Lesson 3: The Creation #BCCSundaySchool2018

Learning Outcomes

Have class members learn and discuss how our doctrine uniquely celebrates the beauty of God’s creation of both the Earth and of all humankind, particularly the gift of our physical bodies.  Note:  There is likely more material here than can be covered in a single period, use your best judgment to encourage faithful discussion on the topics most relevant to your class.

Readings

• Genesis chapters 1-2
• Moses chapters 1-3
• Abraham chapters 4-5

Introduction

Back in college, I took several semester-long courses on early Christianity, including one dedicated exclusively to early Christian heresies.  Of these, there was one belief, popular among early Gnostics, that truly shocked me.  Namely: Creation was a great mistake.  All physical matter is imbued with evil.  Our goal as Christians is to transcend the evil corruption of earthly mortality and enter a pure spiritual state.  That seemed fundamentally contrary to everything I had learned about the Creation and Plan of Salvation as a Mormon youth.

Opening Discussion Question:  What does modern revelation teach about creation, and how does it address and counter those early Gnostic beliefs?  (Expect a wide range of answers).

Creation is Good

In Genesis and Moses and Abraham, the message is repeated more than a dozen times:  every aspect of God’s creation is good.  

To compile the scriptures:

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good.  (Genesis 1:3-4) (Moses 2:3-4)

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:9-10)  (Moses 2:10)

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  (Genesis 1:12) (Moses 2:12)

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.  (Genesis 2:9)

And [I, God, set] 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 (Moses 1:18); (Genesis 1:16-19)

And 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 God saw that it was good.  (Genesis 1:21)   And I, God, saw that all things which I had created were good. (Moses 2:21)  And the Gods saw that they would be obeyed, and that their plan was good. (Abraham 4:21)

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.  (Genesis 1:25)  And I, God, saw that all these things were good. (Moses 2:25).

This Goodness permeates the Earth, both before and after the Fall (next week’s lesson).  God is Good, and as God taught Adam:  “All things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.” (Moses 6:63).

Discussion Question:  How can we celebrate the Beauty of the Earth and the Goodness of God’s creations?

Some potential answers:

• Take time to seek God outside.  Prophets have sought God adopt mountains, and many of us have had sacred experiences in forests and meadows.  Enjoy the beauty of creation by worshipping God within it.
• Go on family hikes and play outside.  A 2012 study shows that increasingly, American families are staying indoors and glued to screens — they don’t even go in their own backyards. (Personally, I’ve recently discovered that the most peaceful and relaxing thing I can do on Sundays is turn off my cell phone, leave it at home, and then go for a hike or read a book in the sunshine).
• Be good stewards of the earth:  pick up clutter, recycle, reduce energy consumption, adopt eco-friendly technologies, etc.
• Follow the Word of Wisdom, which counsels in favor of consumption of fruits, vegetables, and grains, and against consuming meat.  The industry surrounding meat production and consumption is one the leading causes of pollution in the world; if people followed the Word of Wisdom and/or standard nutritional guidelines, it would more than cut in half total agricultural pollution.
• Encourage local governments to adopt measures to clean up air and water, and otherwise  reduce pollution.  For Utah specifically, mention efforts to combat the pollution Inversion Fog, which is estimated to be causing the premature deaths of 1,000-2,000 Utahans per year, and to be causing increased rates of asthma and other respiratory disorders.

Men And Women Are Created In The Image Of God

Scripture Readings:

So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them. (Abraham 4:27)

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… 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.  And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good.  (Moses 2:27-28, 31) (Genesis 1:26-27, 31).

Discussion Question:  What does it mean to be created in the image of God?

Some Potential Answers:

• “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”  (Romans 8:16-17)
• Monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) have debated the meaning and phrasing of “the image of God” for millennia.
  • Some theologians say that because God exists outside of all physical space and time, this should not be taken literally.
  • Some say that the “image” of God reflects only our ability to reason, because that is what sets us aside from all of God’s other creations.
  • Some say that our spiritual souls reflect God, not our physical selfs — that we were put on earth to act for and on behalf of God in serving our fellow men.
  • Some say that our physical selfs themselves reflect God Incarnate — namely, we are not in the image of God the Father, but rather of Christ, who adopted a human form in order to save us all.
  • Some say that God himself has a physical body, reflected in humanity itself.
  • Where on this spectrum do Mormons lie?
• Mormons teach that gaining a body was a critical purpose of creation and the Plan of Salvation, that our bodies are temples of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and that after death, our bodies will be reunited with our spirits and continue to exist in a resurrected and glorified state.

Discussion Question: Why is the creation of both men and women “very good?”  Who are “the Gods” making “male and female” in “our image?”

Some Potential Answers:

• The Proclamation to the World proclaims that everyone “is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.”
• The First Presidency has said: “All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity” (“The Origin of Man,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, 78).  The scriptures proclaim:
• Susa Young Gates, a secretary in the Relief Society general presidency, wrote in 1920 that Joseph Smith’s visions and teachings revealed the truth that “the divine Mother, [is] side by side with the divine Father.”
• A Gospel Topics Essays addresses Heavenly Mother.  And a recent book of BCC Poetry, Mother’s Milk, contains beautiful reflections on her.  Here are two favorites:

What Joseph Taught Me
If women do not comprehend
the character of God the Mother,
they do not comprehend themselves.

Child’s Play
Heavenly Mother didn’t think
She believed in toys,
until She saw her daughter
play with daylight,
wind, trees, songs.
Now she seeks to give her every
good (play)thing.

Discussion Question:  Sometimes, even though we believe that all of God’s creations, including our bodies, are good, pieces of belief from either Satan or worldly philosophies slip in.  They falsely teach that our bodies are corrupt, evil, or meant to suffer.  What are some examples of common ways in which we make mistakes in teaching about our bodies, and how can we counteract those beliefs?

Some Potential Answers:

• Fasting.  We fast in order to humble ourselves before God, to elevate our spiritual nature over our physical ones, and to remember to care for the poor and needy.
  • Sometimes we judge others for not following our same practices on fast Sundays.  But the Church teaches: “Many are subject to weakness, others are delicate in health, and others have nursing babies; of such it should not be required to fast. Neither should parents compel their little children to fast” (Gospel Doctrine, p. 244).
  • Also sometimes we hear strains of thought along the lines of, if fasting for 1 day is good, then fasting all the time is better.   This can  lead to severe eating disorders.  God gave us food for our pleasure and enjoyment; we do not believe in denying ourselves food as a form of punishment or long-term holiness.  President Joseph F. Smith counsels us to be wise in our fasting. “There is such a thing as overdoing. A man may fast and pray till he kills himself; and there isn’t any necessity for it; nor wisdom in it.”

• Medicine.  Although not common, occasionally Mormons make statements to the effect that sicknesses can be cured by faith, prayer, healing blessings, and following the Word of Wisdom alone.  They make statements to the effect that physical ailments or mental illness should not need medical intervention.  This is not the teachings of the Church.
  • Elder Holland taught in 2013, Like a Broken Vessel:  “If you had appendicitis, God would expect you to seek a priesthood blessing and get the best medical care available. So too with emotional disorders. Our Father in Heaven expects us to use all of the marvelous gifts He has provided in this glorious dispensation.”
  • Since at least the 1970s, the Church has officially encouraged and dedicated its Humanitarian resources to promoting vaccination.

• Body/Modesty Shaming.  God gave us bodies on order to celebrate them — to run and jump and swim and exercise.  To feel the wind and sun on our skins.  Sometimes, however, we hear comments that all exercise clothing, all swimsuits, all pajamas, starting from birth and continuing through old age, must always follow “temple garment” standards.  We have all encountered gossip about other member’s worthiness due to them not following someone else’s level of dress standards.  This is not God’s will.
  • Sister Marilyn Arnold explained back in 1975: “Modesty in dress is at least partly dependent upon the appropriateness of a particular costume to the occasion or activity for which it is worn. What is appropriate and modest for one activity may not be for another. We have to exercise judgment and make every effort to obey the spirit of the law.”

• Sex Shaming:  Because we so thoroughly believe that sex should be a loving experience between married adults, we strongly discourage it before marriage.  However, this discouragement can sometimes lead to men and women learning false and harmful messages.
  • For example, Elizabeth Smart has repeatedly told about how teenage chastity lessons made her kidnapping worse.  She thought that after being raped and sexually abused she had lost all of her worth.  She felt like a chewed-up piece of gum that was only good for being thrown away.   We should always teach that victims do not sin when they are abused, and even those who willfully sin are fully able to participate in Christ’s atonement and receive healing and grace.
  • More ordinarily, many men and women in the Church have a hard psychological time adjusting to marriage — because they spent decades hearing that sex was bad and physical pleasure was dangerous, they are highly uncomfortable in their bodies once married, and feel ashamed in the bedroom.  While encouraging abstinence before marriage, we should not use fear and shame,  but rather always keep the message positive and focused on the beauty of God’s gift of emotional and physical intimacy.  Dr. Jennifer Finlayson Fife, a Mormon sex therapist, provides excellent resources on how to teach children positive sexual messages and how to encourage increased intimacy in adults.

Conclusion

Bear testimony of the gifts of creation that God has given us, in nature and the environment, and in the joy that we can take from our bodies.

Supplemental Readings From the BCC Archives

Jason & Kristine Kerr, Sunday Sermon: Creation (Apr. 13, 2014)

Kevin Barney, Adam, Eve, and the Order of Creation (Oct. 8, 2015)

RJH, Creation and Collaboration (June 27, 2011)

(If Necessary) Answers For the Inevitable Class Trolls

Answer to: The Earth Is There For Our Use; Jesus’s Second Coming Will Fix The Environment.  The Gospel Topics environmental stewardship essay addresses these questions.  It explains that “replenishing” is part of humanity’s stewardship, and that “The fulness of the earth is to be used with wisdom and restraint.”  “In our care and preservation of the creation, we either accept or reject our accountability to God.”  “To be complacent with His creations offends Him (see D&C 59:18–21).”

Answer to: Evolution/Youth Earth Creationism (from the manual): The length of time required for the Creation is not known. The term day in the scriptural account of the Creation does not represent a 24-hour period. The Hebrew word yom can be translated as “day,” “time,” or “period.” The Apostle Peter said that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years” (2 Peter 3:8; see also Abraham 3:4).   Henry Eyring once wrote “the theories that the earth is about four-and-a-half billion years old and that life evolved over the last billion years or so are as well established scientifically as many theories ever are.”  Reflections of a Scientist (Salt Lake City: Deseret, 1983), 61-62.