“Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5,” Old Testament Institute Teacher Manual (2026)
Moses Seeing Jehovah, by Joseph Brickey
Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5
Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the earth in six periods of time, then rested on the seventh. God created Adam and Eve in His own image. He commanded them to multiply and replenish the earth.
Additional Resources
Scripture Helps: Old Testament, “Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5”
Note: The “Introduction to the Course” provides guidance on how to use the standard lesson elements that follow.
Encouraging Personal Study
Before class, consider sending students one or more of the following messages or some of your own:
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We can learn a lot about Jesus Christ when we consider His role as Creator. Study one of the accounts of the Creation in Genesis 1, Moses 2, or Abraham 4. Consider making a list of what you learn about Jesus Christ.
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As you study Genesis 1:26–27, Moses 2:26–27, and Abraham 4:26–27, ponder what it means that we are created in the image of God. How does your knowledge of this truth affect you?
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Many influences today minimize the importance of marriage and family. As you study Moses 2:27–28; 3:18–24, think about why marriage and family play a central role in Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.
Questions and Sharing
Provide time for students to ask questions and share insights and truths they discovered in their personal study of Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; and Abraham 4–5.
Skill Training
Genesis 1; Moses 2; and Abraham 4 might be a helpful place to use the skill “Searching in the Scriptures and in Gospel Library,” in Scripture Study Skills.
Learning Activity Options
Multiple learning options are provided for you and your students. Prayerfully choose which option or options will be most meaningful for your class. You could also seek input from your students.
Improving Our Teaching and Learning
Respond to spiritual impressions about the needs of learners. The Lord is aware of your students’ needs. As you pray for those you teach and prepare yourself spiritually, He can give you spiritual impressions to help you know how to best help your students. Have confidence that the Holy Ghost “will show unto you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:5).
How can understanding the Creation influence my feelings about the Creator?
Consider displaying a picture of a beautiful landscape or another of God’s creations as students enter class. Students could also share with a partner a picture or description of one of God’s creations that is meaningful to them.
Point out that studying the Creation can deepen our feelings of love and reverence for Jesus Christ, who created the earth, and for God the Father, who created women and men in His image. Consider displaying a table like the following and inviting students to make a copy of their own. Invite them to study Genesis 1; Moses 2; or Abraham 4, looking for different responses they could include in each column of the table. (To help with questions students may have about the Creation, you could encourage them to study entries related to these chapters in Scripture Helps: Old Testament.)
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What I learn or feel about the Creator |
What I learn or feel about His creations |
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What I learn or feel about the Creator | What I learn or feel about His creations |
Next, divide the class into partnerships or small groups. Invite students to share with each other some of their responses. Students could also share some of their insights with the class. (Using their own words, they might identify truths like the following: Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the earth. There was forethought and order in the Creation. We are created in the image of God. God declared His creations to be very good.)
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How can remembering these truths affect your feelings about God, Jesus Christ, and all of God’s creations?
Consider inviting students to find scriptures that deepen their understanding and appreciation for Jesus Christ’s role as the Creator. They could use study tools in Gospel Library to find passages (see “Searching in the Scriptures and in Gospel Library” in Scripture Study Skills). You could also suggest that they study a few of the following passages:
After sufficient time, consider inviting students to share what they learned with a partner, in small groups, or together as a class. You might also consider asking questions like the following:
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What does the Savior’s role as Creator help you understand about Him and His capabilities?
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What have you learned or felt about the Savior’s motives, His love, or His power to help you?
Consider showing the video “We Lived with God” (4:00), and invite students to reflect on their feelings for Jesus Christ. Students could also record any feelings or impressions they received from the Holy Ghost.
Genesis 1:26–27; Moses 2:26–27; Abraham 4:26–27
Why is it important to remember that I am created in God’s image?
Invite students to ponder and discuss an aspect of the human body that amazes them. You might also show the video “God’s Greatest Creation” (2:51).
Consider discussing together a question like the following:
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What thoughts or feelings do you have about God as you consider the human body and its many functions?
Invite students to study Genesis 1:26–27; Moses 2:26–27; or Abraham 4:26–27, along with the following statement from “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Encourage them to think about what these teachings reveal about the significance of their creation.
All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Gospel Library)
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What do these teachings help you understand about yourself? (Students could identify a truth such as this: Because we are created in the image of God, we have a divine nature and destiny.)
To help students better understand the significance of their divine nature and destiny, distribute the handout titled “Our Identity and Destiny.” Invite students to discuss it together in groups. Afterward, you could ask students to share with the class some of their insights.
Consider inviting a few students to share how knowing about their divine identity and destiny has affected them. You could also watch the video “Running Toward the Light” (time code 11:00 to 15:19). Invite students to pay attention to how Elder Peter M. Johnson’s life was changed when he learned that he was a child of God.
Why are marriage and family central to Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation?
Consider sharing the following statement from “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” along with the scenario below. (You could adapt the details of the scenario so they are more applicable to your students.)
We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Gospel Library)
Gideon hears a lot of messages at church and in other gospel settings about the importance of marriage and family. He didn’t mind it at first, but as he has gotten older, he is starting to get tired of hearing so much about it. He can’t really see himself getting married or having kids. When Gideon hears messages at church about the family being central to Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation, he wonders what that means for him.
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What are some reasons why he might feel reluctant to get married and have children?
Invite students to think about questions they may have about marriage and family. Explain that what Heavenly Father did after the Creation can help us better understand the central role of marriage and family in His plan. Encourage students as they study to seek guidance from the Holy Ghost for help with their questions.
Study together Moses 2:27–28; 3:18–24; and Doctrine and Covenants 49:15–17. Encourage students to look for truths that demonstrate the central role of marriage and family in Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. (Students could also use Scripture Helps: Old Testament to help them better understand the verses they study from Moses 2–3.)
Ask students to share some of the truths they learned about marriage and family from their study. Consider writing these truths on the board. Using their own words, they may identify truths like these:
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God has commanded husbands and wives to have children (Moses 2:28).
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Husbands and wives are to be one and act as equal partners (Moses 3:18, 24).
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Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God (Doctrine and Covenants 49:15).
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The earth was created to provide a place where God’s children could be born into families and progress together (Doctrine and Covenants 49:16–17).
As part of your discussion of these truths, consider showing the videos “Today’s Family: Elder Andersen on Children” (2:35) or “Renaissance of Marriage” (2:36).
You could also ask questions like these:
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How can remembering the central role of marriage and family in Heavenly Father’s plan affect your choices?
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How do you think following Heavenly Father’s standards related to marriage and family can help you become more like Him?
Acknowledge that for a variety of reasons, many people do not experience ideal marriage or family situations. This can cause sorrow, frustration, confusion, or worry. To help address these concerns, you could ask:
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What could you share with someone who has not had positive experiences with marriage and family? (As needed, consider using the following statement by Elder D. Todd Christofferson:)
To declare the fundamental truths relative to marriage and family is not to overlook or diminish the sacrifices and successes of those for whom the ideal is not a present reality. Some of you are denied the blessing of marriage for reasons including a lack of viable prospects, same-sex attraction, physical or mental impairments, or simply a fear of failure that, for the moment at least, overshadows faith. Or you may have married, but that marriage ended, and you are left to manage alone what two together can barely sustain. Some of you who are married cannot bear children despite overwhelming desires and pleading prayers.
Even so, everyone has gifts; everyone has talents; everyone can contribute to the unfolding of the divine plan in each generation. Much that is good, much that is essential—even sometimes all that is necessary for now—can be achieved in less than ideal circumstances. So many of you are doing your very best. And when you who bear the heaviest burdens of mortality stand up in defense of God’s plan to exalt His children, we are all ready to march. With confidence we testify that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has anticipated and, in the end, will compensate all deprivation and loss for those who turn to Him. No one is predestined to receive less than all that the Father has for His children. (“Why Marriage, Why Family,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 52)
Invite students to ponder about how they can act on the truths they have studied. Encourage them to seek inspiration from Heavenly Father or record spiritual impressions they have already received from the Holy Ghost. Testify of the central role of the family in Heavenly Father’s plan.