Moses 6

As Enoch was called to serve Him, promising His Spirit to assist Enoch, the Lord followed with the invitation -

"...therefore walk with me."  (Moses 6:34)

I couldn't help but feel the same invitation with callings I have received.

PofGP 6

We sometimes do not understand that Adam and Eve were only ignorant of good and evil.  Obviously they must have been very knowledgeable for -

"...a book of remembrance was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration;
6 And by them their children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled."  (Moses 6:5–6)

And there is no question that leaving the garden, they were able to sustain themselves and their families.

PofGP 5

This morning, I noticed something I hadn't before in that -

"...Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands..."  (Moses 5:30)

In a sense, Satan suggested that he would be Cain's servant and support him.  When the Lord questioned Cain where Abel was, Satan was no where near to be found...what a liar.

PofGP 5

After having been driven fro the Garden, the Lord -

"...gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord.  And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 5:5)

We learn later that Adam and Eve had no idea why they were given these commandments only in that they obeyed for -

"...after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?  And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 5:6)

The process is clear, we obey by faith before we receive knowledge or understanding.

PofGP 4

Upon eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Lord said to Eve -

"...I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.  In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children..."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:22)

And then to Adam -

"...Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:23)

Knowing what I know now, in my mind, the word sorrow may be better understood as "difficult".

PofGP 4

We learn a great deal concerning the origins of Satan as the Lord spoke to Moses -

"That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down..."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1 - 3)

We also learn in modern revelation that -

"...he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency..."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 29:36)

Even in our pre-mortal life, one third of the hosts of heaven were willing to give up freedom and agency to be totally cared for.  Obviously they do so to those that seek power and control.

Satan continues this pursuit in this second estate.  Many are willing to give up freedom and rights to those in power so they don't have to be responsible.

PofGP 3

In contrast to the Genesis record, the Lord said to Adam -

"...I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 3:16 - 17)

Of this, Joseph Fielding Smith explained -

“Just why the Lord would say to Adam that he forbade him to partake of the fruit of that tree is not made clear in the Bible account, but in the original as it comes to us in the Book of Moses it is made definitely clear. It is that the Lord said to Adam that if he wished to remain as he was in the garden, then he was not to eat the fruit, but if he desired to eat it and partake of death, he was at liberty to do so. So really it was not in the true sense a transgression of a divine commandment. Adam made the wise decision, in fact the only decision he could make” (Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol. 4, page 81).

We have no idea how long Adam and Eve lived in the garden.  It seems to me that Eve eventually longed for more and chose to eat of the fruit and not remain in the garden

PofGP 2

Joseph Smith received the revelation that Moses received on a mountain in 1830.  Over and over as the Lord reveals the process of the creation, the Lord states -

"...everything which creepeth upon the earth after his kind..."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 2:25)

"After his kind" is mentioned in regards to all animals and plants.  I find it interesting of this great emphasis some thirty years before Darwin's writing "Origin of Species".

PofGP 2

As Moses learns of the creation of the earth, it is revealed that on the first day -

"...the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep; and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God.
3 And I, God, said: Let there be light; and there was light.
4 And I, God, saw the light; and that light was good..."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 2:2 - 4)

As one studies the scriptures, "light" many times is synonymous life, power, and law.  I believe this is the light referred to for the sun and moon were created on the fourth day.

PofGP 1

I find it interesting that the Lord told Moses after a great revelation -

"...now of this thing Moses bore record; but because of wickedness it is not had among the children of men."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 1:23)

It is obvious to me is that this revelation referred to the Savior and the solemnities of eternity, thus -

"...in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like unto thee; and they shall be had again among the children of men—among as many as shall believe."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 1:41)

No wonder this record is considered a "Pearl of  Great Price".

PofGP 1

After having had a "high mountain experience", been transfigured by the Holy Ghost, and seeing the Savior face to face, Moses writes -

"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."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 1:9)

In my mind, "fell unto the earth" could have more than one meaning,  It could suggest that he "came down to earth".  This is meaningful to me.  I have to confess being on a spiritual high as I have worked hard a stake conference talk and when it is all over, just feeling like normal and back to earth where I might have expected the spiritual high to remain.

PofGP 1

As the Savior tells Moses that He will show him a portion of his works and words, He adds -

"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."  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 1:5)

Those words suggest to me that the day may come after this earth life that we may become capable to behold all His works and His glory.

D&C Official Declaration - 2

When President Spencer W. Kimball made the announcement  concerning all worthy male members, he testified that the Savior -

"...by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple..."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Official Declaration 2:8)

What touched me were the words -

"...the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood."

Many prophets looked forward to the day of restitution of all things.  It is one of those fulfilled promises that happened in my day.

D&C 138

In the great vision of Joseph F. Smith, we learn a new simple truth -

"For the dead had looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 138:50)

For those that think a body of flesh and bones is limiting, what a glorious event it will be when the spirit and body will be united never to separate again.

D&C 138

This morning the thought came that in the final moments as the Savior suffered on the cross -

"...there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality..."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 138:12)

And -

"...they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 138:15)

For -

"They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world, to declare their redemption from the bands of death."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 138:16)

Isn't that interesting that in death as many mortals suffer great loss, they may be those rejoicing with a uniting.

D&C 137

In receiving a revelation, the Prophet said -

"THE heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 137:1)

Obviously, revelation comes to the spirit.  Of such the Prophet commented -

“All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the abstract, and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all; and those revelations which will save our spirits will save our bodies. God reveals them to us in view of no eternal dissolution of the body, or tabernacle” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, page 355).

D&C 136

The Lord instructed the modern day "Camp of Israel" -

"If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
29 If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication, that your souls may be joyful."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 136:28 - 29)

In my mind, the Lord is teaching that we can still be joyful in the journey, even in difficult and sorrowful situations.  But is still requires humble supplication.

D&C 135

As I read John Taylor's, future prophet. description of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum smith, what stood out to me this morning were the words -

"...their innocent blood on the floor of Carthage jail is a broad seal affixed to "Mormonism" that cannot be rejected by any court on earth, and their innocent blood on the escutcheon of the State of Illinois, with the broken faith of the State as pledged by the governor, is a witness to the truth of the everlasting gospel that all the world cannot impeach..."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 135:7)

I wondered if the state of Illinois has and will continue to be plagued because of this action.

D&C 134

As The Church discusses its position on governments, they also state -

"We believe that men should appeal to the civil law for redress of all wrongs and grievances, where personal abuse is inflicted or the right of property or character infringed, where such laws exist as will protect the same; but we believe that all men are justified in defending themselves, their friends, and property, and the government, from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigency, where immediate appeal cannot be made to the laws, and relief afforded."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 134:11)

Obviously, in order to do so, one must have the right to bears arms.

D&C 133

This morning, the words struck me -

"And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thrash the nations by the power of his Spirit."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 133:59)

In my mind, the words became clear concerning the gathering of Israel and rescuing the less.  I looked up the meaning of thrash and f -

"...a violent or noisy movement, typically involving hitting something repeatedly as in

"the thrash of the waves"

I sense that we are to, with almost a continual pounding of kindness, service, and love...as directed by the Holy Ghost move forward with the work.

D&C 133

Remembering Lot's wife, the Lord warns us in modern day, as we are commanded to go out from "spiritual Babylon" -

"...let him not look back lest sudden destruction shall come upon him."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 133:15)

My thoughts this morning are, as we move forward making sacred covenants, it is essential to not long for and look back at those things previous to our making of covenants.  One might be, the sacred covenant of eternal marriage.