Lesson 3: The Creation

1. Prayerfully study:
- • Genesis 1 or Moses 2—Jesus Christ created the earth, heaven, and all forms of life under the direction of Heavenly Father.
- • Genesis 2:1–3 or Moses 3:1–3—The Lord rested on the seventh day.
2. Additional reading:
- • Abraham 4:1–31—The Gods planned the creation of the earth.
- • Abraham 5:1–21—The Gods followed their plan of creation.
- • Moses 1:31–39—Moses learned that Jesus Christ created worlds without number.
3. Study the lesson and decide how you want to teach the children the scripture account (see “Preparing Your Lessons,” p. vi, and “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii). Select the discussion questions and enrichment activities that will best help the children achieve the purpose of the lesson.
4.
Materials needed:
1. a. A Bible or a triple combination for each child.
2. b. A container of puzzle pieces (if you do not have a puzzle, cut a picture from a magazine into several pieces).
3. c. Picture 6-1, Creation—Living Creatures (Gospel Art Picture Kit 100; 62483).

Suggested Lesson Development

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Attention Activity

Show the children the container of puzzle pieces. Ask one of the children to shake the container and try to dump the pieces on the table so that all the pieces fall into place to form a complete picture. Point out that a puzzle cannot fall into place by chance—it requires an intelligent being to organize the pieces and carefully put them together.

Show the picture Creation—Living Creatures and discuss some things that show that the creation of the earth was carefully planned. For example, the earth has to be the right distance from the sun or everything on it would burn or freeze. Without the right amount of oxygen, humans and animals could not breathe.

If there was too little gravity, we would float off the earth. Help the children understand that the earth did not come about by accident or chance. A loving Heavenly Father directed Jesus Christ to organize this beautiful earth for us.

Scripture Account

Teach the children the account from Genesis 1:1–2:3

1 In the ^abeginning ^bGod ^ccreated the ^dheaven and the ^eearth.

or Moses 2:1–3:3 of the creation of the earth (see enrichment activity 1). (For suggested ways to teach the scripture account, see “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii.)

Discussion and Application Questions

Study the following questions and the scripture references as you prepare your lesson. Use the questions you feel will best help the children understand the scriptures and apply the principles in their lives. Reading and discussing the scriptures with the children in class will help them gain personal insights.

• Who created the earth? (Moses 1:33; 2:1.) Explain that the earth was created by Jesus Christ under the direction of Heavenly Father.
• Why did Heavenly Father want the earth to be created? (Abraham 3:24–26.)
• Why are there so many wonderful types of plants on the earth? (Genesis 1:29–30; D&C 59:18–19.) What plants do you most enjoy? What do you use them for?
• What is in each fruit? (Genesis 1:12 or Moses 2:12; see enrichment activity 6.) Why are seeds important?
• What did God command the fish and animals and birds to do? (Genesis 1:22 or Moses 2:22.)
• What commandment did God give Adam and Eve (and all people) about having a family? (Genesis 1:28 or Moses 2:28.)
• In whose image were we created? (Genesis 1:27 or Moses 2:27.)
• What is our responsibility to the earth and all living things on it? (Genesis 1:26 or Moses 2:26.) Explain that dominion means to have power over something (see enrichment activity 5).
• What did God say about his creations? (Genesis 1:31 or Moses 2:31.) How should we feel about the good things we make or do?
• What did God do on the seventh day? (Genesis 2:2–3 or Moses 3:2–3.) What should we do on the Sabbath day?

Enrichment Activities

You may use one or more of the following activities any time during the lesson or as a review, summary, or challenge.

1. Prepare a slip of paper using either the Genesis or Moses account for each day of the Creation:
- First day: Genesis 1:3–5 or Moses 2:3–5 Light
- Second day: Genesis 1:6–8 or Moses 2:6–8 Divided the waters
- Third day: Genesis 1:9–13 or Moses 2:9–13 Plants
- Fourth day: Genesis 1:14–19 or Moses 2:14–19 Sun, moon, and stars
- Fifth day: Genesis 1:20–23 or Moses 2:20–23 Animal life
- Sixth day: Genesis 1:24–27 or Moses 2:24–27 Man
- Seventh day: Genesis 2:1–3 or Moses 3:1–3 Rested
Divide the chalkboard or a large piece of paper into seven sections and number them one through seven. Give one of the scriptures to each child. If you have more than seven children, have the children work together and decide what they could draw to illustrate the day of Creation they read about. Help them look up their scripture references (if they need help), and give them time to read them silently.

Have each child (or a representative from each group of children) draw, in the appropriate space, what was created on that day without telling the other children what they are drawing. After the other class members guess what is being drawn, have the child read aloud the pertinent part of the scripture reference to show if they guessed correctly. Ask the other children to follow along in their scriptures. After the seven pictures have been drawn, you could quickly review what occurred during each of the seven days of Creation.

After the children have reviewed the seven days of Creation, give them each a piece of paper and pencil or marking pen and have them draw another picture of one of the days of the Creation that they can take home and share with their families.
2. I am thinking of something. . .
Tell the children you are thinking of something you saw on the way to church that reminded you of how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. (This could be a bird, tree, clouds, and so on.) Ask them to guess what it was as you give them clues. Let the children take turns giving clues of something they saw that reminds them of the love Heavenly Father and Jesus have for them. Discuss the first article of faith and how the evidence we see in nature can strengthen our testimonies of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Have the children repeat the first article of faith.
3.
Prepare a large circle of paper that represents the earth and give the children colored paper, pencils, and scissors to “create” one of their favorite things found on the earth. Give them several minutes to make their “creations” and then place them all on the paper earth. Explain that the word create means to organize, not to make something from nothing. Discuss this statement from Joseph Smith when he was speaking of the creation of the earth: “Now, the word create came from the word baurau, which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship” (History of the Church, 6:308).
4.
Show the children a container of salt or sand and ask how many particles of salt or sand they think there are in the container. You may want to take a pinch of salt or sand out of the container and have someone try to count the particles. Explain that God has created many more worlds than there are particles of salt or sand in the container or even on the whole earth. Many of these worlds have been inhabited or will be inhabited by people who have been created in the image of God, just as we have, yet Heavenly Father knows and loves us all. Read and discuss Moses 7:29–30.
5.
Discuss ways the children can take care of the creations we have been given, such as being kind to animals, taking care of a garden, keeping parks and buildings free from litter, and so on. Ask each child to tell one way that he or she will take care of the wonderful things Heavenly Father has given us.
6.
Bring to class a variety of fruits and vegetables that have been cut open to expose the seeds. Discuss the importance of seeds and how God planned from the beginning for the plants to produce more of their own kind. If fruits and vegetables are not available, show pictures of or draw pictures of fruits and vegetables and seeds on the chalkboard.
7.
Sing or read the words to “I Feel My Savior’s Love” (Children’s Songbook, p. 74) or “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” (Children’s Songbook, p. 228).
http://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/i-feel-my-saviors-love?lang=eng

http://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/my-heavenly-father-loves-me?lang=eng

Conclusion

Testimony

Share your feelings with the children about the beautiful earth we have and how it helps you feel close to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Explain that each of us is Heavenly Father’s greatest creation. Express gratitude and love for each class member.

Suggested Family Sharing

Encourage the children to share with their families a specific part of the lesson, such as a story, question, or activity, or to read with their families the “Suggested Home Reading.”

Suggested Home Reading

Suggest that the children read Genesis 1:26–31 at home as a review of this lesson.

Invite a child to give the closing prayer.

1 In the ^abeginning ^bGod ^ccreated the ^dheaven and the ^eearth.

2 And the earth was without ^aform, and void; and ^bdarkness wasupon the face of the deep. And the ^cSpirit of God ^dmoved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God ^asaid, Let there be ^blight: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was ^agood: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light ^aDay, and the ^bdarkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the ^cfirst ^dday.

Light

6 ¶And God said, Let there be a ^afirmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the ^awaters whichwere under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8 And God called the firmament ^aHeaven. And the evening and the morning were the second ^bday.

Divide the Waters

9 ¶And God said, Let the ^awaters under the heaven be gathered together unto ^bone place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land ^aEarth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it wasgood.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth ^agrass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth ^abrought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his ^bkind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Plant Life

14 ¶And God said, Let there be ^alights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for^bsigns, and for ^cseasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the ^agreater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the ^bstars also.

17 And God set them in the ^afirmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the ^aday and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Lights in the Heavens

20 And God said, Let the ^awaters ^bbring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and ^cfowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created ^agreat whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and ^amultiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Animal Life

24 ¶And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his ^akind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 ¶And God said, Let ^aus ^bmake ^cman in our ^dimage, after our^elikeness: and let them have ^fdominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own ^aimage, in the image of God created he him; male and ^bfemale created he them.

Man

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be ^afruitful, and ^bmultiply, and ^creplenish the ^dearth, and subdue it: and have^edominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 ¶And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for^ameat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there islife, I have given every green herb for ^ameat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very ^agood. And the evening and the morning were the ^bsixthday.

___________________________________

Moses 2

God creates the heavens and the earth—All forms of life are created—God makes man and gives him dominion over all else.

1 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak. I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep; and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God.

3 And I, God, said: Let there be light; and there was light.

4 And I, God, saw the light; and that light was good. And I, God, divided the light from the darkness.

5 And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake; and the evening and the morning were the first day.

First Day: Light and darkness, day and night

6 And again, I, God, said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and it was so, even as I spake; and I said: Let it divide the waters from the waters; and it was done;

7 And I, God, made the firmament and divided the waters, yea, the great waters under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so even as I spake.

8 And I, God, called the firmament Heaven; and the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And I, God, said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so; and I, God, said: Let there be dry land; and it was so.

10 And I, God, called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, called I the Sea; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.
Second Day Waters and Dry Land

11 And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth agrass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself upon the earth, and it was so even as I spake.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, every herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself, after his akind; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Third Day: Plant Life

14 And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years;

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.

16 And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon; and the stars also were made even according to my word.

17 And I, God, set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And the sun to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Fourth Day: Sun, Moon, and Stars

20 And I, God, said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl which may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And I, God, created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind; and I, God, saw that all things which I had created were good.

22 And I, God, blessed them, saying: Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the sea; and let fowl multiply in the earth;

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Fifth Day: Animal Life

24 And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so;

25 And I, God, made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything which creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and I, God, saw that all these things were good.

26 And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so. And I, God, said: Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.

Sixth Day: Man and Woman

28 And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And I, God, said unto man: Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which shall be the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein I grant life, there shall be given every clean herb for meat; and it was so, even as I spake.

31 And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good; and the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Moses 1

31 And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses stood in the presence of God, and talked with him ^aface to face. And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own ^bpurposehave I made these things. Here is ^cwisdom and it remaineth in me.

32 And by the ^aword of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of ^bgrace and truth.

33 And ^aworlds without number have I ^bcreated; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the ^cSon I ^dcreatedthem, which is mine ^eOnly Begotten.

34 And the ^afirst man of all men have I called ^bAdam, which is^cmany.

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 ^aknow them.

36 And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and ^atell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content.

37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The ^aheavens, 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 ^aend to my works, neither to my words.

39 For behold, this is my ^awork and my ^bglory—to bring to pass the ^cimmortality and ^deternal ^elife of man.

Elder McConkie:

God himself, the Father of us all, ordained and established a plan of salvation whereby his spirit children might advance and progress and become like him. It is the gospel of God, the plan of Eternal Elohim, the system that saves and exalts, and it consists of three things. These three are the very pillars of eternity itself. They are the most important events that ever have or will occur in all eternity. They are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement. . . .

All things were so created that they could fall or change, and thus was introduced the type and kind of existence needed to put into operation all of the terms and conditions of the Father’s eternal plan of salvation. . . .

Truly Christ is the Creator of the future abode of the spirit children of the Father. But he does not work alone. The Creation is an organized venture; each of the other noble and great spirits plays his part. And the earth is created from matter that already exists. Truly the elements are eternal, and to create is to organize.

God spake to Moses in the Ten Commandments: “In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.” (Ex. 20:11.) It is of the creative events that took place on each of these “days” that we shall now speak.

But first, what is a day? It is a specified time period; it is an age, an eon, a division of eternity; it is the time between two identifiable events. And each day, of whatever length, has the duration needed for its purposes. . .. .

It seems clear that the “six days” are one continuing period and that there is no one place where the dividing lines between the successive events must of necessity be placed.

The Mosaic and the temple accounts set forth the temporal or physical creation, the actual organization of element or matter into tangible form. They are not accounts of the spirit creation. Abraham gives a blueprint as it were of the Creation. He tells the plans of the holy beings who wrought the creative work. After reciting the events of the “six days” he says: “And thus were their decisions at the time that they counseled among themselves to form the heavens and the earth.” (Abr. 5:3.)

1. “The Gods” created the atmospheric heavens and the temporal earth.

The “waters” of the great “deep” were present, and “darkness reigned” until the divine decree: “Let there be light.” The light and the darkness were then “divided,” the one being called “Day” and the other “Night.” Clearly our planet was thus formed as a revolving orb and placed in its relationship to our sun.

2. The Second Day—On this day “the waters” were “divided” between the surface of the earth and the atmospheric heavens that surround it.

3. The Third Day—This is the day when life began. In it “the waters under the heaven” were “gathered together unto one place,” and the “dry land” appeared. The dry land was called “Earth,” and the assembled waters became “the Sea.” This is the day in which “the Gods organized the earth to bring forth” grass and herbs and plants and trees; and it is the day in which vegetation in all its varied forms actually came forth from the seeds planted by the Creators.

The Fourth Day—After seeds in all their varieties had been planted on the earth; after these had sprouted and grown; after each variety was prepared to bring forth fruit and seed after its own kind—the Creators organized all things in such a way as to make their earthly garden a productive and beautiful place. They then “organized the lights in the expanse of the heaven” so there would be “seasons” and a way of measuring “days” and “years.” We have no way of knowing what changes then took place in either the atmospheric or the sidereal heavens, but during this period the sun, moon, and stars assumed the relationship to the earth that now is theirs. At least the light of each of them began to shine through the lifting hazes that enshrouded the newly created earth so they could play their parts with reference to life in all its forms as it soon would be upon the new orb. (See Moses 2:14–19; Abr. 4:14–19.)

The Fifth Day—Next came fish and fowl and “every living creature” whose abode is “the waters.” Their Creators placed them on the newly organized earth, and they were given the command: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the sea; and let fowl multiply in the earth.” This command—as with a similar decree given to man and applicable to all animal life—they could not then keep, but they soon would be able to do so. Appended to this command to multiply was the heaven-sent restriction that the creatures in the waters could only bring forth “after their kind,” and that “every winged fowl” could only bring forth “after his kind.” There was no provision for evolvement or change from one species to another. (See Moses 2:20–23; Abr. 4:20–23.)

The Sixth Day—The crowning day of creation is at hand. In its early hours, the great Creators “made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything which creepeth upon the earth after his kind.” And the same procreative restrictions applied to them that apply to all forms of life; they too are to reproduce only after their kind.

Having come this far in our analysis of the Creation, we are led to ask: Why did the Lord give us these revealed accounts of the Creation? What purposes do they serve? How does the knowledge in them help us to work out our salvation or to center our affection in Him whose we are and by whom all things were made?

It is self-evident that we have received no useless and unneeded revelations. All that the Lord does has a purpose and serves a need. He expects us to treasure up his word, to ponder in our hearts its deep and hidden meanings, and to understand its full import. Those who have done so know that the revealed accounts of the Creation are designed to accomplish two great purposes. Their general purpose is to enable us to understand the nature of our mortal probation, a probation in which all men are being tried and tested “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” (Abr. 3:25.) Their specific purpose is to enable us to understand the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, which infinite and eternal Atonement is the very foundation upon which revealed religion rests.

Primary Old Testament

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Sunday, December 29, 2013