“Chapter 5: Jesus Made the Earth,” Gospel Fundamentals, 19
Who made the earth? Why did He make it?
We Needed an Earth
Part of the plan that our Father in Heaven explained to us in heaven was for us to leave heaven for a time. We needed a place to go, away from His presence, to receive bodies of flesh and bones and to be tested to show whether we would make correct choices. He needed to have someone make this place for us. He chose Jesus to do it.
Discussion
Jesus Made the Earth
Jesus made the earth. He made the day and the night. He made the sun, the moon, and the stars. He separated the water from the dry land and made seas, lakes, and rivers. He planted grass, trees, flowers, and all other kinds of plants on the earth. Then He put animals, fish, birds, and insects on the earth. When Jesus had done all this, the earth was ready for people to live on it.
Our Father in Heaven then made a man and a woman. The man was named Adam, and the woman was named Eve. They each had a body of flesh and bones like the body of our Father in Heaven. All of this work of making the earth and placing living things upon it is called the Creation. Our Father in Heaven was pleased with the earth and all the things He had instructed Jesus to place on it.
Discussion
Heavenly Father’s Creations Show He Loves Us
We are now living in the beautiful world that our Father in Heaven instructed Jesus to make. The sun gives us warmth and light. The rain makes the plants grow and gives us water to drink. The plants and animals on the earth provide food and clothing for us.
Jesus made all these things for us, under our Father in Heaven’s direction. When we see that He had all these things made for us, we realize that our Father in Heaven loves us and cares for us.
Discussion
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• Think of some of the things our Father in Heaven had made for us.
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• How do we know our Father in Heaven loves us and cares for us?
We Can Show We Are Grateful for the Earth
We should always remember that our Father in Heaven had everything on the earth made for us. He is not happy when we do not remember that. We can show Him that we are grateful by using wisely the things on the earth. We should not waste anything on the earth. We should care for the earth and keep it clean. We should thank our Father in Heaven for this beautiful world when we pray to Him. We also show Him we are grateful for the earth by doing the things He wants us to do here.
Discussion
References
We Needed an Earth
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• Isaiah 45:18 (God made the earth for mankind to live on.)
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• 2 Nephi 2:15 (God made the earth as a part of His plan for us.)
Jesus Made the Earth
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• Isaiah 45:12; Hebrews 1:1–3 (Jesus made the earth under our Father in Heaven’s direction.)
Heavenly Father’s Creations Show He Loves Us
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• Genesis 1 (God made all things on the earth for us.)
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• Romans 8:38–39 (Nothing can separate us from the love of God.)
We Can Show We Are Grateful for the Earth
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• Ephesians 5:20 (We should thank God for all things.)
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• Mosiah 2:20–25 (We should thank God, who made us.)
[picture]
Jesus created a beautiful earth for us.