Pearl of Great Price Friday

Scripture of the Day:

Abraham 5:15-19

15 And the Gods caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and they took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof;

  16 And of the rib which the Gods had taken from man, formed they a ^awoman, and brought her unto the man.

  17 And Adam said: This was bone of my bones, and ^aflesh of my flesh; now she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man;

  18 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall ^acleave unto his wife, and they shall be ^bone flesh.

  19 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ^aashamed.

Historical Background:

Background on Adam-

See also Adam-ondi-Ahman; Archangel; Eden; Eve; Fall of Adam and Eve; Michael

The first man created on earth.

Adam is the father and patriarch of the human race on the earth. His transgression in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3; D&C 29: 40-42; Moses 4) caused him to “fall” and become mortal, a step necessary in order for mankind to progress on this earth (2 Ne. 2: 14-29; Alma 12: 21-26). Adam and Eve should therefore be honored for their role in making our eternal growth possible. Adam is the Ancient of Days and is also known as Michael (Dan. 7; D&C 27: 11; 107: 53-54; 116; 138: 38). He is the archangel and will come again to the earth as the patriarch of the human family, preparatory to the second coming of Jesus Christ (D&C 29: 26).

God created man in his own image, Gen. 1: 26-28 (Moses 2: 26-28; Abr. 4: 26-28). God gave man dominion over all things and commanded him to multiply and fill the earth, Gen. 1: 28-31 (Moses 2: 28-31; Abr. 4: 28-31). God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and forbade them to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Gen. 2: 7-9, 15-17 (Moses 3: 7-9, 15-17; Abr. 5: 7-13). Adam named every living creature, Gen. 2: 19-20 (Moses 3: 19-20; Abr. 5: 20-21). Adam and Eve were married by God, Gen. 2: 18-25 (Moses 3: 18-25; Abr. 5: 14-21). Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan, partook of the forbidden fruit, and were cast out of the Garden of Eden, Gen. 3 (Moses 4). Adam was 930 years old at his death, Gen. 5: 5 (Moses 6: 12). Adam was the first man, D&C 84: 16. Before his death Adam called his righteous posterity together at Adam-ondi-Ahman and blessed them, D&C 107: 53-57. Adam offered sacrifice, Moses 5: 4-8. Adam was baptized, received the Holy Ghost, and was ordained to the priesthood, Moses 6: 51-68.

Background on Book of Abraham-

The book of Abraham: Ancient records written by Abraham that came into the possession of the Church in 1835. The records and some mummies were discovered in Egyptian catacombs by Antonio Lebolo, who willed them to Michael Chandler. Chandler exhibited them in the United States in 1835. Some friends of Joseph Smith bought them from Chandler and gave them to the Prophet, who translated them. Some of these records are now found in the Pearl of Great Price.

Chapter 1 records Abraham’s experiences in Ur of the Chaldees, where wicked priests tried to sacrifice him. Chapter 2 tells of his journey to Canaan. The Lord appeared to him and made covenants with him. Chapter 3 records that Abraham saw the universe and perceived the relationships between heavenly bodies. Chapters 4-5 are another account of the Creation.

Gospel Principles Outlined:

1) Marriage is ordained of God.

2) Adam and Eve were married by God.

3) Unity is critical in marriage.

4) Gospel plan emphasizes the creation of family units.

5) We are blessed when we seek to build up our family relationships.

What I Learned Today:

I feel really blessed to have been recently married and I know how wonderful it is to be with someone with whom you feel "unified."  My wife does a great job of working together with me so that we can both improve and become more like the Savior.  I find it interesting that the marriage relationship is so important to God that it was one of the first things that He did during the creation.  One of the reasons that I believe that it is so important is because marriage is where we are able to be most like Our Father in Heaven in this life.  It is where we appropriately use the power to create life.  It is unfortunate that society has moved to a place the the power is disregarded and the act is emphasized as one of pleasure.  I am grateful for an understanding on the blessings that come through righteously following the Lord in my family life.

Things I Will Implement:

These verses are a great reminder to me of the ways I can work to be more unified with my wife.  I will focus on doing them.