The Supernal Truths of the Bible's Preface

Moses 1 is for me one of the most powerful chapters in all of scripture. The heading for the Book of Moses says that it is “an extract from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet.” This suggests to me that Moses 1 was meant to be in the Bible and perhaps was there originally. As further evidence of this, towards the end of this chapter the Lord said these words to Moses: “And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like unto thee; and they shall be had again among the children of men—among as many as shall believe” (v41). The “book” that Moses was to write, I believe, was the first part of the Bible as we have it, perhaps some or all of what we now know as the five books of Moses. So the Lord suggested that some of his writing would be lost and later would be restored by another prophet like him (Joseph Smith). That is what Joseph Smith did with his translation of the Bible, and in particular with the translation of the first several chapters of Genesis which now make up Moses 1-8. All of this to me suggests an important point about Moses 1 as we have it in the Pearl of Great Price: it was meant to be the introductory chapter or preface to the Bible. How the world would have been benefitted if it had had the truths of this chapter throughout the ages in the Bible!

               In Moses 1 we see the grandeur of God and His endless creations, the reality of Satan and his temptations, and the whole purpose of the earth and our divine destiny as His children. For me there are so many powerful phrases that I think on and which help me as I repeat them in my head in moments of need. Here are ten such passages which can be to us friends that “can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change” as Elder Richard G. Scott put it: 

·        “I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name” (v3). We can rely on the Lord knowing that He and His works are Endless—we can have faith in His almighty power.

·        “And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son” (v6). Surely these words were meant for all of us who seek to follow the Savior. As we wonder what our purpose is on the earth we can remember and recite these words, using our own name instead of Moses’s.

·        “All things are present with me, for I know them all” (v6). We “see through a glass darkly” but He sees it all from beginning to end. We can trust Him who knows what is best for us.

·        “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed” (v10). I have thought often about this verse, and to me it is a powerful reminder of my own nothingness before God. I can amount to nothing by myself and only through Him and His Son can I accomplish anything.

·        “For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten” (v13). Knowing that we are nothing by ourselves, we can then focus on our potential with God. Moses knew that he was a son of God created in the image of the Savior. We too can remember that in moments of doubt or temptation in order to reject the enticing of the adversary.

·        “Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not” (v16). Sometimes we need to simply cast the adversary out of our minds and hearts, and using these words of Moses will help us not to be deceived.

·        “I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him” (v18). I love this statement and have repeated this over in my mind many times. We must never stop seeking to pray to God and learn what He would have us learn. He has promised to reveal to us His mysteries line upon line, and we must never stop calling upon Him.

·        “Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory” (v20). Again these words can help us push out evil thoughts and focus on that God of glory that we worship as we resist temptation and turn to Him.

·        “And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days” (v26). Surely these words were a powerful reminder to Moses throughout his life as he faced challenge after challenge leading the children of Israel. I have no doubt that the Lord would say to us as well that He is with us to the end of our days if we are seeking to follow Him.

·        “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (v39). This is surely one of the most oft-quoted scriptures of all time in our church, and rightfully so. God’s greatest purpose is to exalt us. We are His work and as we remember these words we can remember that He can lead us to immortality and eternal life no matter how flawed we feel we are.

These and other passages of Moses 1 are powerful reminders of God’s glory and our divine potential. I believe we can find great spiritual power in memorizing and reciting these phrases as we seek to overcome the adversary in our lives and be made strong by the Savior. How blessed we are to have the supernal truths of this preface to the Bible restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith!