How the Bible Was Meant to Begin

The Bible starts with these well-known words, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). This emphasizes the role of God in creating the earth and is a reminder of the power and omnipotence of God. But if we were to publish the Bible using the Joseph Smith Translation, these would not be the first words. Instead, the first chapter would be from the Pearl of Great Price and would begin with these words: “The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain, And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence. And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless? And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease” (Moses 1:1-4). There are several principles that we can learn just from these few verses. First, we are children of God. I love His words to Moses describing their relationship: “Thou art my son.” Second, God has a body (how else could He speak face to face?) and can talk directly to instruct and guide us. Third, God is full of glory and has His works and words have no end. Lastly, He will never cease to give us His word. Moses learned upon that mount of the greatness of God and His relationship to Him. Surely the Lord wanted all His children to learn these important truths as the introduction to the whole Bible.

               In the rest of Moses 1 we learn several other important truths that were intended to stand as a backdrop to the whole Bible. God declared to Moses, “And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all” (v6). Surely these words imply that God has a work for each of us. There is a reason we are on the earth, and even though we may feel inadequate compared to others, we can know that the Lord has a work individually for us to do. He says to us, “I have a work for thee, my son” and “I have a work for thee, my daughter.” How different would the world be if all those who read the Bible would start by reading a declaration that God has a work for them to do! A second principle this chapter teaches us in that though Satan is real, the power of the Only Begotten is stronger than the adversary. When Satan tried to convince Moes that he was not a son of God, he responded, “In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan” (v21). That was what finally cast the devil out. Through the power of Jesus Christ we can overcome all that Satan tries to throw at us. Third, this chapter shows the vastness of the creations of God. The Lord declared to Moses: “For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them…. The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine” (v35, 37). God can number the worlds that He has created, but we with our finite minds cannot understand or count all that He as made. The normal account in Genesis shows us that God created our earth; this vision of Moses shows that He created so much more! Lastly, this chapter gives us the why of creation: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (v39). He who created worlds without number cares about each of us individually and His work is to help us obtain immortality and eternal life. That is what He wanted us to know as we began the Bible.