[ Abraham is looking at the creation from the point of view of the Gods. He is one of those spirits who were “noble and great” in that Council and was chosen and foreordained to be a leader, a prophet, a Patriarch. Thus Abraham sees things from a pre-existent point of view, from the vantage point of what will be—that which is going to happen in the future. Verses 1-5 are telling us what the 'spiritual creation' was: it was the Gods counseling among themselves to do all these things. Their plans and discussions were the spiritual creation! Now they are going to do what they discussed. Abraham's record through Chapter 4 is the minutes of the Council when they met to contemplate the forming and populating of this earth. We are now starting Abraham 5, where we will see the spiritual creation from a different point of view. ] 1 AND thus [ According to the blueprint or grand design that we have laid out. ] we [ The Gods. ] will finish the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of them.

2 And the Gods said among themselves: On the seventh time we will end our work, [ This is future tense. We can compare it to Moses 4:2 which is past tense point of view. ] which we have counseled; [ We planned and organized how it would all work. ] and we will rest on the seventh time from all our work which we have counseled.

3 And the Gods concluded upon the seventh time, because that on the seventh time they would rest from all their works which they (the Gods) counseled among themselves [ Here's what Joseph Smith had to say: “The head one of the Gods brought forth the Gods.” That is the true meaning of the words. Baurau signifies to bring forth. If you do not believe it, you do not believe the learned man of God. Learned men can teach you no more than what I have told you. Thus the head God brought forth the Gods in the grand council. “The head God called together the Gods and sat in grand council to bring forth the world. The grand councilors sat at the head in yonder heavens and contemplated the creation of the worlds which were created at the time. “In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it. When we begin to learn this way, we begin to learn the only true God, and what kind of a being we have got to worship. Having a knowledge of God, we begin to know how to approach him, and how to ask so as to receive an answer. When we understand the character of God, and [know] how to come to him, he begins to unfold the heavens to us, and to tell us all about it. When we are ready to come to him, he is ready to come to us.” (TPJS p 348-350) “An unlearned boy must give you a little Hebrew. Berosheit baurau Eloheim ait aushamayeen vehau auraits, rendered by King James’ translators, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” I want to analyze the word Berosheit. Rosh, the head; Sheit, a grammatical termination; the Baith was not originally put there when the inspired man wrote it, but it has been since added by an old Jew. Baurau signifies to bring forth; Eloheim is from the word Eloi, God, in the singular number; and by adding the word heim, it renders it Gods. It read first, “In the beginning the head of the Gods brought forth the Gods,” or, as others have translated it, “The head of the Gods called the Gods together.” (TPJS p 371) “The head God organized the heavens and the earth. I defy all the world to refute me. In the beginning the heads of the Gods organized the heavens and the earth. “In the very beginning the Bible shows there is a plurality of Gods beyond the power of refutation. It is a great subject I am dwelling on. The word Eloheim ought to be in the plural all the way through—Gods. The heads of the Gods appointed one God for us; and when you take [that] view of the subject, its sets one free to see all the beauty, holiness and perfection of the Gods. All I want is to get the simple, naked truth, and the whole truth.” (TPJS p 372). ] to form; [ Organize and create. ] and sanctified it. [ Blessed it and made it holy. ] And thus were their decisions at the time that they counseled among themselves to form the heavens and the earth.

4 And the Gods came down and formed these [ The actual work of the creation begins in earnist. ] the generations [ Signifies that it took some time to complete. ] of the heavens and of the earth, when they were formed in the day that the Gods formed the earth and the heavens,

5 According to all that which they had said [ According to how they had planned it. ] concerning every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew ; [ Implying that all things were created in the spirit form before they are created physically. Telling us what the spiritual creation was: it was the Gods counseling among themselves to do all these things. The Council was the spiritual creation. Their Plans were the spiritual creation. Their discussions were the spiritual creation! ] for the Gods had not caused it to rain upon the earth when they counseled to do them, and had not formed a man to till the ground.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, [ Evaporation was given its rules to live by. ] and watered the whole face of the ground. [ Then it returns as rain upon the ground. ]

7 And the Gods [ Plural. ] formed man from the dust of the ground, [ "dust of the ground" is in every one of standard works that we have - so there must be something important about that. From the elements that were found upon the earth. Since Adam was to be bound by the laws that were established in the creation(D&C 93:30 - things act for themselves in the sphere in which they are created.) for this earth it is only fitting that he be created from the elements of this earth to which the laws apply(or in order to be governed by natural law you need to be created from the elements). Those laws would include sickness and health, life and death, how things will evolve. It must be important to specify this "created from the dust" as it is found in all references to the creation of man.(See also DISCOURSE ON ABBATON) Verses 7-8: In every instance where it said in scripture that Adam was a son of God, Joseph changed it to read that Adam was “formed of God.” To understand this better, keep in mind that man has to be formed from the elements of the planet on which he is to live. He has to be governed by the natural laws of the sphere in which he has been placed so that those same elements and natural law can govern his natural body. God could, for instance, create a physical body from the elements of the sun in order for that body to be capable of living on the sun. We do not know what all those elements are. There may be other elements on other planets or in other systems that God has created that we know nothing about. ] and took his spirit (that is, the man’s spirit), and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, [ “Breath” in both Hebrew and Greek means spirit. In otherwords inserted spirit into man Gen 2:7; Moses 3:7. ] and man became a living soul.

8 And the Gods planted [ The garden was the work of the Gods. ] a garden, eastward in Eden, [ Which means closest to God. In Hebrew it is translated as the “Garden of Delights.” So where is Eden? Most of it is west of the Garden. There’s Eden the place, and then there is the Garden “eastward” in Eden. In every reference we have, it says that Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden. When Adam transgressed, he was driven out “eastward,” or toward Adam-Ondi-Ahman. If Adam-Ondi-Ahman is in Missouri, if we live in Layton we are west of Eden, in the lone and dreary world. All we know is that Adam was placed in a garden which was eastward in Eden, and when he was kicked out, he was driven out further east of the Garden. According to Joseph Smith who said the center place of the Garden of Eden was in independence MO, or Jackson County so when Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden they must have ended up around 80 miles north of there at Adam-ondi-ahman. ] and there [ In the garden that God had planted. The Hebrew word for plant is nata it is interesting that Moses uses this same Hebrew verb nata or “to plant” to refer to his holy sanctuary on Mount Sinai in (Exodus 15:17 where Moses clearly stated that the Lord was the one who built his temple in the mountain so that the Lord would have a place to dwell on earth and that God’s people were to be planted in the temple, because it was their inheritance. ) ] they put the man, whose spirit they had put into the body which they had formed.

9  And out of the ground made the Gods to grow every tree [ We can now see that the Gods are doing all that they had counseled to do in Abraham 4:27-31. Consider that prior to Ch 5, we were reading the minutes of their Council. ] that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life, [ Which according to Bruce R McConkie figuratively refers to eternal life. A New Witness for the Articles Of Faith pg 86. ] also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. [ "which figuratively refers to how and why and in what manner mortality and all that appertains to it came into being" (A New Witness for the Articles Of Faith pg 86) Both of these trees are in plan sight. Note where the tree is planted. It is not planted on the edge of the garden, it is not hidden deep withing the garden, but in the midst of the garden - suggesting in the middle, literally the center, and in plain sight. The Lord had his choice of where to place it certainly. So why place it there? I suppose there is a great deal we can learn about our experience here on earth from a review of it's placement. Lehi taught there there must needs be opposition in all things... 2 Ne. 2:11 So it is that agency, choice is fundamental in our ability to overcome to grow, to become like him. See Moses 3:9. The Tree of Life was in the central most point of the garden that was within the land of Eden, symbolizing that God is the center of all things, or God dwells in the center of his earthly temple. The Hebrew word for “midst”, translated from the Hebrew "betok" is “The precise term for the living presence of God “in the midst” or betok of his people in the sanctuary, such that the Tabernacle of Moses, and the Temple of Solomon, the Ark was placed in the exact center on the Holy of Holies. Symbolizing that God is the center of all things. ]

10 There was a river running out of Eden, to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became into four heads.

11 And the Gods took the man [ Adam is alone at this point Eve is not created until verse 16. ] and put him in the Garden [ Adam was not born in the Garden — he was put there. All texts that we have in our cannon or scripture say that Adam was placed in the garden. (see also DISCOURSE ON ABBATON which says that he was created in the council of heaven, from the elements of this earth, and after the creation of Adam, to which Adam exclaimed that having a body put him in a state that he never knew existed, God wept over Adam for 40 days before he placed him on the earth. During this period God explained to use what was going to happen when he placed Adam on the earth, so that we could understand. He let Adam tell us how it felt to have a body, and God explained that trials and tribulations would exist for us in gaining a body - of coarse our bodies would come from our morta experience not from creation as was Adam. This was done so that we could understand how this life was going to be in order for us to exercise our agency. This will again apply during the resurrection when the earth will be sanctified. ) ] of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. [ To tend and take care of it. The Hebrew words for dress and keep here are extremely important. This is what Richard Davison says, “When viewed in this light of their sanctuary context, the paired use of the two Hebrew terms ‘abad’ (avad) ‘to dress or to tend’, and shamar (to keep) in Genesis 2:15, to describe the work of Adam and Eve in the Eden garden, becomes highly significant. According to this verse, the first couple were put in the garden to “tend” (avad) and to “keep” (shamar) it. These Hebrew terms literally mean to “serve” and “guard” respectively, but apply more than the fact that Adam and Eve were entrusted with a responsible stewardship of serving and protecting their environment. These two Hebrew words (avad) and (shamar), when used together elsewhere in the Pentateuch, as well as references in the Old Testament, consistently point to the functions of service of the priests and Levites in the sanctuary. So the setting in the Eden Garden sanctuary(temple) implies a priestly function for the Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as well suggesting that God instituted a temple-based religion from the foundation. It is within the garden temple that God seals them together(verse 18). ]

12 And the Gods commanded the man, [ Usage of singular masculine pronouns in the text suggest that Eve is not present when this commandment is given to Adam. ] saying: Of every tree [ You have complete agency to eat from any tree. ] of the garden thou mayest freely eat,

13 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, [ To enter into mortality with a mortal body, to enter into full agency, and to have awakened in us the light of Christ. The power of knowing good from evil provides us with the ability to exercise agency. Remember if there is no opposition there is no agency, if we do not recognize there is a difference between good and evil then there is no agency to choose. (2 Ne. 2:5) ] thou shalt not eat of it; [ Or if you eat from that tree you will no longer stay in the state that you are now in. Note when this commandment was given - Eve is not present here when the commandment is given. we also know that Eve does know about the commandment so did she learn about it from Adam telling her? so we might ask ourselves - why did God not wait until after Eve was formed to give the commandment? ] for in the time [ In the period, which period is in Gods time which Abraham is very careful to disclose here that "it is after the Lord's time". They do not know time yet as we will have declared later in this verse - or without time they cannot die, so if they partake of the fruit then they will experience time(so without time they were immortal). ] that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. [ So the first thing that Satan does with Eve is to get her to doubt the words of God, to distrust God, in that if she partakes of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that she will die. (D&C 29:42) ] Now I, Abraham, saw [ Abraham can see how time exists to God, as well as in relation to himself - he is looking through the Urim and Thummim and is able to see the difference. (D&C 93:24 There are three points of view and in order to understand truth you need to understand it from all points of view (past, present and future)) ] that it was after the Lord’s time, [ The Lord does not have time all things are present to him which makes him immortal and eternal(or the place where time does not exist); however he does establish time through the planet Kolob. Which is the last planet - the one closest to God which has time - the planet Kolob where A thousand years in the life of man is equal to one day in the Kolob's time. Abraham is trying to explain is that Adam was immortal in the Garden of Eden because there was no time! Or in order for things to die (entropy) which is defined as going from a state of order to a state of disorder. The second law of Thermodynamics states that the one thing required for death(entropy) to occur is time, or entropy requires time in order to change. Therefore if there is no dimension of time(like where God lives all things are present to him, as things were in the garden of Eden), then there is no entropy. ] which was after the time of Kolob; [ Which is the closest planet to God(or if you hide away to Kolob you have not gone far enough as to reach God) - "the last pertaining to the measurement of time" Abr. Facsimile #2. To God all things are present - or they are without time - hence they are eternal. So here Abraham is teaching us the God is real; that he is locatable(where he resides), and he exists in a dimension without time(Abr. Facsimile #2). ] for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning. [ As we see here in Abraham, Adam exists in an a-temporal environment, or without time. The dimension of time is required for death to exist. When Adam and Eve were placed on the earth, there was no time; therefore they were in an immortal state. For things to go from a state of order to a state of disorder, or from immortality to mortality, time is required. That's the basis of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. So at this point a time system for the earth was not implemented. It was still in the sphere and time system of Kolob. During the fall it was placed in it's current solar system. When the earth is celestialized it will be taken back to the presence of God. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith pg 181; D&C 130:9-11. President Joseph Fielding Smith stated: “When this earth was created, it was not according to our present time, but it was created according to Kolob’s time, for the Lord has said it was created on celestial time which is Kolob’s time. Then he revealed to Abraham that Adam was subject to Kolob’s time before his transgression” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:79). Because of his work as a scribe on the Book of Abraham, W. W. Phelps claimed, “That eternity, agreeable to the records found in the catacombs of Egypt, has been going on in this system (not the world) almost 2555 millions of years; and to know that deists, geologists and others are trying to prove that matter must have existed hundreds of thousands of years:—it almost tempts the flesh to fly to God, or muster faith like Enoch to be translated and see and know as we are seen and known!”(W. W. Phelps, “The Answer,” Times and Seasons 5 (December 1844): 758.) Phelps’s amount of time may have come from calculating 7000 years with a thousand years to the day (Abraham 3:4, Facsimile 2:1) because 7000 x 365 x 1000 = 2,555,000,000; but he got the idea that the solar system was more than two billion years old from his interpretation of the Book of Abraham. The Book of Abraham’s use of the term times instead of days reinforces his reasoning, as does its comment that time in the Garden of Eden “was after the Lord’s time, which was after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning”. ]

14 And the Gods said: Let us make an help meet [ In Hebrew there are two words that "help meet" are derived from: the word “ezer” and the word “k’enegdo.” Ezer means "to help", and k’enegdo means “like unto him.” Or in other words, “a helper like unto him,” a helper equal to him(like mating a sock). She is equal to and in every manner a mate to Adam; and one that corresponds to him, for a rib to be taken from his side means “corresponding to.” ] for the man, [ Because he is the only one that has been created from the elements at this point. ] for it is not good that the man should be alone, [ This is setting the stage for what is coming. In Abraham we see a subtle but significant word change: “Let us make an help meet for the man, for [because] it is not good that the man should be alone, therefore we will form an help meet for him.” To this point everything that God has done has been pronounced as "good", and here it is "not good". It was not just not desirable but it was "bad". Adam has nine existences or as defined through scripture nine different responsibilities and existence one of his as a member of the creation. He is part of the presidents committee of inspection; 2) he's a member of the creation committee 3) He is the first man 4) As part of the creation committee he is responsible to name the animals - it is when he is naming all of the animals that Adam realizes that they all have a companion except for him. So in making woman Adam declares that she is "flesh of my flesh" (verse 17; Gen 2:23; Mos. 3:23) she was taken out of me. ] therefore we will form an help meet for him. [ Means equal - So a campanion with full rights in partnership. This is not "helpmeet" which means "helper or servant or assistant"; but what it does mean is "Help that is vital for him" "that which is necessary, vital or required" see D&C 58:26; Moses 3:18 Suppose that God knew full well the stewardship of both the man and the woman. That each would respond differently to their different roles. We might ask, “Could it be—two people, two trees—that Eve was foreordained to partake first of the First Tree?” Dr Hudson proposes that partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil means “to enter into mortality with a mortal body, to enter into full agency, and to have awakened in us the light of Christ.” She attributes the purposes of the two trees in the Garden of Eden to the different stewardships of men and women. “It is through women that souls journey to mortality and gain their agency, and in general it is through the nurturing of women … that the light of Christ is awakened within each soul.” Every soul born into mortality comes through a woman. Dr. Hudson goes on: “The fruit of the First Tree symbolizes the gift that women give to every soul that chooses the plan of Christ. It symbolizes the role and power of women in the Great Plan of Happiness. It was not, in this view, right or proper for Adam to partake first from the fruit of the First Tree. It was not his role to give the gift of the fruit of the First Tree to others. It is interesting to think that even Adam, who was created before Eve, entered into full mortality and full agency by accepting the gift of the First Tree from the hand of a woman. In a sense, Adam himself was born of Eve.” Where does this leave Adam and his stewardship? Dr. Hudson asserts that Adam and the sons of Adam are given stewardship over the Second Tree, the Tree of Life. They are to administer all the ordinances and covenants that are necessary for the children of God to return home to their heavenly parents. She states, “Just as the veil into this life is guarded by the women, the daughters of God, so the veil that brings us home, is administered and guarded by the sons of God.” There are also two “hearkenings.” “Just as Adam hearkened to Eve in partaking of the fruit of the First Tree, so Eve hearkened to Adam in accepting the fruit of the Second Tree.”(Valerie M. Hudson, transcript of address given at FAIR Conference 2010, accessed at http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conference/2010_The_To_Trees.html January 7, 2012.) ]

15 And the Gods caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; [ One where he could not remember. ] and he slept, and they took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof; [ The God's did not literally take a rib from Adamand make Eve, the account is symbolic. (the Blessings and Responsibilities of Womanhood" Ensign March 1976 pg 71. ]

16 And of the rib [ Hebrew:side. ] which the Gods had taken from man, formed they a woman, and brought her unto the man. [ Note the tenderness in which Eve is presented to Adam - they brought her to him they personally introduced them to each other; the Gods were involved in the details, the emotion of the joining of the two of them. ]

17 And Adam said: This was bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; [ We are one and belong together as one; a family. ] now she shall be called Woman, [ Adam named this new creature, “Woman.” One of Adam's last responsibilities was to give names to all of the animals. We learn in the temple that Adam is included in the creation presidency. He is on the committee of inspection. He goes down to see if things are all right. His last act as a member of that creation presidency is the naming all of the animals. Technically speaking, nothing exists until it has been given a name because giving it a name brings it into existence. A name identifies it into existence. She is called Woman. Why is she not called Eve at this time? Because the Fall has not yet taken place. Once the Fall takes place, she is placed in a new environment, one in which she can become the “mother of all living.” At that point she receives a new name, Eve. In scripture, she is called Woman before the Fall; after the Fall she is called Eve. ] because [ The word for Man in Hebrew is ‘ish.’ The word for Woman is ‘isha.’ Isha is the feminine of man. So what Adam is saying is that Woman is a feminine ‘man.’ ] she was taken out of man; [ Why do you suppose that Woman was taken out of man as opposed to also being formed from the “dust of the earth”? ]

18  Therefore [ So the Lord now says: ] shall a man leave his father and his mother, [ Who is doing the leaving here? The Man. ] and shall cleave [ To “cleave” means to “seal”. To be closely united, to work together. ] unto his wife, [ Husband and wife as a result of the sealing, or marriage that has taken place here. Additionally the marriage has taken place in Gods sanctuary - the temple. ] and they shall be one flesh.

19 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, [ Well if she is called his wife then we know what? That they are married. ] and were not ashamed. [ Nope because they did not know that emotion they were innocent; hence they were not embarrassed at each other. Sexuality is a mindset and is something that is understood. They did not have that mindset before the fall. The potential to multiply and fill the earth that they had been blessed with at the time of creation was there, but it was not until after they fell that they were capable of fulfilling that blessing and potential. Look at Moses 5:11 and see what Eve has to say. ]

20 And out of the ground [ The elements that were placed here in the begininng were used to complete the physical creation. ] the Gods formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that should be the name thereof.

21 And Adam gave names [ Is there any significance to Adam being charged with naming all of the animals before he could get an help meet? We learn in the temple that Adam is included in the creation presidency. He is on the Committee of Inspection. He goes down to see if things are going according to plan. His last act as a member of that creation presidency is the naming all of the animals. Technically speaking, nothing exists until it has been given a name because giving it a name is what brings it into existence. Thus names become very important. That is why Adam had to name all the animals. ] to all cattle, to the fowl of the air, to every beast of the field; and for Adam, there was found an help meet [ vs 14. This is a different time period—after he finished naming all of the animals see Mos 3:20. ] for him. [ Who was Eve. In Moses, and also according to Jewish Tradition, as Adam was naming everything, he realized that all of the animals had a mate, but he did not. When he realized all other living things had a companion and he did not, he made a request of the Gods and they then “caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam.” It was “not good for man to be alone,” and thus they made an help meet for Adam, one to assist him in every way. ] [ Abraham 5 is the end of that book. We do not have the rest of the Book of Abraham, or the Book of Joseph. There is more to the Book of Abraham than we currently have; we only have about the first two-thirds of the book. Joseph translated the whole record but was martyred before he was able to publish the last third. The portion of Abraham that we have contains very little about the introduction of evil that we see at the beginning of Moses 4. Our record of Abraham ends before we get to that point in Moses 4. Why don’t we have the Book of Joseph or the rest of the Book of Abraham? The short answer is that in 1875, Brigham sent Elders Smith & Pratt back to Nauvoo on a very specific mission. They were purchase the remaining manuscripts from Emma. Elders Smith & Pratt reported in the October General Conference that their mission was very successful. That’s all that was said. Some contemporary brethren, Br. Sperry, Elder Talmage, and Elder McConkie have all spoken about the contents of the manuscripts, each saying that the things contained in the Book of Joseph were of such a sacred nature that it should not be published to the world. Elder McConkie stated that he believed that it was because of the Book of Joseph that the restoration of the endowment came to pass. ]