“This Is My Work and My Glory”

 

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Many of us have had wonderful experiences reading the books of Moses and Abraham, particularly Moses 1 and Abraham 3.  Both chapters open up doors giving information and clarity to age-old questions that plague the minds of man.  As we read and study these books this week, let us keep our minds and hearts open that we may recieve inspiration, thoughts and ideas that will help us in our daily lives, with the questions we ponder, and the ability to help teach others, that they too may have wonderful experiences. 

History and Background

The Pearl of Great Price

The books of Moses and Abraham come from a compilation of scripture known as the "Pearl of Great Price."  This compilation consists of revelations and texts received and named by the Prophet Joseph Smith.  He said it would be “a source of much instruction and edification to many thousands of the Saints, who will by an acquaintance with its precious contents, be more abundantly qualified to set forth and defend the principles of our Holy Faith before all men” (“The Pearl of Great Price,” Millennial Star, July 15, 1851, 217).  

On October 10, 1880, the Pearl of Great Price became a standard work of the Church. Several revisions have been made in the contents as the needs of the Church have required. In 1878 portions of the Book of Moses not contained in the first edition were added. In 1902 certain parts of the Pearl of Great Price that duplicated material also published in the Doctrine and Covenants were omitted. … [In 1976] two items of revelation were added. In 1979 these two items were removed from the Pearl of Great Price and placed in the Doctrine and Covenants, where they now appear as sections 137 and 138” (introduction to the Pearl of Great Price). Its present contents include selections from the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham (with three facsimiles), Joseph Smith—Matthew, Joseph Smith—History, and the Articles of Faith.

The Book of Moses

The book of Moses is the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 6:13  It concerns the identity and purpose of being a child of God as well as crucial doctrines of the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  As a bonus included in this book are events and principles from the ministries of Adam, Enoch, Noah, and Moses himself.  

The book of Moses contains “the words of God, which he spake unto Moses” Moses 1:1 and commanded Moses to record Moses 1:40; 2:1. However, “because of wickedness” many of the words and plain and precious truths he recorded were obscured or lost and are thus not preserved in the book of Genesis as it has come to us (Moses 1:41; 1 Nephi 13:26–28). Consequently, the Lord promised to raise up another prophet in the latter days to restore Moses’s words so they would be “had again among the children of men” (Moses 1:41; see also 2 Nephi 3:5–11; Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 50:26–33 [in the Bible appendix]). In fulfillment of that promise, the Lord revealed the writings of Moses to the Prophet Joseph Smith.  We do not know exactly when Moses received the revelations recorded in the book of Moses or where he was when he recorded them. However, we know that the experiences recorded in Moses 1 occurred after Moses encountered the burning bush, but before he returned to Egypt to deliver the children of Israel from bondage and the writings contained in the book of Moses were revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith as he was working on his inspired translation, or revision, of the King James Version of the Bible between June 1830 and February 1831.

Moses 1 is particularly distinctive because it has no counterpart in the Bible and because it serves as a preface to the Creation and all of Moses’s writings (the Pentateuch, or first five books of the Old Testament). In this book, Moses sees the Lord and learns he is a son of God. The Lord shows Moses a vision of the earth and its inhabitants. After this vision, Satan appears to Moses, but Moses commands him to depart in the name of the Only Begotten. The Lord again appears to Moses and reveals the purpose of His creations.

The Book of Abraham

The book of Abraham came forth at a time when the study of the ancient Egyptian language and culture was just beginning. It reveals truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that were previously unknown to Church members of Joseph Smith’s day. It also casts a bright light upon difficult passages found in other scriptural texts.  In particular, chapter 3 of the book of Abraham, teaches us that the Lord showed Abraham His creations and taught him about the premortal existence, something of which we all long to know more about.  

Where did the information come from?  In 1966 eleven fragments of papyri once possessed by the Prophet Joseph Smith were discovered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. They were given to the Church and have been analyzed by scholars who date them between about 100 B.C.and A.D. 100. A common objection to the authenticity of the book of Abraham is that the manuscripts are not old enough to have been written by Abraham, who lived almost two thousand years before Christ. Joseph Smith never claimed that the papyri were autographic (written by Abraham himself), nor that they dated from the time of Abraham. It is common to refer to an author’s works as “his” writings, whether he penned them himself, dictated them to others, or others copied his writings later (Pearl of Great Price Student Manual)

The book of Abraham was originally published a few excerpts at a time in Times and Seasons, a Church publication, beginning in March 1842 at Nauvoo, Illinois (Introductory Note at the beginning of the Pearl of Great Price). The Prophet Joseph Smith indicated that he would publish more of the book of Abraham later, but he was martyred before he was able to do so. Concerning the potential length of the completed translation, Oliver Cowdery once said that “volumes” would be necessary to contain it (Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1835, 236).  After the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the four mummies and the papyri became the property of Joseph’s widowed mother, Lucy Mack Smith. At Lucy’s death in 1856, Emma Smith, the Prophet’s wife, sold the collection to Mr. A. Combs. Several theories have been offered regarding what happened subsequently to the mummies and the papyri. It appears that at least two of the mummies were burned in the great Chicago fire of 1871 (B. H. Roberts, New Witnesses for God, 3 vols. [1909–11], 2:380–382). In the early spring of 1966, Dr. Aziz S. Atiya, a University of Utah professor, discovered several fragments of the book of Abraham papyri while doing research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. These fragments were presented to the Church by the director of the museum on 27 November 1967. The current whereabouts of the other mummies and the other portions of the papyri are unknown (H. Donl Peterson, “Some Joseph Smith Papyri Rediscovered (1967)” in Studies in Scripture, Volume Two, 183–85).

The Doctrine

Part I:  As children of God, we have a divine destiny. Moses 1:1–10, 37–39; Abraham 3:22–26

If you are like me, then you look constantly for help in making the right choices, and strength for facing adversity and life's challenges.  The truths revealed in Moses’s and Abraham’s visions can have a powerful influence on our choices and on our ability to overcome life’s challenges.  How can we find these truths?  The following verses may give us guidance and help.  

Moses 1:1–10

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.

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.

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.

Moses was an Israelite (a member of God’s covenant people) by birth but he was adopted by a royal Egyptian family. Eventually, he had to flee from Egypt and leave those who raised him. He was known to be slow of speech, or what we would consider a speech impediment.  

Considering this background, how might Moses have described himself up to this point in his life?   

How might our thoughts about ourselves influence our behavior?

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What did Moses learn in Moses 1:1–6. that could help his perception of himself and strengthen him?  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.

What did Moses learn about himself that can help us understand who we are?  We are children of Heavenly Father.

How do you think knowing that he was a son of God might have affected Moses?

What does it mean to you to know that you are a child of Heavenly Father?

What experiences have helped you to know that you are a child of Heavenly Father?

“You are something divine—more beautiful and glorious than you can possibly imagine. This knowledge changes everything. It changes your present. It can change your future. And it can change the world. …

“Because of the revealed word of a merciful God, … you have felt the eternal glory of that divine spirit within you. You are no ordinary beings, my beloved young friends all around the world. You are glorious and eternal. …

“It is my prayer and blessing that when you look at your reflection, you will be able to see beyond imperfections and self-doubts and recognize who you truly are: glorious sons and daughters of the Almighty God” (“The Reflection in the Water” [Church Educational System fireside for young adults, Nov. 1, 2009]; LDS.org).

Knowing these things about Moses and yourself as a child of God, how would you answer the following question? 

“Why am I here?” and “Who does God want me to become?” Moses 1; 37–39

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.

We are each the children of God created in his express image.  We came to this earth to dwell in mortality and prove ourselves worthy through keeping the commandments to return to the presence of God with the potential to become Gods ourselves. 

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught about the importance of what Moses discovered about mankind: “This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing, yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it” (“You Matter to Him,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 20).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated:

“In the expansiveness of space, there is stunning personalness, for God knows and loves each of us! (see 1 Nephi 11:17). We are not ciphers in unexplained space!

“… Mankind is at the very center of God’s work. … His work includes our immortalization—accomplished by Christ’s glorious Atonement! Think of it, brothers and sisters, even with their extensive longevity, stars are not immortal, but you are. …

“We know the Creator of the universe is also the Author of the plan of happiness. We can trust Him. …

“… As some experience daily life situations in which they are or feel unloved and unappreciated, they can nevertheless know that God loves them! His creations so witness” (“Our Creator’s Cosmos” [Church Educational System conference, Aug. 13, 2002], 4, 6, 7; si.lds.org).

How can this knowledge affect the way you view yourself? How can it affect the way you view others?

How might remembering that we are Heavenly Father’s children help us to make better choices each day?

Part II: We can resist Satan’s influence. Moses 1:12–23

After his confrontation with Satan, Moses was filled with the Holy Ghost and heard the voice of the Lord. He learned that he was chosen to deliver Israel from bondage. He also beheld the earth and its inhabitants and learned the purpose of God’s many creations. Moses was then instructed to write God’s words concerning the Creation of the earth.  This confrontation with Satan holds lessons that can help us as we face temptations, adversity, and deception from the adversary. 

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.

What did Satan call Moses? Moses 1:12

Why do you think Satan wanted Moses to think about his earthly parentage rather than his heavenly parentage?  Satan did not want Moses to think of himself as a son of God and does not want us to believe that we are children of God.

In what ways do Satan and others try to tempt us to think of ourselves as something other than sons or daughters of God?

What was Moses' response to Satan's attempt to deceive him?   Moses 1:13–15

How did Moses use his previous spiritual experience with God to detect Satan’s deception?

What does Moses’s response teach us about what we can do when Satan tries to deceive us? We can resist Satan’s deceptions as we remember our previous spiritual experiences and have faith in them.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught this about Moses’s experience in Moses 1: “Moses’ message to you today is: Don’t let your guard down. Don’t assume that a great revelation, some marvelous, illuminating moment, the opening of an inspired path, is the end of it. … Once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence’ [Hebrews 10:35]. Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you” (“Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence,” Ensign, Mar. 2000, 7, 9).

One lesson from Moses’s experience is that Satan tempts us with counterfeits of God’s truth and power. What are some of the counterfeits Satan uses today to tempt us? Moses 1:13–18.

How can we recognize and reject them?  Moses 1:24–26  When we have the Spirit with us, we are better able to discern between good and evil, when we are faithful and call upon God, we will receive strength to overcome Satan’s influence.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited. … When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes. … The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know” (“Lord, I Believe,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 93–94).

**Point to Ponder:  What can we learn from the fact that Satan appeared to Moses just a short while after Moses had spoken with God face to face? After we have a spiritual experience, Satan may seek to tempt us or discredit our experience.

Part III: This life is our opportunity to show that we will do what God commands. Abraham 3:22–28

Heavenly Father chose His noble and great children before they were born to become leaders in His kingdom on the earth. Each of us too was chosen, or foreordained, to fulfill certain responsibilities on the earth. The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 511).

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.

How can we better see and understand that our lives are an opportunity to prove our faithfulness to God? The following statement from True to the Faith, which explains foreordination may help us: 

“In the premortal spirit world, God appointed certain spirits to fulfill specific missions during their mortal lives. This is called foreordination. …

“The doctrine of foreordination applies to all members of the Church, not just to the Savior and His prophets. … Although you do not remember that time, you surely agreed to fulfill significant tasks in the service of your Father” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference [2004], 69, 70).

What experiences have you had when you had to demonstrate proficiency in a skill? 

How are these experiences similar to what is described in Abraham 3:24–26? 

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.

How are they different? 

Elder Rex C. Reeve Sr. (1914–2005) of the Seventy said: “This life is a time of testing. It is not the reward time. That will come later. We are here being tested. The test is going on now!” (“Look to God,” Ensign, Nov. 1982, 26).  The experiences we have had to demonstrate our proficiency in a skill are like that of our proficiency to live the gospel.  We learn from Abraham 3:26 that we must now keep our “second estate” if we want to live with God again. We keep our second estate by accepting and living the gospel of Jesus Christ and obeying the commandments. If we do all that Heavenly Father commands us to do, then we “shall have glory added upon [our] heads forever and ever.”

How do we include Heavenly Father and the Savior in our efforts to “prove” ourselves? Abraham 3:25.  

The “first estate” refers to the period of time before we were born on this earth, also known as the premortal life. To “keep” this first estate, a spirit child of God in pre-earth life had to use his or her agency to choose to follow the plan of salvation offered by Heavenly Father. A third part of the spirit children of Heavenly Father followed Lucifer (the devil) and rebelled against God and the plan of salvation, thereby failing to keep their first estate. They were, therefore, cast out of heaven, with no more opportunity to progress.

The “second estate” refers to mankind’s mortal existence on this earth. This estate is a probationary period in which individuals “prepare to meet God” (Alma 12:24). All who accept and obey the saving principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ will receive eternal life, the greatest gift of God, and will have “glory added upon their heads forever and ever” (Abraham 3:26). Those who do not have the opportunity to accept and live the gospel in mortality are given that opportunity in the spirit world after they die.

Additional insight on the first and second estates is offered by Elder Neal A. Maxwell: “Premortality is not a relaxing doctrine. For each of us, there are choices to be made, incessant and difficult chores to be done, ironies and adversities to be experienced, time to be well spent, talents and gifts to be well employed. Just because we were chosen ‘there and then,’ surely does not mean we can be indifferent ‘here and now.’ …

“In fact, adequacy in the first estate may merely have ensured a stern, second estate with more duties and no immunities! Additional tutoring and suffering appears to be the pattern for the Lord’s most apt pupils. (See Mosiah 3:19; 1 Peter 4:19.) Our existence, therefore, is a continuum matched by God’s stretching curriculum. …“Agreeing to enter this second estate, therefore, was like agreeing in advance to anesthetic—the anesthetic of forgetfulness. Doctors do not deanesthetize a patient, in the midst of what was previously authorized, to ask him, again, if it should be continued. We agreed to come here and to undergo certain experiences under certain conditions” (“Premortality, a Glorious Reality,” Ensign, Nov. 1985, 17).

How does knowing that we are here to prove ourselves obedient affect the way we respond to life’s challenges?

Conclusion

We learned in this lesson that Jesus Christ is the greatest and most intelligent of all Heavenly Father’s children, Heavenly Father chose His noble and great children before they were born to become leaders in His kingdom on the earth, and the test of life is to determine if we will do whatever God commands us.  Additionally, we learned that we are sons and daughters of God with divine purpose, but can be thwarted by Satan.  Elder Dallin H Oaks gives us a concluding thought to help us meet the challenges of our existence and remember that we are in fact divine and can fight off Satan with the help of the Lord:  

“Be careful how you characterize yourself. Don’t characterize or define yourself by some temporary quality. The only single quality that should characterize us is that we are a son or daughter of God. That fact transcends all other characteristics, including race, occupation, physical characteristics, honors, or even religious affiliation. …

“We have our agency, and we can choose any characteristic to define us. But we need to know that when we choose to define ourselves or to present ourselves by some characteristic that is temporary or trivial in eternal terms, we de-emphasize what is most important about us and we overemphasize what is relatively unimportant. This can lead us down the wrong path and hinder our eternal progress” (“How to Define Yourself,” New Era, June 2013, 48).

Resources

Pear of Great Price Student Manual

Old Testament Seminary Manual

Old Testament Student Manual

The Pearl of Great Price Made Easier David J Ridges

Ensign 

Conference Reports