THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
Personal
Comments by Duane R. Hurst
copyrighted,
October 1999
CHAPTER 2
1. And it came to pass that the Lord spake
unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this
earth; write the words which I speak. I
am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created
these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon
which thou standest.
COMMENT:
Moses
continues to receive direct revelation.
It should be noted that throughout this event, it appears that Moses
actually is talking with Jesus Christ.
Many verses, such as this one, sound as though it is our Father in
heaven who speaks to Moses. However,
each time “the Lord” is used, it refers to Jesus. Therefore, he probably is speaking for His Father. This action is not unusual. D&C 1:38 states, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and
though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but
shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my
servants, it is the same.”
D&C 84:36-37 also explains the concept that representatives speak
with authority from a higher person. (“For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; and he that
receiveth me receiveth my Father”)
Moses
again is instructed to write what he saw about this planet and its star
system. God wants mankind to understand
these things correctly. Emphasis is
made that Jesus Christ organized all things associated with this earth. He actually is the beginning and end of this
planet, since He made it from the very first step of creation; He also will
oversee the final step in its transition to a celestial orb. Man too often confuses the concept of time. Time only is important as a measure for what
happens on this planet. The measurement
of “time” varies, based on where we are.
Time is much different when looked at from another planet, star, or
galaxy.
Time
is the measurement of what happens on a mortal world. This changes once the world changes to a higher state. When made into a celestial world, the earth
will not measure time in the same manner as now. Hours and minutes will not have the same impact on our lives as
now. Again, see D&C sections 76 and
130 for more indications of this change.
An
important point in this verse is that God made this planet. It did not just happen by accident. Scientists and educators who deny this are
wrong. The opinion of the world, the
thoughts of popular belief do not matter.
Truth is not dependent on the emotional opinions of people. It is not based on the limited learning of
men. In D&C 93:24 Christ said, “And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they
were, and as they are to come.”
Jesus
Christ (also called Jehovah) told Isaiah in the Old Testament (Isaiah 55:8-9), “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Man cannot understand this higher order of thought and action. It can be understood only through direct
revelation, such as Moses received.
2. And 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.
COMMENT:
Now
we get the beginning of God’s explanation for how the earth was made. From this verse until the end of this
chapter, we have a brief account of the six periods (called days) of work. These “days” are not based on a 24 hour
system. For one thing, time cannot be
measured in earth terms if the planet is not even made yet. For another, in the book of Abraham, two
creation stages are mentioned. The
first is a spiritual creation of all things associated with this planet. The second is a physical (mortal)
creation. This makes perfect sense,
since we also know that this earth is the location of a “spirit world”--the
place where all spirits of the dead go after being separated from the physical
body. So, the spiritual creation is
necessary before the physical creation.
They both occupy the same place.
It can be compared to different dimensions.
The
idea of so many universes and so many gods who create more worlds and stars
probably is confusing to people. Think
of this. There are over six billion
people now living on this earth. Each
person has a mind. No one can know the
thoughts of another person, except on rare occasion. So, compare your mind with that of someone else. You never enter each other’s, but you know
of each other’s existence. We see each
other and hear each other, but we are deaf to unspoken thoughts. It is not unreasonable that countless
universes can exist, just as countless individual people can exist. Each person, each universe, is separate.
When
we are elevated to a higher kingdom after our resurrection, we will gain more
knowledge about this universe and others.
We now see some of the stars and galaxies beyond our planet, but we know
very little about them. We can know
much more (probably all) if we go to the highest level of the celestial
kingdom. God knows all of this. He wants to share it with all who live with
Him. See the promise of the priesthood
in D&C 84:38 (“And he that receiveth my Father
receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given
unto him”).
About
the first step of this world’s creation, Jesus Christ (under His Father’s
direction) used the priesthood power, together with His deliberate thoughts, to
start the process. I believe that the “spirit” refers to using the priesthood
power in a thoughtful, proper manner.
It probably is another way of describing Kae-e-vanrash (mentioned in
Abraham’s facsimile 2).
Without
form and being void is the normal state of unorganized matter. The “Big Bang” theory of creation, believed
by people such as scientist Carl Sagan, is nonsense. That is based on an entropic system--that means, a system that
eventually ends in destruction or permanent death. (The second law of thermodynamics is that something eventually
dies or stops working.) God’s system is
negentropic--an ever-living, growing system.
The resurrection proves that life is more powerful than death. D&C 131:7-8 states, “There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or
pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; we cannot see it; but when our
bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter.” All planets and stars are made from
unorganized matter.
The
“day” means an undetermined period for Christ to finish his work. It could have lasted billions of our years
or less time. That is unimportant. The important thing is that it was
made. Work of the first period
includes: separate light from darkness (probably a reference to making the sun
and planets from unorganized matter).
“Face of the deep” refers to space.
“Face of the water” probably refers to heaven. Ancient Egyptians referred to “waters above” and “waters below,”
meaning water in the atmosphere and water in oceans/lakes/rivers. They also spoke of the pillars of heaven, indicating
a knowledge about water existing in some form in space. This probably means that all elements
necessary for various metals, water, etc., are in the unorganized matter. Christ organized it into a sun and planets,
particularly on this earth.
3. And I, God, said: Let
there be light; and there was light.
COMMENT:
This
is the separation of unorganized matter into a sun. This is the important first phase of starting a solar
system. Without light, life is
impossible to start or continue. Light
provides plants with a way to generate oxygen.
Animals use the oxygen to live, and produce carbon dioxide as a
bi-product of breathing. Plants use the
carbon dioxide to make oxygen. Since
Christ made and controls the sun, He actually is the “life and light” of this
world. Without Him and His use of the
priesthood, the sun and world would follow the law of entropy (death and
destruction).
4. And I, God, saw the light;
and that light was good. And I, God,
divided the light from the darkness.
COMMENT:
This
refers to the first phase of creation: making a sun and planets from the gasses
of space. The earth itself was torn by
many earthquakes during this period of consolidation. Volcanoes erupted, sending much ash into the sky. This heavy dust encircled the planet. It blocked out the sunlight. The ash was an important ingredient for soil
development. Dividing light from darkness
also referred to the following: 1) This earth began to rotate on its axis, thus allowing all
sections to experience receiving light from the Sun; 2) Volcanic ash fell to the ground,
thus allowing sunlight to shine upon the planet's surface. Earth was ready for the
next phase.
5. And I, God, called the light Day; and
the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it
was done as I spake; and the evening and the morning were the first day.
COMMENT:
“Word
of my power” is the priesthood. It also
emphasizes the role of Jesus Christ, who created all these things. This likewise shows the role of works and
words, as mentioned in chapter
one. The normal cycle of day and
night has begun on earth. The land is
ready for the next step--separation of land and water.
6. And again, I, God, said:
Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and it was so, even as I
spake; and I said: Let it divide the waters from the waters; and it was done;
COMMENT:
This
is organization of water in an atmosphere from molecules which surrounded the
earth’s earlier “heaven”. The earth
cooled from earlier volcanic and earthquake activity. This follows the laws of physical science. God and Jesus Christ use all of the
laws. What we call nature actually is
the priesthood in action.
7. And I, God, made the
firmament and divided the waters, yea, the great waters under the firmament
from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so even as I spake.
COMMENT:
Again,
this mentions the separation of water from the atmosphere (water above the firmament)
and water on the earth--oceans/lakes.
It all happened as God “spake” because He knew and applied physical
laws. He also used the principles of
higher mathematics. With the churning
activity in the waters, oxygen and nutrients are in the water and it is
prepared for the next phase--plant life.
8. And I, God, called the
firmament Heaven; and the evening and the morning were the second day.
COMMENT:
This
means the atmosphere of earth. Step two
is complete.
9. And I, God, said: Let the
waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so; and
I, God, said: Let there be dry land; and it was so.
COMMENT:
This
refers to water gathering into a vast ocean.
Water also gathered at the poles as ice. Originally, the earth was one large continent. Mountains and valleys appeared through the
turmoil. Also, earthquake fault lines
were made, which later would cause the land to separate into continents and
islands.
10. And I, God, called the dry
land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, called I the Sea; and I,
God, saw that all things which I had made were good.
COMMENT:
Two
major elements of the world are finished: land and ocean (sea).
11. And I, God, said: Let the
earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit,
after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself
upon the earth, and it was so even as I spake.
COMMENT:
This
is a good verse. It shows that the
concept of evolution is wrong. Slight
changes do happen, but some scientists now accept that at no time has there
been an “evolution” of plants or animals
from one separate species to become another one. In other words, man did not come from
monkey. Seeds produce plants like
themselves. Animals also produce their
own kind. The flowering seed is one of
the most remarkable events in creation.
It makes possible food for the many animals which will come later. Without such seeds, there would not be a
wide variety of animal life on earth.
Flowering plants produce enough fruit and propagate themselves to such
an extent that there is plenty of food for the animals of earth.
12. And the earth brought
forth grass, every herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding
fruit, whose seed should be in itself, after his kind, and I, God, saw that all
things which I had made were good;
COMMENT:
The
soil is prepared for growing vast varieties of plants. This took a long time. We do not know how long each “day” took
before the work was finished. It could
have been millions of years for each period of time. It was not done in a speedy or half-done manner. All things were made properly.
13. And the evening and the morning were the
third day.
COMMENT:
Period
three is complete. The creation story
is in the book of Abraham. Also, the
temple endowment contains an explanation of the creation. They both give this as the order of
creation: Day 1 — separate light and darkness; Day 2 — organize the atmosphere;
Day 3 — separate water and land (prepare soil for plants; organize plant life);
Day 4 —let lights shine (sun, moon, stars); Day 5 — organize animal life in the
water and air; Day 6 — organize land animals (place man and woman on earth in
Eden); Day 7 — rest.
14. And I, God, said: Let
there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the
night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years;
COMMENT:
This
is not confusing when we remember that the earth had been covered with a thick
cloud of ash and dust from volcanic activity.
When this finally settled, the light from the sun, moon and stars could
shine on earth. It was ready for the next phase towards life on earth.
“Firmament
of the heaven” refers to the earth’s atmosphere. So, the light now can be seen as the earth rotates on its
axis. That also is why the “signs”
happen: we have day/night and seasons because the earth rotates on its axis and
rotates around the sun. The seasons
occur as the earth moves around the sun--winter when the northern half of the
earth (hemisphere) is farther away from the sun; summer when the northern
hemisphere is closer to the sun.
15. And let them be for lights
in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.
COMMENT:
The
sun, moon and stars provide light to the earth--now that the atmosphere is free
from the previous dust.
16. And I, God, made two great
lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the
night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon;
and the stars also were made even according to my word.
COMMENT:
The
sun, of course, is our most important light.
Plants use light for photosynthesis (make carbohydrates--food for
energy). Animals eat the plants for
food--or eat plant-eating animals for food.
There is no life on earth without light. The light also produces heat, which is important in keeping
plants and animals alive. People long
ago observed that certain plants and animals live in areas according to the
heat/cold ratio. The seasons (winter,
spring, summer, fall) were recognized by ancient people, especially the
Egyptians. They saw the four seasons
and four elements (earth, water, fire, wind) as key to life. The sun also was used to make a calendar.
The
moon also is important. It gives light
at night, but has another key function.
It affects the oceans. The
gravitational pull of the moon causes tides (the rise and fall of the
ocean). People since ancient times used
the phases of the moon (full, quarter, half, quarter, new) to determine a
calendar. Some societies believed that
light from a full moon caused people to go crazy. That is why western Europe called a crazy person a lunatic. The slang term was "looney".
Most
of the stars already had been created many ages before this planet. Their light entered this atmosphere after
the dust settled. The various star
clusters (constellations) are important to sailors and astronomers. Ancient societies made observatories to
observe star movements. Actually, the
movement mostly came from the earth moving around the sun. However, the sun also rotates around the
galaxy’s center. This galaxy is called
the Milky Way. Our solar system is
located near an outer part (rim) of the galaxy. There are over 300 billion stars in the Milky Way. Astronomers recently observed that our galaxy actually is larger than Andromeda. This galaxy and other galaxies rotate around
another central star system. Abraham
learned about this. God told him that
all systems eventually are affected by Kolob, the central star nearest to God’s
planet home.
17. And I, God, set them in the
firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.
COMMENT:
These
stars and the moon were placed in orbit at whatever time was appropriate for
their purpose. Most of them were made
long before this solar system. They
gave light on earth after the atmosphere was clear of the heavy dust.
18. And the sun to rule over
the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the
darkness; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;
COMMENT:
This
verse shows how important order is in heaven.
All things have order. Something
is always higher (above) another thing.
They all must obey law or principles.
This is explained very well in D&C 88:17-32. This states that this earth (after the final
judgment), and all people from this earth, must follow the laws for each kingdom
(celestial, terrestrial, telestial).
Those who refuse to follow law must live in outer darkness with Satan
and his followers.
Verse
33 in D&C 88 says, “For what doth it profit a man
if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is
given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.” This shows why Jesus Christ cannot give
exaltation as a gift to anyone. Some
people would not appreciate the gift, neither would they appreciate Christ for
giving them such a life with Him. That
is why each person must earn the way to whatever kingdom they desire. Harder work is rewarded with a better
kingdom. The lazy will be content with
a lower level, just as they are content with a lower life now.
19. And the evening and the
morning were the fourth day.
COMMENT:
Period
four is complete.
20. And I, God, said: Let the
waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl
which may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
COMMENT:
Here
come the animals, in all their variety.
There appears to be specific order in bringing the various creatures
upon earth. First, it begins in the
water. Birds come next. All verses which deal with creation only
mention this process in very general terms.
There is an enormous amount of detail involved in organizing living
creatures. Every aspect of the
creature’s body and habitat must be known before the creation begins. How it breathes, eats, digests food, rests,
offensive weapons (claw, teeth, venom, etc.), defensive mechanisms (such as
shell, camouflage, thick skin, etc.), and other things must be known. It is impossible that this world happened by
accident.
The
words of this verse confirm that “firmament of heaven” means the atmosphere.
21. And I, God, created great
whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and
every winged fowl after his kind; and I, God, saw that all things which I had
created were good.
COMMENT:
This
verse also refutes the idea of evolution.
“After their kind” means that animals produce offspring which look like
the parents. Man did not come from
monkey; there were no radical changes in animals. They followed a pattern from God.
In
this chapter, Moses relates that living creatures were made in the air and
water before land animals. This is
consistent with what science now teaches.
It also is logical to start in the water, since it would take much time
to prepare soil for plants; birds would come before many land animals because
they eat plant seeds and small sea animals.
However, “creeping things” came during “day” six.
22. And I, God, blessed them,
saying: Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the sea; and let fowl
multiply in the earth;
COMMENT:
Again,
this verse mentions that only creatures in the water and air were made during
this fifth period. At every phase of
creation, the living things are ordered to “multiply” in the earth. This was necessary to provide food for
future children of Adam and Eve. It is
unlikely that Adam killed animals for food immediately after being sent out of
the Garden of Eden. He spent many years
in the garden learning all about raising plants and animals. In fact, according to many ancient stories
about Adam, he named each type of animal.
He also learned much about how plants can help man (as food or to cure
sickness); he learned this from talks with the Father and Son before Adam and
Eve violated God’s commandment and were sent out of Eden.
23. And the evening and the morning were the
fifth day.
COMMENT:
Period
five is over. Each period probably
lasted millions of years, but we have no knowledge about the actual time
involved in this work. It took as long
as was necessary. “Evening and morning”
just mean from start to finish.
24. And I, God, said: Let the
earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping
things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so;
COMMENT:
Day
six begins with creation of all land animals, large and small. This also includes reptiles,
amphibians, and mammals. Although not
stated, microorganisms may have been created during each phase of the
creation, made according to the best time for them to appear. Such small organisms would be needed early
to make good soil. Since death was not
introduced to earth until after Adam and Eve left Eden, the negative aspects of
each creature probably did not happen until the world changed to a telestial
level. The earth originally was at a
terrestrial level. That is why Joseph
Smith wrote the following phrase in article of faith number 10: “that the earth will be renewed and receive its
paradisiacal glory.”
25. And I, God, made the
beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and
everything which creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and I, God, saw that
all these things were good.
COMMENT:
All animals follow a proper order of procreation. There was no evolution in the way that Charles Darwin and modern scientists teach today. All thing “were good” because God made them properly. Everything worked well. There were no defects.
26. And I, God, said unto mine
Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness; and it was so.
And I, God, said: Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
COMMENT:
Here
is a very interesting verse. It states
that mankind has a physical body which looks similar to God’s body. Also, Jesus Christ had a spirit body which
looked similar to God. All people who
live on other worlds have physical bodies which look like God. They do not have strange bodies, such as you
can see in Star Wars or Star Trek movies.
D&C
130:6-9 describes the location of angels (messengers) who are assigned to this
earth. In verse 5 of this section
Joseph Smith stated, “But there are no angels who
minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it.” This rules out the idea that aliens from
other worlds visit earth. However, we
also know that the city of Enoch was removed from earth to an unknown
destination. They will return prior to
Christ’s second coming. Perhaps they
have craft reconnoitering earth in preparation for their coming. This is speculation.
Mankind
is allowed to rule the animals and plants on earth. This means that mankind can use all things upon the earth,
including minerals, to our benefit.
Dominion does not mean ownership.
God and Jesus Christ retain the right of rule over earth. Mankind actually is given stewardship of the
earth. This is explained in D&C
104:13-18 (“For it is expedient that I, the Lord,
should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I
have made and prepared for my creatures.
I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very
handiwork; and all things therein are mine.
And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are
mine. But it must needs be done in mine
own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide
for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made
low. For the earth is full, and there
is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the
children of men to be agents unto themselves.
Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and
impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and
the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in
torment”).
Many
foolish people in the past and today believe that the earth does not have
enough resources to feed and care for everyone on this planet. They do not believe in God or do not believe
in His words. There is more than enough
food and material for everyone. Poverty
is manmade. The elitists (those who
believe that only they have wisdom to rule others) and the greedy people
throughout history cause poverty and war.
A proper distribution of goods is needed. Of course, this can never happen under a communist, socialist or
any other “-ist” system. All manmade
systems of government contain problems, although some systems are better than
others. The gospel of Jesus Christ is
the only system which will allow everyone to have true freedom and progress.
Let
me give a short account of some political theories which continue to influence
world leaders. All of them are
divergent or opposite from gospel truth, but they are popular. The genesis or beginning of these ideas can
be traced back to Satan and Cain. Their
agreement was the first secret society.
Even today, all such groups center on doing everything in secret and to
get money and power over other people.
David
Hume and Jeremy Bentham of England in
the mid-1770s believed in utilitarianism.
This is a philosophy of “the greatest good for the most people.” Unfortunately, it emphasized the idea that
individual people are not very important.
We see this idea when people support mass abortion (over one million
babies per year are killed in America; more are killed in Europe). Many
people, in effect, say that they love mankind but do not like a person.
During
the same period, Englishman T.R. Malthus taught that God gave three great gifts
to mankind. He said the gifts were war,
famine, and disease. Malthus believed
that Britain had the responsibility to use these “gifts” to reduce the world’s
population. Of course, he wanted
Britain to rule the world. Unfortunately, there are many people of
power who agree with these foolish ideas.
Henry Kissinger is one such person.
He continues to influence leaders today. We also have people with no moral base, such as Bill and Hillary
Clinton, who have great influence over the lives of others.
We
can trace modern ideas of fascism, national socialism (the Nazis), and
communism to the following German men: Immanuel Kant, G.W.F. Hegel, and Karl
Marx. They all believed in the
dialectic (the development of a thesis, its antithesis or opposite, and a
change brought about by synthesis). An
important facet or part of their idea was that history determines the destiny
of all nations and people. In
actuality, what they all believed was a new kind of false religion. They formed their own god of this world, not
knowing that their ideas are similar to many false religions of ancient
times. All false religions receive
support and influence from Satan and his followers.
The
importance of the American revolution to gain independence from England is seen
in D&C 101:77-80. Jesus Christ
said, “According to the laws and constitution of the
people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for
the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;
that every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity,
according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may
be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment. Therefore, it is not right that any man
should be in bondage one to another.
And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land,
by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed
the land by the shedding of blood.”
Many
far-thinking people in Europe supported American independence because they
wanted to help start a nation where people have true freedom. Unfortunately, elitists (those who are
similar to the king-men of the Book of Mormon) now have much influence in the
United States and around the world.
This nation was necessary so that the gospel of Jesus Christ could be
restored in preparation for the second coming of Christ on earth (His
millennial reign).
There
are several ways to be in bondage. One
is actual slavery, such as the blacks in America or black Christians sold into
slavery today in Sudan, Africa. Another
form of bondage is economic servitude.
This was common in Czarist Russia or feudal Europe. Another form was indentured servants in the
British colonies of early America; they sold themselves into service for many
years. Today, many people are in
bondage to banks and credit companies by borrowing money at high interest
rates. Governments often keep people in
bondage through high taxes. All of
these forms are wrong.
Ancient
Israel and Islam forbade loaning money for interest.
The Perpetual Immigration Fund, started by Brigham Young to help members
of the Church in Europe, is a good example of how to help people. Poor people received money or goods to move
into Utah and start a farm or business.
They later paid back what had been loaned, but did not pay any interest
fee. The money was returned to the Fund
to help other members move to America.
27. And I, God, created man in
mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and
female created I them.
COMMENT:
Again
the Father emphasizes that He made man to look the same as Himself and Jesus
Christ. It is obvious that woman is not
in the exact image as man. Women are in
the image of our Mother in heaven. Note
that the reference to Christ is in the future, when He will become our Father’s
son born to Mary in Bethlehem. “Only
Begotten” because He will be the only spirit son of our Father in heaven who
will be born naturally on this earth.
Emphasis should be placed on the proper and eternal relationship between
God, Mary, and Jesus. It follows the
legitimate and eternal nature as explained in D&C 131:1-4.
28. And I, God, blessed them,
and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and
subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
COMMENT:
Adam
and Eve could not follow these instructions when they first received them from
God. Why? Because emotionally and in experience they were like children. They did not understand the importance of
sex, so they could not be “fruitful” or “multiply.” Neither would they have dominion over the earth until they left
the comfortable garden and learned to work hard. God and Christ knew this.
The fall of Adam and Eve was necessary so that all people could be
born. Eve later learned this and
praised God for giving them life and enlightenment.
29. And I, God, said unto man:
Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all
the earth, and every tree in the which shall be the fruit of a tree yielding
seed; to you it shall be for meat.
COMMENT:
This
shows that God and Jesus Christ taught Adam and Eve about the proper use of all
plants; they learned what could be eaten.
I believe that Adam and Eve also learned what plants could heal the
different diseases which they would see in the future. I also believe that they learned how to grow
plants, which would be necessary for them to know after leaving the garden. All of this was taught in the garden because
God does not want to punish people. He
wants us to grow by doing things for ourselves.
30. And to every beast of the
earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the
earth, wherein I grant life, there shall be given every clean herb for meat;
and it was so, even as I spake.
COMMENT:
“Herb
for meat” refers to plants which man can eat.
Of course, we cannot eat all plant or animal life. Some are not suited for our digestive
system. Some contain poison which will
kill us or make us very ill.
I
think the phrase “wherein I grant life” is very useful to us today. We have scientists who are cloning
animals. They want to clone people,
also. This is something which
scientists under Adolph Hitler tried to do.
Such people do not believe in God.
They play at creation. Contrast
their foolish attitude with this statement from D&C 8:10 (“Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore
ask in faith. Trifle not with these
things; do not ask for that which you ought not”).
In
the King Follett discourse, Joseph Smith said this, “And
I want you to know that God, in the last days, while certain individuals are
proclaiming his name, is not trifling with you or me.” God considers each life important. Some ignorant people are so excited to make
life in their own way that they cannot see that it is sacred work--work best
left for those prepared to use priesthood properly at the celestial level. Of course, Satan and his followers encourage
mankind to play at life.
31. And I, God, saw everything
that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good; and
the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
COMMENT:
All
things have been created properly, including man and woman. Now it is time to rest and enjoy the past
work. It also is time to begin the next
phase of earth’s purpose. This is the
expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden so that they can have children. It includes the excitement of mortal life
(learning, experiencing opposites, developing talents, sharing with other
people, having families, making things, teaching other people). It also is according to the plan of life and
eternal progression, which we supported in the spirit world before we were born
on this planet. So, the atonement of
Jesus Christ will be explained to Adam and Eve. They, in turn, will teach their children.
(This
is the end of chapter two.)