Book of Moses

The Book of Moses is a text published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and thought by those within Mormonism to be the translated writings of Moses. It is published today as part of the Pearl of Great Price.

Origin

In 1830, according to adherents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith was commanded by God to create a new translation of the Bible, in order to restore lost portions and correct mistranslations in the modern text. The Book of Moses is a partial result of that work. See Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.

Content

The first chapter describes an encounter between Moses, God, and Satan. Smith believed that this chapter was missing from the original Bible as it was lost in modern versions of the account. The encounter describes the magnificence of deity, and Moses' understanding of man's insignificance in comparison. Moses is shown the entirety of the history of the world and all that will come to pass. After this vision God leaves Moses to himself, whereupon Satan comes tempting Moses to worship him. Moses recognizes the weakness of Satan, and drives him away in the name of Christ. Afterwards, God returns to Moses and shows him the numberless worlds with numberless people that God has created. A prophecy alluding to Joseph Smith is given in the final verses. The following chapters generally follow the first chapters of the Book of Genesis, but provide additional detail not found in the Bible. An expanded account of the creation of the earth and the story of the Garden of Eden, along with details of the generations of Adam. More information is given concerning Enoch, including several otherwise unknown prophecies and Enoch's teachings, and details the baptism of Adam by God. The Book of Moses ends just before the flood of Noah.

Genealogy

The Book of Moses contains a detailed account of Adam's descendants. Genealogy from the Book of Abraham is shown below. Bold denotes individuals not from Genesis. The names Egyptus and Pharaoh are not present in the Book of Moses.

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Book of Moses

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