MOSES 1, PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
Many Bible scholars are divided on how we got the book of Genesis. The
reason for the question is that the first chapter of Genesis, which
explains the authorship, is missing from the Bible. This
problem was solved in June of 1830 when the Lord gave that chapter back to us
as Joseph Smith began work on his Bible translation. It now can be
found in the Pearl of Great Price as Moses chapter 1.
But why would it have been missing in the first place? Moses 1:23 gives
us the answer: "And now of this thing Moses bore record; but because
of wickedness it is not had among the children of men." The devil
had chapter one removed from the Bible.
Why?
Satan wanted the first chapter of the Bible removed because it is the book of
instructions for beating him.
Moses 1 teaches us the Battle Plan:
1) Who our Leader is and what his characteristics are
2) What the battle objective is
3) Who we are and how we fit in
4) Who the Enemy is, and what his main tactic is
5) That he is less powerful than God
6) How he can be defeated
7) How extensive the Lord's commitment is, and how great His help will be
The Book of Moses is an amazing tool to help us overcome any of the snares of
the devil. As an example, we can see how to avoid or escape pornography
addiction in Moses 1.
Moses shares with us his first-hand
experience with God. He was elevated to an exceedingly high mountain,
transfigured, introduced to God and His character, and shown a glorious vision
of God’s creations. Then he was told that he would have a part in God’s plans.
v. 6 "I have a work for thee, Moses, my son."
Heavenly Father has a great work for each of us and the devil knows it.
He'd love to derail it, just as he wished to stop Moses from being worthy of
his great calling.
v. 12 "But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not
my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld;
for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me;
and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.” The experience
of being in the presence of God was electrifying and overwhelming! “And
it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came
tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me." Moses was
still standing on holy ground, where he had had such a wonderful vision, when
the devil showed up. The same thing happened to Joseph Smith in the Sacred
Grove. There are some people that Satan knows will never go out and get
in trouble, so he tries to bring trouble to them. Accidentally seeing
pornography will happen to most of us.
v. 12 Heavenly Father called Moses his son, a son of God.
What did the devil call him? "Son of man." The devil
would say, "You're only human...It's only natural to desire porn (or
commit any other sin)." But we know the natural man is an enemy to
God. We are to rise above that to our true potential.
v. 13 "And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who
art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only
Begotten." So are we! The Young Men and Women recite it every
Sunday.
v. 13-15 "Where is thy glory, that I should worship
thee? For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come
upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the
natural man. Is it not so, surely? Blessed be the name of my God, for his
Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for
it is darkness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God."
Moses had never met the devil, but he confidently said, “You are not someone
worthy of worship." The difference between his experience with the devil
and with the Lord was vastly different. A former bishop told me
that every person who has come into his office to seek help because they were
over their head in sin has said, "I knew it was wrong when I started,
but..." Every person has the Light of Christ, or what we call a
conscience--even people who know nothing about Christ.
v. 15 "God said unto me: Worship God, for him only shalt
thou serve." We cannot live a dual life. We may think that
we can view pornography and do everything else right and that it will be
okay. It will not work. The Spirit will not stay with us. But this
does not mean we should stop going to church! Overcoming pornography and
replacing it with holy stress-relieving habits takes time and it takes more
exposure to the Spirit, not less!
v. 16 "Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God
said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten."
Moses said God told him he was made to be like Jesus Christ. We likewise can
say to the devil, "I have taken upon me the name of Christ, and I will not
be sidetracked from my goal of becoming like Him.
v. 18 Moses said, "I will not cease to call upon God,
I have other things to inquire of him." No matter whether any
other ill effects ever should come of viewing pornography, the loss of the
Spirit would be so disastrous, that reason alone should make us want to stay as
far away from it as possible.
v. 19 "And now, when Moses had said these
words, Satan cried with a loud voice, and ranted upon the earth, and commanded,
saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me." After Moses made it
clear that Jesus Christ was the most important thing in his life, Satan said,
"I am the Only Begotten, worship me." This
is what he does: he will try to find out what is important to each of us, and
then he'll say, “I have that!” And then he introduces a harmful counterfeit.
But this tactic only works for people who
know nothing about the gospel, and who ignore the Spirit of Christ within
them. Moses knew that the devil was not Christ, because he already knew
Christ! If we study the truth, we will recognize lies.
v. 20-22 "And it came to pass that Moses began to
fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell.
Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying:
Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God
of glory. And now Satan began to tremble, and the earth shook; and Moses
received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only
Begotten, depart hence, Satan. And it came to pass that Satan cried with
a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he departed
hence, even from the presence of Moses, that he beheld him not.” The
devil's stellar characteristic is tenacity. He never gives up. We
have to be more tenacious! We may find, like Moses, that we need Priesthood
help if we are embroiled in a fight with the devil. It may be beyond what
we can do, but it is never beyond Christ. Who is his representative? The
bishop.
v. 24-25 "And it came to pass that when Satan had departed from the
presence of Moses, that Moses lifted up his eyes unto heaven, being filled with
the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son; And
calling upon the name of God, he beheld his glory again, for it was upon him;
and he heard a voice, saying: Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty,
have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters; for they
shall obey thy command as if thou wert God." When Moses won the
battle, he once again was filled with the Spirit. After we have repented,
calling upon the name of Christ, we can leave it in the past. God will again be
with us, “even unto the end of thy days” (v. 26).
Then Moses, once again, was able to talk
with God, face to face, and behold even greater visions than before. His
mission was not removed. And the truth he learned was earth-shattering.
vs. 39 “For behold, this is my work and
my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Imagine how much fear and misery the Judeo-Christian religions
could have been spared had this singular truth remained in the first pages of
the Old Testament: God’s goal is not our condemnation or our damnation; it
is our immortality and eternal growth! God wants us to win and will help us
to succeed!
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