Moses 3, Abraham 5

Moses 3, Abraham 5 Study Guide – to be discussed October 8
Day 1: Read Moses 3:1-3, Abraham 5:1-3; D&C 77:12
1. List what was done during the seventh creative period.



2. Remembering Abraham’s vision context (see Ab. 4:31), were the Creators simply exhausted after six creative periods and decided to take a break – or was the rest period part of the plan from the beginning?



3. Read D&C 77:12. Of what is the Sabbath a pattern or type?



Day 2: Read Moses 3:4-6; Abraham 5:4-6; D&C 29:31-34; Article of Faith 10
4. What two types of creation are discussed in Moses 3:5, Abraham 5:5 and D&C 29:31-34?



5. According to Article of Faith 10, when will the earth return to its paradisiacal (Eden-like, terrestrial) state?



6. Why do you think it was necessary for all things to be created spiritually before being created physically?



Day 3: Read Moses 3:7-9; Abraham 5:7-9; Mosiah 2:21; D&C 77:2; 1 Nephi 11:24-25
7. What two steps are listed in the process whereby man became a living soul? Read Mosiah 2:20-21. How does each of us continue to be a living soul?



8. Read D&C 77:2. What does the spirit of man look like?



9. From Moses 3:9, what “became also a living soul”? What two trees in Eden are mentioned specifically? Who planted them?



BONUS: Read 1 Nephi 11:24-25. What does the Tree of Life represent?



Day 4: Read Moses 3:10-15; Abraham 5:10-11; Isaiah 55:10-11; D&C 121:33; John 7:37-39; Rev. 22:1-2; D&C 117:8-9
10. From each of the scriptures below, identify an aspect of the importance or symbolism of irrigation / water.

a. Isaiah 55:10-11______________________________

b. D&C 121:33_________________________________

c. John 7:37-39________________________________

d. Revelation 22:1-2___________________________

11. Read the footnote to Moses 3:13a. Read also D&C 117:8-9. Did Eden’s river run through modern Ethiopia? Assyria? Why or why not?



12. Was Eden created for man or man created to tend the garden?



Day 5: Read Moses 3:16-17; Abraham 5:12-13; 2 Nephi 2:14-16; Helaman 14:14-17; 2 Nephi 2:22
13. How many trees in Eden were forbidden?


14. Read 2 Nephi 2:14-16. Why were both the tree of knowledge and the tree of life planted in Eden? What might each represent? Which fruit do you think was bitter and which sweet?



15. Read Helaman 14:14-17, 2 Nephi 2:22. What kinds of death was Adam warned about in the Garden?



Day 6: Read Moses 3:18-20; Abraham 5:14, 20-21
16. Look up the word “meet” in any dictionary. Which definition seems to best fit the description of the “help” God planned for Adam? (See Moses 3:18, 20; Ab. 5:14.)



17. Why do you think Adam was given the stewardship to name all the animals?



18. Why isn’t it good for man (or woman) to be alone?



Day 7: Read Moses 3:21-25; Abraham 5:15-19
19. Why do you think woman is described as being formed from man’s rib instead of being a separate creation?



20. Why should a man cleave to his wife?



21. If you take the word “naked” to mean open, honest, nothing hidden or concealed, how could Moses 3:25 and Abraham 5:19 be applied to marriage relationships in any age?

Moses 2, Abraham 4

Moses 2, Abraham 4 Study Guide – to be discussed October 1
Day 1: Read Moses 2:1-5; Abraham 4:1-5; Jeremiah 4:23 (with footnote 23a); D&C 88:6-13
1. Review Moses’ three questions as recorded in Moses 1:30 and 36. Does Moses 2 seem to answer any of these questions? Why do you think Moses was commanded to write down this instruction?



2. Use the footnote for Jeremiah 4:23a to give an explanation for the phrase, “without form and void” (Moses 2:2). Upon what did the Spirit move (Moses 2:2) or “brood” (Ab. 4:2)?



3. What was the first command after the heavens and earth were formed or organized? Read D&C 88:6-13. Why do you think one of the first acts of creation was to divide the light from the dark?



Day 2: Read Moses 2:6-8; Abraham 4:6-8; Proverbs 3:19-20; Bible Dictionary entry, “Firmament”
4. Where Abraham’s record uses the word “expanse” (Ab. 4:6), Moses’ record uses “firmament” (Moses 2:6). Use the Bible Dictionary entry “Firmament” with the footnote for Moses 2:8a to explain what is meant by these terms.



5. Which waters did the firmament or expanse divide?


6. Read Proverbs 3:19-20. What two attributes of Godliness were necessary in the planning of creation?


BONUS: Look at Facsimile No. 2 on page 36 in the Pearl of Great Price. Figure 4 (upper left quadrant) was identified by Joseph Smith as representing expanse or firmament. What does this figure look like to you? (See also Facsimile No. 1, Figure 12.)


Day 3: Read Moses 2:9-13; Abraham 4:9-13
7. List the events of the third creative period.



8. Find and mark the word “let” in Moses 2:9-13 and Abraham 4:9-13. Why is it important to know that the earth and heaven did not come into existence randomly or by accident?



9. From Abraham 4:9-13, find the phrase “and the Gods…” each time it occurs. List the verb or verb phrase that follows each occurrence.



Day 4: Read Moses 2:14-19; Abraham 4:14-19; D&C 76:70-71, 78, 81
10. What part of the earth’s creation was organized during he fourth creative period? How was this different from the first creative period?
11. From Moses 2:14-15, list reasons for this organization of lights.



BONUS: Read D&C 76:70-71, 78, 81. Give one example of how the celestial bodies are signs. Can you think of others?


12. According to Abraham 4:18, how long did the Gods watch those things which they had ordered?


Day 5: Read Moses 2:20-23; Abraham 4:20-23
13. List what was accomplished during the fifth creative period.



14. What two areas of the earth were filled?


15. For what purpose were these creatures blessed?



Day 6: Read Moses 2:24-27; Abraham 4:24-27; The Family – A Proclamation to the World, paragraph 2
16. What was accomplished during the sixth creative period?



17. What does the phrase “after their own kind” mean (Moses 2:11-12, 21, 24-25; Ab. 4:11-12, 21, 24-25)? Why do you think it is included in these creation accounts?



18. Read The Family – A Proclamation to the World, paragraph 2. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? What does this teach us about God? About man?



Day 7: Read Moses 2:28-31; Abraham 4:28-31
19. What blessing is given to men and women in Moses 2:28, Ab. 4:28?



20: Over what were men given dominion? What does “dominion” mean? What is unrighteous dominion? (See also D&C 121:39.)


21. Compare Moses 2:31 with Ab. 4:31. List differences between these verses.



BONUS: Why were creative periods 1-5 necessary prior to the creations of the sixth day?