Old Testament Lesson 1: "This Is My Work and My Glory" Moses 1

Introduction

I almost always commenced teaching the Old Testament in the same way. I brought a box of odds and ends to class and placed them on my desk. I asked for two volunteers, and when they come to the front, I showed them the box, told them they had two minutes and sat down. The responses varied. Nearly all asked what they were supposed to do. I never responded. Some then stood and waited, others began to remove items from the box and make an attempt to build something—anything—with the materials that were there.

After a few minutes, I invited the participants to describe their experience. Without exception, they spoke of the difficulty of proceeding effectively without knowing precisely what they were to do.

Sometimes, at this point, I discussed the rules for various parlor games and shared examples. Near the beginning of almost, every set of rules can be found a section called something like "Object of the Game," wherein the manufacturer and designer tell the players what they are trying to accomplish.

And then, finally this question: “What is missing from the Old Testament?” By now the answer is obvious. Without Moses 1, participants in mortality begin to study and participate in the work of God without knowing what they are trying to accomplish. How grateful we should be for the Joseph Smith Translation, and particularly for the wonderful work done by that translation in the early chapters of Genesis.

I wonder if there is any chapter in the Bible more damaging to Lucifer’s work and his image than Moses 1. I do not know how he managed to delete it from the front of the Bible, but I think I know why he wanted to. Actually, his work in corrupting our understanding of what life is about, and what Satan is about, must have received a great stimulus when the content of Moses 1 disappeared from the Bible.

Nephi, in 1 Nephi 13 speaks of the loss of plain and precious things from the Bible. As an aid in understanding the damage done by that loss to our understanding of the work and Glory of God, consider the following facts:

• In the Book of Moses, there are 268 references to the Savior and his mission. In the corresponding chapters of Genesis, there are 36.
• The first reference to “the Only Begotten” in the King James Version of the Bible is found in John 1:14. In the Joseph Smith Translation, it is found in Moses 1:6.
• The first reference to “Satan” in the KJV is in 1 Chronicles 21:1. In the JST it is in Moses 1:12.
• The first reference to the “devil” in the KJV is in Matthew 4:1. In the JST it is in Moses 4:4
• The first use of the words “repent” or “repentance” (in the sense of men forsaking their sins) in the KJV is found in 1 Kings 8:47. In the JST it is in Moses 5:8.

Moses 1 is the Lord’s preface (see D&C 1:6) to the Old Testament, and in it, the Lord tells us what His work—the object of mortality—really is.

Nephi wrote that because of the loss of plain and precious things, “an exceedingly great many do stumble . . .” and “Satan hath great power . . .” (1 Nephi 13:29). In Moses 1:4, 6, and 7, what identity does the Lord give to Moses? Can you see the significance of beginning the sacred record with such an announcement? Read the first six verses of Moses 1 and underline all the truths God tells Moses and us about himself. Moses saw the work of God as it related to the planet earth:

In spite of the revelation of God’s greatness and his own sonship, after Moses had beheld the extent of God’s work in this world, he was overwhelmed. His participation in the royal family of Egypt (one of the great world powers) notwithstanding, Moses seemed to recognize something unexpected about mankind:

Satan, who wanted to be worshiped and sought the honor, glory, and power of God in the councils of heaven (see Moses 4:1-3), now appeared to Moses and tried again: “Moses, son of man, worship me” (Moses 1:12).

Satan has been trying from the beginning to discredit the notion that we are sons and daughters of God. Here he refers to Moses as a “son of man.” If men can be convinced that they are nothing more than the delightful result of a combination of amino acids and seawater and 37 billion years of evolution, what does that do to further the work of Satan?

What was missing from this encounter that revealed to Moses that Satan was less than he claimed to be?

Read Moses 1:9-20 and see how many times the word “glory” appears. Satan had none. This being who wanted to claim the glory of God ended up with no glory in a kingdom of no glory (see D&C 88:24). Perhaps this is a part of what Moses perceived when he saw “the bitterness of hell” (Moses 1:20).

What do we need to learn from the fact that Moses commanded Satan to depart three different times before he finally departed? (Moses 1:16, 18, 20, 21).

By the way, do not miss this insight. It is not the Savior who throws a temper tantrum when we do not worship him. It is Satan. Look at other words that describe the bitterness of Hell:

• “cried with a loud voice” (1:19)
• “ranted upon the earth” (1:19)
• “Satan began to tremble” (1:21)
• “weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth” (1:22)

I suspect these verses (19-22) constituted an added incentive to Lucifer to get this account out of the scriptures.

When the Lord returned to teach Moses again, after the departure of Lucifer, he did an unexpected thing. He showed Moses the same things he showed him before. He called Moses again to be the deliverer of his people (Moses 1:25, 26), and then showed him the earth and her inhabitants a second time.

I know there is power in repetition, but I have long felt that there is an overlooked reason for the second presentation of this information. The first time Moses saw the earth and her inhabitants, he failed to understand their significance in the context of his relationship with God. It is true that in comparison with God, men are nothing, but I am pretty sure that is not what the Lord intended to teach. When I give a test and everybody in the class misses a particular question, my inclination is to teach the principle again.  It seems possible that is what the Lord is doing here.

At least we know this: God returned and showed Moses what he had seen before (in Moses 1:8), the very things that had convinced Moses of his own nothingness, and then added this postscript:

If the scope and grandeur of one world overwhelmed Moses, how must he have felt after this announcement? Moses had questions about God’s “own purposes.” He asked the Lord to tell him why and how he had created the earth:

To the question of how (“by what”) these things were made, the Lord seems to defer. “For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me” (Moses 1:31). But the Lord explains very clearly why he made them. All of them: this world, and other worlds without number. The Lord said, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). When I read these words I think I hear the Father saying, “Moses, it is not true that man is nothing.  He is the underlying and overriding purpose of all of my work.  His success constitutes my glory.  Man is everything!”

Lorenzo Snow captured the message of Moses 1 in a famous couplet often repeated in the Church, “As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be.”

His sister, Eliza R. Snow related the circumstances in this way:

Lorenzo Snow was baptized a short time later and began his service in the Church. In the spring of 1840, he was called to serve a mission in the British Isles. Before his departure, he was in the home of a Church member who was preaching a sermon on the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. (See Matt. 20:1–16.) According to Elder Snow:

President Snow’s son LeRoi later told that the Prophet Joseph Smith confirmed the validity of the revelation Elder Snow had received:

Author’s Note: The Old Testament is a volume for the ages. For over 4000 years (more than half the world’s history), the books that it contains were the major scriptural witness of Christ, the atonement, and the work and glory of the Father and the Son.

It is filled and bursting with lessons for life, showing us from the beginning to the end both the folly and the decency of men, and the undeviating goodness of God. In the book, we see the children of God at their very best and at their very worst, we see prophets and prodigals, watchmen and witnesses, infidels and apostates, spectacular kings and fallen kings, children of promise and power, and women of unsurpassed grace and holiness.

I am aware (in part because the emails that have come to me) that many of you feel some concern about teaching this book. Of all the scriptural texts, it is the least studied, and perhaps the least appreciated. I visited with a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy a few years ago and he told me that he had never read the Old Testament all the way through. He has a great deal of company. But let me assure you that that very condition will be a blessing to you. There are hundreds of stories and lessons in this great book that nearly everyone will find unfamiliar. It’s very obscurity provides a wonderful opportunity for teachers and for students to learn lessons in unexpected places and ways. 

You will have at least four sources for understanding this book this year:

1. The first and most important will be the book itself. Decide now, whether or not you have ever done it before, to read it this year—all of it: every page, every chapter, every verse.
2. The second will be the whisperings of the Holy Spirit as you study. If you can find a way to combine the first (the scriptures) with the second (the Spirit), you will have experiences with the Old Testament that will enrich your life a thousand times.
3. The third is the Sunday School class taught in your ward or branch. The lessons given will be drawn from a manual prepared by Church members called and set apart to that work, a manual reviewed, corrected, and approved by members of the correlation committee, the Quorum of the Twelve, and other General Authorities.
4. The fourth will be extraneous sources, including these cyberspace Sunday School lessons.

Do not get the sequence wrong! If you must choose between these lessons and the ones taught in your Sunday School, turn off your computer and go to Church! And for heaven’s sake do not let these lessons take the place of your personal study of the scriptures! I intend to immerse the paragraphs of these lessons in scriptural fountains, but they will not take the place of the pure and undiluted words of the prophets. As David wrote, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6). I could never make a claim like that.
Feel free at any time to email suggestions and concerns. I will try to respond quickly and appropriately. My email is tedgibbons@yahoo.com.

Lead image from Wikimedia Commons