Introduction

In early July 1830, amid severe persecution and opposition to the Church, and in the immediate aftermath of incarcerations and trials on trumped-up charges against the Prophet Joseph Smith,[1] the Lord revealed to Joseph that he had been delivered from Satan’s power because he had obeyed divine counsel. The Lord then exhorted him to remain faithful and focus on spiritual things despite temporal responsibilities (see Doctrine and Covenants 24:1–5). Other revelations followed that focused on the work of translation. They revealed themes similar to what unfolded anciently in the lives of Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel—namely, the necessity of laboring for one’s daily maintenance, hearkening to divine counsel, the dangers of pride and anger, the devil’s attempts to overcome people, and the Christ-typology of the shedding of blood.

When Oliver Cowdery, who had been acting as scribe, was called on a mission that same month (see Doctrine and Covenants 24), John Whitmer was called to assist Joseph in the work of translation. Joseph’s history records, “I began to arrange and copy the revelations which we had received from time to time; in which I was assisted by John Whitmer, who now resided with me.” Whitmer helped transcribe parts of Moses 5 and 6.[2] Around this time the Lord commanded Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and John Whitmer, “Behold, I say unto you that you shall let your time be devoted to the studying of the scriptures, and to preaching, and to confirming the church at Colesville, and to performing your labors on the land, such as is required, until after you shall go to the west to hold the next conference; and then it shall be made known what you shall do” (Doctrine and Covenants 26:1).

Doctrine and Covenants 27 was also received at this time, revealing how Christ and his servants from all dispensations (from Adam to the present) would partake of the sacrament in remembrance of the blood of Christ. It is within this contextual framework that the work of translation continued, and the revelations would continue, revealing the nature and purpose of sacrifice from the time of Adam and Eve and how the devil has been actively trying to lead people away from God from the beginning. Subsequently, and with direct reference to Moses 5 and the story of Cain, Joseph would explain that sacrifice and “the shedding of blood” had always been “a type, by which man was to discern the great Sacrifice which God had prepared.”[3] Thus, the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, first in the New Testament, and then again in the time of the Restoration, maintained the symbolism of an ancient practice that was fulfilled in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and his implementation of the sacrament in remembrance of him. Moses 5 was relevant to the Saints in the time of its reception and remains relevant today.

In September 1830 more revelations would come explaining the nature of the devil and his attempts to deceive in the premortal existence and in the Garden of Eden (see Doctrine and Covenants 28–29), themes that ran deep in Moses 5 and related to what Church members were encountering in the summer and fall of 1830.[4] Together with Moses 5, this flurry of revelations could thus act as a reminder to generations of Saints of the necessity of overcoming persecution and resisting the temptations of the devil in their efforts to remain faithful. The revelations would also reinforce the close communion the faithful could have with God.

Moses 5

Moses 5 corresponds to Genesis 4 and depicts life after Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden (see Moses 5:4) and their efforts to call upon God.[5] It describes Adam and Eve being blessed with children and teaching them to follow and embrace God and his commandments (see vv. 2, 12). It further chronicles the establishment of their children’s families (see v. 3) as well as the revelation Adam and Eve received from an angel, and confirmed by the power of the Holy Ghost, about the purpose of sacrifice as a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father (see vv. 6–8). This typology of sacrifice became a crucial theological element in Moses 5 since the law of sacrifice would provide the backdrop for the sad story that would take place later in the chapter involving Cain, Abel, and God. Moses 5:5–8 provides a clear explanation of the purpose of sacrifice and its function in the lives of Adam and Eve, details that are absent from Genesis 4, resulting in an ongoing academic and theological struggle to make sense of the Cain and Abel story as a whole as it is presented in Genesis 4.[6] Thanks to Restoration scripture and the revelations Joseph Smith received during his Bible translation project, we know that Adam and Eve, through the Holy Ghost, came to understand the glory of their redemption through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father (see Moses 5:9–11) and that their redemption would be ritually portrayed in their worship of God through the offering of prescribed sacrifices. These offerings would serve as a type or similitude of their salvation through the Son of God. Genesis 4 is generally viewed in relation to its thematic affinities with the events in the garden and the template of salvation presented there.[7] The revelation of the typology and purpose of animal sacrifice would become invaluable to Moses and the Israelites as they began receiving, first, instructions on how to conduct Passover and, later, the prescriptions for the sacrificial system in the law of Moses.

Moses 5 thus becomes a powerful, expansive witness of the importance of salvation as a pervasive, ongoing theme after Adam and Eve leave the presence of God in the Garden of Eden and are presented with a divinely authorized form of worship ritually enacting and representing the power of redemption that comes through Christ as the Lamb of the sacrifice. Moreover, the chapter is filled with lessons of ethical and moral conduct—and the obverse of such conduct—that would later be codified in biblical law.[8] The story intimates future societal interaction illustrating behavior to be emulated or avoided. The behavior of Cain and his descendants would foreshadow the wickedness that results from disobedience and that would intensify to the point of bringing on a divine flood.

Gen 4 concludes the story of mankind that was cut off in the flood. . . . Only in the last two verses introducing the descendants of Seth do we have glimmers of hope, for from him, as chap 5 will describe, descended Noah, the survivor of the flood. . . . Like those in Gen 3, they describe patterns of behavior into which every man is likely to lapse, and they stand as warnings to all who are tempted to disregard God’s laws. The paradigmatic character of these stories is most clear in the account of Cain and Abel. In structure and phraseology there are many close parallels with the story of the fall. Just as Gen 3 describes how sin disrupts the relationships between man and wife, God and man, Gen 4:2–16 explains how sin introduces hate between brothers and separation from God. . . . In similar fashion to Gen 2–3, Gen 4 expresses through narrative principles that are of fundamental importance to biblical law. The description of the garden of Eden evokes the imagery of the tabernacle and suggests that fullness of life is to be found only in the presence of God.[9]

Moses 5/Genesis 4 thus introduce laws and ordinances of God designed to develop relationships with him and remind people of the love and concern he has for their redemption. This is all focused in the symbolism behind the sacrifices. The worship system introduced to Adam and Eve and their posterity would center on the sacrifice of the Son of God and demonstrate how the knowledge of this sacrifice and the observance of sacrifices in its similitude truly brought Adam and Eve peace, joy, happiness, and gratitude. It is through this lens that Cain’s story is to be viewed.

Upon receiving the law of sacrifice and rejoicing in their redemption (see Moses 5:10–11), Adam and Eve strive to teach their children repentance and salvation through the Son of God. It is disheartening to see their struggles to raise a righteous family amid Satan’s vicious attempts to lead their children astray (see vv.12–15). This conflict between good and evil, God and the devil, informs the Garden of Eden narrative and is amplified in the Cain and Abel story. Moses 5 presents us with crucial pieces of information inferred from but explicitly absent from the Bible: the existence of the devil, his temptations, and his attempting to lead Adam and Eve’s children away from God. The devil encouraged them not only to disregard the teachings of their parents but also to reject the form of worship that had specifically been designed to develop and increase faith in God and his Son.[10] Satan’s early assaults on this first family also establishes the context for Cain’s journey to fratricide, wickedness, and sorrow as he begins to love Satan more than God.

The Family of Adam and Eve

We learn in Moses 5:1–3 that Adam and Eve had other children before the births of Cain and Abel. This new information is absent from but later explicitly implied in the Genesis account. The existence of older people is evident in Cain’s concern that others will want to kill him for taking the life of Abel.

A word must be said about Cain’s fears and God’s response to those fears. Who does Cain think is out there to kill him . . . ? The presence of other people can either be attributed to the idea that Adam and Eve are only one of many couples that were created or that the other people represent a rapidly expanding family from the offspring of Adam and Eve. The text of Genesis is silent in this regard, but Pauline theology leads us to favor the second option. It is difficult to determine how sin came to all humanity unless all humans are descendants of Adam and Eve. This theological inference cannot be elaborated since the text offers no further information.[11]

The Book of Moses supplies crucial information regarding many narrative enigmas that have left Bible commentators wondering how to put the pieces together in a text that is often ambiguous and lacks such details.[12] Moses 5 thus helps us better understand the nature of the events and adds clarity to a Genesis 4 text that can be confusing as pertaining to the family of Adam and Eve. With God speaking in the first person, the narrative transitions from the Garden of Eden setting:

1 And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow,[13] as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him.

2 And Adam knew his wife, and she bare unto him sons and daughters, and they began to multiply and to replenish the earth.

3 And from that time forth, the sons and daughters of Adam began to divide two and two in the land, and to till the land, and to tend flocks, and they also begat sons and daughters.

In accordance with the blessings and commandments God had given them in the Garden of Eden, the Lord reassured Moses that Adam and Eve still had “dominion” (see Genesis 1:26, 28; Moses 2:26, 28) and that their earlier blessings had not been revoked or lost through the Fall. This information would be helpful to Moses as he set up the sacrificial worship system under the direction of the Lord, enabling him to comprehend the purpose behind covenants, atonement, and restoration. The stewardship for which Adam and Eve had been created remained intact, and they faithfully kept the commandments from the time of their fall. Their circumstances had changed, but through the atonement of Christ presented to them by God in the garden subsequent to their partaking of the fruit, all was not lost. The focus of their mortal experience would shift toward what could be gained through faithful living. In the following verses, the purpose and typology behind the law of sacrifice, both of which had not fully been revealed to Adam and Eve in the garden, would be revealed to them in detail. This revealed knowledge would help them keep an eternity-oriented perspective regarding the plan of salvation and their redemption. They would have covenantal responsibility within priestly duties and functions, something given to them in the Garden of Eden.[14] We also witness in verse 2 that once again the Lord’s promises regarding Adam and Eve’s posterity were being fulfilled, as they would be for Abraham and Sarah and others later. Adam and Eve had not lost these opportunities in their expulsion from the garden but had permanently gained them (see 2 Nephi 2:23–25). We further witness in verse 3 that families are being established after the pattern God had provided for Adam and Eve.

The Law of Sacrifice—Typology and Purpose

“Salvation could not come to the world, without the mediation of Jesus Christ,”[15] the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, and the institution of sacrificial offerings would teach this principle in dramatic fashion.[16] At many points the Old Testament is suggestive of this principle.[17] It is also clear that the Nephites’ understanding of the law of sacrifice in their Old Testament–era world situated Christ in this role, and eventually such an understanding was fleshed out and confirmed in more detail in the New Testament.[18] Thus the ancient nature of sacrifice and its portrayal of the Lamb of God was a principle understood by Adam and Eve:

From the Pearl of Great Price we learn how much Adam, Enoch, Moses, and other prophets knew and taught about God our Father and his Son, our Savior. We see that the Saints of this earth’s earliest era fully understood the doctrine of the Godhead and knew that the Son, Jesus Christ, would make an atonement for mankind. Many Latter-day Saints may not understand the significance of revelation showing that Adam had this knowledge. But nowhere in the Old Testament, as it stands today, do we find a stated connection between the law of sacrifice and the Atonement.[19] It is not there because, as the Lord told Moses, certain individuals “shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write.” The Lord assured Moses, however, that he would remedy this problem, for “I will raise up another like unto thee; and they [the Lord’s words] shall be had again among the children of men—among as many as shall believe” (Moses 1:41).[20]

It was vital for Adam and Eve to understand the atoning role of the second member of the Godhead in relation to what happened in the Garden of Eden, and God would specifically teach them this relationship:

4 And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord,[21] 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.

5 And he gave unto them commandments,[22] that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.

6 And after many days[23] an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.

7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.

8 Wherefore, thou shalt 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.[24]

The Prophet Joseph Smith explained the relevance of God’s continued revelation to Adam and Eve:

The way by which mankind were first made acquainted with the existence of a God: that it was by a manifestation of God to man, and that God continued, after man’s transgression to manifest himself to him and his posterity: and notwithstanding they were separated from his immediate presence, that they could not see his face, they continued to hear his voice.

Adam thus being made acquainted with God, communicated the knowledge which he had unto his posterity; and it was through this means that the thought was first suggested to their minds that there was a God. Which laid the foundation for the exercise of their faith, through which they could obtain a knowledge of his character and also of his glory.[25]

The symbolism of sacrifice became sacred because it pointed forward toward an infinite sacrifice to be performed by the Son of God.[26] While the symbolism and Christocentric origins of these sacrificial practices may not have always been embraced and understood in orthodoxy and orthopraxis throughout the Old Testament as prescribed here, the Lord revealed to Adam and Eve the specific intent and meaning of such sacrifice and what the ideal was.[27] The fact that this was not always followed in near or distant practices throughout the Old Testament is clear in the story of Cain and Abel, but Adam and Eve understood the underlying purpose and attempted to teach it to their children. The connection is stated in the Book of Mormon in an Old Testament setting as portrayed through the practice and teachings of the Nephites, and New Testament authors clearly also associated Christ as the paschal lamb of sacrifice.[28] Joseph Smith had not invented these teachings and symbols; they already existed in the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, both of which are ancient scriptural witnesses of the Old Testament. The Lord had restored them, highlighting their continuity across time.

Although Adam and Eve had been shut out from the presence of God, they continued to hear his voice coming from the garden and were instructed how to worship so they could regain his presence. This was to be accomplished in part through offering up the firstlings of their flocks as explained to them by the angel (see Moses 5:6–7). This is vital information since the story in Genesis is silent on the origin of the practice of sacrifice but seems to indicate that at some point instruction came. The lack of information regarding the sacrifices in Genesis 4 has justifiably led to conclusions such as “The text offers no explanation for Cain’s and Abel’s sacrifices. No divine commandments evoke or specify the ritual act. Instead, within the narrative atmosphere of the primal history, the impulse to sacrifice seems to follow from the sheer humanity of Cain and Abel”[29] and “It should be noted that Genesis does not preserve any record of God requesting such offerings, though he approved of it as a means of expressing thanks.”[30] The origins of sacrifice and the reasons behind it are affirmed in Moses 5, which demonstrates that the law of sacrifice did not originate with Moses. . . . Its purposes were well-established by the time of Moses.[31]

It is possible that portions of this instruction on sacrifice first came in the Garden of Eden or that Adam and Eve’s experiences there at least foreshadowed what was to come. In any event, Moses 5 explicitly states that God was in communication with them from the garden.[32] Moses 4:27 states, “Unto Adam, and also unto his wife, did I, the Lord God, make coats of skins, and clothed them.” If this is the point at which the Lord first introduced the ordinance of sacrifice to Adam and Eve, he had, in clothing them in tunics made from these first sacrifices, prepared for them a powerful symbol of the ultimate protection from evil afforded them in the sacrifice. In other words, in clothing them in the sacrifices that typified Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice, the Lord was teaching them the protective aspects of that atonement as a covering. The principle is similar to what Paul taught the Galatians: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). One so clothed has “[put] off the natural man and [has become] a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord” (Mosiah 3:19). The Lord did not, however, immediately unfold the symbolism of the sacrifices or the tunics.

Nevertheless, it is clear that outside the garden, Adam and Eve received specific instructions explaining to them what it all meant, as recounted in Moses 5:4–8. They would proceed in obedience to sacrifice after their expulsion from the garden but would come to truly understand the nature of their sacrifices only after the angel explained it to them. Thus, although Adam and Eve did not fully comprehend what the Lord had initially taught them in the garden, they trusted him and remained obedient to what he had commanded.

During his visit, the angel asked Adam and Eve if they understood why they were offering sacrifices. Although Adam said he did not know why, he affirmed his obedience to God. This was not blind obedience, for Adam and Eve knew the source of the commandment, and their knowledge of God—their love for him, their trust in him—enabled them to obey a principle they were seeking to comprehend. They had learned in the garden that disobeying God brought forth sorrow and separation from him, so now it was enough to make the prescribed offerings simply because God had commanded it. Commendably, what they did not know did not override what they did know. President Boyd K. Packer addressed the subject of blind obedience as follows:

There is no enduring freedom without a knowledge of the truth. . . . Latter-day Saints are not obedient because they are compelled to be obedient. They are obedient because they know certain spiritual truths and have decided, as an expression of their own individual agency, to obey the commandments of God. . . . Those who talk of blind obedience may appear to know many things, but they do not understand the doctrines of the gospel. There is an obedience that comes from a knowledge of the truth that transcends any external form of control. We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see.[33]

Adam and Eve’s willingness to offer sacrifice without knowing its purpose was driven by their firm understanding of the existence of God and his Son, the only source of their salvation.[34] Through this sacred form of worship, Adam and Eve would come to know that it was through the atonement of Christ that they, and all people, could be redeemed and could overcome the effects of sin and death, circumstances with which they were becoming acquainted.

The Lord’s giving of the law of sacrifice and the angel’s explanation of it to Adam and Eve form the backdrop for what happens with Cain. Concerning the story of Cain and Abel and their sacrifices, Bruce Waltke observed the following:

God’s judgment reveals that victory comes with sacrifice. Were the rewards of faith given apart from sacrifice, we would be tempted to serve God for self-gratification. But by winning the victory through sacrifice, grace is imparted (see Rom. 5:3–5). The suffering Christ is victorious. He has already won the victory at the cross by providing an atonement for the redeemed (Col. 2:13–15), and he will consummate it at his second Advent (2 Thess. 1:5–10).[35]

The grace behind the sacrifice is a concept that Nephi would later teach: “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). And further: “Remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved” (2 Nephi 10:24).

Elder M. Russell Ballard taught the need for complete reliance on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, of which all other righteous sacrifices are but a type:

It is only through the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ that people can overcome the consequences of bad choices. Thus Nephi teaches us that it is ultimately by the grace of Christ that we are saved even after all that we can do (see 2 Ne. 25:23). No matter how hard we work, no matter how much we obey, no matter how many good things we do in this life, it would not be enough were it not for Jesus Christ and His loving grace. On our own we cannot earn the kingdom of God—no matter what we do. Unfortunately, there are some within the Church who have become so preoccupied with performing good works that they forget that those works—as good as they may be—are hollow unless they are accompanied by a complete dependence on Christ.[36]

Through obedience to the principles of the sacrifices, Adam and Eve learned that it was not the sacrifices themselves that were to save them, but it was the Lamb of God and his offering that they represented that was to bring life. As Elder L. Tom Perry taught:

Is it any wonder that the Lord, from the very beginning, wanted to keep his plan firmly fixed in the minds of his children here on earth? Among the laws given to Adam and Eve, the law of sacrifice was instituted to remind them of the great event that would occur in the meridian of time. . . . From that time onward until the Savior came to earth, whenever the priesthood was present, man offered sacrifices to remind him of the time when the Son of Man would come to earth to make the supreme sacrifice for all of us.[37]

The Holy Ghost

Through the manifestation of the Holy Ghost, these principles were impressed on Adam and Eve, who recognized the source of their redemption and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to live again in God’s presence (see Moses 5:9–11). Notably, we learn here that the Holy Ghost did not emerge ex nihilo in the New Testament, but his role of confirming truth was operative from the beginning. “There is a rich revelation of the Spirit of the Lord in the [Old Testament], running along the same lines as that in the [New Testament] and directly preparatory to it.”[38] Thus the ending emphasis in this statement by Elder Orson Pratt: “First, We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost, who bears record of them, the same throughout all ages and for ever.”[39] Moses 5 confirms that the Holy Ghost was operational from the beginning.

9 And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son,[40] saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father[41] from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be re deemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.[42]

10 And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled,[43] and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth,[44] saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression [45] my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.

11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

As the Holy Ghost testified, Adam and Eve began to understand more perfectly what redemption was and the joy it brought them. This helped them understand what God and his Son were truly doing for them. Adam and Eve expressed their gratitude from different perspectives as they viewed the great plan of salvation, views that collectively constituted the plan in its entirety and highlighted their need for each other and what the commandment for them to “be one” could help them accomplish. Adam seems to focus on the first part of Moses 1:39 in stating, “In this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.” That is, this life is not meant to be miserable. Death is not the end but a beginning—we can take joy in the reality of resurrection and the life it brings (see Moses 5:10). Eve expressed gratitude for the opportunity to have a family, for the ability to know good from evil, and to understand the joy of redemption and eternal life (see v. 11), thus focusing on the second part of Moses 1:39 and the aspect of eternal life with God and family. This was an appropriate focus given that she was “the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20; Moses 4:26) and had opened the opportunity for life and thus also eternal life for her posterity.[46] The name Eve (Hebrew ḥawwâ) seems to have connoted “life-giver” to ancient Israelites.

As Adam and Eve demonstrate, we will never completely understand true joy until we, like them, come to recognize how much the Lord has done for us and how absolutely dependent we are on Christ as our Redeemer. It is through his life, death, and resurrection that we can be saved. Without him, we would die and remain dead, physically and spiritually. Adam and Eve understood this well, for they had gone from a terrestrial condition in the garden to a telestial condition in mortality that opened their eyes to the fact that they must depend on God and the sacrifice of his Son if they were to return to their presence. The lesson here for all humankind is that only when we grasp to a similar extent how much we need our Savior will we ever find the true joy this life has to offer.

Opposition

Moses 5:12–15 continues to set the stage for the Cain and Abel story:

12 And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.

13 And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.

14 And the Lord God called upon men by the Holy Ghost everywhere and commanded them that they should repent;

15 And as many as believed in the Son, and repented of their sins, should be saved; and as many as believed not and repented not, should be damned; and the words went forth out of the mouth of God in a firm decree; wherefore they must be fulfilled.

Here we see the direct efforts of Adam and Eve in making all things known to their children about the source of redemption.[47] The Prophet Joseph Smith emphasized why this concept was so important, while at the same time noting the ancient nature of the gospel:

The reason why we have been thus particular on this part of our subject, is, that this class may see by what means it was that God became an object of faith among men after the fall; and what it was that stirred up the faith of multitudes to feel after him; to search after a knowledge of his character, perfections and attributes, until they became extensively acquainted with him; and not only commune with him, and behold his glory, but be partakers of his power, and stand in his presence.

Let this class mark particularly that the testimony which these men had of the existence of a God, was the testimony of man; for previous to the time that any of Adam’s posterity had obtained a manifestation of God to themselves, Adam their common father had testified unto them of the existence of God, and of his eternal power and Godhead.[48]

In these verses from Moses 5 we witness God trying to reach people through the Holy Ghost. Some listened and responded, some did not—agency was a very real part of the equation. We are also introduced to the opposition that Adam and Eve as parents would face in the form of the adversary, who tried to deceive their children by proclaiming “I am also a son of God” and, referring to their parents’ teachings, commanding “Believe it not.” The text tells us that some of Adam and Eve’s children disbelieved the message of salvation and grew to love Satan more than God. This story is all too real for people today who feel heartache over lives separated from God. The struggle to know and choose God has always been part of agency and life, and it has always been hard on God and parents.[49] Yet we also see God sending his Spirit and continually trying to reach his children, something we can all take comfort in. This is the emerging story: As many as did believe and repented of their sins would be saved.

Adam and Eve tried to do all they could as parents to teach their children, but we see the results of people’s power to choose how they will act. We also see that Adam and Eve were not immune to the sorrows of mortality, including grief over wayward children. In fact, when Eve conceives Cain, she cried out, “I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words” (Moses 5:16). She had named Cain—a name understood in the biblical narrative as denoting “gotten” with the Lord’s help—as a response to older children who had rejected the Lord’s words. Such were the struggles of good and evil in the lives of Adam and Eve and their family. It is in this context that we encounter the story of Cain and Abel. The next chapter looks at the Genesis and Moses accounts side by side in order to more fully appreciate the significant contributions of Restoration scripture in helping us understand those difficult events.

Notes

[1] See History, circa June–October 1839 [Draft 1], pp. [16–21], The Joseph Smith Papers.

[2] History, circa June 1839–circa 1841 [Draft 2], p. 50, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[3] Letter to the Church, circa March 1834, p. 143, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[4] Doctrine and Covenants 29 addressed themes pertaining to the nature of Adam’s fall, a topic encountered during the translation of the Bible. See Revelation, September 1830–A [D&C 29], The Joseph Smith Papers. In September 1830, problems also arose concerning Hiram Page, who was announcing his own revelations that members such as Oliver Cowdery and the Whitmer family began to believe. These events highlighted the deceptions of the devil, a subject prominent in Moses 5 and pertinent to the circumstances of the Saints in the fall of 1830.

[5] Genesis 4 is often compared in form, style, and content to Genesis 2–3 in that it shares thematic topics and divine instruction focusing on obedience to God. Comparisons are used to highlight obedience/disobedience and adhering to divine instruction (Adam/Eve/Abel) versus opposing it (serpent/Cain). See Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 96–100. Interestingly, although not based on the above academic criteria, the Joseph Smith Translation for Moses 5:1–6:52 is prefaced by the description “Chapter Second—A Revelation concerning Adam after he had been driven out of the Garden of Eden” (Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 92), which seems to set us up for a continuation of the story line. “[Genesis] 4 offers a brief glimpse of life outside the garden of Eden. The woman bears two sons (cf. 3:16). They become farmers (workers of the ground; cf. 3:23) and shepherds (tenders of sheep). The narrative assumes the effects of the fall in ch. 3 (‘by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food’). The chapter is framed by the accounts of the births of Adam’s sons/descendants at the beginning (vv. 1–2), in the center (vv. 17–22), and at the conclusion (vv. 25–26). Many diverse elements are recounted within the small space of this one chapter, making it a transition and staging narrative connecting earlier events to those that follow.” Sailhamer, Genesis, loc. 3607–11.

[6] Sarna, in Genesis, 31, believes that Genesis 4 constitutes only a small part of the details that were originally in the narrative record. Moses 5 confirms this.

[7] Wenham, in Genesis 1–15, 106, discusses similarity in language between Adam’s experience in the garden in Genesis 3 and Cain’s experiences in Genesis 4. “The story of Cain and Abel directly follows the fall and illustrates its initial effects. . . . The chapter presents the first glimpse of life outside the garden of Eden. Ross notes that Cain’s occupation—‘a worker of the ground’ (Gen 4:2)—corresponds with God’s curse on humankind in Gen 3:17–19. The story includes the first examples of worship after the fall (Gen 4:3–4).” Mangum, Custis, and Widder, Genesis 1–11, at Genesis 4:1–26.

[8] See Moberly, Theology of the Book of Genesis, 88–89, which discusses the ethics of the story and its later theological developments based on loving God and neighbor, problems of human free will, moral categories, and sin and guilt. Bruce Waltke notes that “Cain first fails at the altar, and because he fails at the altar, he fails in the field. Because he fails in his theology, he will fail in his ethics.” Waltke goes on to addresses the explosive impact of Cain’s antipathy for Abel: “The key word brother occurs seven times in Gen. 4:2–11. This is the emergence of sibling rivalry, a problem that will plague each of the godly families of Genesis. In hatred, Cain begins the first religious war. Because he renounces God, he renounces his image. . . . . Cain’s bad feelings against God spill over into irrational behavior and an unjustifiable jealous rage against his brother. The sundering of the familial bond, begun in chapter 3, here escalates to fratricide in one mere generation.” Waltke, Genesis, 97, 98.

[9] Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 116–17. See Westermann, Genesis 1–11, 2–3; and Sarna, Genesis, 31. Later in Moses 6:28, God laments the generations of sin and murder that first developed in Moses 5 and then spread, leading to the sending of the Flood.

[10] The mention of the devil is not specifically contained in the Genesis 4 account; however, the presence of the adversary is detected in some biblical scholarship in relation to these chapters (Genesis 2–4). See Reno, Genesis, 97ff. “Cain betrayed his kinship to the devil by his enmity against the woman’s righteous seed (cf. 1 John 3:12).” Kline, Genesis, 25. Moses 5 and other Restoration scripture clearly describe the existence of the devil and his involvement in events in the Garden of Eden, including the Cain and Abel episode. See Bradshaw, In God’s Image, 1:329–35, for apocryphal material and ancient literature discussing Satan in these early stories of Genesis.

[11] Walton, Genesis, NIV Application Commentary, 265. “Cain’s comment assumes that there is a more extensive family in existence and that some from Abel’s line would seek revenge.” Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas, Old Testament, 34. See Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 109; Utley, How It All Began, 72; and Waltke, Genesis, 99.

[12] “There is little doubt that these versions do not represent the original text but rather are later attempts to fill in a laconic text.” Sailhamer, Genesis, loc. 3724–25.

[13] “By the sweat of his brow” was inserted by the 1867 RLDS Publication Committee. See Jackson, Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts, 22. Both OT1 and OT2 read “by the sweat of the brow” (Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 92), perhaps avoiding focusing solely on Adam and emphasizing unity and cooperation between both Adam and Eve, just as the Lord had commanded them in the Garden of Eden.

[14] For a discussion on possible priestly connections and temple worship associated with calling on the name of the Lord (see Moses 5:4), see Bradshaw, In God’s Image, 1:355–357. “About a dozen times in the Old Testament people are said to call on the name of the Lord, and in these passages they are generally either calling for help in connection with a ritual or invoking God’s presence at a cultic site (see esp. Gen. 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25; see also 1 Kings 18:24 and, as a point of interest, Matt. 18:20. For another connection between the name, a cultic place, and ritual practices, see Deut. 12:5–6, 11). Eventually humans sought to procure the presence of God through establishing cultic places and performing rituals there, but in Genesis 4:26 there is no indication of these trappings. Thus it seems that people have begun to invoke the Lord’s presence (the presence that was lost at the fall). This passage, then, represents the beginning of religion.” Walton, Genesis, loc. 2117. This statement is made in relation to the end of Genesis 4 and Seth and his descendants, but from what we know from the Book of Moses also applies here to the mode of worship prescribed to Adam and Eve. The Genesis 4 story does seem to require an altar for the sacrifices, and with the lack of information provided in Genesis, the following conclusion is often reached: “The brothers worshipped God in simplicity, for there is no mention of a shrine, an altar, or a ritual.” Hartley, Genesis, 80. However, Waltke, in Genesis, 97, does fill in what appear to be required gaps and describes an altar in the episode. For traditions of Adam and Eve sacrificing at an altar, see Bradshaw, In God’s Image, 1:355, 359. Later, ritual performance in Nauvoo and in temples of the Restoration incorporated altars in worship, and Adam and Eve at the altar of sacrifice remembering the similitude of the sacrifice of God’s Son would be an important component portraying this story.

[15] History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844], p. 1708, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[16] “Lamb of God” is a New Testament phrase that the Gospels and Pauline literature use to refer to Christ’s role as an infinite sacrifice. The Book of Mormon also employs this language, showing that Old Testament peoples were aware of the concept and of the Lamb as a redemptive figure. Again, this theme of salvation through the Redeemer was not a new—Christ was the prototypical sacrifice from the beginning. “God . . . prepared a sacrifice in the gift of his own Son which should be sent in due time . . . to prepare a way, or open a door through which man might enter into his presence, from whence he had been cast for disobedience.” Letter to the Church, circa March 1834, p. 143, The Joseph Smith Papers. “After Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, the Lord gave them the law of sacrifice. This law included offering the firstborn of their flocks. This sacrifice symbolized the sacrifice that would be made by the Only Begotten Son of God.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Sacrifice,” Guide to the Scriptures. See 2 Nephi 2:6–7.

[17] See, e.g., Manser et al., Dictionary of Bible Themes, s.v. “Atonement, necessity and nature of”: “God’s provision of atonement is a means of dealing with sin Atonement through sacrifice Lev 9:7. See also Ex 30:10; Nu 15:22–26; God’s promised new covenant of forgiveness was fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s atoning death Heb 10:16–17. See also Jeramiah 31:33–34; Mt 26:28; Heb 9:15; 12:24.”

[18] See, e.g., Manser et al., Dictionary of Bible Themes, s.v. “Atonement, necessity and nature of,” which lists the following scripture references: Exodus 24:4–8; Leviticus 1:1–17; 3:1–17; 4:1–35; 5:14–19; 16:15–22; Hebrews 9:12–14, 18–20, 23–26; 10:3–14; 13:11–12; Romans 3:25; Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 7:14–17; 12:10–11.” Such symbols of this in Old Testament sacrifices include John 1:29: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Also, the Passover is constantly being mentioned in relation to sacrifice, including in John 19:36: “For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken” (emphasis added). Other scriptures include Isaiah 53:7, Matthew 26:17–29, and 1 Corinthians 5:7.

[19] Not all animal sacrifices were focused specifically on atonement. Various rituals were performed in later biblical law for a variety of reasons ranging from atonement to entering into covenants, offering thanks, and becoming at peace with God. We do not have to assume that later priestly prescriptions under Moses were identical to the earliest forms of worship initiated by God with Adam and Eve, although we may assume similarities in symbolism and function.

[20] Draper, “Remarkable Book of Moses,” 15.

[21] Notice that Adam and Eve both participated in the worship that follows. This concept is reflected in modern temple worship today: “The blessings of the priesthood . . . are available to men and women alike. . . . An ordinance is most commonly officiated by persons who have been ordained to an office in the priesthood acting under the direction of one who holds priesthood keys. . . . Though women do not hold an office in the priesthood, they perform sacred temple ordinances under the authorization of the president of the temple, who holds the keys for the ordinances of the temple.” Oaks, “Melchizedek Priesthood and the Keys,” 70. Although the Old Testament is unclear on the matter, there is some indication that women may have participated in sacrificial or other temple practices. Some examples include women such as Miriam (Exodus 15), Deborah (Judges 4–5), Hannah (1 Samuel 1&2), and Anna (Luke 2). These stories suggest that women had a part to play in ancient temple worship just as women do in today’s temples. See Gardner, Priesthood Power of Women. In numerous ancient cultures, temple worship involved both priests and priestesses.

[22] The 1867 RLDS Publication Committee changed the singular “commandment” to “commandments.” Jackson, Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts, 29. OT1 and OT2 both have “commandment.” Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 93. The singular commandment seems to focus specifically on the law of sacrifice, while the plural commandments mentioned at the end of the verse may focus on a wider variety of covenantal responsibilities introduced to Adam and Eve after their expulsion. Nibley, in Teachings of the Pearl of Great Price, 233, writes that God “gives them commandments. He gives them the law of God. He gives them the law of obedience. He gives them the law of sacrifice, and he gives them the law of the Gospel.” See also Bradshaw, In God’s Image, 1:358–59.

[23] For apocryphal traditions depicting periods of time and preparation for Adam’s entering into and later leaving the Garden of Eden, see Bradshaw, In God’s Image, 1:360.

[24] It is not totally clear that the call to repentance is directly related to the type of sacrifice being defined. In later biblical sacrificial prescriptions, various categories develop, including “sin” and “trespass” offerings. There are also sacrifices associated with purposes other than sin. Repentance is implied to have taken place before these other types of offerings and sacrifices. See The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bible Dictionary, “Sacrifices.” In this second instruction [“repent and call upon God in the name of the Son”], the angel clarified that it is not just sacred acts, performed in sacred settings, that are to be performed in ‘the name of the Son.’ Individuals are to undertake personal acts of repentance and prayer in the Son’s name. Draper, Brown, and Rhodes, Pearl of Great Price, 59.

[25] Doctrine and Covenants, 1835, p. 18, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[26] For possible temple references connected with calling upon the Lord, see Bradshaw, In God’s Image, 1:355–56.

[27] See Muhlestein, Sears, and Shannon, “Gospel Covenants in History,” 21–40.

[28] “The Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and . . . all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved” (1 Nephi 13:40). “The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the great and eternal sacrifice at the center of the gospel (see Alma 34:8–16). Before the Savior carried out the Atonement, His covenant people sacrificed animals as a symbol of His sacrifice. This practice helped them look ahead to the Atonement.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Sacrifice,” Gospel Topics. “For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice” (Alma 34:10). “By offering their own little symbolic lambs in mortality, Adam and his posterity were expressing their understanding of and their dependence upon the atoning sacrifice of Jesus the Anointed One. . . . Finally, Jesus was born . . . [and] there would still be an offering, it would still involve a sacrifice, but it would be with symbolism much deeper, much more introspective and personal than the bloodletting of a firstborn lamb.” Holland, “Behold the Lamb of God.”

[29] Reno, Genesis, 97.

[30] Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas, Old Testament, 33. See Bill T. Arnold, Genesis, 78.

[31] Later Rabbinic literature and several ancient sources also ascribe Adam as offering burnt offerings after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden. See Bradshaw, In God’s Image, 1:359. Animal sacrifice was prevalent throughout the ancient Near East in the performance of various covenants and treaties.

[32] Although Genesis 4 does not mention it, some scholars recognize this possibility of God’s continual instruction and communication from the garden since it would explain how Cain and Abel knew how to offer sacrifices in the first place and how Cain would have known that God did not accept of his sacrifice. See Walton, Genesis, NIV Application Commentary, 263. See also Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 103, which states, “How Cain and Abel recognized divine approval is unclear.”

[33] Packer, “Agency and Control,” 66.

[34] Jesus had never spoken more clearly and accurately than when in the New Testament he declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Subsequently, part of the meaning of way in this passage seems to entail ordinances prescribed in the law, a law pointing people to Christ.

[35] Waltke, Genesis, 104.

[36] Ballard, “Building Bridges of Understanding,” 65–66.

[37] Perry, “Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.” Sacrifice reflects what Abinadi taught the priests of Noah when they answered him that they were saved by the law. Abinadi taught them that it was only through the Redeemer, who would come in the flesh, and not the law that pointed to him, that would bring salvation. To back up his words, Abinadi cited Isaiah 53 on the suffering servant, a reference to the sacrifice of Christ to make us his seed. See Schade and Bowen, “‘To Whom Is the Arm of the Lord Revealed?,’” 91–111. Of course, people were to work, epitomized in the bringing forth of the offering in faith, but if it stopped there, animal sacrifice would never be enough: it was the Lamb of God who was to save. This is what John the Baptist taught, as well as what an angel told Nephi when he was trying to understand the vision of the tree of life (see John 1:28–34; 1 Nephi 11:21–33). The concept is as follows: “The Lord chose blood to dramatize the consequences of sin and what was involved in the process of forgiveness and reconciliation. Therefore, blood symbolized both life (see Leviticus 17:11) and the giving of one’s life. Death is the consequence of sin and so the animal was slain to show what happens when man sins. Also, the animal was a type of Christ. Through the giving of His life for man, by the shedding of His blood, one who is spiritually dead because of sin can find new life. Out of this truth grows a spiritual parallel: ‘As in Adam, or by nature, all men fall and are subject to spiritual death, so in Christ and his atoning sacrifice all men have power to gain eternal life.’” McConkie, Promised Messiah, 259.

[38] Douglas and Tenney, “Holy Spirit,” in New International Bible Dictionary, 446.

[39] Appendix: Orson Pratt, A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, 1840, p. 24, The Joseph

Smith Papers. See 1 Nephi 10:19.

[40] Joseph Smith explained the relevance of this revelation: “This last quotation, or summary, shows this important fact, that though our first parents were driven out of the garden of Eden, and were even separated from the presence of God, by a vail, they still retained a knowledge of his existence, and that sufficiently to move them to call upon him. And further, that no sooner was the plan of redemption revealed to man, and he began to call upon God, than the Holy Spirit was given, bearing record of the Father and Son.” Doctrine and Covenants, 1835, p. 17, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[41] OT1 reads “I am Jesus Christ,” and “I am the Only Begotten of the Father” is consistent with OT2. See Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 93, 603.

[42] “One of the most important functions of the Holy Ghost is to testify of the Father and the Son. In the very day that the angel told Adam that the sacrifice he was offering was ‘a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, . . . the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam’ testifying to him of the Father and the Son.” Romney, “Holy Ghost” (emphasis in the original).

[43] Here after filled, an unknown person inserted “with the Holy Ghost” into OT2. It was later crossed out. See Jackson, Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts, 49; and Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 603. Perhaps Adam’s blessing of God resulted from being filled with the Holy Ghost, or perhaps filled refers to the joy and exultation resulting from fellowship with God.

[44] Doctrine and Covenants 107:56 reveals details of this event. See also Moses 6.

[45] OT1 reads, “blessed be the name of God for my transgression for in this life I shall have joy.” See Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, 93. OT2 seems to clarify that the excitement is not about the transgression but what was learned from it. It may indicate that Adam and Eve did not fully comprehend the implications of eating the fruit and did not do so deliberately in order to have joy, but rather that they were beginning to see things as never before, a new understanding that resulted in their exultations for their redemption.

[46] See Bowen, “Semitic Semiotics.”

[47] The Nephites in their Old Testament world also understood the principle: “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:26).

[48] Doctrine and Covenants, 1835, p. 19, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[49] See Skinner, “Cain and Abel,” 43–68 (discussion on p. 68).