Exodus

Please follow this link to my previous post on Exodus 1-13.

Please follow this link to learn more about the importance of 40 in the Bible

Please follow this link to my previous post on Exodus 14-18.

Easter Story For Children and Youth

A LONG STORY ABOUT EASTER AND TEMPLES

For Children, Youth and Adults

Nancy W. Jensen

Long before Jesus was born, God told His people in Jerusalem to build him a house where they could worship Him and He could visit them. God told them how to build this temple and they wrote down every single instruction and put it in their scriptures. It would be a place where heaven and earth would meet. The people would give God gifts at the House of God and God would give them gifts as well. You can read about all of them in The Book of Leviticus in the Bible.

The House of God was amazing! It had a big courtyard around it for people to gather. It was very, very tall–10 stories tall or more, like a small skyscraper. It had gold on the front of it and beautiful carvings. It had colors of the sunset, like blue and purple and red, to remind people that this was where heaven and earth meet. And it had a very small room with golden things to remind them of how God had helped them in the past and what Jesus Christ would someday do to save them. This small but tall room had a heavy veil or curtain instead of a door. This was the Holy of Holies where God could come. Only the high priest could go in there, and he could only go in on one day of the year, The Day of Atonement. For ten days before that day, the people would repent of all the things they did wrong. They would bring their gifts to the temple. Then the high priest would pray to God for them to be forgiven. They would make covenants with God. A covenant is a special promise that brings you close together.

God told the people that coming to the temple would make them rejoice! And it did! It was a place of happiness!

 

But after a while the people began to get lazy and selfish and they weren’t obeying God’s commandments. So God sent prophets to tell them what they were doing wrong so they could change. These people got very angry! They didn’t want to change! So God told one of the prophets, named Lehi, to take his family and get away from Jerusalem because the people were doing so many bad things that God wasn’t going to protect Jerusalem anymore.

We can read their story in The Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a collection of stories written by different people in ancient America over hundreds of years. They were all put together by a prophet named Mormon and that’s why it’s called The Book of Mormon. It’s really “The Books Collected by Mormon.”

The first book in the Book of Mormon tells about what God told Lehi in visions and how he had to buy tents and leave Jerusalem with his family and go camping in the wilderness and then go back to get the Brass Plates (which were the scriptures) and get another family to come with them and then travel to the beach and live there for a while and then build a ship and sail across the huge ocean to America. In America they got married and had a bunch of kids and grandkids and they were farmers and they also had fights. This book was written by Lehi’s son Nephi. After writing the story of their travels, he copied down all his favorite scriptures.

He still had more to write but he didn’t write it here. He started a Second Book of Nephi. Why a whole new book?

The first thing that Nephi wrote in his second book was that God showed Lehi that Jerusalem actually was destroyed (2 Nephi 1:1-4). Another country, Babylon, sent their armies and all the people who lived in Jerusalem were killed or pushed out and forced to live in all different places so the people who won the war could live in Jerusalem instead. The temple, the House of God, was completely destroyed.

Everything was different now. There was no House of God on the whole earth. There was no church of God in Jerusalem. The biggest group of God’s people was in America.

Remember: Lehi’s family had brought their scriptures with them, the Brass Plates. The scriptures had all the instructions for building a temple and worshipping God in the temple. So they built a new House of God in their land. The second book of Nephi is about how these people enter a closer relationship with God and learn more about Jesus Christ because they have a temple where heaven and earth meet. Now, Nephi wrote, “[They] lived after the manner of happiness” (2 Nephi 5:27) because of their covenants.

 

Back in Jerusalem, there was another war because the King of Persia wanted Jerusalem. But as he moved to Jerusalem, the king found a copy of the scriptures. He read what God told the prophets to write in the scriptures and he read a prophecy about himself there, taking over Jerusalem! And he also read a prophecy that God’s people will come back to Jerusalem. This makes him decide to let any of those people  move back if they want to and he decides to rebuild their temple. It sounds pretty cool to him.

 

Hundreds of years later, Mary and Joseph took Baby Jesus to this temple to give gifts to God for their baby. They had to travel to get there because they didn’t live in Jerusalem. Joseph and Mary worshipped at the temple as often as they could, probably every time they had a new baby, for example. (They had at least seven other kids.) On one of these trips, when Jesus was 12 years old, he sat in the courtyard teaching the priests! He didn’t even notice that all his relatives had gone home. They had to come back and find him.

When Jesus grew up, he started teaching everyone God’s commandments: how they should be baptized and they should love each other and that God should be the most important thing in their lives so that they could be happy.

He told the temple priests he was God’s Son! It was the best news in the world!

But the temple priests did not want to believe he was God’s Son. They did not want to change. They liked being in charge, being rich, being important.

They finally convinced the leaders of the city to kill Jesus. They found Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, just outside the city. He was praying and crying and he was feeling more sad than anyone in the world had ever been, because He loved everyone so much, even the people who did bad things! And they took him and put him on a cross on a small hill behind Jerusalem. As Jesus hung on the cross, he could turn his head and see the back wall of the beautiful temple.

Because Jesus was the Son of God, no one could kill him, but he could choose to die.  It was the most painful thing in the world to be hung on a cross, but somehow his pain on the cross and before that in the Garden of Gethsemane made it possible for him to bring anyone who died back to life some day. And it also gave him the power to help people when they had troubles or made mistakes. Even us.

Then Jesus told Heavenly Father that he was done, and he let his spirit leave his body and go up to heaven.

As he left the earth, the earth began to shake, and because of the earthquake, the thick, heavy veil of the temple holy place ripped into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. It was as if to show everyone that because of what Jesus Christ did, they could now walk right through the veil and be with God!

 

There were also earthquakes in America. The people there had been getting selfish and wicked, too. They hated each other and they fought and they stole things. They said that Jesus wasn’t real and he wasn’t going to come to earth and they didn’t need him anyway. They said anybody can do whatever they want. They hated the people who still believed in Jesus. They didn’t care about the House of God. Their prophet, Nephi the 3rd, tried to teach them to repent, but only a few people listened.

With the earthquake, buildings crashed down. Lots of people were killed. Everyone who was still alive was crying. The air was black with some kind of volcanic smoke and they couldn't even see.

But the temple was not destroyed and the people gathered there. And while they were there, at the place where heaven meets earth, the sky opened up and Jesus Christ came down to visit them! He didn’t just visit the high priest on the other side of a heavy veil, but He met all of them out in the courtyard, even the little children! He taught them his gospel just as he taught it in Jerusalem. He told them he had finished his sad and painful work, the Atonement, and he had saved the world. He brought angels with him and they blessed the children. He changed their temple worship to help them remember Him and what He did. And he said this was the greatest joy he had ever felt. Nephi the 3rd wrote down everything he taught them except for the very sacred heavenly parts. And then he told his future readers, us, to not do bad things and not hate people, but to repent and get baptized and receive the Holy Ghost and join the covenant people. And that’s the end of that story.

Then he started a new book called the 4th Book of Nephi. This book was the story of how people who made new temple covenants with Jesus Christ Himself at the House of God lived. Nephi the 3rd wrote, “And they were blessed [with the many, many promises] which the Lord had made unto them [in the temple]” (4 Nephi 1:11). “And there was no [fighting] in the land, because of the love of God which did [live] in the hearts of the people” (4 Nephi 1:15). “And surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God..[and] they were in one [like one loving family], the children of Christ, and [were promised] the kingdom of God” (4 Nephi 1:16,17). The covenant people loved everyone, even the weird ones. And they shared all their stuff so no one was poor. And they watched over each other so no one was left out.

It was the one time on earth that life was fair! And it lasted for 200 years!

 

Today we have Houses of God all over the world with many of the same things the temple in Jerusalem had, but they are used differently since Jesus did His mighty work. We no longer wait outside while the temple priest makes the covenants for all the people. If we keep our baptismal covenants, we can each go in and make more covenants ourselves. As we do, we get pulled closer and closer to Jesus Christ, as Elder Bradley Wilcox taught us in October 2024 General Conference. Our temples have veils, but now they are plain and white and lightweight and they are made in two pieces! They are made for walking through!

Sometimes hard things will happen in our lives. We might feel like we are suddenly on the other side of the world in a brand new place where everything is different, like Lehi’s family. We might even feel like we’ve been through an earthquake. Some things in our lives will break in ways that we can’t fix. But if we become covenant people with Christ, we can start new stories, better ones. We can feel more of His love and receive more of His help as we come closer to Him in our temples, where heaven meets earth. We can promise to share our money and our time and our stuff to bring others to him. And as we share his love with others, we will get it all over ourselves. And then we also will live “after the manner of happiness.”

Genesis 42-50

Follow this link to my previous post on this section of scripture.

Genesis 37-41 -- Joseph

Latter-day Saint Donny Osmond as Joseph in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," which played on Broadway in New York City beginning in 1982. Image from Latter-day Saint Musicians.

A neighbor of mine shared some very interesting research she had done with our scripture study group that has application to this week's lesson on Joseph, so I will share that here and then I will link my post on Joseph.

When Adam and Eve realized that they were naked (inadequate, vulnerable), they hid from God. When He asked them why they hid and who told them they were naked, they told Him they had learned this from Satan. God's response to them was not to shame them or punish them. Instead, He clothed them in garments of skin (Genesis 3:21). The Hebrew word translated here as "garment" is kethoneth or ketonet.

Bible Hub describes kethoneth or ketonet as "a long, shirt–like garment that served as the basic article of clothing for both men and women in ancient Israel. It was normally woven from wool or linen, extending to the knees or ankles, with or without sleeves. While an ordinary tunic was common apparel, Scripture records several specialized ketonot whose design, fabrication, or use conveyed covenantal and theological truths."

The word kethoneth is used in the Old Testament in this specialized context very few times. This is the first and it refers to a tunic or inner garment worn next to the skin. 

“Yahweh [Jehovah] made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). The first mention of ketonet follows mankind’s fall and sheds light on God’s initiative in providing a covering secured through the shedding of blood. This act foreshadows substitutionary atonement and establishes the biblical pattern that sin requires a divinely provided covering" (Bible Hub).

The second is to describe Joseph's coat of many colors (Gen. 37:3). In this case it is an outer robe, a long tunic. It signified a person of authority, priestly or royal, because it was a garment not practical for manual labor. It was made of finer cloth: wool, linen, cotton, or silk. 

"Jacob’s preferential love for Joseph is displayed through “a richly ornamented robe” (Genesis 37:3). The ketonet here is distinguished by length and embroidery, marking Joseph for blessing and leadership. Its blood-stained presentation to Jacob (Genesis 37:31–33) dramatizes deception and anticipated deliverance. Later, Joseph’s divinely orchestrated exaltation confirms that God’s purposes overcome human malice" (ibid.).

The third time is in reference to the temple priesthood clothing made for Aaron and his sons to wear in the tabernacle (Exodus 28:4). 

The New International Version reads, 

"These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests."

The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek equivalent of kethoneth (chiton) is used to describe the specialized luxury clothing item that Jesus Christ wore to the cross, the seamless garment for which the Roman soldiers cast lots (John 19:24). (See also Psalm 22:18.) 

"In the Septuagint [the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament], ketonet is rendered chitōn, the very word John uses when recording that soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ seamless tunic (John 19:23–24). The High Priest’s linen ketonet, the favored son’s multi-colored ketonet, and the sin-covering ketonet of Eden all converge in the crucified Messiah whose unseamed garment affirms His perfect righteousness and singular priesthood" (ibid.).

The New International Version translates John 19:23 as follows: 

"When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom."

The significance of innner and outer priestly clothing should not be lost to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As covenant temple worshipers, we have the opportunity to receive and wear our own version of kethoneth, temple clothing next to our skin, as well as kethoneth passim, outer clothing worn during temple worship. As Adam and Eve, Aaron and his sons, and Joseph, we are covered by Christ's mercy and that covering is symbolized in our temple garments. Jesus Christ wore His inner garment to the very end of His life, and so should we. (See https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/temple-garment-faq?lang=eng.)

And now here is the link to my previous post on Joseph.

Genesis 24-33 -- Isaac, Leah, and Rachel

ISAAC'S QUEST FOR A COVENANT MARRIAGE

The overriding theme of the stories of Chapters 24-28 is that it is not easy to come by a covenant marriage, but that when we put forth the tremendous effort required, the Lord will assist and blessings will ensue.  Here are some incidents that teach these lessons:

Gen. 24--Abraham's servant was given the overwhelming responsibility of traveling back to the homeland to find a worthy wife for Abraham's birthright son, Isaac.  He brought great riches with him as gifts, requiring ten camels for transport (vs. 10).  The task was overwhelming, requiring divine guidance.  The servant asked in prayer for a sign that the future wife of his master would be one who would offer him water, and additionally offer the ten camels water.  This would certainly single out the woman, because, although offering water to a male traveler was fairly normal ettiquette, offering to water the camels was well beyond the call of duty.  One camel could drink up to 30 gallons!  It was an extraordinary young woman who would offer this service, perhaps it was even unheard of.  But when the caravan arrived at the well, not only did Rebekah volunteer the service, but she "hasted" and she "ran" to complete it (v. 19-20).  When the servant discovered that she was a cousin, and therefore met the requirement set forth by Abraham, he knew his prayer was answered (v. 23-27). 

Rebekah's family wanted to have a little time with her before she left them to marry Isaac (v. 55), but the servant wanted to obey the Lord immediately, since the Lord had answered his prayer so immediately (v. 56).  Rebekah concurred, and went with the servant, never to see her family again.  Upon their arrival at Isaac's property, she saw a man cutting through the field to meet them (v. 64-65), and was told it was her future husband.  The closing words of this episode of the story are beautiful:  "and she became his wife; and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death" (v. 67).  Loving each other, and comforting each other are elements of a covenant marriage.

Gen. 25--While Isaac's brother Ishmael was blessed with a dozen sons, Rebekah was left childless.  (It's interesting how many righteous women in the Old Testament struggle with fertility issues.)  Finally, she was blessed with twin sons, Esau and Jacob.  An interesting description is given of Jacob in the footnote to vs. 27:  Jacob was "whole, complete, perfect, simple, plain."  Jacob valued the birthright, and bought it from his brother (v. 31-33).  Esau, like so many people, was overtaken by the physical desire of the moment, in his case hunger, and lost perspective of eternity. Unfortunately, many saints today do the same, selling their spiritual privileges for fleeting passions.

Gen. 26--Because Isaac continued in righteousness, the covenant promised to his father was restated in his behalf (vs. 2-5).  The same can be true for each one of us, as covenant children, particularly as we receive our patriarchal blessing.  Like his father, everywhere that Isaac went, he built an altar and called upon the Lord (v. 25).

Meanwhile Esau sold his birthright again, marrying outside the covenant and against his parents' wishes (v. 34-35) while  Jacob remained unmarried until age 40, presumably because no covenant wife was available where they lived.

A little note of explanation: Both Abraham and Isaac, when they moved to a new land, ended up telling the local royalty that their wives were their sisters. Both wives were cousins, so this was true, "sister" and "brother" being general terms for relations. Why hide the fact that they were wives? Camille Fronk Olson explains that if a king desired the wife of another man, he would kill the husband [Women of the Old Testament, p. 32-33]. This deception, therefore, saved the lives of Abraham and Isaac. In both cases, the king, upon discovering that the object of his affection was already married, returned the wife to her husband, and promised protection for the husband from others who might desire the wife. So why did the deception have to occur in the first place? One idea: Perhaps the kings needed to personally get to know the people involved, and gain an appreciation for their integrity, before they would extend this highly unusual offer.

REBEKAH'S LEADERSHIP

"Rebekah is one of the greatest patterns in all the revelations of what a woman can do to influence a family in righteousness...Women are appointed, Rebekahlike, to be guides and lights in righteousness in the family unit and to engineer and arrange so that things are done in the way that will result in the salvation of more of our Father's children" (Bruce R. McConkie, Ensign, Jan. 1979, p. 62, 63).

Gen. 27--Isaac planned to bless his son Esau with the birthright, despite Esau's unworthiness.  This would have been a grave error, and Rebekah saw that.  She conspired with Jacob to put him in the right place at the right time to receive the birthright blessing.  This is an example of a wife who kept her covenant to obey the Lord "in righteousness."  In this case, she would have been wrong to obey her husband, because in a matter of eternal importance, he was following convention and personal preference, rather than the Spirit.  Rebekah, however, had received a revelation before the twins were born that the younger was to be the leader of the family (Gen. 25:23), and besides, Esau had given up his birthright twice, definitely demonstrating that he did not have the integrity or foresight to be the patriarch of the family. 

When Isaac realized which son had received the blessing, he knew it was right.  What a prophet binds on earth is bound in heaven, but also what he looses on earth is loosed in heaven (Matt. 16:19).  Isaac had the power to revoke the blessing, but he let it stand (v. 33), because he knew his wife was right.  The Lord could easily have caused Jacob to be born before Esau, therefore preventing this problem from arising, but instead He chose to teach a lesson for many generations to come:  Righteousness is more important than circumstance, and revelation is more important than tradition.  When Isaac afterwards blessed Esau, he restated through revelation the same truth that had been revealed to Rebekah years before, that he would be subservient to his younger brother.  Despite the outward confusion, the blessings were given correctly through the Spirit, as the Apostle Paul stated, "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come" (Heb. 11:20).

Esau was so angry at being tricked, he plotted to kill his brother after his father's death (v.41).  This was told to Rebekah and she sent Isaac away to stay with relatives, saying that otherwise she would lose both her sons in one day: one to murder, and the other to execution (v. 45; see Gen. 9:6).  To Isaac, she stated the reason for sending him away to be the need for Jacob to find a wife among the covenant people, which was definitely necessary.  Of course, this was the Lord's plan as well.

It is worth noting that later Esau took a covenant wife (Gen. 28:6-9), and that when Jacob returned to Canaan many years later,  "Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept" (Gen. 33:4).

THE STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

Gen. 28--As Jacob went on his journey, he was granted a remarkable dream. 

"And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, [Jehovah] stood above it, and said, I am [Jehovah,] God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west , and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (vs. 12-14). (Note: The word LORD in all capitals in the Old Testament is a substitution for the name "Jehovah," which the Jews do not speak aloud; therefore the translators substitute LORD in deference. Latter-day Saints believe Jehovah to be the pre-existent Jesus Christ.)

David E. Bokovoy, a doctor of Hebrew Bible studies, recommends circling "the place" or "this place" anytime it is found in the Old Testament, because it almost always refers to a temple place (Know Your Religion Lecture, Feb. 15, 2002, Logan, Utah). Jacob said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place!  this is none other but the house of god, and this is the gate of heaven...And he called the name of that place Beth-el" (v. 16-19).  "Beth-el is [short for] Beth-Elohim, which means literally 'The House of the Lord.'" Even more interesting is to note a couple of additions which Joseph Smith made to verse 22 in his translation. (These additions are not among the excerpts that were included in the LDS Bible footnotes, but can be found in the complete book, Joseph Smith's New Translation of The Bible.) The added words are in italics:  And the place of this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be the place of God's house.  (How could Joseph Smith have known that this small change made the passage even more temple-like?)

Jacob possibly received an endowment from the Lord in this temple experience. Some have considered that the message of his dream is that the covenants Jacob made with the Lord were as rungs of a ladder to heaven. He would have to climb the rungs of the ladder God provided (covenants and commandments) in order to obtain the promised blessings that would allow him to enter into heaven with the Lord (Pres. Marion G. Romney, "Temples--The Gates to Heaven," Ensign, Mar. 1971, p. 16)  

By the way, the Hebrew word translated as "ladder" could also be translated as "stairway" or "ramp."  Most Bible translations use the word "ladder" which provides us with a good symbol of the effort and time required to make our way to heaven. Many translations use the word "stairway," which is more beautiful. And if you ever listened to American popular radio, it will remind you of the extremely popular 1970s Led Zeppelin hit--one of the greatest rock songs of all time and banned in most guitar stores because beginner guitarists are not worthy of playing it in public and store owners are sick of hearing it slaughtered. Its enigmatic lyrics, by Robert Plant, have intrigued listeners for decades: the story of a woman who thinks she can buy her way into heaven.

Image from https://www.detik.com/pop/music/d-7251796/semua-tentang-kita-bisa-senasib-stairway-to-heaven-di-toko-musik
 

But I definitely digress!

We as Latter-day Saints, must learn to believe that it is through the merits of Jesus Christ that we are saved, even though He requires us to move at least our feet and possibly also our hands to climb the ladder--or stairway--of covenants. We can't "buy" our way into heaven with our works anymore than the woman in the mystic lyrics can buy her way into heaven with gold. We must work, but we must rely upon Christ to save us. This is the common Latter-day Saint interpretation of the stairway to heaven metaphor. 

But look at the scripture again: in the dream, it is the angels who are ascending and descending the ladder, not the humans! Author Kirsten Burningham points out a new idea:

"In this dream, Jacob isn’t commanded to do anything; he is blessed, and the land is blessed. 'I am with thee,' God says, 'and I will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until l have done that which I have spoken to thee of' (Gen. 28:15). It seems that Jacob’s dream is less about the covenants Jacob will keep by climbing a ladder and more about God, the kinds of promises God makes, and how God will keep those promises: he will be with Jacob always, it seems to say, wherever he finds himself" (Kirsten Burningham, "Ladders to Heaven," Wayfare Magazine, online, June 29, 2025). 

I absolutely love it when a scriptural passage we all assumed was one way is presented in an entirely different light by someone's fresh eyes. And yes! the dream demonstrates, even more simply and clearly than the cryptic covenant metaphor, that God is continuously sending His angels down from Heaven and back up from earth to assist His children in whatever rocky wilderness place they may be. He can make their place of darkness and trial into a temple. And if they see it, they will say, as did Jacob, "Surely [my Savior] is in this place; and I knew it not" (Gen. 28:16). And as they accept His constant covenantal love, they will desire to enter into a covenant with Him to become more like Him until they are one with Him.

Once Jacob understood God's loyalty to him, God's unceasing effort to help him, He "vowed a vow, saying, [Since] God [is so willing to] be with me, and will keep me [and watch over me] in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall [Jehovah] be my God. [I will worship Him alone.] And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee" (Gen. 28:20-22, emphasis added). Jacob offers his covenant in return, the promise to pay his tithing. He enters into a relationship with God. At the beginning of his statement, Jacob refers to Jehovah in the third person, but at the end, he switches to the second person. This is a Hebrew poetic effect which shows that the relationship has become more intimate. Rather than talking about God, Isaac has turned to face God directly and interact with Him in person. Isn't that beautiful? 

JACOB'S QUEST FOR A COVENANT MARRIAGE

Gen. 29--Interestingly, Jacob met his wife, Rachel, at a well, just as his father's servant had met his mother at a well.  In this case, however, it was Jacob who served Rachel, by rolling away the stone covering, and drawing the water for the flock.  Typically it was the woman's job to water the sheep, however in this instance it seems that a tremendous effort was required to open the well, since the shepherds were waiting for all to be gathered together in order to do it (v. 8).  It was "a prodigious feat for one person--a measure of Jacob's elation at seeing [Rachel]" (Harper-Collins Study Bible, p. 44)  Both of these covenant marriage relationships began with an act of great service: another lesson for us to follow throughout our marriages.

In an ironic twist, Jacob's father-in-law Laban and Rachel's older sister Leah tricked him into marrying Leah first, a similar act to the deception that Jacob and his mother worked in order to procure the birthright blessing.  Of course, in keeping with social convention, the older daughter should be married first, and in all the seven years of labor, there was apparently no other suitor.  Since parents always arranged their children's marriages, and the father had supreme rule over the family, it was not so strange for Laban to control the marriages of his daughters (Sidney B. Sperry, "Hebrew Manners and Customs," Ensign, May 1972). It certainly would have been nicer, though, if it could have been done honestly, as this method set up a conflict and competition in the family at the outset: Leah was "unloved" (another translation for the word used as "hated" in v. 31), while Rachel was cherished (v. 20).

BEING "LOVED" OR "UNLOVED"

The people of the Old Testament times lived in an imperfect society with flawed families.  Plural marriage was particularly plagued with feelings of competitiveness and unfairness, so much so that the problems of "loved" versus "hated" wives were actually recognized and addressed in the Law (Deut. 21:15-17). We today still live in a fallen world with imperfect people and troubled relationships. We may encounter discrimination, negligence, or abuse from others when we expected love and kindness. But God Himself is perfect, and His love is extended towards all. In the lives of Leah and Rachel, as in the lives of Sarah and Hagar, we see the impartial kindliness of the Lord. In both cases, both women found solace in their relationships with God. In both cases, the Lord blessed the less-loved wife with the compensatory joy of motherhood immediately, and allowed the favored wife to wait a while. This infertility, though, was followed by the delight of a son who had the birthright, or earned it through his righteousness. In all cases, the Lord communicated his care and concern to the woman in her individual trial (Sarah in Gen. 21:1, 6; Hagar in Gen. 21:17; Leah in Gen. 29:31-32; Rachel in Gen. 30:22). 

God is always inviting, comforting, and encouraging, and is no respecter of persons. The scriptures show repeatedly that His love is offered to all:  "He layeth down his own life that he may draw all men [humans] unto him" (2 Ne. 26:24); "Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price" (2 Ne. 26:25); "All men are privileged [to partake of God's goodness] the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden" (2 Ne. 26:28); "Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men" (Alma 5:33); "Blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost" (3 Ne. 12:6).

In our times of affliction or our situations of injustice, we can have confidence that the love of God will find us and compensate. As another Jacob testified, "I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction. O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever" (Jacob 3:1-2).

 
COVENANT MARRIAGES BRING BLESSINGS FOR GENERATIONS
 

 

(This is my own photograph of the Salt Lake City Temple.

I hold the copyright, but you are welcome to use it.)

 

Despite the imperfections of the partners involved, covenants and covenant marriages bring us ever closer to heaven.  Both Leah and Rachel developed great faith through their marriage and child-bearing trials, which carried them through other trials. For example, when their prophet-husband received the command of the Lord to uproot the family and move back to his birthplace, where the threat of being murdered by Esau weighed heavily on his mind, he consulted both women, and both responded, "Whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do" (31:14). Jacob did, and was joyously surprised by the heartfelt welcome of his now repentant brother Esau (Gen. 33).  

Generations afterward, when Boaz married Ruth, the blessing of the members of the wedding party to Ruth was that God would make her as great as Leah and Rachel. Together, these two women, with their two handmaids, Bilhah and Zilpah, and their husband, bore and built the House of Israel, and their names are honored forever. Today, regardless of our circumstances, we similarly play a part in building our own branch of the House of Israel, and we can also leave a great legacy of faith as we make and remain true to our covenants with God. Whether we are "loved" or "unloved," whether we are married happily or unhappily, whether we are divorced or still single, our God's covenantal love will carry us through life with the greatest amount of joy if we remain bound to Him.

Genesis 18-23 Sarah, Hagar and Abraham

 Please follow this link to my previously-posted lesson on Sarah, Hagar and Abraham.

Genesis 12-18; Abraham 1-2 -- The Abrahamic Covenant

 Please follow this link for my previously posted lesson. 

Genesis 6-11; Moses 8 -- Noah

 Please follow this link to my previously-posted lesson on Noah.

Moses 7: Enoch

Enoch Follows the Example of His Grandfather Adam

Enoch is such an interesting person! He was the son of Cain (Gen 4:16-18), the first murderer, the originator of organized crime, and he was the great-great-grandfather of Lamech (Gen. 5:21-24), also a murderer and member of a crime gang. And yet, he was fully himself: a man who used his own free will to seek God and to make righteous choices, a man who gave his entire life to the preaching of the gospel and the saving of souls. What an example to any of us who come from less-than-stellar background! 

"And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin [a sinful environment, mortality], even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.

"And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment.

"Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, nor dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time" (Moses 6:55-57, emphasis added).

In the early days of the world everyone was more obviously related, but the use of agency had gradually divided people into groups.

Enoch preached to these people the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught to and by their common ancestor, Adam.

"And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying: Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins, and are looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them" (Moses 7:1, emphasis added).

Enoch then shared with the people the amazing vision he had experienced with God, a vision which was life-changing to these people who had looked forward with fear to their future interaction with God.

The First Vision of Enoch

As Enoch was praying intensely, he heard a command to go to the mountain, a natural temple. Ascending a mountain, like attending the temple, always requires a lot of effort. It's not a convenient and easy path to either one, but each one sets a person apart from the world. 

As Enoch met this requirement of obedience and he stood upon that mountain, "I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory;

"And I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face; and he said unto me: Look and I will show unto thee the world for the space of many generations" (verses 3-4).

Enoch's vision restored the truth that the mighty God of heaven is a person, who cares about and converses with His children.

In the vision Enoch saw how people throughout the world feared each other and fought each other. They believed wholly in the concept of separation: that there is an "us" and a "them." They believed that happiness and peace can only be achieved by fighting and winning and having. He saw the people of Canaan battle against the people of Shum. He saw differences of skin color evolve because of a differing climate area, probably caused by the destruction of plant life by war. Then he saw racism immediately spring forth (verses 7,12). 

The City of Enoch

Those who opposed these Old Testament Christians became such violent enemies that Enoch had to call upon the powers of God to physically separate his people from them (Moses 7:13-17). 

But among those people who believed in Christ, there was complete unity.

"And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them" (verse 18).

Although the Bible tells us that Cain built a city named Enoch, the Book of Moses tells us that Enoch built his own city, "A city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion" (verse 19).

This city was taken into heaven and from that point, the view from heaven, Enoch was shown an amazing vision. (How did we get this vision? Was it ever written down before it was revealed to Joseph Smith? We don't know. There is no evidence of it in the Old Testament. There are books of Enoch in non-Biblical sources, but I have not read them.)

The Second Vision of Enoch

Enoch saw all the nations of the earth, Satan ensnaring people with darkness, angels of God (possibly some were citizens of his city) descending to bear testimony and convert others to unity with God and membership in the city of Zion. Those who converted were caught up to heaven. (See verses 23-27.)

"And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?

"And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?" (verses 28-29).

And here is a revolutionary concept, not readily found on the earth or in its religions until the record of this vision was restored by Joseph Smith: God experiences emotions, including sorrow; He cares about his children! Although men were “looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them” (verse 1), God Himself was weeping at their estrangement. While Enoch was rejoicing that Zion was safe from evil, God was mourning the separation from “the residue of the people” who remained in wickedness (verse 28). (Although God cursed them in verse 20, it was an indirect cursing—simply the natural consequence of breaking His laws.) Enoch was utterly shocked that God, who is all powerful, all knowing, eternal, kind, perfect in every way, and has just seen the success of Zion, is now weeping (verse 31).

Enoch helpfully pointed out to God, "...thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?" (Moses 7:31).

And here is what the Lord helpfully pointed out to Enoch: "Behold these thy brethren..." have chosen poorly and they are suffering. God uses the phrase "thy brethren" three times as he tells Enoch how their willfulness and selfishness have separated them from God and from joy. From this point on, enemies disappears, replaced by thy brethren. And yet they have chosen another family: "...Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?" (verse 37). 

The heavens weep, not for the sin of the people, but for the suffering that sin causes before their redemption. Yes, they can repent in the next life and Christ will redeem them, but “...until that day they shall be in torment; wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea and all the workmanship of mine hands" (verses 39-40). Separation from God and from each other causes suffering.

Once Enoch saw this with God's eyes, he “...wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook” (verse 41). 

Enoch “...had bitterness of soul, and wept over his brethren, and said unto the heavens: I will refuse to be comforted; but the Lord said unto Enoch: Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look” (verse 44). 

And then he saw “the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced…” (verse 47). It is right that we should sorrow for the suffering of our beloved siblings on the earth (some of whom are our own children), but that sorrow must end; we must look up in faith to their future redemption in Christ. 

After the agony of the cross and the agony of the earth in response to the crucifixion, not only did Enoch see “saints” arise to be crowned at the right hand of God (verse 56), but also “the spirits as were in prison came forth, and stood on the right hand of God. But a remainder (the word remainder suggests a small number) still waits “in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day.” (verse 57).

Photo I took of a rainbow above Brighton, Utah. Feel free to copy.

The Covenant of the Rainbow

Enoch watch in horror as his wicked siblings drowned in the devastating flood that God sent upon Noah. It was so awful that Enoch begged the Lord to never again send such a flood upon the earth (verse 50).

"And the Lord could not withhold [remember in the last chapter he promised Enoch power over the elements]; and he covenanted with Enoch, and sware unto him with an oath, that he would stay the floods; that he would call upon the children of Noah..." to teach them the gospel (verse 51).

We can see more about this beautiful covenant in the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis chapter 9. You can find this at the back of your LDS paper scriptures, or you can find it in the electronic Gospel Library app under Study Helps > Joseph Smith Translation Index.

"And the [rain]bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself.

"And this is mine everlasting covenant, that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward [think Celestial!], then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy;

"And the general assembly of the church of the firstborn shall come down out of heaven, and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch" (JST Genesis 9:21-23).

Did you know that a rainbow viewed from above is a full circle? This is what Enoch would see should he look down from heaven--the symbol of eternity.

Image obtained from the internet. I apologize for not having the citation.

The Solution to Enmity: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Going back to the Pearl of Great Price account, we see that whereas Enoch's heart had swelled "wide as eternity" with deep sorrow for the suffering of men, now he saw the King of Zion, Jesus Christ, spread out his arms on the cross to make heaven "broad as eternity," big enough for all, even the latecomers.

"And the Lord said: Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come; for he saith--I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven, which is broad as eternity; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me [remember the necessity of effort to get up a mountain?] shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken, for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy" (Moses 7:53).

The earth will finally rest when Christ comes again and enmity is removed from the family of God. The City of Enoch will come down to join Zion on earth, the New Jerusalem, which hopefully will be found in each of our wards and branches across the world, “and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other” (verse 63). There will be a thousand years of peace upon the earth. 

"And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness of joy" (verse 67).

A Fulness of Joy is Found in Unity with God and Man

This concept of "us vs. them" never left the Old Testament peoples. It was only temporarily overturned by Jesus Christ's teachings to his small group of followers in the meridian of time. Separation persists everywhere today. 

Why are we so convinced that we are better than others? Is there any civilization, clan, nation, or religion on the earth that does not think they are better than others? Can we overturn this enmity today by spreading Christ's gospel of unity throughout the world? We have a massive missionary force and a massive humanitarian effort going forth from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today, both the greatest they have ever been to serve our siblings and become united in love with them. We have outreach and service programs with other churches to combine and magnify our efforts. Once we serve someone different from us (or serve with someone different than us), using the pure love of Christ, we never see them as "others" again! We are on the right track as a church in 2026!

My youngest son, Ammon, serving and loving the people of the Philippines. Please do not copy.

For those of us not currently serving missions, can we work to avoid these common temptations to separate? 

- to not view others’ successes with jealousy.

- to not polarize ourselves by our political beliefs.

- to view other cultures as less than ours, being condescending even when we are trying to be kind.

- to be suspicious of those who are different because we don't understand their culture.

- to struggle to forgive those who have wronged us, to wish healing for them as well as for ourselves.

We may say that everyone is a child of God, but we feel that perhaps our group contains the best children of God, as if the rest are a different class of family members.

Or we may think that a particular child of God in our ward or branch should behave better than they do.

In all of these daily situations, we are only free to be truly happy when we unite ourselves with our Heavenly Father and view all “others” as our suffering siblings. Once we have this view, the Holy Ghost can guide us in how to love and accept others and how to share the gospel with them so that we can be one.

There is only one Church of Jesus Christ. We don't have a "beginner church" for those who don't know enough scriptures, who don't know the unspoken dress code, who can't read, who have mental illness or intellectual disabilities, or who are at the very beginning of their spiritual awakening. 

Like Jesus, who saw Zaccheus in the tree, can we keep our eyes open daily, searching for and loving those on the fringes? Can we gather more and more people into our comfortable circle? Or if we don't have a comfortable circle, can we find someone to serve on our own? Wherever we are, we should remember that we are not meant to be separate. We are meant to build the City of Zion and becoming united in the love of Christ.

-----------------------------------------

I highly recommend the books by Terryl and Fiona Givens, The God Who Weeps, All Things New, and The Christ Who Heals for understanding how little we understand how much God loves us. Really, every Latter-day Saint should read at least one of these.

I also highly recommend the book At One Ment, by Thomas Wirthlin McConkie. It is mind-blowing and soul-expanding.

Genesis 5; Moses 6 - The First Vision and Sermon of Enoch

 Genesis 5 and the first part of Moses 6 contain the genealogy of Adam through Noah and Methuselah, respectively.

And then we get to the good stuff! 

GOD SPEAKS TO ENOCH

"And it came to pass that Enoch journeyed in the land, among the people; and as he journeyed, the Spirit of God descended out of heaven, and abode upon him.

"And he heard a voice from heaven, saying: Enoch, my son..." (Moses 6:26-27).

Just as with Moses (Moses 1:4), the first thing God wants Enoch to know is that He is Enoch's Father; Enoch has a divine heritage. And then he wants him to know his mission in life:

"...prophesy unto this people, and say unto them--Repent..." (Moses 6:27). God explains the many ways that humans have gone astray.

Enoch is astonished and overwhelmed and feels underqualified (Moses 6:31). And God says, Irrelevant. I am in charge and I am omnipotent (all-powerful). 

"Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good.

"Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you.

"Behold, my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore, walk with me" (Moses 6:32-34).

Whenever God asks us to perform a mission for which we are unqualified, let's remember this. Our lack of qualification is irrelevant! God is in charge and He will help us! We will succeed!

Returning to the story, God then gives Enoch a command to anoint his eyes with mud and wash them and then He shows Him a vision of all the spirits that God had created and many things that he could not see as a human.

This is the first vision Enoch records. We will learn more about Enoch's visions in the next lesson. Stay tuned!

ENOCH PREACHES THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

"And it came to pass that Enoch went forth in the land, among the people, standing upon the hills and the high places, and cried with a loud voice, testifying against their works; and all men were offended because of him."

And yet, they couldn't look away. They followed him, they camped around him, they thought he was crazy, but they were driven to listen to him. He terrified them! The power of God presented itself in him and even if they didn't know what it was, they could see it. (See Moses 6:47.)

He spoke so powerfully that they could not even stand. They trembled, they wobbled, they sat down. And as they sat there, Enoch taught them God's Plan of Salvation.

He taught them that Adam fell, bringing us into mortality, and into a life containing misery and woe. In addition to this problem, Satan entered the equation, tempting people to create even more misery and woe, pulling them away from a relationship with God their Father.

But God solved that problem with His gospel. 

"If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you" (Moses 6:52).

"...the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world" (Moses 6:54).

Side note: If you've ever wondered why Jesus Christ is sometimes called the Son of Man as well as the Son of God, the answer is here, in Moses 6:57. One of God the Father's names is "Man of Holiness;" therefore Jesus is "the Son of Man [of Holiness]."

This mortal experience of misery and woe was necessary in order that we learn to choose good over evil. In learning from experience, wrong choices will often be made, but repentance can clear the slate and make a person clean again.

WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN

My youngest daughter with my youngest grandchild.

Please do not copy without permission. 

"...inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water [amniotic fluid], and blood [in childbirth], and the spirit [breath of life], which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water [baptism], and of the Spirit [Holy Ghost], and be cleansed by blood [the Atonement], even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin..."

But this doesn't only sanctify us for the next life, it makes this life amazing!

"...and [that ye might] enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;

"For by the water [baptism] ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit [Holy Ghost] ye are justified [made clean and sinless], and by the blood [Atonement] ye are sanctified [made better than clean--made holy];

"Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record [witness] of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment" (Moses 6:59-61). 

Baptism in Masanta, Sierra Leone earlier this month.

Photo from mission leaders' page on Facebook.

Living with the Spirit, being taught, guided, and enhanced by its fruits day by day, definitely makes this life wonderful! Misery and woe will happen--it's a fallen existence, designed to teach us through opposition--but we will be equipped to live a happy life anyway. We can trust in God and trust in Christ and trust in the Plan of Happiness, even in the times when happiness seems impossible. Joy will return.

"And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time" (Moses 6:62).

Jesus, by Walter Rane

from ChurchofJesusChrist

Genesis 3-4; Moses 4-5

(The decision to partake of the fruit and open the door to fallen mortal life, The Fall, was addressed in the previous post. I have also linked two excellent articles on The Fall at the end of this post.)

GOD'S COUNSEL TO ADAM AND EVE

After Adam and Eve made the decision to partake of the fruit and were being sent off to start their life together in the fallen world of mortal life, God gave each of them personal counsel.

God’s words to Eve:

“I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” (Moses 4:22 & Genesis 3:16, King James Version)

Or is that what He said? There are differing opinions about how the last part of that sentence should be translated.

English Standard Version: “…your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

New Revised Standard Version: “…yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

New Living Translation: “…and you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

Wow! These are greatly different meanings! 

The original stories of the first books of the Old Testament were passed on verbally by the religious leaders. Later the Hebrew scripture was written from those stories and various transcriptions and translations since then each interpreted it the way that fit their culture and understanding. But all three of these interpretations carries some truth: Eve would have opinions contrary to her husband’s, Eve would desire to be with her husband, and at some times Eve would desire to control her husband. And Eve represents all women. These are accurate statements about all female-male relationships.

In all of these translations, however, God warns that husbands will rule over wives.

Let’s note that God never says, “I want your husband to rule over you.” He is just giving advance notice that this is what will happen. And history has born this out: men have dominated over women.

God’s words to Adam are consistent in all versions:

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:17, NRSV).

This is not a condemnation from God. He doesn't say "I will curse the ground because of you." It is the natural consequence of Adam following his wife’s counsel to take the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and open the door to mortality. God is giving these first humans foreknowledge about life on earth. “Don’t be surprised when you discover it’s really hard, Adam and Eve. That’s the consequence of being a mortal.” We also should not be shocked when we find out life is hard, even for faithful people; that’s how we grow. 

Adam and Eve found out very quickly that being parents could be very, very hard.

THE FALL OF CAIN

Eve's heart was filled with joy when she gave birth to her child, Cain. She said, "I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore [I expect that] he may not reject his words" (Moses 5:16).  

Clearly she hoped Cain would be a righteous son. We all expect that of our sweet, heaven-sent infants, don’t we?  

But within the same verse we find that, "Cain hearkened not, saying: Who is the Lord that I should know him?"

Adam and Eve had another son named Abel. Eve also expected that he would be righteous. This expectation was met; Abel chose obedience to God.

Cain kept up appearances for a while. He offered sacrifice to God like the rest of the family, but he offered a sacrifice of plants rather than animals.  In the Book of Genesis, there is no explanation as to what is wrong with this, but the inspired book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, fills in the blanks.

The Lord had given unto Adam and Eve "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.  And 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. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore" (Moses 5:5-8).  

"And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters" (Moses 5:12). 

Cain had been taught by his parents that a sacrifice of the firstborn lamb was an expression of faith in the coming Savior.  His sacrifice of "the fruit of the earth" was his own invention and expressed clearly his disobedience and disregard for the Christ. Why did he do this? Perhaps he was jealous of his shepherd brother. Perhaps he didn’t like the mess of meat and blood. Perhaps he wanted all the other sons and daughters of man to buy their sacrificial offerings from him so he could get more money. Perhaps he just didn’t believe in Christ and thought the command to use a lamb was arbitrary and unfair. Perhaps he was being purposely sacrilegious.

"Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord" (Moses 5:18). But that offering was not acceptable to God. And his jealousy and anger festered.

In the Genesis account, “Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him” (ESV Genesis 4:8). It sounds like a fit of anger got the best of him, but Joseph Smith’s translation, recorded in the Pearl of Great Price, paints a much bigger story. God prophesied to Cain that because he couldn’t take the correction offered to him, he would become “the father of lies” (Moses 5:24). 

Others of the sons of God followed Cain and “Adam and his wife mourned before the Lord, because of Cain and his brethren” (Moses 5:27).

Cain turned his conversations away from God now and toward Satan and he set up a secret society of haters who joined him in trying to get wealth and power. And “he gloried in his wickedness” (Moses 5:29-31). Cain (or a combination of men from his secret society) plotted to murder Abel in cold blood and succeeded.

But they didn’t get away with it, because God knew. God told Cain that the consequence of his actions would be life as a vagabond. No one really wants to be a neighbor to the world’s first murderer, especially not Abel’s family, so Cain and his band would have to move in haste to a less ideal land. And possibly move again and again. Cain feared that other men would condemn him and hate him because he was not a landowner able to produce his own food, and they would kill him because of what he had done.

It’s so very instructive that God did not pronounce capital punishment upon Cain. He did not command the victim's family to kill the murderer. He did not want the righteous to have blood on their hands and hatred in their hearts. God warned that “whosoever slayeth thee, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold” and he set a mark upon Cain to protect him. 

God loved Cain! He didn’t love Cain more than those who might have good reason to hate Cain—Abel’s family comes to mind—but He didn’t want more suffering in the family of Adam. Those who seek vengeance suffer their whole lives! Their only path to peace is to forgive and allow the Atonement to heal them.

This truth will be taught many more times in the Old Testament.

ADAH AND ZILLAH

After telling of Cain's sad fall into darkness, the writers insert a descendancy chart from Cain:  Cain begat Enoch (not the famous Enoch), who begat Irad, etc. Only the men are named, as is common through most of the Bible. But then, when his great-great-great-grandson is listed (Lamach), so are his wives! Their names are Adah and Zillah. Each of them had two children who are also named, even the one who was a girl, Naamah! (Genesis 4:19-24.)

Whenever women’s names appear in the Old Testament, there’s going to be an interesting story! As God foretold, the history of the world is the history of men ruling over women. And those who tell and write the stories are men. If they suddenly tell the story of women, they must have been highly impressive women. 

Why have the storytellers bothered to mention this family so specifically? The Book of Genesis doesn't tell us. To find the answer, we have to go to Joseph Smith’s inspired translation in Moses 5 beginning with verse 47:

“And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah: Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.”

Lamech had followed his ancestor’s footsteps and entered into a secret society, doing evil deeds with other gang members. One of his older relatives found out about this and was going to expose him to his elders. (The other sons of Adam and Eve were still alive because they all lived so long back then.) But Lamech killed him, “not for the sake of getting gain, but…for the oath’s sake,” to protect his status in the secret club. He then asked his wives to cover for him, concerned not about the death and sorrow he had caused, but about the “wounding” and “hurt” it would do to him.

Because of Lamech’s deeds, more “works [of] abominations…began to spread among all the sons of men. And it was among the sons of men” (Moses 4: 52, emphasis added).

And here is where Adah and Zillah become the heroines: “And among the daughters of men these things were not spoken because that Lamech had spoken the secret unto his wives, and they rebelled against him, and declared these things abroad, and had not compassion [for Lamech’s trouble]; wherefore Lamech was despised, and cast out, and came not among the sons of men, lest he should die” (Moses 4:54).

Lamech tried to rule over Adah and Zillah, but they refused to step into the darkness with him. And although he lived the rest of his life on the run because of his crime, we can presume his children lived on with their mothers in righteousness. And we never find a story about a secret society of women doing evil deeds in the Old Testament (or in the Book of Mormon) because these women would not pass on the tradition of darkness. It's only found "among the sons of men." 

Thousands of years later, thanks to one of his wives, the line of Lamech would produce a great man named Joseph, who would become the husband of Mary, the Mother of God. (See Luke 3:23, 36-38.)

WOMEN WHO CHOOSE RIGHTEOUSNESS 

The first three women named in the Old Testament, Eve, Adah, and Zillah, were all women who took the initiative to do what was right, even when it was hard, even when it caused pain. They also suffered great sorrow because of the sins of a family member. Yet they put their trust in Christ and his Atonement, offering their sacrifices literally and figuratively on the altar of God, and because of that, they could know "the joy of [their] redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient" (Moses 5:11). 

These women's wounds would be healed and their tears wiped away through the power of Christ's word and the strength of His love. Their troubled family members would hear the gospel preached and have another chance at redemption in the next life.

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah... (1 Peter 4:6).

Christ has told us, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Latter-day women who choose righteousness: My friend Cecile Eden (right) with Relief Society sisters in South Korea. Photo used with permission.

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For more about Eve and the Fall, please see Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "The Great Plan of Happiness," General Conference Address, October 1993, and Valerie M. Hudson, "I Am a Mormon Because I Am a Feminist," Meridian Magazine, April 22, 2013