Moses
Chapter 1
God reveals himself to Moses—Moses is transfigured—He is confronted by Satan—Moses sees many inhabited worlds—Worlds without number were created by the Son—God’s work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
1 The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain,
I think that the mountain symbolizes a temple. Obviously, he wasn't physically in a temple, but he was in a mountain and free from distraction and able to feel closer to God.
2 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.
I feel this is very significant that he was actually in the presence of God. Moses must have been truly one of God's elect to not be cut off from his presence. The spiritual death that we all experience when being born seems to not have affected Moses in the same way.
3 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?
4 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.
5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.
These verses speak a lot of the magnitude of God's abilities and creations and glory. I can't even fathom how great his glory is that a man could not live on Earth after beholding ALL of God's glory.
6 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.
When we were reading this, I didn't catch the word "similitude". Throughout the rest of the chapter, there are a lot of things that sounded very familiar from Christ's experiences. Particularly, his experience with Satan trying to temp him.
7 And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.
8 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.
9 And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.
Moses was just shown ONE of the worlds that God created and all of the people: this world. My interpretation of verse 9 is that the experience left him physically and mentally exhausted and so the glory of God left him so he could recover to experience more. Again, this is something that is hard for me to fathom.
10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.
11 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.
I think transfiguration is really the key to how Moses could experience all the things he was shown. I don't know exactly what being transfigured entails, but it allowed Moses to take in more than his physical limitations could allow.
12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.
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; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?
I like this part. It shows that Satan can only do so much to deceive man. He cannot replicate the glory of God no matter how hard he tries. I believe that Satan is very smart and cunning. I think he knew that his lack of "glory" could foil his plan to tempt and persuade Moses to follow him. I think he hoped that Moses would not catch on. I think the feelings Moses was feeling around Satan could be similar to feelings I get when I know something isn't right - a feeling of the lack of the Holy Ghost testifying of the truthfulness of things.
14 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?
15 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; for God said unto me: Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve.
16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten.
I like that Moses states "Get thee hence, Satan" at the same time that he tells Satan once again that he is after the similitude of Christ. I wonder if Satan had a feeling of deja vu when Jesus later told him the same thing.
17 And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me.
18 And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan.
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.
20 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.
21 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.
22 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 way I interpret Satan's actions is that is sounds like he is throwing a temper tantrum. He is not getting his way and he is making a last ditch effort to whine and complain and hopes to convince Moses that he is the one that should be worshipped. Much like a parent not giving into a child's tantrum, Moses does not relent to Satan either.
23 And now of this thing Moses bore record; but because of wickedness it is not had among the children of men.
I'm not sure what this verse is referring to. My best uneducated guess is that it is referring to the information that is in the Pearl of Great Price that isn't in the Bible.
24 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;
25 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.
I see this as God once again telling Moses how similar he is to Christ.
26 And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days; for thou shalt deliver my people from bondage, even Israel my chosen.
27 And it came to pass, as the voice was still speaking, Moses cast his eyes and beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the Spirit of God.
28 And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God; and their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore.
This is another one of those hard to fathom images. To be able to see all of the Earth and every person all at once must be just amazing and awesome.
29 And he beheld many lands; and each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants on the face thereof.
Interesting that all the lands Heavenly Father created were called "earth".
30 And it came to pass that Moses called upon God, saying: Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them?
31 And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses stood in the presence of God, and talked with him face to face. And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me.
I see this as a reminder to Moses that even though God is showing him so much, there are some things that he just can't understand. It seems like kind of a humility check to me.
32 And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.
I feel this verse speaks to Jesus Christ being the Savior of all the worlds God created. I think it also tells a lot of where God's power is - "And by the word of my power....which is mine Only Begotten Son".
33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
34 And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.
I take this verse to mean that all "first" men on each of the many earths was named Adam. I wonder if they all had similar experiences in gardens like the Garden of Eden.
35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. 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.
There are two things that stand out to me in this verse. First, it seems as though God is telling Moses not to worry too much about the other worlds. I find peace in this because there sometimes seems to be an obsession with finding life on other planets. It appears to not be in God's plan for us to find anything. I'm content with this. Second, God is aware of ALL of his creations. This reminds me of the talk by President Uchdorf in the last Relief Society General Broadcast. God is aware of each of us and loves us. This is very reassuring to me.
36 And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content.
I think that Moses must have known that these were the things he needed to know and write about. There was so much more he could have asked to know. I wonder if I would have had the same patience to only want to know a portion of the whole picture. I'm not that patient.
37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.
38 And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
This verse puts a lot in perspective. God is working to give us all immortality and eternal life. By obeying the commandments, we are just making it easier to receive such a great blessing and reward. It makes being righteous seem so simple.
40 And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt write the things which I shall speak.
41 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.
I believe this is God referring to Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon. The Bible has been altered and portions have been lost. The Book of Mormon and The Bible share a lot of the same ideas. Especially through 2nd Nephi and Isaiah. I'm so grateful that God had a contigency plan to make sure that we are able to receive the fullness of the gospel.
42 (These words were spoken unto Moses in the mount, the name of which shall not be known among the children of men. And now they are spoken unto you. Show them not unto any except them that believe. Even so. Amen.)
1 The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain,
I think that the mountain symbolizes a temple. Obviously, he wasn't physically in a temple, but he was in a mountain and free from distraction and able to feel closer to God.
2 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.
I feel this is very significant that he was actually in the presence of God. Moses must have been truly one of God's elect to not be cut off from his presence. The spiritual death that we all experience when being born seems to not have affected Moses in the same way.
3 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?
4 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.
5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.
These verses speak a lot of the magnitude of God's abilities and creations and glory. I can't even fathom how great his glory is that a man could not live on Earth after beholding ALL of God's glory.
6 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.
When we were reading this, I didn't catch the word "similitude". Throughout the rest of the chapter, there are a lot of things that sounded very familiar from Christ's experiences. Particularly, his experience with Satan trying to temp him.
7 And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.
8 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.
9 And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.
Moses was just shown ONE of the worlds that God created and all of the people: this world. My interpretation of verse 9 is that the experience left him physically and mentally exhausted and so the glory of God left him so he could recover to experience more. Again, this is something that is hard for me to fathom.
10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.
11 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.
I think transfiguration is really the key to how Moses could experience all the things he was shown. I don't know exactly what being transfigured entails, but it allowed Moses to take in more than his physical limitations could allow.
12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.
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; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?
I like this part. It shows that Satan can only do so much to deceive man. He cannot replicate the glory of God no matter how hard he tries. I believe that Satan is very smart and cunning. I think he knew that his lack of "glory" could foil his plan to tempt and persuade Moses to follow him. I think he hoped that Moses would not catch on. I think the feelings Moses was feeling around Satan could be similar to feelings I get when I know something isn't right - a feeling of the lack of the Holy Ghost testifying of the truthfulness of things.
14 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?
15 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; for God said unto me: Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve.
16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten.
I like that Moses states "Get thee hence, Satan" at the same time that he tells Satan once again that he is after the similitude of Christ. I wonder if Satan had a feeling of deja vu when Jesus later told him the same thing.
17 And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me.
18 And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan.
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.
20 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.
21 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.
22 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 way I interpret Satan's actions is that is sounds like he is throwing a temper tantrum. He is not getting his way and he is making a last ditch effort to whine and complain and hopes to convince Moses that he is the one that should be worshipped. Much like a parent not giving into a child's tantrum, Moses does not relent to Satan either.
23 And now of this thing Moses bore record; but because of wickedness it is not had among the children of men.
I'm not sure what this verse is referring to. My best uneducated guess is that it is referring to the information that is in the Pearl of Great Price that isn't in the Bible.
24 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;
25 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.
I see this as God once again telling Moses how similar he is to Christ.
26 And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days; for thou shalt deliver my people from bondage, even Israel my chosen.
27 And it came to pass, as the voice was still speaking, Moses cast his eyes and beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the Spirit of God.
28 And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God; and their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore.
This is another one of those hard to fathom images. To be able to see all of the Earth and every person all at once must be just amazing and awesome.
29 And he beheld many lands; and each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants on the face thereof.
Interesting that all the lands Heavenly Father created were called "earth".
30 And it came to pass that Moses called upon God, saying: Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them?
31 And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses stood in the presence of God, and talked with him face to face. And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me.
I see this as a reminder to Moses that even though God is showing him so much, there are some things that he just can't understand. It seems like kind of a humility check to me.
32 And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.
I feel this verse speaks to Jesus Christ being the Savior of all the worlds God created. I think it also tells a lot of where God's power is - "And by the word of my power....which is mine Only Begotten Son".
33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
34 And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.
I take this verse to mean that all "first" men on each of the many earths was named Adam. I wonder if they all had similar experiences in gardens like the Garden of Eden.
35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. 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.
There are two things that stand out to me in this verse. First, it seems as though God is telling Moses not to worry too much about the other worlds. I find peace in this because there sometimes seems to be an obsession with finding life on other planets. It appears to not be in God's plan for us to find anything. I'm content with this. Second, God is aware of ALL of his creations. This reminds me of the talk by President Uchdorf in the last Relief Society General Broadcast. God is aware of each of us and loves us. This is very reassuring to me.
36 And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content.
I think that Moses must have known that these were the things he needed to know and write about. There was so much more he could have asked to know. I wonder if I would have had the same patience to only want to know a portion of the whole picture. I'm not that patient.
37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.
38 And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
This verse puts a lot in perspective. God is working to give us all immortality and eternal life. By obeying the commandments, we are just making it easier to receive such a great blessing and reward. It makes being righteous seem so simple.
40 And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt write the things which I shall speak.
41 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.
I believe this is God referring to Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon. The Bible has been altered and portions have been lost. The Book of Mormon and The Bible share a lot of the same ideas. Especially through 2nd Nephi and Isaiah. I'm so grateful that God had a contigency plan to make sure that we are able to receive the fullness of the gospel.
42 (These words were spoken unto Moses in the mount, the name of which shall not be known among the children of men. And now they are spoken unto you. Show them not unto any except them that believe. Even so. Amen.)
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