Come, Follow Me Week 1, Part 5/6 (Dec 27 – Jan 2, Moses 1, Abraham 3) – powered by Happy Scribe
One of the more wellknown and beloved verses in the book of Moses is in chapter one. Verse 39 reveal, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. It’s certainly a beautiful inspirational quote by itself, but when you look at it in the context to the rest of the chapter, it becomes clear that this idea is the crux of the plan of Salvation and of temple ordinances. In Moses chapter one, Moses had a temple like experience where he ascended into the presence of God through a process of creation fall and atonement the creation fall and atonement form the foundation of the planet Salvation and the presentation of the endowment in latterday Saint temples.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.
Adam and Eve came to the Earth. But when they partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they experienced the fall through their labor and faithfulness, and through the Grace of the atonement of Jesus Christ, they were redeemed and able to return to the presence of Heavenly Father. Moses experienced a similar sequence in Moses one. In the beginning of the chapter, Moses spoke with God on the mountaintop. God taught Moses about creation by showing him a vision of the world and its inhabitants God’s creations, and it came to pass that Moses looked and beheld the world upon which he was created, and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are and which were created of the same.
He greatly marveled and wondered at the conclusion of the vision God’s presence withdrew from Moses, leaving him alone. This is Moses darkest and lowest point. It could even be considered a sort of fall. Verse nine even says that Moses fell onto the Earth. During this phase Satan appeared and tempted Moses.
Despite Satan’s deception, Moses withstood Satan’s temptations and commanded him to depart in the name of the only begotten. Once Moses had successfully overcome Satan through the power of Jesus Christ, Moses began his ascent back to the presence of God. In verse 25, Moses communicated with God but didn’t see him. Moses only heard his voice as if through a veil. God then taught Moses sacred information with an even grander vision of the Earth and eternity.
Then in verse 31, Moses was brought within the veil and beheld the presence of God and behold. The glory of the Lord was upon Moses that Moses stood in the presence of God and talked with him face to face. So it’s only when Moses entered into God’s presence that he finally understood the magnitude of God’s power, Grace, and mercy. It’s only then that Moses understood how much God loved his children and sought to draw them back to him. God’s teaching culminates in verse 39 when it says, for behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
These three components creation, fall, and atonement, create a conceptual or metaphorical ascent back to God. For after you fall, you must ascend up to get back to God. In ancient Scripture, prophets like Moses would go up to mountains to commune with God, believing that the ascent to a mountaintop brought mortals closer to him. Latterday Saints ascend the mountain of the Lord. Today in modern temples and we ritually practice going up to the presence of our heavenly Father.
Sometimes this heavenly ascent is even mirrored in the architecture, especially in pioneer era temples like the Salt Lake Temple, where patrons progress from room to room incrementally, ascending higher and higher until reaching the celestial room. The purpose of ritually ascending in Moses day and today is the same. To behold the face of God. Moses One teaches us that entering the presence of God is a transcendent experience that grants knowledge, power, joy, and ultimately eternal life in the Temple. Today we learn about creation fall atonement and we symbolically ascend back to the presence of God.
Brigham Young taught that the endowment is to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you after you have departed this life to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of Earth and Hell. God’s purpose and glory is to bring to pass our Salvation and exaltation. He wants all of his children to return to him. Moses One and the Temple endowment teach that the only way to return is by relying on the infinite and eternal atonement of Jesus Christ.
You.