Jan 12–18, 2026
In the Beginning, There Was a Plan
Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5: What Was the Plan?
Here's something that might surprise you: we have three different versions of the creation in scripture. Genesis 1–2 is the classic one. Moses 2–3 and Abraham 4–5 are extra accounts revealed to Joseph Smith. They're not identical.
Does that bother you? If so, that's actually a great sign. It means you're paying attention.
Why Three Accounts?
Multiple accounts of the same event don't make the event less real—they make it more real. Think about major news stories. Different reporters, different angles, different details. The core event is still true.
These three creation accounts each add something. Genesis gives us the spare, poetic version. Moses adds God's own voice—we hear Him speaking, feeling, creating personally. Abraham 4 introduces plural language: "And they said, Let there be light" (Abraham 4:3).
They. Multiple beings. Which connects back to last week—Abraham 3 described a council of intelligences organized before the earth was formed. Creation wasn't just a one-person event. It was planned, organized, and carried out in council.
That means this earth wasn't an accident. And neither were you.
In the Image of God
Genesis 1:26–27 is easy to skim: "Let us make man in our image."
Latter-day Saints take this literally. God has a body. Joseph Smith saw Him in 1820. Moses saw Him. Adam and Eve were created in His physical image—which means our bodies are sacred. Not burdens to manage. Sacred.
That's countercultural in a world that treats bodies as problems to fix. We're supposed to be thinner, faster, more symmetrical. The gospel says something different: your body is a form of holiness.
It was designed to look like God's.
The Day That Completed Everything
After six days, God rested. He called the seventh day holy—the Sabbath.
Here's the interesting detail: God didn't finish His work on the sixth day. He finished it on the seventh, by resting. Rest isn't collapsing after work. Rest is the final act that makes everything else mean something. It's stepping back and saying: this is good.
The Sabbath is a weekly invitation to do exactly that. Stop. Look at your life. See what's good in it. President Nelson called the Sabbath a "delight" (Isaiah 58:13) — not a checklist or a restriction, but a day to fill with things that restore you.
Try it differently this Sunday. Not as obligation. As gift.
🎮 How many creation accounts are found in this week's scriptures?
🎮 What does the phrase "Let us make man in our image" suggest?
🎮 What does the Sabbath (seventh day) represent?
🎮 What does "they said, Let there be light" in Abraham 4:3 suggest?
🎮 What does having three creation accounts (Genesis, Moses, Abraham) teach us?
🎮 According to Moses 3:18, what was the first thing God declared "not good"?
Open Your Come Follow Me Manual
Look at the sidebar on different accounts of the creation. Read one of the cross-references it suggests. Which version of the creation hits different when you know it was planned—with you already in mind?