Book of Moses
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The Book of Moses is a text published by Joseph Smith, Jr. and thought by many within Mormonism to be the translated writings of Moses. It is contained within the Pearl of Great Price.
The origins of the Book of Moses are described by those within Mormonism as follows. Joseph Smith was commanded by God to translate the Bible from 1830-1831, to restore missing parts lost in translation throughout the millenia (See Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible). Upon beginning the translation, Joseph received the Book of Moses through revelation.
Chapter 1 details an encounter between Moses, God, and Satan. This chapter was supposedly prepended to the Bible but lost through translation and omission. 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. Whereupon, God leaves Moses to himself. At this point, Satan comes tempting Moses to worship him. Moses identifies the weakness of Satan, and drives him away with the name of Christ. Afterwards, God returns to Moses and shows him the numberless worlds with numberless people that God had created. A prophecy alluding to Joseph Smith is given in the final verses.
Chapter 2 onwards generally follow the first chapters of the Book of Genesis in the Bible. However, the Book of Moses provides more details than the Bible. More detail on what occurred in the Garden of Eden is given, along with details of the first generations of Adam. Much more detail concerning Enoch is given, including several prophecies that are had nowhere else. Enoch also teaches about the baptism of Adam by the hand of God. The revelations of Enoch are too great to number here; suffice it to say that only a full examination of the record will detail them.
The Book of Moses ends with the flood of Noah.
