Lesson 13

Moses 5:1–11

Prepare to Learn

Prepare your mind and heart to learn. Actively participating in seminary helps show your willingness to be taught by the Holy Ghost.

Begin your study with prayer.

What can you do to help someone who does not understand the need to obey the commandments?

Watch “Going to Grandma’s,” found on LDS.org, to learn what helped Chloe obey her grandma. Think about what this example illustrates and how this could help you teach others.

Adam and Eve’s Experience after the Garden—What Changed?

Think of a time when you experienced a significant change in your life. Maybe you moved to a new home or changed schools. What did you learn from this experience?

Adam and Eve experienced significant changes after they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Read Moses 5:1–4, looking for what happened to Adam and Eve after the Fall.

Quiz 1

1. True or False: After the Fall, Adam and Eve:

   1. had to start working for their food.

   2. could not have children.

   3. could no longer see God when He spoke to them.

Spiritual Death

Consider marking the phrase “they were shut out from his presence” in Moses 5:4. The term we use to describe being separated from God’s presence is “spiritual death.” Consider writing this term in your scriptures next to verse 4.

The following statement gives two reasons that everyone experiences spiritual death.

“The scriptures teach of two sources of spiritual death. The first source is the Fall, and the second is our own disobedience” (“Death, Spiritual,” True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference [2004], 48).

Adam’s Response to a Commandment

Heavenly Father helped Adam and Eve understand how they could overcome the effects of spiritual death and again be in His presence.

We read in Moses 5:5 that Heavenly Father commanded Adam and Eve to “offer the firstlings of their flocks.” This means they were to sacrifice on an altar their firstborn male lambs. Read verse 5, looking for what Adam did in response to this commandment.

Adam’s Response—What Can We Learn?

According to Moses 5:6, an angel appeared to Adam and asked him why he offered sacrifices to the Lord. Read verse 6, looking for Adam’s response.

Quiz 2

1. What can we learn from Adam’s response?

   1. We can choose to obey the Lord’s commandments even if we do not understand the reason for those commandments.

   2. We should obey the Lord’s commandments only if we know the reason for those commandments.

   3. We should obey only those commandments that we enjoy keeping.

Blessings of Obedience

From Moses 5:6 we can identify the following principle: We can choose to obey the Lord’s commandments even if we do not understand the reason for those commandments.

1. How can our lives be blessed when we obey the Lord’s commandments even if we do not fully understand the reason for those commandments? (Feel free to include personal experiences.)

A Similitude

What could sacrificing firstborn male lambs teach Adam and Eve about Heavenly Father’s plan of redemption?

Read Moses 5:7, looking for what the angel taught Adam about the sacrifices Adam offered. The word similitude in verse 7 means a likeness, comparison, or symbol.

In what ways were the sacrifices offered by Adam and Eve similar to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ?

The Purpose of Animal Sacrifice

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) explained the purpose of animal sacrifice:

“Certainly, the shedding of the blood of a beast could be beneficial to no man, except it was done in imitation, or as a type, or explanation of what was to be offered through the gift of God Himself—and this performance done with an eye looking forward in faith on the power of that great Sacrifice for the remission of sins. …

“… We conclude that whenever the Lord revealed Himself to men in ancient days, and commanded them to offer sacrifice to Him, that it was done that they might look forward in faith to the time of His coming, and rely upon the power of that atonement for a remission of their sins” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 48–49).

According to this statement, what was the purpose of animal sacrifice?

Additional Commandments

After the angel taught Adam and Eve about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, he gave them additional commandments from the Lord. We read in Moses 5:8 that Adam and Eve were commanded to “repent and call upon God.”

Read Moses 5:9, looking for what Adam and Eve learned through the Holy Ghost about the Savior’s role in the plan of redemption.

Based on what you learned from Moses 5:8–9, how would you complete the following statement of principle?

If we repent and call upon God for forgiveness, then .

Redemption from Sin

One way we can state the principle identified in Moses 5:8–9 is that if we repent and call upon God for forgiveness, then we can be redeemed from our sins. To be redeemed from our sins means to be delivered or freed from spiritual consequences and penalties and to be restored to a state of innocence before God.

Read Moses 5:10–11, looking for the blessings Adam and Eve realized they could receive because of the Fall and because of Jesus Christ’s Atonement. The word transgression in these verses refers to the partaking of the fruit that resulted in the Fall of Adam and Eve.

How would you summarize the truths taught in Moses 5:10–11?

The Blessings of Eternal Life

One way you could state the truth taught in Moses 5:10–11 is that without the Fall of Adam and Eve and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we could not obtain the blessings of eternal life.

2. What does it mean to you to know that the blessings of eternal life are available to you because of the Fall of Adam and Eve and the Atonement of Jesus Christ?

Doctrinal Truths Identified—Now What Will You Do?

The following truths were identified in this lesson:

• We can choose to obey the Lord’s commandments even if we do not understand the reason for those commandments.

• If we repent and call upon God for forgiveness, then we can be redeemed from our sins.

• Without the Fall of Adam and Eve and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we could not obtain the blessings of eternal life.

Take a moment to consider what specific actions you will take to apply the first two truths identified in this lesson. The Lord can guide and direct you as you sincerely and prayerfully contemplate and then act on these truths.

Answer Key

Quiz 1: (1) a, True; b, False; c, True

Quiz 2: (1) a