And the Evening and the Morning Were the Third Day

God was very busy during the third creative period.  He commanded the waters to gather in one place and the dry earth to appear and they obeyed.  He didn't leave the land sterile once it was in place, for He prepared the earth to bring forth from seed the grasses, herbs and fruits.  He further gave the grasses, herbs, and seed to reproduce, bringing forth plant life each like unto itself.

 

I love this picture because it shows Pangea, the

super, master continent as it was in the

beginning.  The continents didn't separate until

the days of Peleg. son of Eber

(1Chronicles  1:19)

Abraham writes of plural Gods doing this work in harmony together;

 

And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the earth com1e up dry; and it was so as they ordered;

And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.

 

And the Gods said: Let us prepare the earth to bring forth grass; the herb yielding seed; the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose seed in itself yieldeth its own likeness upon the earth; and it was so, even as they ordered.

And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth grass from its own seed, and the herb to bring forth herb from its own seed, yielding seed after his kind; and the earth to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit, whose seed could only bring forth the same in itself, after his kind; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed. 

And it came to pass that they numbered the days; from the evening until the morning they called night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening they called day; and it was the third time. (Abraham 4: 9-13)

 

 

The Genesis version also speaks of plural Gods:

 

And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the earth come up dry; and it was so as they ordered;

And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.

And the Gods said: Let us prepare the earth to bring forth grass; the herb yielding seed; the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose seed in itself yieldeth its own likeness upon the earth; and it was so, even as they ordered.

 And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth grass from its own seed, and the herb to bring forth herb from its own seed, yielding seed after his kind; and the earth to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit, whose seed could only bring forth the same in itself, after his kind; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.

And it came to pass that they numbered the days; from the evening until the morning they called night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening they called day; and it was the third time. (Genesis 1:9-13)

Since I have been emphasizing the plurality of Gods in all versions of the Creation Story, I'd like to deal briefly with the concept of the trinity.  There is nothing in holy writ that describes a godhead wherein there is one god with 3 aspects; a trinity of 3 gods - Father, Son, Holy Spirit - in one being, small enough to fit in your heart at the same time large enough to fill the universe.  The concept of the trinity (to which most Christians ascribe) came out of the Council at Nicea in the mid-4th Century.  Nearly 1,200 known Bishops of the church were invited to the council: only around 300 came.  The convoluted reasoning of the Nicean Creed makes most people dizzy if they really look at it.  When people ask for an explanation, they are often told that we are not supposed to understand and know God, despite's Jesus statement in Matthew: And this is life eternal; that they may know thee, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

 

Not my favorite picture, but it does clearly show

the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost along with

John the Baptist

The early Church in the days of the apostles understood this when they heard Jesus praying to His Father and Stephen seeing Jesus standing on the right hand of the Father.  Those who were at Jesus' baptism heard the voice of the Father declaring Jesus to be His Son, and saw the Holy Spirit rest upon Jesus as represented by a dove.  That, combined with the writings of Moses and Abraham, shows that the early Christians understood that the Godhead consists of 3 Beings united in purpose but separate in substance - thus Gods, in the plural.

 

The clear declaration of Latter-day Saint belief in the Biblical godhood is found in the very first Article of Faith: We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. -Joseph Smith

 

 © Gebara Education, 2016