By Rick
Brunson
My Difficult Question
For us Latter-day Saints, we have
three separate creation accounts given to us from the Lord:
- The Book of Moses (also recorded in Genesis)
- The Book of Abraham
- The Temple Ceremony
Have you noticed?
The creation accounts that are recorded in our scriptures (Moses & Abraham), are very different from
the creation account given in the temple ceremony. How different? For starters, nearly every event spoken of in
the scriptures, occurs on a completely different day in the temple account. For example, in the scriptures, light appears
on day-1 of the creation, [1] but it appears on day-3 in the temple ceremony.
Plant life was placed on the earth on day-3 in our scriptural accounts,[2] but in the in the temple ceremony, plants were placed on the earth on day-4. And so it is with most of the events associated
with the creation.
I first noticed this discrepancy while on my mission in
Washington D.C. Trying to reconcile the
differences in my mind, I came to the following conclusion: The temple
endowment was given to Joseph Smith by revelation,[3] so that must be the most correct,
and most reliable account we have.
This reasoning satisfied my thinking for about 15 minutes, until
I remembered that the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham were also given to
Joseph Smith from the Lord by revelation.
It goes without saying that if all three accounts were given by revelation, then each account must be accurate and true. But how? Different events occur on different days depending on the account you choose to go by.
It goes without saying that if all three accounts were given by revelation, then each account must be accurate and true. But how? Different events occur on different days depending on the account you choose to go by.
Finding Answers
Determined to find answers, I starting asking the smartest
people I knew. I first asked my bishop—a man who had been able to successfully answer all of my
previous gospel questions I had asked him (many of which were extremely
difficult to answer)—but unfortunately, he did not
know. I then asked my mission president, a man well versed in all aspects of gospel doctrine, but he did
not know. I then asked a General
Authority—one of the Seventy who spoke to our
mission during my stay in D.C.—and he did not know. I even spoke with the temple
president of the Washington D.C. temple, but unfortunately he did not know the
answer either.
I then realized that if I was ever going to find answers to
this difficult question, I would have to find them myself. The day I got home from my mission I started
studying. I bought many books and studied
many articles written by the most learned LDS scholars and General Authorities
we have had in the church—all in an attempt to have my
difficult question answered.
Finally it happened.
Not only did I find a book that touched upon this very topic, but I
found that the explanation given was more than just satisfactory. In fact, it was extremely convincing and made perfect sense.
The book I found was entitled—Earth in the Beginning, by Eric Skousen. To purchase a copy of this outstanding book from Amazon.com, click on the following image:
In addition to this question, Skousen’s Earth in the Beginning answers many other difficult questions regarding the creation...questions that I have written about here.
In addition to this question, Skousen’s Earth in the Beginning answers many other difficult questions regarding the creation...questions that I have written about here.
[1] Moses
2:3-5; Abr. 4:3-5.
[2] Moses 2:11-13; Abr. 4:11-13.
[2] Elder Franklin D. Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "A Masonic Lodge...was established in Nauvoo and Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Willard Richards, John Taylor, Lorenzo Snow, Orson Hyde, F.D. Richards, and about 1000 others in all became Masons. Joseph, the Prophet, was aware that there were some things about Masonry which had come down from the beginning and he desired to know what they were, hence the lodge. The Masons admitted some keys of knowledge appertaining to Masonry were lost. Joseph enquired of the Lord concerning the matter and He revealed to the Prophet true Masonry, as we have it in our temples" (Larson, A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic Diaries of Rudger Clawson, p. 42).
[2] Moses 2:11-13; Abr. 4:11-13.
[2] Elder Franklin D. Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "A Masonic Lodge...was established in Nauvoo and Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Willard Richards, John Taylor, Lorenzo Snow, Orson Hyde, F.D. Richards, and about 1000 others in all became Masons. Joseph, the Prophet, was aware that there were some things about Masonry which had come down from the beginning and he desired to know what they were, hence the lodge. The Masons admitted some keys of knowledge appertaining to Masonry were lost. Joseph enquired of the Lord concerning the matter and He revealed to the Prophet true Masonry, as we have it in our temples" (Larson, A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic Diaries of Rudger Clawson, p. 42).