Moses 4 There is a good argument that Moses 4:1-4 was taken out of the Genesis account by evil men. Moses 4:1-2 Satan and His Opposition to Heavenly Father’s Plan Elder Neal A. Maxwell said that it is “extremely important to get straight what happened in that pre-mortal council. It was not an unstructured meeting, nor was it a discussion between plans, nor an idea-producing session, as to how to formulate the plan for salvation and carry it out. Our Father’s plan was known, and the actual question put was whom the Father should send to carry out the plan” (Deposition of a Disciple (1976), 11).

Imagine when we were in the pre-mortal existence learning of the plan of redemption and of the essential role of Christ’s Atonement. “I think [the Devil] not only ‘guaranteed’ salvation without effort for everybody but also probably went around saying something like this: ‘Now look, if you allow yourselves to be born into this world subject to the fall of Adam, subject to sin and to death, and if Jesus doesn’t come through, then you have lost your salvation’” (Matthews, A Bible! A Bible! 288). One can imagine Satan saying, “I know my plan doesn’t offer you much, but at least it is a sure thing.

When God brought before us His plan of salvation, Jesus was there, volunteering meekly and humbly, “Here am I, send me” (Abraham 3:27), saying, “Father thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Moses 4:2). The Father, ever anxious that all be free to choose, even gave Lucifer opportunity to campaign (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Nov. 1987, 32).

Elohim Presents His Plan Joseph Smith taught that God ordained the plan. He established it. It is His plan. It was not adopted by the Father following one suggestion coming from Christ and another originating with Lucifer. The Father is the author of the plan of salvation, a plan that he created so that Christ, his Firstborn, plus all the rest of His spirit children might be saved. As Joseph Smith expressed it: “God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself” (Teachings, 354).

Moses 4:1 A bad case of “I Itis” The Father, ever anxious that all be free to choose, gave Lucifer opportunity to campaign. “Behold, her am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it, wherefore give me thine honor.” Note the ego dripping from only three lines: two me’s and four I’s. Those vertical pronouns are usually accompanied by unbending knees (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Nov. 1987, 32).

Are you spiritually mature? Moses 4:2 “Thy will be done” A spiritually mature person realizes that it is no longer about his/her and their will. Are you spiritually mature? Moses 4:3 “Lucifer” Sought to destroy the agency of man! Lucifer = Shining one or light bearer, Son of the Morning (Isaiah 14:12).

Moses 4:4 “Satan’s Desires” President Brigham Young said: “Every person who desires and strives to be a Saint is closely watched by fallen spirits that came here when Lucifer fell, and by the spirits of wicked persons who have been here in tabernacles and departed from them… Those spirits are never idle; they are watching every person who wishes to do right, and are continually prompting them to do wrong” (Journal of Discourses, 7:239). Revelation 12:17 The dragon verses the Woman! And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Moses 4:4 Satan’s Mission Statement Moses 4:4 Satan’s Mission Statement! Ironic that those who embraced Satan’s cause “wherein none were to be lost,” become the only ones who are everlastingly lost (Doctrine and Covenants 76:37-39). Moses 4:5 This is where Genesis 3 begins

Evil always seeks company, for it cannot be by itself alone Evil always seeks company, for it cannot be by itself alone. Satan detests solitude, for solitude turns him in upon himself, reminding him of what glories might have been (Neal A. Maxwell, Of One Heart, 50).

Lucifer actually contributed to the plan! And he sought to beguile Eve (Moses 4:6). Eve in Hebrew means “living.” Lucifer seeks to beguile all “living.” Moses 4:6 “for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world” Lucifer thought that the fall of Adam would lead to the eventual captivity of all of God’s children. He had no faith in the atonement and no light (2 Nephi 9:9). Lucifer actually contributed to the plan!

He wanted glory, not growth; control, not salvation He wanted glory, not growth; control, not salvation. His ascendancy meant more to him than our agency. The devil is a despot (Neal A. Maxwell, Deposition of a Disciple, 12). Being a poor loser, Lucifer transferred his battle to this world where he displays his “wild desire to manage everything.” The casualty rate in the pre-mortal world was 33 percent, and Satan’s harvest will be high here in the second estate. Thus what we see about us is a protracted psychodrama reenacting his power play of the pre-mortal world. He wanted status without service, power without perfection, and esteem not earned. Sodom was one of Satan’s “finest” hours! (Neal A. Maxwell, Deposition of a Disciple, 12).

Moses 4:12 Why did Adam and Eve Partake of the Fruit? Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught: “It was Eve who first transgressed the limits of Eden in order to initiate the conditions of mortality. Her act, whatever its nature, was formally a transgression but eternally a glorious necessity to open the doorway toward eternal life. Adam showed his wisdom by doing the same. And thus Eve and ‘Adam fell that men might be’ (2 Nephi 2:25).

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said: “Some Christians condemn Ever for her act, concluding that she and her daughters are somehow flawed by it. Not the Latter-day Saints! Informed by revelation, we celebrate Eve’s act and honor her wisdom and courage in the great episode, called the Fall…. Brigham Young declared, ‘We should never blame Mother Eve, not the least’ (Journal of Discourses, 13:145). Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said: ‘I never speak of the part Eve took in this fall as sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin…This was transgression of the law, but not a sin…for it was something that Adam and Eve had to do!” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:114-15)” (Conference Report, Oct. 1993, 98).

Moses 4:12 The Difference between Transgression and Sin? Elder Dallin H. Oaks said that the “contrast between a sin and a transgression reminds us of the careful wording in the second article of faith: ‘We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression’ (italics added). It also echoes a familiar distinction in the law. Some acts, like murder, are crimes because they are inherently wrong. Other acts, like operating without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited. Under these distinction, the act that produced the Fall was not a sin --- inherently wrong --- but a transgression --- wrong because it was formally prohibited. These words are not always used to denote something different, but this distinction seems meaningful in the circumstances of the Fall” (Conference Report, Oct., 1993, 98).

Another meaning of the word transgress is “to go beyond established limits or conditions.” Adam and Eve went beyond the limits that would have kept them in the Garden of Eden forever, and in so doing helped provide the opportunity of mortality for all of us. Moses 4:13 The eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they had been naked. They were innocent and trusting, not knowing good from evil. And they sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves aprons. The fig is a symbol of fertility. This might have been there way of announcing that they now had the power to create.

Moses 4:14 Adam and Eve Tried to Hide from God: Once they gained knowledge of good and evil, they became conscious of their disobedience and unworthiness before God. It may be said that they became aware and ashamed of their spiritual “nakedness.” As fallen beings, they had to face God with a sense of their own guilt (Alma 39:8, 2 Nephi 9:14).

Moses 4:15-19 God asked Adam and Eve if they had eaten the Fruit. Bruce R. McConkie taught: “personal accountability for all of one’s acts underlies the whole gospel plan and is the natural outgrowth of the law of free agency” (Mormon Doctrine, 15).

Serpent = cunning, sly, subtle, deceitful, craftiness Moses 4:19-20 The Serpent Beguiled Me Serpent = cunning, sly, subtle, deceitful, craftiness The Curse = Satan would never have the privilege of earth life like cattle and beast Moses 4:21 He (Christ) shall bruise (crush) thy head, and thou shalt bruise thy heel. Perhaps Satan’s greatest moment of glory was the crucifixion of Christ.

Moses 4:22 “I will Greatly Multiply thy Sorrow” The Hebrew word for “multiply” is rabah (raw-bah), meaning to repeat over and over. It does not suggest greater sorrow, but rather repeated sorrow. The Hebrew word for “sorrow” in the Genesis account (Genesis 3:16) is from (aw-tsab), which means “labor” or “pain.” While these words suggest that toil and suffering would be a part of Eve’s life, Eve did not view the conditions that came upon her through the Fall to be a curse.

Genesis 3:20 When were Adam and Eve sealed? Before the fall, Adam and Eve were sealed (Mormon Doctrine, 242). “Our first parents were pure and noble, and when we pass behind the veil we shall perhaps learn something of their high estate” (Jesus the Christ, 30). Without question she was like unto her mighty husband, Adam, in intelligence and in devotion to righteousness, during both her first and second estates of existence. Before the fall Eve was sealed to Adam in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, a ceremony performed by the Lord before death entered the world and therefore one destined to last forever (Moses 3:20-25). Indeed, Eve is a joint-participant with Adam in all his ministry, and will inherit jointly with him all the blessings appertaining to his high state of exaltation” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 242).