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Creation

“Creation,” Topics and Questions (2023)

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Gospel Study Guide

Creation

God’s purpose in creating all things for His children

When was the last time you looked at the stars in the night sky, listened to the waves on a beach, or hiked in the outdoors? We live in a beautiful world. While we don’t know many details about how the earth was created, we do know it was created by Jesus Christ under the direction of God the Father. And we know why it was made. The prophet Moses once learned in a heavenly vision that God has created worlds without number (see Moses 1:7–8, 27–29). God explained to Moses that He created the earth to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). When we understand that the Creation was carried out by the direction and power of God Himself, we begin to see how essential it is in His plan for our salvation.

What Is the Creation?

Under the direction of God the Father, Jesus Christ created the heavens and the earth and everything on the earth. Heavenly Father created Adam and Eve in His own image, making it possible for His children to be born into this world.

Topic overview: Creation

Related gospel study guides: Plan of Salvation, Premortal Life, Jesus Christ, Fall of Adam and Eve, Mortal Life

Section 1

Jesus Christ Created the World under Heavenly Father’s Direction

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In the premortal council in heaven, God the Father declared His plan to prepare an earth where His children could experience mortality (see Abraham 3:24–25). The scriptures show that Jesus Christ carried out the Creation under the direction of God the Father (see Moses 2:1). The Creation of the earth took place in six stages, which the scriptures call “days” (see Moses 2:1–31; Genesis 1:3–31; Abraham 4:1–31). The Lord has not revealed how long each “day” was (see Doctrine and Covenants 101:32–34). The scriptures focus on the purpose of the Creation rather than on the processes God used to bring it about. Everything about the Creation testifies of its creator, Jesus Christ (see Moses 6:63).

Things to think about

Activity for learning with others

  • Give each person a sheet of paper. Have them fold it in half three times and then unfold it so it’s divided into eight sections. Have them write or draw on their paper what happened during each day of the Creation, one day per section, numbering the days as they go. In the eighth square, have them write or draw something about the Creation that they’re especially grateful for (for example, their family, the ocean, animals, snow, and so on).

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Section 2

The Greatest Creation of All Was Mankind

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Adam and Eve, the first man and woman on earth, were formed by God and given bodies that resembled those of our heavenly parents (see Genesis 1:27). Adam and Eve were joined together in marriage when they were blessed by the Lord (see Moses 2:27–28). The Doctrine and Covenants reveals that one divine purpose of the earth is connected to God’s plan for His children to participate in marriage and family (see Doctrine and Covenants 49:15–17). Because of the Creation, God’s spirit children can obtain physical bodies and experience mortality.

Things to think about

Activity for learning with others

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Section 3

The Earth Is a Gift, and We Are Stewards of It

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God gave Adam “dominion” over the earth’s creatures (Moses 2:28; 5:1). In modern revelation, the Lord said that “all things which come of the earth” are “for the benefit and the use of man” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:18). But the Lord said the earth’s resources must be used “with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:20).

Bishop Gérald Caussé taught: “The divine gift of the Creation does not come without duties and responsibilities. These duties are best described by the concept of stewardship. In gospel terms, the word stewardship designates a sacred spiritual or temporal responsibility to take care of something that belongs to God for which we are accountable.”1

Things to think about

  • Read Doctrine and Covenants 59:16–20 and make a list of the reasons the Lord gave us the earth and everything on it. Consider what aspects of the Lord’s creations have brought you joy.

  • The Lord told Joseph Smith that everyone is “accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures” (Doctrine and Covenants 104:13). How can you be a good steward or caretaker of God’s creations? What do you think the Lord meant with the caution to use these things “with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion”? (Doctrine and Covenants 59:20).

Activity for learning with others

  • Go for a walk near your home. Look for things in nature that are beautiful or that bring you happiness. Why do you think God made the world beautiful?

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Other resources about the Creation