My Journey to Japan and Jesus Christ | My Journey to Jesus via the Old Testament

Emily’s Lesson Notes for Come Follow Me January 12–18: “In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth” Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5

My inspiration and testimony:

Genesis 1 is our origin story, our back story, the start of humanity as we know it and where we ben begin to learn about God too. In the Bible, it starts with “In the beginning…” but there is more to the story. We believe that we (all human souls) existed long before the creation of this world. I feel that I (my soul) existed before and will continue on long long after death. That belief is grounded in scriptures that are tied closely to Genesis 1 and are part of this lesson. We are blessed with Devine truths from the Bible that go hand in hand with scriptures restored as part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (for this lesson that’s Moses 1-2 and Abraham 3-4 among others). These are the sources that tell us what happened before the creation and critically WHY. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of this knowledge! WHY did God create the world? WHY did He make our bodies look like His and His Only Begotten Son OUR SAVIOR? And WHY do we need to always strive to live in unity with other people and God? The answers are in the creation story. And that sets the backdrop for reading the rest of the Bible that chronicles God’s dealings with His children throughout history. It can also be a foundation for seeing how God deals with us personally in our own lives.

I. We can gain valuable lessons from all the scripture sources we are blessed with.

a. There are different translations of the Bible that can all contribute truth and insights in our study of the scriptures.

i. New guidance in the General Handbook of the Church of Jesus Christ: “Generally, members should use a preferred or Church-published edition of the Bible in Church classes and meetings. Other Bible translations may also be used. Some individuals may benefit from translations that are doctrinally clear and also easier to understand.”

List of options for different reading levels

ii. What about when we see differences between the versions? Each version so valuable because they give us a different way to think about the same thing. We can learn something from each one! And reading more versions can give us even more in common with neighbours who may read a different version to the King James Bible (KJB).

b. Restoration scripture gives us more light to help us see the truths and principles God is teaching in His scriptures.

i. Restoration scriptures include Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, General Conference. We can learn more about the same truths in these different scripture sources that are each written from a little bit different perspective or context. We are so blessed with so much of the word of God.

c. Personal revelation is key to understanding all truth.

i. In our scripture study, including the Bible (traditional scripture) and restoration scripture, we rely on prayerful personal revelation for true understanding. If there are differences between the scripture sources, the Holy Spirit, literally a member of the God Head, can come into our hearts and minds to help us learn the lesson that is needed for us right now.

II. First, the creation story

a. Come Follow Me pg. 11 about reading the books in the Old Testament it says, “In most Christian versions of the Old Testament, the books are organized differently from how they were arranged when they were first compiled into one collection. So while the Hebrew Bible groups the books into three categories—the law, prophets, and writings—most Christian Bibles arrange the books into four categories: law (Genesis–Deuteronomy), history (Joshua–Esther), poetic books (Job–Song of Solomon), and prophets (Isaiah–Malachi).”

So, no matter the version of the Bible, the creation story is always first. There is something critical about the creation story that God wants us to know that is important for understanding what follows.

b. What is the same between each of the creation stories in Genesis 1, Moses 2 and Abraham 4?

What is the same?
Verse 1	heaven and earth
Verse 2	earth was void
Verses 3-5	divided light and darkness; Day and Night
Verses 6-8	firmament and water in Heaven; 2^nd day
Verses 9-10	divided land and water; Earth and Seas
Verses 11-13	plants giving seed and fruit after their kind; 3^rd day
Verses 14-19	lights; son, moon, stars; 4^th day
Verse 20-25	animals and birds multiplying more after their kind; 5^th day

Have you ever been moved by a beautiful experience in nature? When have you felt the Spirit while enjoying God’s creations? Have you ever felt loved, humbled or inspired by the notion that God created all this for you?

c. What is different between Genesis 1, Moses 2 and Abraham 4 (or what does the restoration scripture add)?

What is different? (especially verses 1 and 21)
	Genesis 1	Moses 2	Abraham 4
Context (what comes before?)	No context. Creation is the beginning.	Moses 1: Moses speaks face to face with God, and then Satan. God calls Moses “My son”. Moses’s body (and eyes) are changed so he can see God showing him the whole world and all the souls on it. God tells him He made worlds without number. Why? Moses 1:39 – for our immortality, eternal life.	Abraham 3: Abraham speaks face to face with God. He calls him “My son”. Abraham’s eyes are changed so he can see God showing him all the souls in pre-earth life. God tells him how They planned to make the world. Why? Abraham 3:24-25 – to give us a chance to prove we will obey.
Perspective	Third person – Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses	First person – God speaking directly to Moses	Third person – God speaking directly to Abraham
Subject + Verb	God created God said God made	I, God, created I, God, said I, God, made	the Gods organized and formed they (the Gods) said the Gods ordered the Gods organized the Gods prepared
Evaluation	God saw that it was good.	I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.	The Gods saw that they were obeyed, and that their plan was good.

d. We are responsible for looking after God’s creations.

i. Genesis 1:26 says “let them have dominion over [the creations]”. How do we interpret that? Dominion or dominate has a negative or overpowering connotation for us, but here are some other restoration scriptures that can help us understand better what God expects of us.

· D&C 59:18-20 – The creations should make us happy, should be useful for us (for food, clothing, taste, smell, to strengthen our body), and should not be used to excess or by extortion.

· D&C 104:13-17 – We are to be stewards of the creations that belong to God, and they are to be managed in His way to help balance the poor and rich.

· Verse 17 “For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare”

In my research on sustainable eating, I have learned some interesting statistics on this point. There are currently about 8 billion people on the planet and we are producing enough food to feed 10 billion, but 3 billion people are not getting good nutrition (including people who don’t can’t enough food at all, people who can’t get enough nutritious food, people who don’t know what food is most nutritious for them and people who are overeating). On top failing to get good food to everyone, the food system is also wasteful and unsustainable in its current form; about one third of all food is lost or wasted and agriculture is responsible for pushing the planet past 6 of 9 established boundaries (for example climate change, water pollution, soil erosion, etc.). But God says there is enough. He has prepared all things for us, and we need to make changes and choices to be better stewards. My research is looking at how we can do this across the whole Island of Ireland, but we can all think about how we can be better within our personal lives.

III. I am created in the image of God and His Only Begotten.

a. Beautiful Savior arranged by Rob Gardner (from the children’s songbook) (https://youtu.be/pyny2jDPfcU?si=tto1PoQeoGqvr6QZ)

Lyrics:

1. Fair is the sunshine,

Fairer the moonlight

And all the stars in heav’n above;

Jesus shines brighter,

Jesus shines purer

And brings to all the world his love.

2. Fair are the meadows,

Fairer the woodlands,

Robed in the flowers of blooming spring;

Jesus is fairer,

Jesus is purer.

He makes the sorrowing spirit sing.

3. Beautiful Savior!

Lord of the nations!

Son of God and Son of Man!

Thee will I honor, praise, and give glory,

Give praise and glory evermore!

Evermore!

b. Come Follow Me pg. 26 points out that verses 26-27 of Genesis 1, Moses 2 and Abraham 4 tells us we were created after the “likeness” or “image” of God. “Why is it important to you to know the truths in these verses? For example, how do these truths affect the way you see yourself, others, and God?”

What did we just learn about the creation of the plants and animals? – That they multiplied and brought forth seed after their kind. So what kind of people are we? We are God’s people! And the rest of the Bible and all the scriptures are the story of God’s dealings with His people throughout time.

c. Moses 2:26 specifically names the Only Begotten as being present during this creation of humans and Moses 1:6 explains that we are “in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior”. This is teaching 2 key points to the prophet Moses; 1. our bodies are made after the pattern of God and His Son who have bodies, and 2. the Son of God is our Savior from the beginning.

i. These lessons were also taught to the first prophets of our other restoration scriptures too in Joseph Smith’s first vision (JSH 1:17) and Lehi’s first vision (1Ne 1:8-9). These principles are so foundational that they needed to be taught first. Everything else, especially what we will soon learn about the fall and the Atonement of Jesus Christ will build on these points.

IV. Words from the Hebrew Bible can add insights on the creation of male and female humans and the central doctrine of unity or “being one”.

a. Dr. Rebekah Call (Hebrew Bible scholar teaching at Utah State University) shared alternative translations on the Follow Him Podcase (hosted by Brother John Bytheway and Dr. Hank Smith). (Sister Call shared many more than could be included so I highly recommend listening to the original conversation and watching out for her upcoming book.)

i. Key insights about the creation of humanity and the importance of unity.

· Gen 1:26 the word “man” is a translation of the word “adam” which will become the name Adam, but is not used here in the name form. It could be translated as “human” or “humanity”. Male and female are not mentioned yet so this could be interpreted as one being with both. Gen 1:27 “him” is the pronoun for him (male) or it, so we can assume it is still referring to humanity as a whole. Gen 2:21-22 “rib” is not an anatomical term, but instead relates to construction. It could be translated as “a beam” or “a flank” like the flank or side of a mountain. So, this could be saying that God divided the human into male and female as he did when he was doing other “dividing” works in creation (divided light from darkness, divided water from last, divided and organized the plants and animals). And then verse 24 teaches us that the man and woman must come back together in marriage to be one.

· We believe the marriage sealing unites a man and a woman together with God. Numerous other scriptures highlight the importance of unity way beyond marriage. We need to strive for unity, love, connection, fellowship, togetherness with everyone around us and with God. In Matt 22:36-39 Jesus Christ teaches that we are to 1. Love god and 2. Love our neighbour. If we distil these commandments, that is the definition of unity, of “being one”.

· 1 Cor 1:10 “be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together”

· D&C 38:27 “be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.”

· John 17:21-23 God and the Son are the example of perfect unity.

· 3 Ne. 11:28-30 “this is my doctrine, that [disputations, contention and anger] should be done away.”

· Moses 7:18 Zion “were of one heart and one mind”. They were so united together and with God that they could no longer be separated from His presence and He took them up. – This will be part of our next lesson.

· What is one thing you can do in the next 2 weeks to create more unity with someone?

My hand bandaged by the policeman.
It is even waterproof!

I was in a bike accident yesterday.

I am totally fine.

We were riding on the road and it was dark and very rainy. Actually only moments before I had told Sister Smith that I liked riding in the rain. It is fun and it makes me think that I am a real missionary. Just then I actually fell into traffic and all I could think as my wheels came out from under me, was "put hands out and tuck in head".

I didn't hit my head more than a bump on my left cheek (not even a bruise and I immediately started calling backwards toward the sidewalk.

My companion who was behind me saved my life. She stopped her bike between me and the cars so that they would go around us. If she hadn't done that I don't know if they would have seen me because I was laying on the ground.

Wow. It was a miracle. I only have a few bruises on my legs and my left hand was scratched.

A nice policeman biked by us right after and took us to the station down the block where they bandaged my hand.

I know from the bandage above, you would think my wound was major, but here it is in all its glory!