In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth

Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5 » The Fall

creation Warm-Up activity, abbreviated review of the periods of creation

  1. Form Groups of Three
  2. Person 1 read: Genesis 1: 1-5, and 31
  3. Person 2 read: Moses 2: 1-5, and 31
  4. Person 3 read: Abraham 4: 1-5, and 31
  5. Discuss the Deltas, What is different about each? Talk about something distinct according to the restored Gospel.

Classroom read of the creation of Adam and Eve

  1. Genesis 1:26–28; Moses 2:26–28; Abraham 4:26–28
  2. What is a key takeaway? Read Romans 8:16,17, Psalms 82:6
Oh My Father ... In thy holy habitation, Did my spirit once reside? In my first primeval childhood Was I nurtured near thy side? ... Tells me I’ve a mother there. ... When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you ... Let me come and dwell with you.

Thoughts from our Day

  • What are some good things you have found as read the scriptures on the creation?
  • Peter Bybee spoke of “science being a religion last week”, something that is ever-changing.
    • Do you think about how old the earth is? National Geographic
    • Do you think about how old humanity is? Wikipedia Mitochondrial Eve
    • Moses lived in 13th to 15th century BCE. The Books of Moses are thought to be transcribed in Babylon about the 6th century BCE, slightly after the time Lehi left Jerusalem. Thus, the need to get the plates.
  • What do the scriptures say about time of creation and genealogy of man?
    • The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke… Matthew starts with Abraham, while Luke begins with Adam. The lists are identical between Abraham and David, but differ radically from that point. Matthew has twenty-seven generations from David to Joseph, whereas Luke has forty-two, with almost no overlap between the names on the two lists.⁠ Notably, the two accounts also disagree on who Joseph’s father was: Matthew says he was Jacob, while Luke says he was Heli. These books are attributed to being transcribed about 80-120 AD. According to genealogies many biblical purest say Adam is 6000-10000 years old.
    • 2 Peter 3:8 … one day is with the Lord as a thousand years …
    • Book of Abraham speaks to time periods versus days … 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. …
    • D&C 77:6 speaks of temporal existence … the works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence… W. W. Phelps calculation “Though 7000 Earth years is in conflict with all physical, chemical, genetic, archaeological, and linguistic evidence, 7000 years of God is not ruled out. The arithmetic is easy. One day of God is 1000 years of man, and therefore in Joseph Smith’s reckoning, a day of God is 365 × 1000 days of man.” Multiply that by 7000 and you get 2.556 billion years.

Revelation continues, Restoration continues

  • Everyone will always be left to grapple between Wisdom of the World versus Wisdom of God. But the Gospel and Faith enable us to obtain continuous and pertinent revelation, even enlightenment if we study and ask. There are four accounts of creation in our scriptures 3 accounts, plus the temple.
    • Abraham account says … ““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.”
    • Adam is Michael, who helped Jehovah in the Creation. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “Adam helped to form this earth. He labored with our Savior Jesus Christ. I have a strong … conviction that there were others also who assisted them. Perhaps Noah and Enoch; and why not Joseph Smith, and those who were appointed to be rulers before the earth was formed?” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:75.)
    • Each of us comes into the world as a unique spirit with a capacity for becoming what our Creator is, in whose image we are formed.
    • Brigham Young taught that no revelation is ever received in its fullness.
    • In the Book of Ether, the Brother of Jared saw similar visions of the history of man … And when the Lord had said these words, he showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth … Write these things and seal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men.