He has also seen Satan and after being tempted by him, has commanded him to leave. The chapter continues:

24 And it came to pass that when Satan had departed from the presence of Moses, that Moses lifted up his eyes unto heaven, being filled with the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son;
25 And calling upon the name of God, he beheld his glory again, for it was upon him; and he heard a voice, saying: Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God.
26 And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days; for thou shalt deliver my people from bondage, even Israel my chosen.

Moses gives us another good example here in these verses. The Lord has just helped him to have the strength to withstand temptations of the devil, and he immediately returns to prayer. Sometimes we pray for help to accomplish something, then after we are able to do it, we go on with our lives as if we were the ones who did all the work to make it happen. Our hearts should always be grateful to the Lord, especially when our prayers are answered. We show this gratitude by communicating with Him.

God tells Moses part of what his mission was to be. Moses was going to save Israel and he would command the waters by the power and authority of God.

27 And it came to pass, as the voice was still speaking, Moses cast his eyes and beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the Spirit of God.
28 And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God; and their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore.
29 And he beheld many lands; and each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants on the face thereof.
30 And it came to pass that Moses called upon God, saying: Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them?
31 And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses stood in the presence of God, and talked with him face to face. And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me.
32 And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.
33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
34 And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.
35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.

Moses was then shown all of the earth, all the people on the earth, and every land on the earth. Then, Moses was again transfigured and spoke directly with the Lord. He learned from God that all these things were created by God, through His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who did all these things by the power of God. The answer to the ultimate question of why are we here, is answered by the Lord. We are here for the wise purposes of God. We are here to live His plan and to do His will.

Moses was taught here that all people on the earth came from the first man and father on the earth, who was Adam. He was also taught that this earth is one world of many that God has created. There are so many that we cannot number them or we cannot understand the number with our mortal minds, but God who has created them, knows each and every one. It is hard to even grasp this idea, that there are worlds without number, and that God not only knows each world, but also every soul that has ever lived on all of those worlds. I can hardly even imagine the experience of seeing every soul upon this earth. I am sure that this revelation changed Moses and prepared him for what was to come.

36 And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content.
37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.
38 And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Moses had the desire to know more about the things which he had witnesses. God told him that His purpose is to allow man the blessings of immortality and eternal life. His work does not end with the passing of the earth that we know, but continues on for eternity. In the book of Genesis, we are given a finite “beginning”, which was when the earth was created. Genisis 1:1 reads, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The truth is that this is only an explanation that works for the understanding of man, because in truth there is no beginning to all things. I think that many read this and feel that nothing existed before this “beginning”. Moses was taught here that there have been many worlds before ours and many will come after it. This gives me a greater sense of humility. I am one in an vast number of people on this earth, among a vast number of worlds, across the span of time that I cannot understand because it is eternal. And even with all that, the work of God Himself, is to bring to pass immortality and eternal life for me.

Our immortality has already been prepared for us, through the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He has made it possible for us to have power over death and be resurrected. All mankind will have this opportunity, no matter how we lived our lives. Our eternal life is based upon the things we do in this life. John 17:3 says, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” We will have eternal life, which is a life like that of God, if we choose to do those things that will bring us closer to Christ.

40 And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt write the things which I shall speak.
41 And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like unto thee; and they shall be had again among the children of men—among as many as shall believe.
42 (These words were spoken unto Moses in the mount, the name of which shall not be known among the children of men. And now they are spoken unto you. Show them not unto any except them that believe. Even so. Amen.)

These words were truly left out of the common scriptures known to man. Moses went on to teach what he learned, which make up the rest of this book of scripture. In fulfillment of these words, the Lord raised up another prophet, Joseph Smith. Through his work, the translation of these things was done and now we have the teachings of Moses again, which we are here for those who are willing to believe them.

Moses Chapter 1 (part 1)

This chapter is not very lengthy, but it has so much information about the things that happened “in the beginning”. You can see this, just by reading the heading at the beginning of the chapter. It begins with the following:

1 The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain,
2 And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence.
3 And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?
4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.
5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.
6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.

We learn here, that the prophet Moses, was placed by the Lord on a high mountain, where he talked with God. The student manual I am studying, points out that this was not the first occasion when God spoke to Moses. Moses had his first experience with this when he saw the burning bush (see Exodus 3). It is interesting to look at the footnotes on verse one, and to see that often times it is recorded that people are brought by the Lord to a high mountain and then have great things revealed to them. When I think about this, I think about how peaceful being separated from the normal world can be. I know that when I have hiked in mountains, I take more time to ponder and clear my mind of the everyday things that can often times get in the way of receiving revelations. I think that removing ourselves from our normal distractions is the key to receiving revelations for our own lives.

Moses had the amazing experience of conversing with the Lord, because he had been changed by the glory of God. This change is called transfiguration. No one can see God, unless they have had this change, because our mortal eyes are not prepared to see Him. Moses spoke with the Lord as we speak to one another, face to face. The Lord told him directly that he was His son. I believe that I am a daughter of God, because of the testimony I have gained of this, but to have the Lord tell me directly, face to face, that I am a daughter of God, would be incredible. To know the Lord in this way, would be so amazing to me. I understand that this kind of personal knowledge of the Lord is not common, but I hope to draw close enough to Him, to recognize Him when I get that chance to meet Him.

Moses learned here that as a son of God, he had been created in God’s image. I believe that all people are created in the image of God. Moses was told that Jesus Christ is in fact, the Only Begotten of the Father and the Savior of all men. He also was told that God is all-knowing. As I study this, I can’t help but think about how these verses and the record we have of the first vision, teach us so much about the nature of God. Both of these records are available to us today, because of the restoration through the prophet, Joseph Smith. I love knowing that I am created in God’s image. I love knowing that I am physically similar to the Savior, Jesus Christ. I love knowing that God has a knowledge and understanding of all things, in particular, of all things that I am going through in my life. I don’t understand all there is to understand about the nature of God, but these simple key truths give me greater faith and hope in the gospel and in my role in the plan of God. Because of this, I am so grateful for the restoration and for the prophet, Joseph Smith.

7 And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.
8 And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.

The Lord showed Moses the world and people He had created. The world was created for us. I love the moments in my life, when I can really look at the things that God created, such as the things found in nature, the stars, and our bodies. When we take the time to think about this things, we can see just how amazing they are. I know that all these things were created by God.

9 And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.
10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.
11 But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.

After seeing the marvels of God’s creations, Moses was left to ponder and regain his strength again. He learned then, that man and the power of man is nothing compared to God and His power. He learned that in his own mortal and sinful state, he could not have seen the things he did. This experience for Moses came after leaving his childhood home. Even though he had realized that he was not an egyptian by birth, all the memories and lessons of his youth were still somewhere in his mind. He had been raised as a prince of a Egypt, and with the lessons that his family had great power and dominion over other people. I am sure that this time of revelation was a completely humbling experience. It is so humbling to think that I am just one of all the many children of God, and yet I have felt His love for me as an individual. Sometimes the natural man in us wants to feel like we are everything and that we have great power, but this is not true. We are nothing without the influence and power, or glory of God in us. This glory and power is what we are striving to prepare ourselves for, and what we should hope to gain after this life.

12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.
13 And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?
14 For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man. Is it not so, surely?
15 Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God; for God said unto me: Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve.
16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten.
17 And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me.
18 And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan.
19 And now, when Moses had said these words, Satan cried with a loud voice, and ranted upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me.
20 And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.
21 And now Satan began to tremble, and the earth shook; and Moses received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan.
22 And it came to pass that Satan cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he departed hence, even from the presence of Moses, that he beheld him not.
23 And now of this thing Moses bore record; but because of wickedness it is not had among the children of men.

Moses was tempted as soon as he had a great moment of spiritual growth. This is exactly how Satan has worked in my own life. As soon as I learn some deep spiritual truth, Satan tries does all that he can to get me to doubt what I have learned to be true. If he can get us to deny these truths before the are set in our hearts, he can lead us away and we will be held accountable for what we have been taught by the spirit, but chosen to deny.

Satan tried to deceive Moses into following him, by calling him a son of Man, not a son of God. Moses, had just experienced the Glory of God, but Satan did not have that glory. Moses had seen that as a man, he had to be changed to see the Lord, but he did not experience this change in order to see Satan. Like Moses, we all have the right to be called sons and daughters of God, because we are and we have chosen to follow His plan by coming to this earth. Satan wants us all to believe that God does not exist, that He is not our Father in Heaven, and that we should not have hopes of anything greater than this life. He truly is the father of lies. We can learn from this example that we can question those things that don’t feel right and true to us.

This record of Satan tempting Moses, has similarities of the time when Satan tempted Jesus Christ. In Matthew 4:10 we read, “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” In both cases, the commandments of God were used to deny Satan. God had told Moses that there were no other Gods, and Moses had been told before that he was to worship God. After being raised in a land where many Gods were worshipped regularly, this could have been a weakness for Moses, but he had been told truth by God and he used that against Satan’s attacks. When we are tempted, we can find strength in the scriptures and the commandments in particular.

After failing to get Moses to follow Him the first time, Satan claimed that he was the Only Begotten. Since the beginning of time, there have been many who claim that they are the Savior in order to lead the children of God away. But Moses stood strong in the face of temptation, and denied him again. He did this through prayer. He prayed and was able to command Satan to leave, with the support of God. When we are tempted, prayer can be our strongest defense. When we are frightened, prayer can help us to endure. Prayer can lead us to have faith, and with faith there cannot be fear. When it seems like all else fails, our prayers will help us to continue on and we will also be able to be safe from temptations.

This record of Moses being tempted by Satan is not included in the other scriptures. It had been left out of the bible and became unknown to the people of the world, even though Moses had told his people about this experience. I am so glad that we have the record now, because it teaches us important things about relying on God, about the power and glory of God, and about the tactics of Satan to tempt us. These verses can help us to understand more and to find the strength to endure, through the help that we can receive from the Lord.

(This chapter will be continued.)

D&C Section 76 (Part 2)

This is a continuation of a previous post (D&C Section 76 Part 1).

This section was recieved by the prophet, Joseph Smith, and Sidney Rigdon, in a vision. It is regarding some of the truths that were taken from the translation of the Bible. It is a revelation that teaches us about the nature of heaven and the exaltation of men. These truths came after they had been pondering over the translations they had done. There were others who witnessed them receiving this vision and have testified to the glory that was with them when it was received.

Worlds without Number Were Created by the Lord

“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God (v. 24).” This scripture does not say that a single world was created by the Lord, but that the worlds were created. We learn here that there are multiple worlds. We also learn from this scripture that the creation of worlds did not end with the beginning of our world, but that worlds are created presently and inhabited by children of God. In Moses 1:33 we read, “And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.” The creations of the Lord are eternal and without number. It is an overwhelming thing to think of the idea of countless worlds being created and inhabited by the children of God. God is eternal and it would be selfish to think that we were all he had created throughout all eternity.

Lucifer Was an Angel of God, a Son of the Morning

“And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son (v. 25), And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning (v. 26). And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning (v. 27!” In this revelation we learn that Satan, formerly called Lucifer, had been a son of the morning. The manual I am studying points out that it does not say the son of the morning, the way it says the Only Begotten, so he was likely one of many with that title, where Jesus was the one and only. Lucifer had authority to be with God and to give his own plan at the great counsel in heaven. He did not, however, have the authority to take away the agency of the children of God and his plan was refused. He had enough authority and importance, that when he was cast out, a third of the host of heaven chose to follow him. He was important enough for the heavens to weep over his fall.

What Do the Names of Lucifer and Perdition Mean?

Satan was once called Lucifer and at his fall was called Perdition. In the Bible Dictionary, the word Lucifer says, “literally the Shining One; also Lightbringer or Son of the Morning”. Perdition is defined in my manual as “loss or destruction”. Lucifer had great position in heaven and then fell and was a spirit who had complete loss as in he lost all of his glory and status. He fell to a state of destruction. When we hear the word perdition, it is usually in the phrase sons of perdition. If Satan is Perdition, then sons of perdition are those who become servants of Satan and are entirely separated from God.

Who Has Satan Singled Out As His Enemies?

“And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision; for we beheld Satan, that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ (v. 28 )—Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about (v. 29).” Satan’s enemies are the saints of God. He attempts to make war with those who believe in God. But, with his fall, he lost the power to have more authority than any who choose to follow Jesus and gain a mortal body. All men, have the power and ability to be victorious over Satan. However, he still has the power and authority to tempt us all and to draw us away from God. His side only wins when we forget that we are children of God and have a divine inheritance in place for us.

To What Extent Must a Person Know God’s Power and Be a Partaker Before He Becomes a Son of Perdition?

“And we saw a vision of the sufferings of those with whom he made war and overcame, for thus came the voice of the Lord unto us (v. 30): Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power (v. 31)—They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born (v. 32); For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity (v. 33); Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come (v. 34)—Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame (v. 35).”

Only one who has received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and has been touched to the very soul by Its power, can become a son of perdition. When the gift of the Holy Ghost bears witness to the soul, it become a knowledge to our own soul. If, with this spiritual knowledge, one denies the truth, he commits the greatest sin. To deny the spiritual and eternal knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, earns the title of son of perdition and the reward is outer darkness in an unforgivable state for eternity.

(This section will be continued.)