Lesson
3
The Creation
Moses 1:27-Moses 3
By Dave Hadlock
In
Doctrine and Covenants 52:14, God declares that he will
“give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not
be deceived.” Moses chapters 1 through 3 establish God’s
patterns and laws of creation. Thereafter, anything to
be created need only reenact those events of the first or
primordial creation.
This
lesson will focus on the pattern of creation and conclude
with the purpose for any creation, not just the “in the
beginning” creation. I believe that understanding the “hows”
and “whys” of the “in the beginning” events is more significant
than just knowing “what” was created. It is by understanding
this primordial pattern that we can begin to apply the pattern
to ourselves.
How the Elements are Created
The
creation account of Genesis and Moses reveal the fundamental
principles upon which all creation occurs. These are as
follows:
- Water and Darkness: In the primordial creation of the heavens and
earth, we first discover that the earth was “without form,
and void.” In other words, it was in a state of chaos.
This chaos is characterized by “darkness” being upon the
“face of the deep” (Moses 2:2). The state of being enveloped
by water and darkness becomes symbolic of the state of
an object prior to being created. Thus, anything that
is to be created, born or reborn must begin in the state
of chaos, characterized by being surrounded in water/darkness.
- Spirit of God: The creation commences as the “Spirit of God”
begins to move upon the face of the water. Doctrine and
Covenants 84:45 states that the “word of the Lord is truth…
and truth is light… and light is Spirit, even the Spirit
of Jesus Christ.” Thus when the apostle John declares
that in the beginning was the word; he is speaking of
the Spirit of Jesus Christ, “which truth shineth. This
is the light of Christ” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:7).
Now, this light of Christ (or as called in Moses 2, the
‘Spirit of God’) is “the light of the sun, and the power
thereof by which it was made…” it is the “light which
is in all things… even the power of God.” (Doctrines
and Covenants 88:7-14, italicized for emphasis). Once
in a state of chaos, God’s power, the light, acts upon
the elements to bring forth creation.
- The Word: As the creation continues, we see God utilizing
the medium of the word to act upon the elements. It reads
“And God said… And God called… And God said… And God called.”
The pattern is obvious God says and then he calls (or
gives it a name). The word is the medium of God’s power
— it is the manner in which the power is exercised. Joseph
Smith stated, “We ask, then, what are we to understand
by a man’s working by faith? We answer — we understand
that when a man works by faith he works by mental exertion
instead of physical force. It is by words, instead of
exerting his physical powers, with which every being works
when he works by faith” (Lectures on Faith, p. 61).
Thus, having the actual power, God then speaks to the elements.
Following which he “calls” them — in other words, He gives
them a name. According to the ancient near east tradition,
the act of giving something a name gave rise to its creation.
It also established the name-giver as He who has dominion
over the created thing. As an example, the Lord God formed
the beasts of the field and then “brought them unto Adam,
to see what he would call them” (Moses 3:19). By naming the beasts, it established Adam as
he who had dominion over the animals (Moses 2:26). This
principle establishes the significance of giving a name
and blessing to our children upon being born into this world.
- Divided Elements: As the elements come forth from water/darkness,
are moved upon by the “spirit of God,” and are spoken
to, they begin to divide. Chaos is ordered as it is divided.
Light is divided from darkness: The waters above are divided
from the waters beneath: the land is divided from the
waters: day is divided from night. Created elements must
be separated from their primordial unity. Without this
division, there is no creation.
- Blood: The changing of the elements from spiritual
to temporal (the temporal creation) was brought about
by the infusion of blood. According to Leviticus 17:11,
“the life of the flesh is in the blood.”
Without
belaboring details on the actual created objects, it is
interesting to note that they were all general categories
— with one exception. Moses 2:21 states that “I, God created
great whales.” Why would this have been included in a list
of “light, waters, fowls, creatures that moveth,” etc.?
I believe God is attempting to discredit one of the primary
ancient philosophies concerning the origin or the world.
The
Hebrew word for whales used here is “tanin,” which
is typically translated as “sea dragon” or “serpent.” According
to the beliefs of the surrounding nations, God created the
world by destroying a sea dragon and using its body parts
in the creative process. The Psalmist refers to this myth
poetically referring to God as He who “didst divide the
sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons
(tanin) in the waters” (Psalms 74:13). In Genesis
and Moses, God is in a sense stating, “I have just given
you the pattern of creation. There was no battle with a
sea dragon that brought about the creation…for I, God, even
created the sea dragon.”
Why Created
We
will use Adam, which means “man” in Hebrew,
as representative of all mankind with respect to “why” man
is created. Throughout the creative process, the name-title
of deity who is creating is “Elohim,” which can be
literally translated as El - “God” + him “s”
— “Gods”. It is this “Elohim” who created the Heavens and
the Earth. However, the name-title of deity changes in
Moses 3:5 from “Gods” to “Lord God.”
In
Moses Chapter 3, there is a significant change in the object
of creation, which may demonstrate the significance of the
change in title. Moses 3:7 states, “And I, the LORD God,
formed man from the dust of the ground.” Man is now the
object of creation, which is significant considering the
change in God’s title. His new title “Lord god” is literally
translated from Hebrew “Yahweh elohim.”
Yahweh
is the causative form of the Hebrew “to be” verb. Thus, Yahweh literally means “to cause to be”
or in other words, “to create”. Thus, the name-title “Lord
God” literally translated could mean, “to cause to be Gods.”
This is the purpose of the creation of mankind — to create
Gods. As stated in Moses 1:39, God’s glory is the eternal life of man. Applying the principle
of “eternal punishment” as taught in Doctrine and Covenants
19:10, “Eternal” is God’s name, thus “eternal life” is God’s
life.
The
purpose of the creation is to give rise to those who would
be like God, live as He lives, and have His attributes.
In fact, as God is creating man he states, “Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness” (Moses 2:26). Following the pattern already established with every seed
producing after its own kind, this verse implies the truths
already established that man is the offspring of God. What
makes this verse even more significant is the ancient context
in which it was spoken.
According
to the ancients, the only individuals who were created in
the “image” of God were the ruling kings. Kings in almost
all ancient societies tied their right to rule to their
divine origins, being either a literal descendant of God
or being his anointed spokesman. Thus, to be made in God’s
image implied to the ancients to have the rights of kingship.
Moses is implicitly teaching the pattern by which man is
born again as Kings and Queens, Priests and Priestesses.
The Process of Kingship
God
had already established the pattern of creation. All He
required of Adam and Eve was to follow that pattern if they
desired to become new, kingly creations. Thus, he states
to Adam, “inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water
(chaos), and blood, and spirit…and so became of dust a living
soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of
heaven of water, and of Spirit, and be cleansed by blood…
that ye might enjoy… eternal life in the world to come.”
(Moses 6:59).
Following
which Adam received the Priesthood and God declared by word,
“thou art one in me, a son of God: and thus may all become
my sons. Amen” (Moses 6:68). According to the ancient rites
of kingship, as the king ascended to his throne, he was
given a name, which new name demonstrated his right to rule
as a divine king. As we enter into the covenants of water,
blood, and spirit, we receive a new name — the name of Christ,
justifying us, like Adam, as rightful heirs to the throne.
Satan’s Purpose
Moses
chapter 4 begins in a narrative concerning Satan’s goals
relative to God’s creation. Satan says, “Behold, here am
I, send me.” The phrase “here am I” is an ancient, Hebraic
expression representing the acceptance of a call. It appears
that Satan is accepting a call that hasn’t even been extended
to him (In fact, Christ had been chosen as the Son from
the foundation of the world). Satan continues, “I will
be they son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul
shall not be lost…wherefore give me thine honor” (Moses
4:1). Satan reveals his motive. His motive is not that
“one soul shall not be lost”. This is his marketing plan
— the way he gets the intelligences to follow him. Forced
obedience has no exalting power. Divine attributes can
only be developed through choice. To have eternal life
is not only the result of an absence of sin, but the acquisition
of holiness — which holiness is only developed grace upon
grace, choice upon choice.
In
fact, Satan could not have taken away man’s agency had he
wanted to. Agency is central to even existing. If you
take away agency, you return everything to chaos. Doctrine
and Covenants 93:30 states, “All truth is independent… to
act for itself… otherwise there is no existence.” Nephi
confirms this eternal truth stating, “there is an opposition
in all things” otherwise “all things must needs be compound
in one” (2 Nephi 2:11). What does it mean that “all things
must needs be compound in one”? Remembering back to the
pattern of creation, “dividing” becomes representative of
having been created. All things being compound in one is
a reversal of their having been divided. It is a return
to the primordial chaos. Nephi concludes, “wherefore, all
things must have vanished away” (2 Nephi 2:13).
Thus
Satan was either seeking that all things were vanished away
or that he might have God’s honor, which is God’s power.
(Doctrine and Covenants 29:36). Considering that it was
impossible to take away man’s agency (for God had given
it unto man), Satan’s primordial purpose was merely the
usurping of God’s power.
Created Man
Satan
has taken his battle for God’s power from the pre-existence
to this world. Because he cannot create, he seeks to destroy
so that all man becomes miserable as he is miserable. By
continually re-enacting the events of the primordial creation
in our lives, we overcome the powers that seek to destroy
us and become created anew. The lesson is basic: faith
(the word), repentance (blood), and baptism (water and fire)
provide the mechanism for all mankind to be created as eternal
sons and daughters of God.
