The Creation

There are people who believe that our beautiful world was created by a "Big Bang." If this theory really worked, I should be able to put all my cookie ingredients on the table, shake the table, and have cookie dough! Another comparison would be to put the parts to a watch, etc. on the table, shake the table, and have a functioning watch.

I personally believe that our loving Heavenly Father planned and organized this earth for us. We lived in heaven as spirit children of heavenly parents. Heavenly Father called all of His spirit children together and presented His plan of how we could become like Him. We liked His plan so much that we shouted for joy (Job 38:7). We wanted the new experiences even though we knew we would have to leave heaven. We knew that we needed mortal bodies and a new home in order to prepare ourselves.

Under the direction of Heavenly Father and using the power of the priesthood, Jesus Christ created or organized this earth out of available materials. God the Father told Moses, "Worlds without number have I created; … and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten" (Moses 1:33). Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon said that they saw Jesus Christ in a vision. They testified “that by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:24).

The earth and everything on it were planned and created spiritually before they were created physically (see Moses 3:5). While planning the physical creation of the earth, Christ told those who were with Him, “We will go down, for there is space there, … and we will make an earth whereon these [the spirit children of our Father in Heaven] may dwell” (Abraham 3:24).

Christ, as directed by the Father, formed and organized the earth and divided the light from the darkness. He formed the sun, moon and stars and hung them in the heavens. He divided the water from the earth. He made the earth beautiful and planted all kinds of plants, such as trees, grass, flowers, and shrubs. He planned that all these plants would reproduce themselves from seeds contained within each plant. He created fish, insects, birds, and animals, all capable of reproducing their own kind.

God's greatest creation - mankind - came after the earth was completed and prepared. The spirit children of God would be given bodies of flesh and blood so they could live on earth. “And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so” (Moses 2:26). Man and woman were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, were formed and given bodies that looked like those of our heavenly parents. After Adam and Eve were created, God announced that He was pleased and knew His work was good. Then He rested for a time.

We can know of God and His love for us as we look at the world around us. We have this beautiful world to live in. We have the sun to keep us warm and give us light. We receive rain to make plants grow and to clean and refresh our air. We have our bodies, which are true miracles and which allow us to work, play and rest. All of the creations of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ show us how wise, powerful, and loving They are. They love us so much that They created this beautiful world for us.

Plants and animals were created to give us joy. The Lord said, “Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:18-19). God has many creations, and yet He knows and loves them all. He said, “All things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them” (Moses 1:35).