Come, Follow Me: Old Testament - Genesis 1-2; Moses 2-3; Abraham 4-5
Week 2: January 3rd – January 9th
Week 2 of the ‘Come, Follow Me’ lesson finally delves into a bit go Genesis, along with some additional chapters from the book of Moses and the book of Abraham. It is all about the creation of the Earth, keeping the Sabbath day holy, and the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Scripture study
Genesis 1:1–25; Moses 2:1–25; Abraham 4:1–25: Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the earth.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, “Whatever the details of the creation process, we know that it was not accidental but that it was directed by God the Father and implemented by Jesus Christ” (“Why Marriage, Why Family,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 51). While there’s a lot we don’t know about exactly how the world was created, ponder what you learn about the Creation from what God has revealed in Genesis 1:1–25; Moses 2:1–25; and Abraham 4:1–25. What do you notice in these accounts that is similar? What do you notice that is different? What thoughts do you have about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as you read about the Creation?
See also Doctrine and Covenants 101:32–34.
When it comes to the creation of the universe the LDS church has a different belief to other Christian sects in that they believe it was actually Jesus Christ who was responsible for the creation, and not God. This belief stems from scripture verses within the book of Moses (Moses 2:1–25) and the book of Abraham (Abraham 4:1–25) where it explains that he acted under the direction of God.
There really isn’t much to say about the LDS version of creation other than what was mentioned in the last lesson on the truth and accuracy of the books of Abraham and Moses.
Genesis 1:27–28; 2:18–25; Moses 3:18, 21–25; Abraham 5:14–19: Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.
“Adam and Eve were joined together in marriage for time and for all eternity by the power of [the] everlasting priesthood” (Russell M. Nelson, “Lessons from Eve,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 87). Why is this truth important to know? Ponder this as you read Genesis 1:27–28; 2:18–25; Moses 3:18, 21–25; and Abraham 5:14–19. If you would like to learn more about marriage within God’s plan, read and ponder the resources listed below. What do these resources prompt you to do to improve your marriage or to prepare for marriage in the future?
See also Matthew 19:4–6; 1 Corinthians 11:11; Linda K. Burton, “We’ll Ascend Together,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 29–32; “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
This is where things get into a poor territory as we get our first glimpse at some of ways in which the Church reminds the LGBTQ+ community that their lifestyle and feelings are not ordained of God. Through the additional resources linked it also begins to outline the role of the man/women within a relationship (although not always being entirely forthcoming with the explanations). In this lesson we learn more about the LDS beliefs that:
Marriage between man and woman is the only thing ordained by God - The LDS church makes it very clear in the Family Proclamation that they believe that “God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife”. They reject the idea that same-sex relationships are acceptable and go as far as to say sexual relations between between people of the same sex, violate one of our Father in Heaven’s most important laws (the law of chastity) and get in the way of our eternal progress.
This lesson is just one of the many ways that the LDS church reminds its members what they feel is acceptable.
Women and Men have specific roles within a relationship - This belief is also expanded on in the Family Proclamation where they state “fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners”.
Unfortunately when they say “equal partners” this is not what they mean, woman are told they are “equally important” but the religion is totally patriarchal. At the Sister to Sister even in 2019 a question was posed where a sister in the church advised that she did not feel that woman were treated as being important within the church and she asked how to better work with Priesthood leaders when they can often be dismissive. As part of her response to the question Jean Bingham advised “We as women tend to be sometimes…can we be shrill? Or demanding? Or stubborn? We have the best idea ever, and if they don’t see it our way then clearly there is a problem there. So all I want to say is sisters…When we ask that question ‘is it I?’ that is a really good place to start”. Other comments are made on this same panel where they say that we (women) have a remarkable opportunity to sustain…that we should never criticise church leaders, and that we should just accept their imperfections. They encourage women to look to what they could be doing wrong instead of confronting the inappropriate behaviour of the priesthood holders.
This does not sound like an equal footing.
Genesis 2:2–3; Moses 3:2–3; Abraham 5:2–3: God blessed and sanctified the Sabbath day.
God made the Sabbath day holy, and He asks us to keep it holy. Elder David A. Bednar taught, “The Sabbath is God’s time, a sacred time specifically set apart for worshipping Him and for receiving and remembering His great and precious promises” (“Exceeding Great and Precious Promises,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 92).
How could you use this statement and Genesis 2:2–3; Moses 3:2–3; or Abraham 5:2–3 to explain to someone why you choose to honor the Sabbath day? How has the Lord blessed you for keeping His day holy?
See also Isaiah 58:13–14; Doctrine and Covenants 59:9–13; “The Sabbath Is a Delight” (video), ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Not much to say on this topic as I don’t really have an issue with setting time aside once a week to spend time with family or friends. While I don’t personally believe in a God that needs to be worshiped I don’t have any objections to people spending their time how they like, even if that is worshipping a God. The issue I take is when beliefs and policies start to cause harm to people both inside and outside the religion.
I totally understand the love and community that can come from attending church, there are so many ways to get involved and many people feel welcome and supported there. Unfortunately this is not the case for everyone and there is still a lot of racism and homophobia within the church, not to mention the harmfulness of its purity culture.
The church also loves to say things like “where would you go”, or warn that you will lose your countenance (the happy glow in your face), and some leaders even like to make bold statements about the world being such a terrible place. All of these can lead people to think that it is not safe for them to exist and thrive outside of the “protection” the church and God provide, fortunately this is not true. There are good and bad people everywhere (including inside the church) and people are not going to be in any additional danger by leaving. From my experience it is totally possible to find a much more loving and accepting community of people who love you for who you are. “Wordly” people are not something to be feared, the could be some of the kindest people you have ever met.
Key Questions:
How do we know the book of Abraham is true? What evidence do we have to support it?
What happens to LDS theology if it its’t true? What would change in our knowledge of the afterlife?
If everything that the Lord created is good, and there is no way for the devil to create or manifest good things then how is it possible for two people of the same gender to fall in love? Love is good and by this standard would come from God, so how is it that acting upon something He created is wrong?
With all of the changes that have come about with current Prophets undoing the policies of other Prophets (e.g. race and the priesthood) how do we know that the current policy on same-sex marriage isn’t going to be removed in a few years time with the Prophet citing the “current beliefs of the time” as an excise for it?
How much damage is this policy doing to LGBTQ+ individuals and their families in the meantime?
If the bad behaviours of those in the church can be excused as them using their free agency, then why are non-members not given the same benefit? Why are they demonised as being a bad influence?
How important is truth to me? Do I care if what I believe is true? How can I examine what it true without using feelings as a guide?
For the like minded people out there…
I had to post a screenshot of one of the “Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Home Evening” that come with this weeks lesson.
This made me laugh becase when I first read it I really had an image in my head of the family role playing "the act of “replenishing the earth”.
Additional information - The Book of Abraham
Originally, Joseph claimed that this record was written by Abraham “by his own hand, upon papyrus” – a claim still prominent in the heading of the Book of Abraham. This claim could not be evaluated for decades as many thought the papyri were lost in a fire. The original papyrus Joseph translated has since been found and, as stated in the Church’s July 2014 Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham essay, “scholars have identified the papyrus fragments as parts of standard funerary texts...[that] date to between the third century B.C.E. and the first century C.E., long after Abraham lived.”
We know this is the papyrus that Joseph used for translation because the hieroglyphics match in chronological order to the hieroglyphics in Joseph’s Kirtland Egyptian Papers, which contains his Grammar & Alphabet of the Egyptian Language (GAEL). Additionally, the papyrus were pasted onto paper which have drawings of a temple and maps of the Kirtland, Ohio area on the back and they were companied by an affidavit by Emma Smith verifying they had been in the possession of Joseph Smith.
Egyptologists have also since translated the source material for the Book of Abraham and have found it to be nothing more than a common pagan Egyptian funerary text for a deceased man named “Hor” around first century C.E. In other words, it was a common Breathing Permit that the Egyptians buried with their dead. It has nothing to do with Abraham or anything Joseph claimed in his translation for the Book of Abraham. The Church admits this in its essay:
None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham’s name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham. Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the Book of Abraham, though there is not unanimity, even among non-Mormon scholars, about the proper interpretation of the vignettes on these fragments. Scholars have identified the papyrus fragments as parts of standard funerary texts that were deposited with mummified bodies. These fragments date to between the third century B.C.E. and the first century C.E., long after Abraham lived.
If you want to see more information on this check out the CES letter here: https://read.cesletter.org/boa/#papyrus-found
