Pearl of Great Price - Moses 5:1-31 - January 13, 2011

 1/13/2022 – Moses 5: 1-31

Adam and Eve are now out of the Garden of Eden. They now have to labor for their food, and face the challenges of living in a non-perfect environment. And now their environment includes children. I feel sure that they followed what the Proclamation on the Family tells the parents of our day: “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.” That proclamation goes on to tell us some of the things that will help us to build, and to live in, loving and helpful families: faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work and wholesome recreational activities.”  I think Adam and Eve followed similar principles, because they “called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.” (v 4) Their worship and learning situation seems to be very much like the way we must also progress and grow closer to God.

In v ‘s 5 -6 we learn that the Lord continued to give them additional commandments, and angels to explain the purpose of those commandments. We, too, can call upon the Lord when we desire greater understanding of those things He has commanded us to do.

V’s 8 -10 show us that we have many of the same helps. This verse comes after an angel had come to explain some of the things the Lord had commanded them to do. The angel’s instructions were for them to “do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. And in that day, the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son. “And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled…”  At this time, Adam had now recognized that this life IS a trial of faith, but it is meant to be so that we can grow, and have joy in doing so!

In v 13 Satan returns telling them that he also is a son of God.  His advice was to encourage them to “believe it not’, and he is using those same tactics still. V 15 follows up telling us that “…as many as believed in the Son, and repented of their sins” would be saved.  Our back sliding happens…usually slowly. We can halt that process by always trying to be alert and obedient to the Lord’s commandments at all times.

Adam and Eve had children, and they taught their children about the Lord and His commandments, but Cain listened to their teachings and “hearkened not, saying: ”Who is the Lord that I should know him?” (v 16). After a time, the Lord Himself came to Cain asking “why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?” (v 22) And then in v 23, the Lord gives Cain the very information that would help him: “It thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt harken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up.”  It is the same today: following the Lord’s commandments is our protection. 

Cain was angry, and even after the Lord’s explanations Cain remained angry. Anger stops our normal patterns of thinking. Anger is a dangerous place to stay in. It will never produce good. In v 28 we learn that Cain married, and he and his wife “loved Satan more than God”. This was not a spiritually helpful situation. We learn that Cain made a compact with Satan in secret. But Cain was proud of his power and gain. In v 31 he gloats: “Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefor Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness. Mahan is another word for destroyer and great one. Cain is probably the most famous murderer in the world. But eventually he did learn that Satan’s promises to him dissolved. 

It’s important to know exactly whom we follow, for that makes a huge difference in our actions, our destinations, and our degree of happiness.