The Creation

                We are spirit children of heavenly parents.  While we lived in our heavenly home, Heavenly Father called us together in a grand council to tell us about His plan for us to become more like Him and gain our salvation and eternal happiness.  We shouted for joy after hearing His plan and were anxious for the new experiences He described to us.  Heavenly Father told us that we would need to leave His presence to receive mortal bodies and to gain the necessary experience.  He told us that He would create a new home for us, which would be known as earth.

                Jesus Christ created the earth and everything in it as well as many other worlds.  He created these worlds under the direction of Heavenly Father and through the power of the priesthood.  Heavenly Father said, “… Worlds without number have I created; … and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten” (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:33).

                The earth and everything on it were created spiritually before they were created physically (see Moses 3:5).  While drawing his “blueprint” for creating the earth, Christ said to those in His presence, “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” (Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:24).

                Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ formed and organized the earth out of existing matter.  He divided the light from the darkness to make day and night.  He formed the sun, moon and stars and hung them in their places.  He divided the waters from the dry land to make streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans.  He made the earth beautiful and productive.  He made grass, flowers, trees, and other plants to beautify the earth and to provide food.  He made plants that contained seeds in order for new plants to grow and make sure there were always plants on the earth.  He created all kinds of animals – fish, birds, insects, and cattle – and gave them the ability to reproduce their own kind.

                When these preparations were completed, the earth was ready for mankind – the greatest of all God’s creations.  “And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning:  Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness, and it was so”  (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 2:26).  The Gods formed Adam and Eve, the first man and woman on earth.  They were given bodies that resembled the bodies of our heavenly parents.  “… In the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).  Adam and Eve were given the ability to have children and create bodies for the spirit children waiting in heaven for their chance to come to earth.  When the Gods finished creating Adam and Eve, they were pleased with their creation and pronounced it good.  Then the Gods rested.

                Gods created this beautiful world where we now live.  They created the sun to give us light and warmth.  They created rain to water the plants and cleanse the earth.  They created our wonderful bodies with ears to hear the songs of birds and laughter of children, with eyes to see beautiful sunsets, and noses to smell the wonderful scents of flowers.  They made our bodies so we can work, play and rest from our labors.

                The creations all around us are proof of God’s existence and His love for His children here on earth.  All things on the earth were created for the benefit of mankind because He loves us.