Genesis 12-17

I know that I am way behind.   Sorry about that.  I hope to post several times over the next few days to get us caught up.  These chapters introduce us to Father Abraham.  What an amazing man and prophet.  I would encourage you to read the first couple of chapters of the Book of Abraham to supplement your study.  I was first impressed with his amazing faith and fearlessness as a young man.  We aren't sure how old he was, when his father offered him as a sacrifice to heathen gods.  But he was bold and fearless in his missionary efforts at even that young age.  He sets an amazing example of obedience and faith throughout his life.  He wanted more than anything the blessings promised to his patriarchal fathers.  He was granted that desire by receiving the high priesthood from Melchizedek and entered a covenant with the Lord known today as the Abrahamic covenant.  Prior to Abraham the priesthood and authority to perform saving ordinances was passed from father to son.  Abraham's father was not worthy of the priesthood.  He sought these blessings from Melchizedek.  A new gospel dispensation began with Abraham, in which all could receive the blessings of the gospel in a similar way.  In this respect he is known as the "father" of the faithful.  All who embrace the gospel become his seed, regardless of blood lines. 

There are several parts to the Abrahamic covenant.  A covenant is a promise or commitment that we make with the Lord.  The Lord sets the terms and we agree to the terms that are set.  Covenants bind us to the Lord and allow us to call upon His power.  In Abraham's case, the Lord makes a promise of chosen lands that will be given to his posterity.  There is a promise of posterity (that he will be the father of many nations, kings will come through his line, his posterity will be as numerous as the sands of the sea).  There is a promise of salvation and eternal life.  All of the blessings of the gospel--the saving ordinances of baptism and the temple will be granted to his posterity and brought from them (by them, through them) to all of the families of all nations.  Abraham promised to walk uprightly and perfectly before the Lord.  He promised to minister to all the nations.  Through his seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.  As members of the church, this covenant is extremely important to us.  We are Abraham's seed--his posterity... we are greatly blessed!  And where much is given much is required.  The responsibilities of missionary work and temple work are on our shoulders.  It seems a daunting task.  But, in the Doctrine and Covenants, we are told:

  30 ^aAbraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose ^bloins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the ^cstars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.

  31 This promise is yours also, because ye are of ^aAbraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself.

  32 Go ye, therefore, and do the ^aworks of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved.

  33 But if ye enter not into my law ye cannot receive the promise of my Father, which he made unto Abraham.

So how do we approach this daunting task?  We "do the works of Abraham"!  We have faith.  We obey with exactness.  We live the gospel and participate in the saving ordinances of the temple.  We walk uprightly with the Lord.  We strive for perfection (line upon line).  We teach our children.  And we share the gospel with all the world.

That still seems a bit overwhelming for me.  I loved Sister Beck's comment..."be brilliant in the basics!"  Now that's something I can sink my teeth into.  I can be brilliant in family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening.  I can attend my meetings and serve others.

Line upon line.

Genesis 4-11

OK, where to start...This reading assignment covers a large hunk of history.  So, let's break it down into some bite-size morsels.
*Adam and Eve in the lone and dreary world
*Cain and Abel
*Enoch
*Noah


Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden.  They could hear the voice of the Lord, but were no longer privileged to "see" him.  I couldn't help but think of the void this left in their lives and hearts.  Adam and Eve were taught the gospel.  They were taught to offer sacrifices of the firstlings of the flock.  Adam at first did not understand.  Later he learned that this was done in similitude of the sacrifice of the Savior.  We learn that Adam was taught the plan of salvation, and that he was baptized in accordance to this plan, by water and by fire (the gift of the Holy Ghost).  Adam rejoices in the gospel and states in verse 10:

And in that day Adam blessed God and was ^afilled, and began to ^bprophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my ^ctransgression my ^deyes are opened, and in this life I shall have ^ejoy, and again in the ^fflesh I shall see God.

 He could have the privilege of seeing God again, by embracing the gospel through repentance and baptism.  In Moses 6:64-68 we read:

64 And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was ^acaught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the ^bwater, and was brought forth out of the water.

  65 And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was ^aborn of the Spirit, and became quickened in the ^binner man.

  66 And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with ^afire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the ^brecord of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;

  67 And thou art after the ^aorder of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.

  68 Behold, thou art ^aone in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my ^bsons. Amen.

 We can all become sons and daughters of God by following these same steps.  Satan, of course, would not have us believe these things that were taught.  In Moses 5:13, we read:

13 And ^aSatan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: ^bBelieve it not; and they believed it not, and they ^cloved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be ^dcarnal, sensual, and devilish.
The account of Moses then gives us a powerful polar comparison of a believer and a non-believer.  Cain loved Satan more than God.  He did not believe the words of his parents or the Lord.  He heeded to the temptations of Satan and offered an inappropriate sacrifice to the Lord.  He eventually covenants with Satan and eventually kills his brother Abel.  Enoch, on the other hand, is taught of his fathers and believes the words of the Lord.  He is called of the Lord to preach repentance to the people. He is blessed with great power as a result of his faith.  He teaches them the gospel of Christ and eventually is taken up with his entire city to the presence of the Lord.  The Lord covenants with Enoch that his posterity will be preserved through Noah.

Noah is a righteous man.  There are many similarities between the days of Noah and the latter-days.  There are also many similarities between Noah and Jesus Christ.  I was struck by the thought that only Noah's family survived destruction.  They were allowed to live.  That is also true of Christ's family.  Only those that become his sons and daughters through repentance, baptism, and the reception of the Holy Ghost will be granted eternal life.  Can you think of any other examples?

Genesis 3-The Fall

Wow.  There is a lot here.  And there is a lot of other scriptures to supplement this chapter in Genesis.  Take a gander at Moses chapter 4.  It surprised me however, how similar the two accounts were.  I highly recommend looking up "The Fall of Adam" in the bible dictionary.  I especially liked the scripture references listed at the very end.  As was mentioned in the manual, the events of the Fall are covered well in the Genesis account, but the why's and wherefore's are best found in the Book of Mormon. 

A few things that stood out to me:
*  Although Satan deceived Eve, he did tell her one truth.  By partaking of the fruit she would become like the gods--knowing good and evil.  We came to this earth to become like our Father in Heaven.  Adam and Eve are well on their way.  They've received bodies and now they have acquired this godlike characteristic--being able to understand the difference between good and evil.  (steps one and two--check!)
*  Eve was deceived by Satan and partook of the fruit with the intent to act contrary to divine command.  She was in the transgression.  Adam was not deceived--he chose to deliberately do as Eve desired and carry out the purposes of God.
*  Once they had transgressed, they had an immense sense of guilt--they recognized their own spiritual nakedness (or unworthiness to stand before God) and hid themselves.  If they hadn't figured it out on their own--Satan was more than willing to point out their "nakedness" for them.  He is such a creep. 

And we are off!

Thanks to all that came to our little gathering this morning.  It was fun as always!  Now that we have adequately introduced ourselves to the topic of the year, we are ready to dive right in!  So let's get started.  Our first assignment is to read Genesis 1-2.  You will recognize these passages.  They will be familiar to you.  My assignment to you is to compare the Genesis account to the Moses account.  Then just for fun, go to the temple and see how all three accounts stack up.  Are they the same?  Are they different?  What's different about it?  Why do you think that is?  Then come back here and let me know what's on your mind.  Ready, set, go!

ANNOUNCING...

This year we will be studying the Old Testament!  Hurrah!!  I imagine that it will take us quite some time to complete it.  But that's OK.  We will be following the CES Institute manual for the Old Testament.  My hope is that it will supplement our Sunday School Curriculum for the year.  Our first group meeting will be January 5th.  So grab your scriptures and let's get started!  I will be handing out the schedule at our meeting.  For now we will begin by reading the introduction to the Old Testament Institute Manual.  Ironically, it's entitled "For Our Profit and Learning". 

A Little Shout Out

OK ladies, let's learn something new today.  Go down to the bottom of this post and click on the comment icon.  It's super easy and I know you can do it.  Some or most of you have never done this before, so we are going to practice.  You don't have to say anything interesting or profound.  Just say hi, or howdy, or Merry Christmas or whatever.  Type whatever little greeting you would like.  Then type in the word verification-you just copy the letters that you see in the box.  Click on "Name/URL" and type in your first name or an alias.  That's it.  It's simple.  I know you can do it!  Do it as many times as you would like or need to feel comfortable.  It will make us both feel better!

In other news.  I apologize for being a little slothful the past week or two.  That's what happens to me during the holidays.  Too many people pulling me in different directions.  But, we are going to meet at my house tomorrow morning for our last discussion of the Doctrine and Covenants.  We are covering sections 133 to the end.  Come and join us it will be a lot of fun!  We are looking into a couple of different options for our study for the new year.  I'll let you know soon!

Section 131

I understood this a lot better when I learned that section 131 was actually received in three distinct parts at different times over two days (March 16-17, 1843).  These three revelations were later combined into one section by Elder Orson Pratt, acting under the direction of Brigham Young. 

Verses 1-4:
Joseph was traveling with William Clayton and staying at the home of the Johnson's.  Before they retired to bed, Joseph gave Brother and Sister Johnson some instructions on the priesthood.  Verses 1-4 were given in response to a conversation he had with William  Clayton that same evening.  We learn from these verses, that the celestial kingdom is divided into three degrees.  We learn that to qualify for the highest degree of the celestial kingdom one must enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage.  We are taught that those who comply with this law will have eternal increase.  What exactly is eternal increase?  According to the institute manual, "Those who comply with the new and everlasting covenant of marriage and endure faithfully to the end gain the right to become eternal parents."

Verses 5-6:
On the morning of March 17th, the Prophet Joseph discoursed on 2 Peter 1.  These two verses were given in that morning meeting.   Peter mentions the doctrine of having your calling and election made sure.  Joseph elaborates in verse 5.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie said:
“Those members of the Church who devote themselves wholly to righteousness, living by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God, make their calling and election sure . That is, they receive the more sure word of prophecy, which means that the Lord seals their exaltation upon them while they are yet in this life. Peter summarized the course of righteousness which the saints must pursue to make their calling and election sure and then (referring to his experience on the Mount of Transfiguration with James and John) said that those three had received this more sure word of prophecy. ( 2 Pet. 1 .) . . .
“Those so favored of the Lord are sealed up against all manner of sin and blasphemy except the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost and the shedding of innocent blood. That is, their exaltation is assured; their calling and election is made sure, because they have obeyed the fulness of God’s laws and have overcome the world.” ( Mormon Doctrine, pp. 109–10; see also D&C 132:17, 26 ; Notes and Commentary for D&C 76:53 .)

Verse 6 talks about gaining knowledge.  The manual points out that although this verse is true of all knowledge, it is important to remember that this revelation was given in connection with verse 5.  No man can be saved without having this sure knowledge--the sure word of prophecy.

Verses 7-8:
Joseph attended a lecture given by a Methodist preacher on the evening of May 17th.  These two verses were received afterwards to offer some correction to what had been said.  I don't have a written account of the preacher's lecture.  But apparently he somehow addressed the concept of matter.  Scientists in Joseph's day believed that matter could be created and destroyed.  In more recent times, scientists have proven that matter can not be created and destroyed.  Matter and energy are just different forms of the same thing. Matter is eternal.   
Orson Pratt once said:

The materials out of which this earth was formed are just as eternal as the materials of the glorious personage of the Lord himself.